Is Premium Scream Night worth it? Review of Halloween Horror Nights’ early-access event
Premium Scream Night is a new, $350, early-access event for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida in 2024. Is it worth it?
(Editor’s note: Premium Scream Night was a new event for 2024 and will return for 2025, this year costing $375 and taking place Aug. 28, one evening before HHN’s Aug. 29 opening night.)
By Matt Dobrovolsky
Have you ever wanted to experience the “premier Halloween event in Orlando” with low crowds and all-you-care-to-enjoy food? Well, the new Premium Scream Night at Universal Studios Florida meets those qualifications tenfold!
Previously, the only way you could experience Halloween Horror Nights prior to opening night was if you were a team member of Universal Orlando. New this year, the Premium Scream Night was a separate, upcharge event prior to opening night costing $350 per person (or $325 if you have an annual pass to Universal Orlando). For comparison, a normal, one-night ticket to HHN starts at $83 and increases depending on the date.
Universal marketed Premium Scream Night as limited capacity, and said entry to haunted houses would be staggered by group (meaning guests wouldn’t enter the house in a continuous moving line like usual). Personally, this appealed to me immediately.
Low crowds at Premium Scream Night
So how did the actual event stack up to what was advertised? The main attraction of Premium Scream Night was the limited capacity, and Universal delivered! Average wait times for the haunted houses were under 15 minutes all night long. Compare those to the wait times you will typically see on an average night: 30 minutes is a low wait on normal nights, and typical waits are 60-120 minutes. Some can get even higher.
Photos by Caleb Smith
(Tip: On normal HHN nights, most houses located in the back of the park tend to have low waits during the first and last 90 minutes of the event.)
Staggering the groups into the houses also allowed guests to get scared at every opportune moment.
Additionally, with the lack of crowds, you could easily walk a scare zone and have one-on-one moments with various scare actors.
Unlimited food and beverages
In addition to the low crowds, guests also received unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages at Premium Scream Night. All special kiosks for HHN were open, with the entire menus available. We were able to try fish and chips, falafels, walking tacos, and plenty of desserts! In our group, we easily would have spent $100 EACH on all the food we got!
Photo courtesy of Universal
Was Premium Scream Night worth it?
In the end, was Premium Scream Night worth $350 per person? If you ask me, I would say yes immediately!! I really hope Universal does this event again for years to come — and more importantly, keeps the crowd levels low. This was the most enjoyable night of Halloween Horror Nights I have ever experienced!
Matt’s review reflects his experience as a ticket-purchasing guest. Attractions Magazine was not hosted by Universal Orlando for Premium Scream Night.
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