Will Halloween Horror Nights Come to Universal's NEW Epic Universe Theme Park?

The question remains whether Universal’s most iconic event will come to its newest theme park.

©Universal

As Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) approaches its 33rd anniversary in the Fall of 2024, there’s no doubt that the annual event has become one of Universal’s most beloved trademarks, with a veritable army of fans devouring news and rumors year-round about what houses are coming to Orlando, Hollywood, and Japan that season. Given that stature, it’s no surprise that many are speculating as to whether HHN will be coming to Universal’s hotly anticipated Epic Universe theme park.

While no one can definitely say whether Halloween Horror Night will be coming to Epic Universe – though we do have some educated guesses to share below – there’s no doubt that the new park would have the PERFECT land for it: Dark Universe.

Dark Universe Portal – Universal

Arguably the most anticipated of Epic Universe’s “portals”, Dark Universe is going to give die-hard Universal fans something they’ve been craving for decades: A fully immersive land dedicated to the Universal Monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolf Man.

©Universal

Dark Universe is said to include Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, a massive dark ride that will include encounters with “Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and a new character named Dr. Victoria Frankenstein” according to Universal. In addition, the land is also set to feature a second attraction, Curse of the Werewolf, a spinning family coaster, as well as heavily themed shopping and dining. Most notably, The Burning Blade Tavern, a highly anticipated dining location whose name is reminiscent of a famous scene from Universal’s version of Frankenstein.

via bioreconstruct on X/Twitter

Everything about Dark Universe makes it seem like the perfect location for Universal to go all out with Halloween decor and seasonal additions all focused on the classic stable of monster characters, and we do believe that’s likely to happen. However, back to our aforementioned educated guess, it seems unlikely that Halloween Horror Nights will come over to Epic Universe in full.

“It’s alive! It’s alive!” is incribed on the portal to Dark Universe at Universal Epic Universe. ©Universal

For starters, since Epic Universe will be the first full-scale theme park to open in Orlando in over 25 years, it seems pretty clear that the park will be dealing with large crowds on its own already. Universal would likely see no need to exacerbate this situation by bringing on the Horror Nights. In addition, Epic is located relatively far from Universal Studios Florida and does not have the infrastructure of large soundstage buildings and open areas that the Studios park uses for its haunted houses and scare zones respectively.

Scare zone

While there will almost definitely be Halloween theming and events in the perfectly-produced-for-them Dark Universe section of the park, it seems unlikely that Halloween Horror Nights will expand into the park in full for the foreseeable future. Stay tuned to AllEars for more updates on Epic Universe and Halloween Horror Nights.