Universal's Halloween Event Houses Hit Capacity as Crowds Surge - Inside the Magic

With Universal Orlando Resort bringing back Halloween Horror Nights for its 30th year, it seems that they are also bringing back the crowds that the Park has lacked since summer came to a close. 

As we have been reporting, wait times at both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure have been relatively low, especially compared to what we saw before mid-August, when school resumed. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been able to walk onto The Incredible Hulk Coaster and wait less than 15 minutes on Jurassic World VelociCoaster, which is typically unheard of for the theme park. Of course, there may be days and moments where crowds do form, but overall we have noticed far fewer Guests than what we previously experienced.

Although day Guests may be lucking out when it comes to wait times and crowds, Halloween Horror Nights crowds are swinging in to make up for it. Yesterday evening, we saw massive crowds head to Halloween Horror Nights on a Wednesday! Typically, Friday and Saturday are the more popular days for the event as it runs pretty late, but we notice that Guests are flocking to the event no matter the day.

Christian (@Christian.mov) took to Instagram, co-owner of Escape Visuals, was at the event yesterday and posted plenty of photos that showcased just how busy things were getting. As you can see in the photo below, there was a huge line to enter CityWalk.

Once the event was going, lines for the houses were also quite long. Below, you can see the use of the MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack queue.

Most shockingly, some houses hit capacity! Puppet Theater, one of the more popular houses at the event, hit capacity, and Guests were unable to line up for a while until the line was able to clear.

For those looking to go to the event, there are ways to beat the crowd! If you are an Annual Passholder or going to the Park that day, you can do stay and scream, which will give you access to the lines right away, plus you will have beat the security crowds. I tend to go to the event later in the evening as I have a Frequent Fear pass; there is typically no line for security, and house lines begin to shrink as Guests go home.

Have you been to Halloween Horror Nights yet? What do you think of the crowds?