Tips to Survive Halloween Horror Nights When It's Not 'Your Thing'

5 Tips to Survive Halloween Horror Nights

Do your friends or family insist you go with them to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando Resort despite your desperate pleas? Are you terrified just watching the commercials and viewing online coverage? Is Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party much more your speed? If you answered yes to any of these, we have some things in common.

Since I’ve been to Halloween Horror Nights the past two years despite my better judgment and I’ve managed to pull through and almost enjoy the events, I’d like to share some of my top tips to survive Halloween Horror Nights.

1. Attend with a Group

Remember that expression that says “there’s safety in numbers”? It applies here. Definitely attend Halloween Horror Nights with a group. In fact, the bigger the group, the better. And if you have someone that’s bigger or taller than you in your group that you can kind of hide behind, that’s the best way to shield yourself from the scares. The more people you can have around you as you move through the houses and scare zones, the safer you’ll feel. Important Note: this works best if at least one person in the group is not afraid or is at least moderately brave. That person needs to go first when you enter the houses – every house!

To illustrate this point, here’s what it’s like to go through a house alone. Your goal is to achieve the opposite of this!

2. Enter the Park as Early as Possible

Enter the park during daylight hours if possible. The later you go in the season, the sooner it will get dark, so do your best to arrive as early as you can. Walking through the scare zones in the dark is pretty intimidating, but if you’ve already walked through them (or at least one of them) during the day, it’s much more manageable to deal with psychologically.

Things are far less scary in broad daylight. Just take a look at the photos below of the MASKerade Unstitched scare zone and The Purge: Anarchy. These don’t look too scary in broad daylight, do they?

Halloween Horror Nights 24 MASKerade; Unstitched

Halloween Horror Nights 24 The Purge Anarchy

Bonus tip: Try not to look scared as you pass through scare zones. The scareactors obviously enjoy scaring people, so if you look squeamish, they’re going to come to you like a magnet. Case in point: hear straight from the mouth of a scareactor about how she enjoys making grown man fear her:

3. Have Some “Liquid Courage”

If you like to drink, you may want to indulge in some “liquid courage” (alcoholic beverages) before you head into the houses. Bars are aplenty at this adults only hard ticket event, so you shouldn’t have a hard time finding one!

Use caution with this approach. I do not recommend overdoing it because you may find yourself needing the bathroom while you’re waiting on the very long lines. And, you know, you don’t want to have an accident if you get really scared! Plus, the houses are dark and sometimes a little tricky to navigate, so you need to be able to get yourself through them! Please drink responsibly.

4. Pay Attention to the Patterns

After a house or two, you will start to notice the general “pattern” of how the scares go. You’ll notice that lights flash and loud sounds happen right before someone is about to jump out at you as you walk through the houses. Lights and sounds are sure signals that something is coming, so prepare yourself – grab the arm member of your group, duck behind the biggest person, etc.

Also, remember to look left and right anytime you turn a corner as you make your way through the houses. There’s a good chance if the path is turning left there might be someone hiding on the right. To avoid getting startled, look both ways at every turn. Alternatively, if you don’t like looking at the gore or scary stuff, just stare at the back of the person in front of you instead! Your friend’s back is probably not scary at all! 🙂

5. Remind Yourself “It’s not real” and Appreciate the Detail

Just keep telling yourself that it isn’t real. I know it sounds silly, but if you just remind yourself that you’re not actually going to get hurt, it helps to ease some of the fear and anxiety that may be building up inside of you. The scareactors are not supposed to touch you, so there really isn’t much to worry about other than being startled, which is going to happen no matter how much you “prepare” yourself. Just keep it in perspective and try to appreciate the incredible creativity and detail that goes into the costumes and sets (and even scents!).

Though it may sound like a bad idea, I think it actually helps to read the descriptions of the houses and scare zones in advance. These can be found on the Halloween Horror Nights web site or in Universal Press Releases. Not only does this give you an idea of what to expect, but it also helps you to remember that these are just stories being portrayed by actors.

Even if you aren’t a horror or gore fan, you can still respect and enjoy these events if you are a theme park fan. It’s hard not to appreciate the painstaking care and detail that has gone into the incredible costumes, terrifyingly realistic makeup, enormous and extensive props and sets, and craft of the skilled scareactors.

If you attend Halloween Horror Nights and it’s “not your thing,” use these tips and know that you can still have fun despite the terror that awaits you!

Happy Halloween!