Universal Orlando Podcast By Orlando Informer

This week, we answer your questions on: renting cabanas at a Universal hotel other than your own, Cinematic Celebration on non-HHN nights, booking vacation packages during the busy season, early entry to HHN, and more!

What's the best and worst haunted house at this year's Halloween Horror Nights – at least, as of opening weekend? Taylor shares his thoughts, and then Marc walks us through all the myriad exclusive culinary options.

This week, we answer your questions on: leaving your baggage at the hotel to spend more time in the parks, squeezing Halloween Horror Nights into one night, how Stay and Scream works, finding elusive characters around the parks, HHN crowds, and more!

HHN is finally here, and, this week, our own Taylor Strickland got a chance to enter Nightingales: Blood Pit before the event started. We also discuss the announcement and dates of the Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle show in Hogsmeade.

We've saved the best for last (of Universal Studios Florida, at least).  We break down all of the attractions, food, and the copious shops in what is arguably Universal Orlando's best theme-park land.

First we discuss how the full Halloween Horror Nights map has a few surprises on it, and then we dive deep into all your questions about the event, about the different tiers of annual passes, gluten-free Thanksgiving dinners, and more!

House of 1,000 Corpses.  Academy of Villains.  Zombieland.  Halloween: Marathon of Mayhem.  Terror Trivia.  Universal unloaded on us this week, releasing a positive deluge of info – and, of course, hype.

With less than a month to go(!), Universal has given us the fourth and final original haunted house, Graveyard Games, and the fifth intellectual-property maze, Us. Both stick out for different reasons, from the cerebral nature of Jordan Peele's 2019 film to the interactive nature of Universal's in-house concept. We answer your questions on:  HHN food, HHN ticket upgrades, and how to keep your annual Universal Orlando trip fresh each and every year.

We took a week off from the news last week (thanks, Mike's baby!) but are now back to quickly touch upon Killer Klowns from Outer Space, the fourth IP haunt.  But who are we kidding?  The really big news is the grand announcement of a brand-new theme park, Epic Universe!  We pore over its concept art, teasing out hidden details and speculate on what this could mean for the future of Universal Orlando Resort.

Hooray for Hollywood! We break down all of the attractions, food, and shops located in Universal Studios Florida's recreation of Hollywood.

Let's talk about Ghostbusters – the original film, the HHN haunted house, the franchise as a whole, and its history at Universal Orlando Resort. Who you gonna call? We answer your questions on: overlooked annual pass benefits, best vegetarian options at Universal, and whether Surfside Inn and Suites is a disappointment.

Our own Marc N. Kleinhenz recently returned from a brief escape to Universal Orlando Resort and was able to partake in some of the new offerings. You'll be amazed as to what Marc thinks about Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. No, seriously, you won't believe what Marc has to say. Although, it might help to get a better perspective once you hear what he ordered for his first meal at Bigfire American Fare, the new CityWalk restaurant. To cap things off we talk about Marc's latest stay at Aventura and relate that to the other value and prime value resorts on-property. We answer your questions on: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure operational schedule, coffee makers at Surf Side Inn and Suites, Where to buy interactive wands and more!

The latest HHN 2019 haunted house, Yeti: Terror of the Yukon, sounds absolutely terrifying – and we couldn't be more excited! Meanwhile, Taylor has been to Bigfire multiple times and stayed the night at Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites, and tells us all about his experiences. We answer your questions on: bringing your mother-in-law to Universal with you, celebrating special occasions at the hotels, and purchasing Volcano Bay Express Passes.

We have some pretty darn good readers – so good, in fact, that they tend to ask some pretty in-depth questions. So we decided to gather them all together and provide some pretty in-depth answers, covering all the Universal bases from Mardi Gras to Express Passes.

We've ridden Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure – multiple times! – and tell you all our thoughts about it. Plus, we've eaten at CityWalk's newest restaurant, Bigfire, and got to take a look around the soon-to-open on-site hotel Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites.

Be ready for your post-graduate crash course in Halloween Horror Nights's 2019 tickets, Express Passes, tours, and add-ons! We answer your questions on: whether Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure will be part of Early Park Admission, annual passes, and more.

What attractions did Islands of Adventure open with that are no longer with us? Which came in the years immediately after it opened? How – and why – did both Grinchmas and Halloween Horror Nights arrive at the park? We answer all these questions – plus throw in a slew of historical trivia – in our Islands retrospective. We answer your questions on: Stan Lee, Afternoon entry tickets, Best way to experience HHN.

We got to tour the queue of Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and learn some of the secrets of its story. Depths of Fear is the new, underwater-set haunted house for Halloween Horror Nights. Some of the exclusive dining options at Surfside Inn and Suites, Universal's newest hotel, have been revealed. And your friend and mine, Al Roker, was there at the parks to help celebrate Today Cafe's grand opening. We answer your questions on: how to best tackle Hagrid on opening day, Mother's Day brunches, the best way to incorporate Volcano Bay into your vacation, and more!

We break down all of the attractions, food, and shops located in Universal Studios Florida's kid-themed area.

Taylor is back to talk about his experience at the soft-opening at the Today Cafe. We also talk about the new seasonal offerings at Today Cafe when it opens this May. Universal Monsters is the latest house to be announced for HHN 2019. We answer your questions on: Theoretical HHN houses, Forbidden Journey's ride profiles, Getting to the parks from Royal Pacific, 2020 vacation packages and more!