Halloween Horror Nights is one of the best Halloween events in the world. That reputation has also made it one of the most crowded events in the world, bringing thousands of people to Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando every day it operates. For the sake of this article, we’ll be focusing on Universal Studios Hollywood. The Universal Express pass acts as a Fast Pass, allowing you to bypass most of the line and get to the actual haunted house faster. It also means that you’ll get put in the front of a group when they let people in. For the people who want to pay up, it’s definitely a nice option. Those 120-180 minute waits for some Halloween Horror Nights houses are daunting.

They’re not daunting when you know the guide to getting around Halloween Horror Nights and taking the perfect route through all the houses. Using a tried and true method that’s worked for the three years that they’ve been back since 2020 will get you in the park and out, getting through all the houses before closing time. But first, we’ll have to look at a map so you know when and where everything is.

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Following the map, two things are apparent. Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count/Universal Monsters: Unmasked are really far away, and so are the four houses on the lower lot. So, what are you supposed to do about that?

1. Go Immediately To Chucky And Universal Monsters When Halloween Horror Nights Opens

Both of these houses are by the Curious George parking lot; and require trekking through The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter to the parking lot. It’s quite a walk. However, there’s nothing else to do down here besides use the restroom, once you’ve done both of these houses. Also, if it’s still light out, these houses are both pretty-lightproof. So you won’t be bothered by the last remnants of sunlight. Some of the lower lot houses get packed, but they don’t average a higher wait time than Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count. Which hits as high as 120 minutes and holds that for almost the entire night.

Universal Monsters: Unmasked doesn’t hit that high, but it can still be quite a lengthy wait. Once you realize that everyone heads all the way down to the Lower Lot when the park opens to do Stranger Things 4 and The Last Of Us, you can get these out of the way in about 20 minutes or less. Then you don’t have to walk down here ever again.

2. Hit Evil Dead Rise and Monstruos: The Monsters Of Latin America

These two houses are not only my two favorite from the event, but they routinely have a low wait time around an hour to two hours after the park opens for Horror Nights. People just seem to bypass them entirely and head down to the lower levels of the park. That’s the human psychology that we’ll take advantage of. “Oh we’ll just get the ones that take a long time out of the way, these’ll be shorter when we’re done.”

Wrong. They won’t be. These two don’t take all that much time, and they seem to have better pacing for Horror Nights employees sending people through. You’ll get your scares, and then have plenty of time for other houses and attractions during the event.

3. Hopefully, It’s Dark To Do The Terror Tram: Exterminatorz

Surprisingly, the Terror Tram can get pretty busy. It’s also important to remember that the Terror Tram closes before the park does. On nights that they’re open until 2:00 AM, the Tram closes between 12:30 AM and 12:45 AM. Now, if the park is incredibly busy, the Terror Tram could end up as a nightmare. They really try to pack people into the tram, and then once you’re on the backlot, there’s the possibility of a major human traffic jam. It happened to ruin one of my times riding the tram, but depending on the night, it might be fine.

That’s four out of the nine attractions (not counting The Purge: Dangerous Waters or Blumhouse: Behind the Screams) already out of the way. If you’re interested in those attractions, it changes the math a bit, especially for The Purge, because they only run it at certain times, and it doesn’t go all the way until the park closes.

4. Time For The Lower Lot, Or Food

Grabbing food just to give more time for the people who rushed to the Lower Lot to get through their houses before you head down might be a smart bet. The food at the event is pretty great, and there are plenty of options between Chucky’s True Classic BBQ, Little Cocina, Surfer Boy Pizza, Mummy Eats, and other dining.

For this 2023 event, four of the houses are concentrated on the lower lot with Stranger Things 4, The Last of Us, The Exorcist: Believer, and Holidayz In Hell. Stranger Things 4 and The Last Of Us are both the “main event” houses that routinely get the longest lines capping out at 180 minutes. Luckily, by the middle of the night, they both seem to cool off to a more reasonable 60-90-minute wait. That’s about as long as you should wait, but Universal does the nice trick of making the wait times look longer than they actually are. The Last Of Us has a bit of a delay because they have to reset the house entrance for every group that goes in. That actually makes walking through the house better because it’s not as crowded.

It’s really up to you and the wait times for what you do between those two houses first. Or you can hit The Exorcist: Believer and Holidayz In Hell back-to-back. Those two get a bit longer as the night goes on. It seems like people are saving them for last on their trip to the lower lot.

5. Repeat Any That You Can And Head Home

If you time it perfectly, and you make the right route, you should comfortably get through all nine major attractions and houses before the park closes. While everyone is done with the Lower Lot, they head back up and clog the lines for the parking lot and courtyard houses. When Chucky hits a two-hour wait, The Last of Us and Stranger Things seem to die down. It’s all about the timing of your visit.

Also, if you want to fork over the extra $10-15 for early access, that makes everything even easier. You can get Stranger Things 4 (the first house of the night to open) out of the way and then head to Chucky and Universal Monsters.

I know for those of you out there, it’s tempting to see and hear about gargantuan lines and want to grab the Express Pass or even the RIP Tour. Those are still very worth it if you want to go at your own pace. Or if you want to get in and out as fast as possible. But for those out there who don’t want to give Universal Studios any more money than the ticket and some food, it’s still possible to get through everything you want to in a night.

Grab tickets for Halloween Horror Nights 2023 right here.

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