Halloween Horror Nights and Costume Ideas

One of the benefits of being in a sorority is the opportunity to go and cross things off of the bucket list that you don’t think that you would really ever do. For example, I always told myself that I would always go to Universal and Halloween Horror Nights. The truth is that I do not like being scared, so while I told myself I would try it at least once, I had no intention of paying for the chance to pee my pants in public.

But since the chance came along to go with my sorority, I took the chance to cross this off of my bucket list and go with a good friend.

Halloween Horror Nights (HHN)

Living in Orlando, I have heard so many tips about going through the scare zones, mostly because I ask for them. Yes, I love Halloween, but I love everything that doesn’t involve scaring the daylights out of me. It’s very obvious that this was not the event for me.

I’m going to say that none of the so-called tricks worked for me. I tried looking happy and carefree as I went through the scare zones, and that just motivated the scare actors to try harder and chase me places with their chainsaws. I tried getting a drink and walking through these zones, and the scare actors did not care at all. It was like I was a scare-actor magnet. My friend ended up losing her voice with all her screams.

My friend and I standing in front of the Universal logo together.
My friend and I standing in front of the Universal logo together.

We went through the scare zones, and we went through three of the houses in the time that we were (keep in mind a single wait line is about an hour). In order, my favorites would be Seeds of Extinction, Slaughter Sinema, then Trick ‘r Treat. Granted, I wanted to hide my eyes on my friend’s shoulder, but I think I caught enough to have favorites.

My advice for HHN? One, don’t go unless you truly enjoy getting scared. Two, bring friends to enjoy all of the fun with you. Three, get a fast pass if your plan is to get through all or a majority of the houses; alternative three, if you don’t get fast passes, bring something to do in line so that you’re not awkwardly standing. I ended up downloading Heads Up by Ellen DeGeneres and playing it in line.

Universal

I was kind of bummed by the fact that most of the park was closed during HHN, because I was hoping to experience some of it while I was already there. However, I did get to experience some of the things that I really wanted to.

Recently, I read the Harry Potter books, so I really wanted to go to Diagon Alley and drink Butterbeer. It was so cool to see this part of the park open, and I was not disappointed. It looked so real, and so lit up. While I didn’t get to ride any of the rides, I got to see the dragon breathe fire on top of Gringotts.

Me and my friend at Diagon Alley underneath the dragon that broke out of Gringotts Bank.
Me and my friend at Diagon Alley underneath the dragon that broke out of Gringotts Bank.

In the end, I think all the scares were worth the small experience I got. I have memories that I hope to never forget with an amazing person, and I would do it again.

Costume Ideas…

With Halloween around the corner, I recently wrote a HerCampus article with a bunch of costume ideas. It’s called “Costume Ideas for Your Astrological Sign”, and it’s published as of now, so feel free to head over there to give it a read if you don’t know what you’re going to be yet.

What do you think? Would you go to HHN, or would you rather try the more tame Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween? Is there a part of Universal or Islands of Adventure that you think I should look forward to?

Love Always,

Kristi My♥