Are the Wait Times Really That Bad at Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights? We Found Out

Universal’s premier Halloween event is finally here — Halloween Horror Nights 33 has begun!

And while we’re chowing down on some tasty snacks, marveling at the sight of roaming Death Eaters around Diagon Alley, and grabbing all the seasonal merch we can get our hands on, there’s one thing we’ve got to talk about — the crowds!

Year 33 of  Halloween Horror Nights has officially kicked off and with that comes all the frights and thrills Universal Orlando can back into one immersive experience for its visitors. This event is home to 10 haunted houses, 5 scare zones to walk through as you roam around the park, a live entertainment show, and several food booths offering event exclusive eats and treats.

This is an event that’s known to draw the crowds as folks venture out to face some of their worst nightmares realized right before their eyes. We knew to anticipate some longer lines for when we stopped by each haunted house, went into the seasonal tribute store to check out the event merchandise, and picked up some grub to give our voices a rest from all the screaming since a few of the event’s ticket tiers had already sold out well before opening night!

We entered the park with a Scream Early ticket. This is an additional cost to the regular Halloween Horror Nights ticket but it allows you to enter Universal Studios at 3PM. That way you can line up for a house!

If you are not already inside the park in a Stay & Scream area, the event officially opens its gates at 6:30PM and the event runs until 2AM.

Here’s what the wait times were like about an hour after the gates opened:

• A Quiet Place: 80 minutes
• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: 60 minutes
• Insidious: The Further: 60 minutes
• Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines: 50 minutes
• Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America: 45 minutes
• Slaughter Sinema 2: 60 minutes
• The Museum: Deadly Exhibits” 50 minutes
• Major Sweets Candy Factory: 75 minutes
• Goblin’s Feast: 60 minutes
• Triplets of Terror: 50 minutes

The crowds we didn’t expect? The food stands! We’ve seen lines before and it’s normal to wait a little bit…but at the Ghostbusters Food Kiosk, employees were warning people about a 30+ minute wait.

And that’s how long it took to grab one of these babies — the Minie Stay Puft S’more!

Then we did another wait time roundup at 9PM. Here’s what they looked like:

• A Quiet Place: 80 minutes
• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: 75 minutes
• Insidious: The Further: 70 minutes
• Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines: 75 minutes
• Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America: 45 minutes
• Slaughter Sinema 2: 75 minutes
• The Museum: Deadly Exhibits” 45 minutes
• Major Sweets Candy Factory: 80 minutes
• Goblin’s Feast: 60 minutes
• Triplets of Terror: 85 minutes

Take a look at the house wait times at 10PM:

• A Quiet Place: 85 minutes
• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: 90 minutes
• Insidious: The Further: 75 minutes
• Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines: 75 minutes
• Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America: 60 minutes
• Slaughter Sinema 2: 75 minutes
• The Museum: Deadly Exhibits” 65 minutes
• Major Sweets Candy Factory: 60 minutes
• Goblin’s Feast: 60 minutes
• Triplets of Terror: 60 minutes

So overall, nothing out of the ordinary. We’ve definitely seen worse wait times (especially last year with all of the super popular houses including Stranger Things), but the most popular this year seem to be A Quiet Place, Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

We’re out experiencing everything there is to do at the opening night of Halloween Horror Nights so be sure you’re following along with us so you don’t miss a beat!

Universal Studios Is Hosting a Brand-New Event With the Creators of Halloween Horror Nights

Which of this year’s Halloween Horror Nights houses are you most excited to see? Tell us in the comments below!

Disclosure: We were invited by Universal to attend Halloween Horror Nights as media. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.