As the hours tick down and the skies turn gray, darkness descends past the gates of Walt Disney World’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. In that darkness, toward the greater Orlando area, a red beacon throbs: a pulsing lighthouse for those with a more dangerous idea of fun. Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights stands as one of many haunts, including Leu Garden’s Haunting Nights and the Enzian Theatre’s 13+ Films of Halloween.
Halloween Horror Nights:
The staple event of Universal Studios Orlando first opened in 1991, dawning the name ‘Fright Nights’ and spanning three nights. The following year, the event’s name was changed to Halloween Horror Nights. What started as an array of shows/spectacles and a single haunted house attraction has now grown to consist of ten haunted house attractions, five scare zones, and a dance show. In 2024, the most popular (by wait times in minutes) are: “A Quiet Place,” averaging a 69-minute wait; “Insidious: The Further,” averaging a 65-minute wait; and “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” averaging a 55-minute wait. The least popular (by wait times in minutes) are: “Goblin’s Feast,” averaging a 34-minute wait; “Museum: Deadly Exhibit,” also maintaining an average 34-minute wait; and “Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America,” averaging a 37-minute wait.
Opening at 6:30 p.m. and running until 2 a.m., the park offers guests the opportunity to experience the park for seven and a half hours, concealed by the darkness of night. Between houses, guests can experience five scare zones scattered around the entire park as well as ride some attractions, such as Escape from Gringotts, Rip Ride Rockit, Revenge of the Mummy, and Men in Black: Alien Attack.
Warning: this event is not for all ages and features intense and frightening scares and scenes.
Leu Gardens:
Sitting off the side of Corrine Drive lies a 50-acre botanical garden home to Leu Garden’s Haunting Nights: a less intense haunt when compared to Halloween Horror Nights. Between 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., guests can access an hour-long trail of fourteen themed areas, including a Hedge Maze, Garden of Gargoyles, and a Carnivorous Kingdom. The event includes several stops for bars and snacks and a live alien-themed dance show at the Orbit Breakers stage. On the trail, be on a lookout for impressive puppets, including a fourteen-foot-tall witch and a twelve-foot-tall spider. With infrequent scares and little gore, the event acts as a steppingstone to progress into the thrill-seeker lifestyle, bridging the gap from events such as Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party to Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights.
The Enzian Theater:
2.7 miles away from Rollins College, a year-round independent theater spends its October bringing horror to the big screen once again in their 13+ Films of Halloween event. Throughout the month, horror movies such as “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Suspiria,” and “Phantasm” return to the silver screen for a limited time, paying tribute to the genre. The dine-in theater uses non-traditional theater style seating, allowing for a more intimate evening. For example, one row of seating may be lifted bar seats at tables facing the screen, while the row behind may be four chairs placed at a regular dining table facing the left and right walls of the building.
Just outside the theater, the Eden Bar sits on the outside patio next to the building under a wooden roof. On Saturday, October 26, 2024, the Eden Bar was home to the annual Enzian Halloween Party. Cleverly themed for the midnight showing of the 1981 camp slasher, “The Burning,” the building’s exterior dawned summer camp flags and featured an array of classic summer camp activities. The 21+ party allowed guests to engage with one another over themed drinks at the bar, a friendship bracelet-making table, a campfire to hear spooky stories, and a costume party. Lasting four hours, starting at 8 p.m. and ending at midnight, the event began to wind down at 11 p.m. for the costume contest. Throughout the night, a “camp counselor” walked around and handed out slips of paper reading, “You’ve been tapped for the Costume Contest. Please make your way to the Dance Floor at 11 PM.” The contest took place in parts, separated by type of costume. The categories included scary, silly, and couples/groups. The winners were chosen by audience applause levels moderated by another “camp counselor.” After the contest, the Halloween party ended with a midnight screening of “The Burning” as the party members were able to step inside the theater for the first time that night. Collective screams, boos, and laughter erupted from the theater as costumed groups and couples watched the movie.
Drawing ever so near to All Hallows Eve, Orlando’s Halloween scene offers events and scares for screamers of all kinds. Whether it is through horror movies at the Enzian, a spooky botanical trail at Leu Gardens, or haunted houses at Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights, Orlando gives its residents and visitors an assortment of more intense Halloween offerings, tailored to the intensity levels of all individuals.
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