As the final weekend of the Halloween Seasonal Experience (or HHNLite as some called it) was approaching, rumors circulated that a Beetlejuice haunted house was going to open at Universal Studios Orlando in addition to “The Bride of Frankenstein Lives” and the “Revenge of the Tooth Fairy” houses. While most people were quick to dismiss this rumor, others held onto hope. As if someone said the ghost with the most’s name three times, a picture of the outdoor facade was leaked two days before Halloween.
On our way out from drinks at Hard Rock Hotel tonight we spotted something very exciting which very well may confirm some strong rumors. 🤔 🤔 #Beetlejuice #hhn #universal #hhn30 #hhnforever #horrornights @Coastercrew #orlando #Halloween #studios pic.twitter.com/hY9bTHPOLT
— Amusement Insider (@AmusementInside) October 30, 2020
While nothing was officially announced, I decided to test my luck and arrived at Universal Studios Orlando incredibly early on October 31st for the sole purpose of getting to see this new haunted house. As I was walking into the park, the Universal Orlando Resort App pretty much gave confirmation that this house was going to open with it now appearing among the other two haunted houses.
It’s showtime! pic.twitter.com/bNV6ZYOVCC
— Just Jake (@ThatJakeKid91) October 31, 2020
The app let me know two very important things about this haunted house, one being the description. SLIGHT SPOILER WARNING!
“Enter the world of the original film, more twisted and terrifying than ever. Wander checkered hallways and through the model graveyard as the infamous bio-exorcist, Beetlejuice, haunts you, taunts you and torments you at every turn. It’s showtime!”
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The other piece of information the app gave was critical regarding how guests could enter the Beetlejuice haunted house. They couldn’t just walk into a standby line, but instead, they had to get a virtual line pass. For those of you that don’t know, virtual line passes essentially let you wait in line for an attraction by reserving a time on the Universal Orlando app in lieu of standing in a physical queue.
These passes happened to drop at around 7:45 A.M., about 15 minutes before the park opened to all guests (it opened at 7 A.M. just for passholders). My friends and I managed to snag virtual queue times, while others weren’t so lucky. People immediately went to Twitter and scolded Universal for opening a haunted house with no warning at all. They did have a point, considering that Universal’s first official confirmation regarding this house was in response to an unhappy customer.
Hi there! We wanted to surprise in-park Guests with access to the Beetlejuice haunted house as the ultimate Halloween treat for this weekend only. We apologize for any inconvenience.
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) October 31, 2020
Opening this house on a weekend was also infuriating to most passholders since Universal sent out an email the week before that basically told them to not go to the parks.
Universal Orlando sending email to passholders urging them to consider visiting on a weekday rather than the weekend for the next couple weeks. Parks are expected to reach (their limited) capacity on the next two weekends as we get to Halloween. pic.twitter.com/dWXIo6wIZH
— Alicia Stella (@AliciaStella) October 23, 2020
The good news was that now that the house was confirmed to be open Saturday AND Sunday, the people who missed out on it the first day could check it out the next. I’m not going to talk about whether or not this house should’ve opened, but you can’t deny that Universal was giving incredibly mixed messages to its guests.
The house officially opened at 10 A.M. (which was the case for both Saturday and Sunday), causing guests to crowd around its portal (A.K.A. its entrance) located near the entrance of the “A Day in the Park with Barney” attraction.
Unfortunately, the house was officially at capacity about two minutes after the virtual line passes were dropped. On Saturday more virtual line passes were released throughout the day, but on Sunday that initial drop was your only chance of getting into the house. There was never an option for a traditional standby queue.
After my ticket was scanned, we finally entered the queue. It was socially distanced using the stickers that have been seen in the queues of every attraction in the park. It took about five minutes to finally make it to the front of the house.
I will be giving NO SPOILERS of what is inside of the house besides some of the safety procedures, so don’t worry.
Before I entered the building, I was given hand sanitizer by a team member. Inside of the house, everyone was socially distanced from one another. Just like in “The Bride of Frankenstein Lives” and “Revenge of the Tooth Fairy”, groups were pulsed into the building. You would never be in the same room with another party. All of the scares that involved scare actors were behind plexiglass, and the number of scare actors was (I assume) drastically reduced. It also seemed like, towards the end of the house, effects were missing as well.
Even with all of these procedures, my party and I thoroughly enjoyed the house. In fact, almost every single person that I saw walking out of it left with a huge smile on their face. Twitter seems to agree, praising the house for its creativity and its fun atmosphere.
With rumors pointing to this house returning for Halloween Horror Nights 30, you all are in for a real treat. Until then, I’ll be listening to the Beetlejuice soundtrack on repeat.
