Universal Named the Three Halloween Horror Nights 35 Houses That Open at 2 p.m., and Stranger Things 5 Is One of Them

Getting into Halloween Horror Nights early comes with a question attached: early into what, exactly? For Halloween Horror Nights 35, Universal has answered it, and two of the three houses are licensed properties rather than the event's own icons.

WDW News Today, citing the official Halloween Horror Nights guide, reported Wednesday evening that Universal Orlando has revealed which houses open at 2 p.m. for eligible Stay & Scream guests. The three are Stranger Things 5, Hellraiser and Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control. Blog Mickey published the same three in its own early entry guide the same day.

Key art for Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control, with Jack the Clown at upper left and Dr. Oddfellow at upper right. Image courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort.

The clock moved up an hour

The other change is the entry time itself. "New for 2026, the Scream Early add-on grants one-time admission to Universal Studios Florida beginning at 2 p.m. on the date of a guest's valid Halloween Horror Nights ticket," WDW News Today reported. "The add-on previously allowed guests to enter the park beginning at 3 p.m."

Scream Early starts at $70 per person and does not include full event admission. Guests need a separately purchased Halloween Horror Nights ticket valid for the same date, and they have to enter Universal Studios Florida by 5 p.m. Blog Mickey notes the add-on is non-refundable and non-transferable.

The two names are worth separating, because they are not the same thing. Stay & Scream is the early access program for eligible guests who are already inside the park on an event night. Scream Early is the paid add-on that gets guests in at 2 p.m. without regular daytime admission. Anyone holding valid daytime admission or an eligible Annual Pass does not need to buy Scream Early at all, but everyone needs a same night event ticket and a Stay & Scream wristband to reach the early houses.

Wristbands are picked up near Guest Services starting at park opening, and Blog Mickey reports two more distribution points open at 2 p.m., at Hogwarts Express: King's Cross Station and Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast.

Key art for the Stranger Things 5 house, showing Vecna flanked by Demogorgons. Image courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort.

How the night stacks up

The 2 p.m. opening is only the first step in a staggered rollout, per WDW News Today:

• 2 p.m. Stranger Things 5, Hellraiser and Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control open.
• 4 p.m. Queues open for select additional houses.
• About 5:15 p.m. More houses begin operating.
• 6:30 p.m. The event officially starts, with all 10 houses scheduled to be available.

For anyone through the gate at 2 p.m. with a wristband, that is a four and a half hour head start on the official opening.

Key art for the Hellraiser house, with Pinhead holding the puzzle box below three other Cenobites. Image courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort.

What the three houses are

Per WDW News Today, the Stranger Things 5 house takes guests back to Hawkins for one final confrontation with Vecna, drawing on the fifth and final season of the Netflix series. Hellraiser is based on the original film trilogy and sends guests into the Cenobites' realm, where they become part of Pinhead's ritual. Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control brings together two of the event's most prominent original icons, digging into the rivalry between Jack the Clown and Dr. Oddfellow, including Jack's origin as told from Oddfellow's perspective.

The full lineup in Universal's official Halloween Horror Nights 35 announcement runs to 10 houses: Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control, Sinners, Stranger Things 5, Hellraiser, Evil Dead Burn, Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness, H.R. Bloodengutz Presents: A Halloween Fright-Tacular!, MADLANDS: Caged Cannibals, Cybergoria and INVASION: Alien Abduction.

Guests reacting inside a Halloween Horror Nights house. Image courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort.

The two nights it does not cover

Halloween Horror Nights 35 runs select nights from August 28 through November 1, 2026, at Universal Studios Florida. Stay & Scream will not be offered on the two Premium Scream Night dates, Thursday, August 27, the night before opening night, and Monday, October 19.

Which leaves the obvious question for anyone planning a 2 p.m. arrival. With three houses open at 2 p.m. and the rest staggered in from 4 p.m. onward, do you walk Stranger Things 5 twice, or bank the time on Jack & Oddfellow instead?

Sources

• WDW News Today: HHN 35 Early Access Haunted Houses Confirmed by Universal Orlando
• Blog Mickey: Stay & Scream and Scream Early HHN 35 Early Entry Guide
• Universal Orlando: Everything Coming to Halloween Horror Nights 35
• Universal Orlando: Halloween Horror Nights

Image credits: Jack & Oddfellow: Chaos & Control, Stranger Things 5 and Hellraiser key art, and the in-park guest photo, all courtesy of Universal Orlando Resort.