Rain Kept Jack and Dr. Oddfellow Off the Street for Most of Universal's $415 Premium Scream Night, and Two Houses Were Listed as Delayed

Halloween Horror Nights 35 met its first paying guests on Thursday night, and the two icons the whole 35th anniversary is built around were not reported on the street for most of it.

Jack the Clown and Dr. Oddfellow were not reported in the entrance scare zone at Universal Studios Florida until 10:55 p.m., roughly four and a half hours after the 6:30 p.m. start of Premium Scream Night, one of two separately ticketed Premium Scream Nights this year and the only one that runs the evening before the event opens to everyone else. Attractions Magazine, which followed the night with live updates, reported that the icons "were not outside earlier in the evening as rain affected street entertainment."

Quick facts: Premium Scream Night ran Thursday, August 27. Gates were open by 5:56 p.m., the event itself began at 6:30 p.m., and it was scheduled to run until 2 a.m. Rain began around 6:45 p.m. and ponchos were handed out inside the event. Tickets start at $415 per person. The first public night is tonight, Friday, August 28.

The wait board at 11:10 p.m.

By late in the night the houses that were open had almost no line at all. Attractions Magazine reported that waits "have fallen to just five minutes for the operating haunted houses shown on the park's boards, including 'Stranger Things 5,' 'Evil Dead Burn' and 'Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control.'"

Two were not on that list. In the same update, "Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness" and "Madlands: Caged Cannibals" were "listed as delayed." Universal has not said publicly why, or for how long, and there is no statement about it in its press room.

Several rides were posting five minute waits too, including Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Revenge of the Mummy and Transformers: The Ride-3D.

What the ticket promises

Premium Scream Night is one of the most expensive ways into Halloween Horror Nights on a single evening, several times the $88.99 starting price of a regular single night ticket. Universal's own Discover Universal blog describes it as "an exclusive event featuring shorter wait times and select all-you-care-to-enjoy food," and lists two dates this year, August 27 and October 19. Haunted Attraction Network's ticket guide prices it "From $415 per person, and prices may vary by day, plus tax," and notes that the two Premium Scream Nights are the only Orlando event nights where costumes are allowed.

Shorter waits is what the boards showed at 11:10 p.m. on the houses that were open. Five minutes is about as good as Halloween Horror Nights gets. The catch is that two of the ten houses were listed as delayed rather than operating when the boards were checked.

What did run

Plenty of the event worked. Art the Clown took the stage in the Downtown Clowntown scare zone for a skit of roughly five minutes. A puppet show called "A Tale of Chaos & Control," running about three minutes in Downtown Clowntown near Louie's Pizza, walks through the history connecting the two icons. HamiKuma, the fan favorite character brought over from Universal Studios Japan, met guests. The Fortnitemares scare zone in the Hollywood section was beginning to glow just before sunset, with the Battle Bus, Fortnite-inspired sets and costumed characters, and Club Horror returned in a form Attractions Magazine described as close to last year's version.

Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control was posting a 10 minute wait at 6:50 p.m., which is to say it was open and running within twenty minutes of the 6:30 p.m. start.

Worth keeping in perspective

A preview night in Central Florida in August will often meet rain, and street entertainment is usually among the first things to come off. Both icons were out by 10:55 p.m. and the night was scheduled to run to 2 a.m. Delayed is also not the same as closed; the boards were a snapshot at 11:10 p.m., not a verdict on the evening.

It is worth flagging the sourcing. All of the above comes from a single outlet, Attractions Magazine, whose live blog credits Philip Hernandez of Haunted Attraction Network for the reporting from inside the park. We have not found a second outlet with its own report from inside Premium Scream Night, and Universal has not commented.

Halloween Horror Nights 35 opens to the general public tonight and runs select nights through November 1. Whether both of the delayed houses are running tonight is the thing to watch on the boards.

Sources

• Attractions Magazine, "Halloween Horror Nights 2026 live updates: Opening weekend at Universal Orlando"
• Discover Universal, "Universal Halloween Horror Nights 35: Everything Coming to HHN at Universal Orlando Resort"
• Haunted Attraction Network, "Halloween Horror Nights Tickets 2026: Complete Guide to All Universal Parks"
• Universal Destinations & Experiences press room

Image credits: all images courtesy of Universal Destinations & Experiences. Photography from inside Premium Scream Night is the work of Philip Hernandez and was published by Attractions Magazine; follow the source link to view it.