Halloween Horror Nights 2025: First Look at Houses and My Express Pass Strategy

Why This Is Trending

Universal Orlando has dropped their first batch of haunted house announcements for Halloween Horror Nights 2025, and horror fans are already buzzing. The announcements came through their official website over the past several weeks, revealing three major houses thus far.

When my 12-year-old saw the Five Nights at Freddy’s announcement, he practically jumped off the couch. As a huge fan of the games (and recent movie), he immediately started talking about Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica coming to life. With this being our first HHN visit, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

What’s Going On

Universal has officially announced three (at the time of this writing - I’ll keep it updated!) haunted houses for HHN 2025:

Jason Universe - The iconic slasher returns with what Universal describes as a terrifying journey through Crystal Lake. According to the official description:

“Come face to face with the iconic horror villain Jason Voorhees. Step into the terrifying world of this silent killer. Flee through the woods and into his sinister shack. Enter the summer camp where his gruesome legend began. Jason is back and nothing can save you now!”

Fallout - Based on the hit video game and recent TV series, this marks Fallout’s first appearance at HHN. Details are still under wraps, but if the recent Amazon show is any indication, we’re in for some serious post-apocalyptic scares.

Five Nights at Freddy’s - The animatronic nightmare that’s terrorized gamers for years is finally coming to life. Universal hasn’t released any details yet, but this is the announcement that has everyone talking. There is even some Reddit speculation that this might not be a typical haunted house. Time will tell!

Breaking Down the Ticket Options

After spending far too long comparing options, here’s what you need to know about the different ways to experience HHN:

Regular Admission

The base ticket gets you into the event but expect to wait. Prices range from $83 on slow September weeknights to $123 on peak October Saturdays. If you’re patient and have multiple nights, or there are only certain houses you are interested in, this could work. The challenge is with 10 promised houses and limited hours (usually 7PM to 2 AM), you’ll be lucky to hit half of them, so weighing cost vs experience is key here.

The Add-On Comparison

Here’s the full breakdown that helped me decide:

Premium Scream Night

This exclusive one-night-only event occurs the night before the rest of the crowd can get in, on Thursday, August 28, 2025. Based on the details, the perks clocking in at $375 include:

• Access to houses with shorter wait times (groups staggered)
• All-you-care-to-enjoy select food and non-alcoholic beverages
• Select alcoholic beverages for additional purchase
• Free self-parking
• Souvenir credential and lanyard
• NEW for 2025: The only opportunity to wear costumes during HHN (following their policy, no masks allowed)

A Dad’s Take

After analyzing everything with my wife (she loves her spreadsheets), I landed on Express Passes for our October Saturday visit. Here’s my reasoning:

Why not regular admission only? With only one night and wanting to experience everything, standing in 90-minute lines is a bit much. I’ve done enough theme park trips to know that “we’ll just wait it out” never ends well when you’re tired and running out of time.

Why not RIP Tour? With the RIP Tour add-on costing $410-$480 plus the $83-$123 admission ticket, we’re looking at $493-$603 per person total. The tour sounds amazing, guided VIP access, behind-the-scenes info, reserved show seating, but a bit too serious money for me personally. The limited availability tells me people find value in it, but for first-timers like us, we want to feel out the experience ourselves first.

Why not Premium Scream Night? At $375 for August 28th only, it’s intriguing, especially with the new costume allowance for 2025. But we’re planning for October, and I want the full Halloween atmosphere that comes with being closer to the actual holiday.

Why Express Pass won. Express Pass add-ons range from $150-$260 depending on the night. Combined with a Saturday October admission ticket ($123), we’re looking at around $380 total per person (admission + Express). It hits the sweet spot. We are happy to control our own schedule on the first visit, hit every house once without massive waits (hopefully!), and still have flexibility to check out any ambient entertainment as time allows. At least in my head, this works!

Pricing Patterns I Noticed

Since I spent a fair amount of time comparing prices, here’s some trends I noticed you might find helpful:

• Weekdays in September are your best bet for lower prices ($83 most nights)
• Fridays and Saturdays command premium pricing (jumping to $96-$123)
• October prices increase overall, with Saturdays hitting that $123 peak
• Halloween night itself is surprisingly reasonable at $98
• Early November offers some relief if you don’t mind post-Halloween horror

Express Pass pricing shows similar patterns:

• September weekdays: $150-$180
• September weekends: $170-$210
• October: $180-$260 (with Saturdays hitting that peak)
• RIP Tours: $410-$480 depending on the night

Remember, these are all add-on prices. You still need that base admission ticket on top of whatever upgrade you choose.

Final Thoughts

With Express Passes secured and these three houses already announced, my first Halloween Horror Nights is shaping up to be epic. Yes, dropping over $300 per person to get scared for 7 hours sounds insane when I type it out, but based on everything I’ve read, the experience is second to none. That said, everyone’s situation is their own. Pick the plan that best suits your budget, time constraints, and level of immersion you are seeking in the experience.

The real question now: which houses will they announce next? Last year had 10 total, and with FNAF being just the beginning, we might be in for Universal’s biggest HHN yet.

I can’t wait to write the review article when all is said and done!