Category: Universal Orlando

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights Houses Announced

Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights

If you’ve been eagerly waiting, Universal Studios has finally announced the themes of the 10 haunted houses for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event! They will be the same at both Universal Orlando and Hollywood.

  • Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings
  • Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count
  • Dr. Oddfellow: Twisted Origins
  • Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate
  • Stranger Things
  • The Darkest Deal
  • The Exorcist: Believer
  • The Last of Us
  • Universal Monsters: Unleashed
  • YETI: Campground Kills

For detailed descriptions of each house, visit the Haunted Houses page.

If you don’t know, Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed nighttime event, with 5 scare zones, 10 haunted houses, food, merchandise, and more. Note that some of the scares are pretty intense and gory, so it may be too much for the little ones and the faint of heart. There are plenty of YouTube videos about it if you want to get a sense of what it’s really like first.

This year’s event will take place on select nights after 6:30pm, starting on Sept 1, 2023 at Orlando and Sept 7, 2023 at Hollywood and runs through Oct 31, 2023.

Tickets are on sale now! There are also express passes and hotel packages. This is a very popular event so if you are interested, you may want to buy your tickets ASAP.

For more details or to buy tickets, visit the Horror Nights page:

© UniversalStudios

Oops, today is not June 6th.

Sorry for any confusion!

My post about the Orlando Informer ticket sales starting “today” was supposed to be scheduled to go out the wee early morning of June 6th, but it looks like it got posted this morning, which is the 5th. So ignore all those references to “today”. They actually will go on sale tomorrow, the real June 6th at 10am ET. Sorry again!

Here’s the post again:

Enjoy the rest of today before the ticket sale hunger games tomorrow! LoL

Winter 2023 Orlando Informer Tickets On Sale June 6th

Hogwarts Castle Light Show

Alert! Tickets for the Winter 2023 Orlando Informer events go on sale at 10am ET, June 6, 2023! Queue up early!

The Orlando Informer events give you private evening hours at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure parks in Orlando after their normal closing times. You can ride all the rides with much shorter wait times, enjoy special event bonuses, and indulge in unlimited select food and non-alcoholic beverages from the park restaurants and food stands. Yes, unlimited butterbeer!!

OI ticket holders can then book a Universal resort room for significant savings on June 7th.

The Winter 2023 Orlando Informer dates are:

  • November 17-18
  • December 1-2
  • December 8-9

This year, they are also holding Mini Meetups that just run for several hours in Islands of Adventure park only and are limited to those 18 years+. Tickets for these go on sale today as well.

The Mini Meetup dates are:

  • November 16
  • December 7

You can just buy individual nights or do both nights of one weekend for some slight savings. The registration fee for the OI Meetup is $229 for Friday night, $244 for Saturday night, or $363 for Friday and Saturday, plus processing and tax.

Even though the event’s official start time is after the normal park closing time for that day, you can enter the parks at 5pm and enjoy a few hours of the park rides and shows that may not be available during the Meetup hours. The Winter dates will allow you to see the parks decorated for the holidays and you should be able to catch the iconic Macy’s Christmas parade in Universal Studios if you enter at 5pm.

Universal Macy's Parade

We did our first Orlando Informer event last December and then did another last February. Check out our Dec 2022 Trip Recap for a summary of our experience there. There were events this past weekend too, so you can catch some YouTube videos coming out now. We didn’t go to these this time.

For more details about the events or to buy tickets, visit the Orlando Informer site:

These Orlando Informer events are very limited and extremely popular, so tickets can sell out fast. If you’re interested in going, I recommend you hop online a little before 10am ET and join the virtual queue to buy tix as soon as you can.

If you want to chat about Orlando Informer events, feel free to contact me.

Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights Announced

Universal Orlando Halloween Horror Nights

Ready to be scared?

Universal Orlando just announced the dates for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event!

  • Sept. 1-3, 6-10, 13-17, 20-24, 27-30
  • Oct. 1, 4-8, 11-15, 18-22, 25-29, 31

Tickets are on sale now! There are also express passes and hotel packages. This is a very popular event so if you are interested, you may want to buy your tickets ASAP.

Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed nighttime event, with 5 scare zones, 10 haunted houses, food, merchandise, and more. Note that some of the scares are pretty intense and gory, so it may be too much for the little ones and the faint of heart. There are plenty of YouTube videos about it if you want to get a sense of what it’s really like first.

For more details or to buy tickets, visit the Universal Orlando Horror Nights site.

© UniversalStudios

Universal Mardi Gras

Universal Mardi Gras

At Universal Studios Orlando, Mardi Gras starts today! There will be live concerts, dazzling parades, plenty of beads, and lots of delicious food! This festival will be held on select nights from February 4 – April 16, 2023.

Mardi Gras parade

The main highlight of Mardi Gras is the big parade, right? So, Universal will have a spectacular parade with six new floats straight from New Orleans! Of course, the old favorites will return as well. Check the Universal app for dates and times.

You can catch plenty of beads as a spectator, or you can sign up to throw beads yourself from the floats. Spaces are limited though, so sign up in the Universal app as soon as the Virtual Queue window opens each day or book a float dining package, if available.

Mardi Gras concerts

On select nights, there will be live performances on the Music Plaza Stage, kicking off with Patti LaBelle tonight, Feb 4th! Check the Universal Concert Lineup for the most up to date listing of performers and showtimes.

Mardi Gras foods

Of course, you can’t have a party without food! There will be many new foods this year, as well as some past favorites! Explore traditional Cajun favorites and international dishes inspired by Carnaval celebrations around the world.

Visit the International Flavors of Carnaval menu page to see what foods and beverages each booth is offering. Don’t forget to check out CityWalk and the Universal resorts for their share of Mardi Gras food as well.

For more details on Universal’s Mardi Gras celebration, visit the Mardi Gras event page.

Join in the festivities! We’ll be there!

Feel free to ping me if you’d like to chat about a Universal trip.

Pics © Universal.

Holidays at Universal

Grinch

The holidays have started at Universal Orlando! Join the Grinch, Manheim Steamroller, and our friends in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for all sorts of fun!

See the Grinchmas Wholiday Spectacular for a live retelling of the classic holiday tale starring the Grinch. You can also meet the Grinch himself and Earl the Squirrel, Universal’s mini celebrity, at various times of the day.

Listen to joyous holiday tunes by Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees, the Frog Choir, and the iconic holiday sensation, Manheim Steamroller. Manheim Steamroller will play live performances on the Music Plaza Stage at 7pm on Dec 3, 4, 10, & 11. Admission included with your park ticket.

Hogwarts Castle

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will join in the festivities with holiday decor and the gorgeous projection show against the Hogwarts Castle on most nights from dusk to park close.

Holiday parade

Don’t miss the fun holiday parade featuring the gigantic Macy’s parade balloons, popular Universal characters, and of course, Santa Claus!

Of course, there will be plenty of holiday themed food for your belly and merchandise for your shopping list.

Holiday food

Special events include The Grinch™ & Friends Character Breakfast. Join the mean green one himself and the Whos too for a morning feast. Start your day with a tasty buffet with food and fun for everyone. Additional ticket purchase required.

You can also join in the celebration with the Universal Holiday Tour on this 4.5 hour evening event. Experience special meet and greets, foods, shows, and more during a special walking tour around the parks. Additional ticket purchase required.

We plan to join in the holiday fun at Universal this year. Stay tuned for trip reports. Feel free to contact me if you want to chat about a Universal trip.

Earl the Squirrel
Earl the Squirrel

Pics © Universal

Tropical Storm Nicole

Storm forecast

Update 11/11/2022: As of today, all attractions have reopened, Florida airports have reopened, though will likely take some time for all flights to go back to normal schedules, and cruise ports are reopening, though today’s sailings will still have some impacts. Check with your travel sources for the latest information before going.


Unfortunately, Florida is in the path of another tropical storm, which is expected to turn into a hurricane as it makes landfall on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov 9-10, 2023.

Orlando International Airport has announced that it is stopping commercial operations at 4pm ET on Wednesday Nov 8, 2022. Palm Beach International Airport will close at 9am ET on Wednesday also. No information on any reopenings.

Other Florida airports have not announced closures yet but I suspect flights will still be impacted, so check your flight status if you have any travel booked thru any Florida airports this week.

Disney World has already announced phased park closures between 5-7pm ET on Wednesday night, and staying closed on Thursday. Dining reservations will end early as well. All nighttime shows are cancelled.

Fort Wilderness and other resorts that are more exposed to the elements are closing as well. If you had a reservation, you should be contacted by Disney. All other resorts will remain open.

Water parks and mini-golf at Disney World and Universal Orlando will be closing early on Wednesday and staying closed on Thursday also.

Universal Orlando has announced the Universal Orlando Resort parks and CityWalk, will close early on Wednesday, Nov 9th at 5 pm ET. The Universal hotels will remain operational.

Disney Cruise Line has announced itinerary changes for this week’s sailings in the Bahamas and Caribbean. In addition, due to the storm’s effect on the ports, arrival and departures may be changed. If you have a cruise this week, keep a close eye on your emails for updates.

I’ll update here as I hear of other attraction closures, but I think it’s safe to assume that most will do the same, and that anything on Wednesday evening and all day Thursday will have some impact. Check the locations’ websites and social media channels for the latest information.

I will also have updates on my Instagram, ADVENTURES_BY_ANNE, so follow me there as well.

Here are some weather update pages:

If you will be impacted by this, start preparing and stay safe.

Pic ©The Weather Channel

Universal Orlando phased reopening for resort guests

Universal Orlando

Here is the latest update I’ve seen from Universal Orlando.

Update as of 2pm ET on Sept 30th.

Universal Orlando update

Update as of 9pm ET on Sept 29th.

We continue to conduct assessment and recovery efforts across our entire destination with the safety of our guests and team members being our top priority. We expect to begin a phased reopen of portions of our destination for Universal Orlando Resort hotel guests only beginning Friday, Sept. 30.

We look forward to sharing additional operational updates regarding our reopen, including updates around Halloween Horror Nights and when our destination will be available to all guests. These updates will be shared as soon as possible on our website, social media and via email.

To update travel plans:

Our Guest Contact Center is experiencing high call volume and wait times. The easiest way to modify or cancel Universal Orlando travel plans, including theme park tickets and Halloween Horror Nights event tickets, is to email reservations@universalorlando.com. A Team Member will respond as soon as possible.

We appreciate your patience and look forward to welcoming all guests as soon as it is safe to do so.

©Universal Orlando

*Pic credit to original post online.