I went to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando and Hollywood, and I think it’s worth paying for both

I went to both Halloween-themed events. Carly Caramanna Halloween Horror Nights is a seasonal event held at Universal Studios in Florida and California.   It features plenty of spooky haunted houses along with specialty food and live entertainment.

I visited for the opening weekend of the event at each park to compare the experiences. Halloween Horror Nights is an annual event held in both LA and Orlando. Universal has theme parks in California and Florida.

Carly CaramannaHalloween Horror Nights (commonly referred to as HHN) is an annual event at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Orlando. It runs on select nights throughout September and October, and tickets, which are separate from general admission, usually cost between $100 and $200 depending on the day. The immersive event transforms the entire theme park using inspiration from original stories, classic horror franchises, and popular films.

It features walk-through maze attractions (or haunted houses), interactive scare zones, themed foods and beverages, and live entertainment. The haunted houses are akin to movie-like sets with elaborate decor, live actors, and props. As a theme-park journalist, I visit the events every year in both cities.

Although they’re overall similar, each location has unique houses and experiences. Haunted houses are one of the biggest draws, and luckily my favorite one was in both cities. The Horrors of Blumhouse is in Orlando and Hollywood.

Carly CaramannaThe Horrors of Blumhouse, themed to the cinematic world created by producer Jason Blum, was featured at both events and ended up being my favorite. It was actually two houses in one, starting with a section based on “Freaky” and ending with rooms inspired by “The Black Phone. “The “Freaky” house leaned more into gory horror humor, but “The Black Phone” area was very scary.

I ended up getting several jump-scares from actors portraying the film’s villain, the Grabber. The house varied just slightly on the different coasts, but I thought both locations were equally scary. I loved the little nods and Easter eggs scattered around in Hollywood.

The poster reminded me of “The Black Phone. “Carly CaramannaEaster eggs were sprinkled throughout Universal Hollywood’s event. They largely served as homages to the creative team and past events.

At the entrance to the Horrors of Blumhouse, I spotted a missing-child poster similar to those in “The Black Phone. ” It featured the name and imagery of the event’s creative director, John Murdy. As a longtime fan, I appreciated these little touches.

My second-favorite house was also at both events. The “Halloween” house is in Orlando and Hollywood. Carly CaramannaAs a fan of classic slasher films, I loved the “Halloween” house featured at both events.

Based on the iconic 1978 John Carpenter film, the haunted house was like chronologically stepping into the film, as you moved scene by scene. Both events collaborated with The Weeknd. The Weeknd has a haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights.

Carly CaramannaThe creative teams of both events collaborated with popular artist The Weeknd for a haunted house: The Weeknd After Hours Nightmare. It featured original mixes of tracks from the singer’s “After Hours” album. On both coasts, this house was really fun.

It relied more on gore than traditional frights. At Universal Hollywood, I also really enjoyed the “Killer Klowns From Outer Space” house. “Killer Klowns From Outer Space” house at Universal Hollywood.

Carly CaramannaI was particularly excited to see my favorite movie come to life, exclusively at Hollywood’s event. The returning haunted house for “Killer Klowns From Outer Space” is done exceptionally well. I felt like I was stepping into the cult-classic film and was really impressed by the costuming.

Hollywood had a new house that previously debuted in Orlando. Scarecrow: The Reaping haunted house at Universal Hollywood. Carly CaramannaMy favorite original house in Hollywood was Scarecrow: The Reaping.

This farmhouse-themed haunted house originally premiered in Orlando in 2021, but it just made its way to the West Coast event. I was amazed by the elaborate set design and the creativity that went into the original storyline, which was developed just for the Universal theme parks. I liked the original offerings at Universal Orlando, too.

Bugs: Eaten Alive is a haunted house in Orlando. Carly CaramannaOne of my favorite houses that was only at Orlando was Bugs: Eaten Alive. Over a million bugs were featured in this haunted house, and it had a very 1950s kitschy feel.

Hollywood didn’t have as many scare zones, but the actors were incredibly talented. The scare actors were frightening on the West Coast. Carly CaramannaI found Hollywood’s scare zones to be a bit more intense.

These are highly themed areas featuring roaming characters, known as scare actors. The actors were very interactive with guests and more in your face than I’ve found at Orlando — although at both events the performers aren’t able to touch guests. Universal Orlando’s scare zones were much bigger.

The Pumpkin Lord at Universal Orlando. Carly CaramannaOrlando’s event had five scare zones, each with its own storyline. My favorite was right upon entering the event.

It featured the Pumpkin Lord, who interacted with guests. Entertainment from the Death Eaters from “Harry Potter” was exclusive to Hollywood. The Death Eaters only perform in Hollywood.

Carly CaramannaAt Universal Hollywood’s event, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was previously a safe and scare-free zone. But this year, it added Death Eaters, a group of villainous wizards and witches led by Lord Voldemort. This proved to be a highlight of my visit — the characters were really creepy.

And because there was so much fog, it was difficult to spot them before they scared you. I loved Orlando’s entertainment including the “Nightmare Fuel” show. “Nightmare Fuel” at Universal Orlando.

Carly CaramannaOrlando’s entertainment was a highlight, including “Halloween Nightmare Fuel: Wildfire. “The high-energy stage show is a sequel to the original from last year. It combined acrobatics and dance set to metal and rock music.

Hollywood’s culinary offerings were smaller but still fun. Killer Klown sundae at Universal Hollywood. Carly CaramannaHollywood’s food offerings weren’t as plentiful as Orlando’s, but I love that the park tapped into the local food scene.

One of my favorite spots is Dia De Los Muertos Plaza, which has unique cocktails and dishes highlighting local flavors. Pizza fries, which are a longtime favorite at the Orlando event, also made their West Coast debut this year. But overall, my favorite food in Hollywood was “Killer Klowns” themed.

The haunted-house area had food booths, one of which sold a sundae that was both delicious and visually appealing. I was impressed by the variety of food options in Orlando. The pepperoni-pizza skull from Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights.

Carly CaramannaOrlando’s event offered more food and beverages than ever before with an impressive 75 dishes and cocktails available exclusively at the event. I had some clear favorites, like a pepperoni-pizza skull and the ever-popular pizza fries. The Weeknd After Hours Nightmare Bar was also really popular in Hollywood.

The Weeknd had a bar at Universal Hollywood. Carly CaramannaOne of the most popular offerings at Universal Hollywood was The Weeknd After Hours Nightmare Bar. The stand was very immersive, with plenty of red backlighting.

 I loved the immersive nature of the food booths in Orlando. The food booths were cleverly themed. Carly CaramannaAlong with the seasonal offerings, the food booths themselves were highly themed in Orlando.

 I was most impressed by Meetz Meats, which featured many props.  Universal Hollywood is the only event with the Terror Tram, and it’s one of the coolest attractions. We got to see some of the “Nope” set on the Hollywood Terror Tram.

Carly CaramannaAs an event exclusive to Universal Studios Hollywood, the World-Famous Studio Tour is given an annual ride overlay to become Terror Tram. It’s usually my favorite attraction every year, and it didn’t disappoint.  The ride begins on a moving tram vehicle, but the bulk of the experience is spent walking through real iconic Hollywood sets, including the house used in “Psycho.

“My favorite part of Terror Tram was the “Nope” set. The actual set pieces from Jordan Peele’s movie were recently moved to the World-Famous Studio Tour/Terror Tram. Actors portraying characters from both “Nope” and “Us” were also featured.

It was absolutely thrilling walking through the real set, and the addition of characters and lighting made this really fun. Terror Tram ends with a meet and greet with Hollywood Harry, an original character created by the event. Unlike anything in Hollywood, Orlando’s food and entertainment offerings extended beyond the parks.

The Dead Coconut Club extends the Halloween event outside of the park. Carly CaramannaAt City Walk, which you don’t need a ticket for, guests are free to visit the Dead Coconut Club, a bar/club that celebrates the classic Universal monsters. I enjoyed tiki-style drinks in a party-like atmosphere, which was made more immersive through music and decor.

Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort also celebrated classic Universal monsters with an elaborate walkthrough exhibit. Exclusive to Universal resort guests, this featured several photo opportunities that were really fun and enhanced my experience. I was super impressed with the merch in Hollywood this year.

There was some “Nope”-themed merch. Carly CaramannaUniversal releases new merchandise every year for the event, but I was especially impressed with the options in Hollywood. My favorites included annual-passholder exclusives themed after “Killer Klowns From Outer Space,” including work done by a local artist.

I also loved the wide variety of merch available for the Terror Tram. Tribute Store is unique to Orlando, and it’s one of my favorite experiences. There are plenty of Easter eggs throughout the Tribute Store.

Carly CaramannaThe Tribute Store is a returning favorite that’s unique to Orlando. The multiroom space is part merchandise shop and part walk-through exhibit, with several highly themed rooms. I loved both events and will continue to visit them each year.

I love going to Halloween Horror Nights. Carly CaramannaOverall, I absolutely loved both events and found the scares were plentiful — neither is for the faint of heart. Each was a truly immersive experience, and they felt like one big Halloween party.

I had favorite houses at each location, but I thought the actors were scarier on a whole in Hollywood. Although I loved the entertainment in Orlando, the Terror Tram in Hollywood served as one of my favorite experiences at either event. Both Hollywood and Orlando had a nice variety of food, and I felt it was well worth the visit to each coast.

Read the original article on Insider.