DESTINATIONS THE US |ORLANDO
Orlando RESORT
UNIVERSAL
Universal Orlando Resort comprises four parks. Here’s the lowdown.
EPIC UNIVERSE: Five
zones make up this new park, which opened in May. Among its 11 rides is the intense
Stardust Racers, which soars along a huge, twisting track at a speedy 62mph. I was most wowed by Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry,
where the queueing area is one of the most spectacular theme park creations I’ve seen.
ISLANDS OF
ADVENTURE: Hogsmeade and Jurassic Park are among the eight ‘lands’ here, and
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
(which opened in 2019) is one of the most exhilarating rides I’ve ever been on. The
Jurassic World VelociCoaster here is Universal’s fastest
rollercoaster, reaching 70mph.
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA: The original park has never lost its charm. Harry Potter: Escape from Gringotts is the standout ride with its
groundbreaking tech, while the original E.T. Adventure from 1990 is charmingly nostalgic.
VOLCANO BAY: Universal’s tropical-inspired
water park is just as fun-filled as those on dry land, with multiple slides, a lazy river and Krakatau – a half-coaster, half-slide,
where you whizz along in a raft with plenty of twists and turns. Three sheer-drop, trap-door slides add extra adrenaline and I screamed my way down one of them in terror.
HOUSE RULES If the Grave of Flesh house had me feeling like I’d been cursed (and doing a little cursing of my own along the way), the nine others were just as intense. Half have been inspired by films and franchises, while the other half were dreamed up by Universal’s creative team. Standouts for me included Terrifier, where a crazed, laughing Art the Clown hacked away at a series of gory bodies and I came out drenched in ‘blood’ (thankfully just water); and El Artista, a beautifully designed manor house where opulent statues, paintings, a cool breeze and floral scents transported us into the 19th-century Spanish home and garden of a tortured artist. Other house encounters ranged from possessed dolls to a 6ft-tall beast, masked WWE wrestlers to a slew of legendary horror film characters – not least the machete-wielding, serial killer Jason from Friday the 13th, and the creepy animatronic bear robots from the more recent Five Nights at Freddy’s. The sets were genuinely amazing, and the actors
certainly succeeded in scaring the living daylights out of me and my fellow companions.
SCARE ZONES
Beyond the houses, I wandered through four mystical outdoor ‘scare zones’, where more actors paraded around with stirring special effects. At a ‘Masquerade Dance with Death’, I rubbed shoulders with elaborately masked ‘vampires’, as ethereal violet lights dappled the street and funereal music played in the background.
50 18 SEPTEMBER 2025 In another zone, giant, blood-spattered cats
surrounded me while characters wielding various dismembered body parts hobbled by on skates to a soundtrack of chainsaws. It was quite surreal, offsetting the horror with the wow factor that comes with a production of such ambitious scale and creativity.
BEHIND THE SCENES The themes and sets change every year, according to Lora Sauls, assistant director of creative development and show direction for art, design and entertainment at Universal Orlando. But the level of detail is consistent, and the result of more than a year’s worth of planning. “Our process for creating, developing, designing, building, casting and rehearsing for Halloween Horror Nights is over 18 months,” she says. “Our teams start with a creative brainstorm session in April for the following year’s event.”
She explains how the event has grown from just one
house in 1991 to 10 houses today, with visitors coming back again and again to experience the ever-changing creations and to enjoy attractions designed to suit different tastes. “We make sure we have a diverse slate of content so
we feature all aspects of horror,” she adds. “That ranges from the blood, guts and gore to the more haunting scares, so we have something for everyone. Our fans tell us they love the movie-quality scenery, the amazing characters and the fact they get a good scream and a laugh – it’s an amazing atmosphere and I love working on it.”
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travelweekly.co.uk
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Universal Epic Universe; Halloween-themed food and drink; haunted manor house El Artista PICTURES: Universal Orlando Resort
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