Back in 1991, Universal Studios Orlando hosted a special ticketed event called “Fright Nights.”
It lasted for three nights and consisted of one horror house, the Dungeon of Terror, housed in what was the “Jaws” ride queue.
Fast forward 35 years later, and the event has grown like Graboids into a two month extravaganza featuring 10 haunted houses, a network of scare zones and a crypt of creeped out entertainment sprawled across the park.
This year’s village of the damned includes excerpts from pop culture like “Stranger Things,” where you can attempt to avoid the demogorgon, and a visit to Club Juke from “Sinners,” which of course takes a deadly turn.
There’s also a nod to classic horror in “Hellraiser,” a bloodthirsty production of pleasure and pain that was overseen by its iconic author, Clive Barker.
A favorite, though, is “Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness,” since there’s a great soundtrack and an animatronic bat that bites the head off Ozzy (IYKYK) plus the chance to board the crazy train. (Spoiler: No one survives the ride.)
There’s no escaping the frights outside either, with scare zones lining the park featuring clowns from outer space, the Chainsaw Hordes and a zone called Fortnitemares, plus two new shows — the lagoon water show projection “Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins” and “Nightmare Fuel: Blood Noir” — a risque dance/acrobat/sword eating/pole dancing extravaganza with a sexy vampire theme.
Don’t forget the food, either — there’s blended drinks like Oddfellows Elixir, themed culinary creations like Upside Down Chicken & Waffles, and cake that looks like meat. Yum.
The event runs most nights through Nov. 1 and tickets start at $90. Since the most horrific part might be the wait times for the houses (which can stretch to hours) you can also splurge for an “RIP tour” in which an informative guide takes small groups to the front of the lines. That runs $510 (includes light bites and access to an exclusive cash bar, among other add ons.)
Otherwise, the Universal Express (from $250) for expedited lines is a good bet.
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