UniversalParksBlog News for June 8th, 2025

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While you were looking to your left, Universal flanked you on the right.

The theme park waited until everybody had been lulled into a false sense of security, but then they switched to offense.

Photo: Universal

I’ll explain in this week’s UniversalParksBlog News.

Did You Forget?

Credit: Universal

A few years ago, Halfway to Halloween became a thing. Universal Studios used this faux holiday to maximum benefit.

Halfway to Halloween became the signature launching pad for Universal to announce Halloween Horror Nights details.

Credit: Universal

So, fans learned to count down the days until it was Halfway to Halloween, a subject that isn’t as cut and dried as you may think.

Pop the question into an AI, and the response can vary by a week or more. Even if we allow for a gap, the date has long since passed.

Photo: Universal

Technically, it should have been May 1^st or May 2^nd, depending on whether you round up. So, that’s when Universal should have announced something.

Hey, do you remember any other big Universal Studios stories in May? Oh, yeah. I think there was one.

Epic

Yup, Universal chose to hold the Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) news until after Universal Epic Universe had opened.

Honestly, I don’t even blame them. It would have muddied the narrative and stolen a few headlines.

UO

Universal understandably wanted all the focus on its brand-new billion-dollar theme park.

Since that story has vacuumed up all the media attention, you may have forgotten about HHN…until now. SURPRISE!

Epic

Yes, we have news about this year’s Halloween event, starting with two of the huuuuuge House reveals. So, let’s get right to it!

About HHN 2025

Credit: Universal

While I’m a gamer, I never played Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNaF). Honestly, the only reason I knew much about it was because of Christmas.

That’s a weird thing to say, but it’s true. My wife and my niece loved the game. So, we’d buy her FNaF gear at Hot Topic and Box Lunch.

Photo: Universal

Frankly, she was easy to shop for because of her fandom. But I didn’t realize how widespread the game’s popularity was until 2023.

That’s when the movie version of FNaF opened to a record-shattering $80 million. It was also a day-and-date release.

Photo: Universal

That means you could have saved yourself the money and watched it on Peacock that weekend instead.

People did that, too, as FNaF gained a whopping 740 million viewer minutes that week. That film was a juggernaut.

Obviously, the movie’s success happened too soon for any sort of HHN presence in 2023 as nobody saw it coming.

The film’s massive overperformance led to a delay in its HHN presence. Suddenly, Universal became a bit more protective of the brand.

Image: Universal

The studio saved an HHN House for the same year as the release of Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which debuts in theaters on December 5^th.

So, yeah. We’re getting a FNaF House, and it’s going to be epic! That’s not the only big HHN news, either…

The Ghoul Is Coming

Universal

Video games are way in at HHN this year, although not the one I was hoping for.

I’ve been begging and pleading for Resident Evil for a while now, as they’re doing some amazing stuff with this story in Japan.

Photo: intagram@flymco

Alas, Universal has understandably settled on some different scary critters for 2025. Yes, Fallout is getting a House!

If you don’t know what Fallout is, you’ve A) never owned an Xbox and B) don’t subscribe to Amazon Prime Video.

Death Eaters

Should you use either of those things, you’d be inundated with ads to buy/watch/play the Fallout franchise.

The story involves a man who survives a nuclear holocaust but gets turned into a radioactive monstrosity.

Shipyard 32

Actually, he’s the frenemy of the protagonist, who is you in the games. In the television series, it’s a plucky woman who leaves her fallout shelter.

Since her entire society has been holed up indoors for generations, she has no idea of the horrors that await her in the post-nuclear wasteland.

Pizza Skull

Fallout’s first season was one of the biggest hits EVER on Amazon Prime, and the video game franchise has sold more than 60 million copies.

So, this House will be VERY popular since its widespread appeal crosses genres, as is the case with Five Nights at Freddie’s.

Gamers are gonna love this year’s HHN. So, let’s talk specifics about dates, tickets, and whatnot.

HHN 2025 Starts in August

Halloween Horror Nights

Kristin Sabol has been all over this story this week. She posted all the dates and pricing information for HHN 2025.

Here are the dates for this year’s event in Orlando:

• August 29^th – 31^st
• September 3^rd-7^th, 10^th-14^th, 16^th-17^th, 19^th-21^st, 24^th-28^th
• October 1^st-5^th, 8^th-12^th, 15^th-19^th, 22^nd-26^th, 29^th-31^st
• November 1^st and 2nd

Note that Universal Studios Hollywood (USH) doesn’t start until September 4^th. Also, please understand that tickets are already on sale.

Since some of these events may sell out, you should reach out to an agent from Let’s Adventure Travel quickly.

Otherwise, you risk getting shut out, especially on and around Halloween Night. That’s always the most popular timeframe for tickets.

We’ve got 48 (!) nights of HHN this year, giving you plenty of opportunities to visit.

In Hollywood, here are the dates:

• September 4^th-7^th, 11^th-14^th, 18^th-21^st, 25^th-28^th
• October 2^nd-5^th, 8^th-12^th, 15^th-19^th, 22^nd-26nd, 29^th-31^st
• November 1^st-2^nd

Photo: USH

So, that’s 48 nights of horror coming to USH.

On the pricing front, I have good news. Tickets once again start at $82.99 in Orlando and $77 at Hollywood, the same as last year.

Photo: discoveruniversal.com

Premium Scream Night will also return, albeit with a twist. Also, you can skip the lines via the R.I.P. Tour and Unmasking the Horror.

Keep checking back at UPB for more details about the Houses and Scare Zones coming to this year’s event.

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Feature Photo: Universal