We took our 10 and 12 year olds to Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights and this is what happened! My husband and I are Halloween freaks and we’ve been counting down the years we could experience this with our beloved children.
I knew that my 10 year old daughter would probably be more open to this than my 12 year old son. She has loved scary movies since she came out the womb LOL! But my son on the other hand, is not a fan. BUT they have had no choice but to love our Halloween silliness over the years. He wasn’t as excited about visiting Universal #HHN19 but alas, tickets were bought and there was no turning back!
Here’s how I prepped the kids on what to expect.
- I told them to look up videos on the haunted house walkthroughs.
- I reminded them it’s all fake.
- I assured them that none of the dressed up zombies would touch them but they WOULD get in their face hahahaha!
- I explained that going was a privilege and once in a blue moon opportunity, as taking a family is not cheap, so they had to appreciate it.
- I reminded them that Fear was False Evidence Appearing Real and amped them up getting them excited and gave them a speech right before we entered the park.
How did they react?
We had early entry tickets and express passes so we were able to get on a handful of rides prior to the actual Horror Nights. Once Halloween Horror Nights began, it was still daylight so that helped. However, the hype was too much for my son. We went to the Ghostbusters haunted house first thinking that would be the least scary. Well he had hyped himself up so much in his head that he did NOT open his eyes at all. He walked through with his eyes closed the entire time, clinging to my arm!
Not how I expected to start, but his feelings were his feelings and I had to help him work through them, in the moment, in the middle of all the scary.
The problem was that the next house was none other than Jordan Peele’s US! I was soo excited for this but also nervous myself ha ha! So we kept pushing through. I partnered with my son and my husband with my daughter. She was a trooper doing little dances at the end of each house, but my son, was shaking. But then something magical happened. While waiting in the very short lines (thanks to our express passes), we saw all the characters from the Yeti Haunted House walking into their set. They were all decked up, everyone was clapping and they looked so cool in the sunlight.
That was the 3rd house and the only haunted house that made me pee on myself! Yes ladies and gentlemen, the Yeti haunted house scared me so much, I screamed so loud that I peed on myself! lol! Not a full blown, all over my pants type thing, cause women who have my problem are always ready (read about it here). But I told my son, “Oh My God”, I just peed lmao and he was cracking up!
From there on out, it was easier, with every house, he became more relaxed and started to enjoy them. By the end of the night, he was so proud of himself and mama witch was proud too!
So what you’re all really here to find out is, should you take your children to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights?
Only YOU know your child and your patience level. If you are patient and can see yourself prepping your child(ren) ahead of time and know they will be receptive to you, then do it! There will be a few things that you may not want your child to see. Check out the bootie shaking lady at the top left corner of the pic above. There were 2 of them in this one walkthrough section. There are characters with fake machine saws that will run up to you and make loud scary noises. But overall, it was not too much, it was awesome!!!! And I would do it again!
So, if you’re thinking about going, here are my top tips:
- Get the express pass. We went on a weekday and regular lines were close to an hour long, luckily we never waited more than 15 minutes to get into each house.
- Prepare your kids on what they will see and remind them it’s all fake and fun for Halloween Movies. My son, is now binge watching, Stranger Things, due to the Stranger Things Haunted House and he loves it!
- Dress comfortably, and scream your head off, just don’t pee on yourself HA HA HA!
Have you been to Universal Halloween Horror Nights with your children? What did you think? I saw one lady with an infant and now THAT woman was crazy! lol!
