Gabrielle Russon
The history of Halloween in the tourism capital of the world has plenty of scary facts.
The wait time alone was enough to make the hair rise on your arm at Universal’s 1991 Halloween event that featured a single haunted house.
People stood in line for three hours to walk through the Dungeon of Terror at Fright Nights that eventually morphed into Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights.
“Scare actors would interact with people in line to make that wait less dreadful or more dreadful, honestly,” said Orange County Regional History Center’s historian Rachel Williams during Friday’s talk about the early stories behind Orlando’s multibillion Halloween industry.
The Dungeon of Terror’s scare actors recreated torture in a variety of creative ways.
“There was a woman in a glass coffin, and she was buried with rats — The Rat Lady, very popular in the Halloween Horror Nights lore,” Williams said. “People would also have to kind of walk through darkness, through the halls, and have to feel their way out, and the walls would be covered in slime.”
“No one can do horror events like Universal, so they knew that it would be a success.”
Williams described the early challenges Universal faced from getting cease and desist letters after using Regan from “The Exorcist” or having to change its name from Fright Nights to HHN in 1992 because, again, a copyright issue.
Back then, the Halloween event lasted three nights. Fast forward today, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights runs 48 nights.
In 2004, Universal created a scare zone called Field of Screams in a backlot connecting its two theme parks.
“To do this, they planted this corn months in advance so it’d be high and ready for the scare zone,” Williams said.
But Universal’s corn was cursed.
“When they opened in September and then, as we all know, what happened in 2004, four hurricanes hit Central Florida and destroyed a decent size of this crop,” Williams said “So they had to, again, work very quickly on their feet.”
They swapped corn with a plant that looked similar or used visual distractions to block off other areas.
The tamer Halloween party at Orlando has always been Disney World where Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party sells out months before Oct. 31.
But in 1972, when the park was new, Disney was more low-key on Halloween weekend. It offered free rides on the Haunted Mansion and screened the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” cartoon for general admission. (Back then, for Haunted Mansion, guests had to buy tickets to ride each attraction so a free ride was a big deal.)
Things got more elaborate into the 1970s. The Police and Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show performed at Disney’s 1979 Halloween Hysteria Party at the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, which is now Disney Springs, Williams said.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Party started in 1995 as a one night-only event and then evolved into more nights.
“In just over a decade, Walt Disney World has added more than a month to the Halloween season, extending the spooky festivities into the sweltering heat and humidity of early August,” according to Magic Trip Tools.
Williams also mentioned SeaWorld’s family-friendly Halloween celebrations where in 2004, guests could actually spend the night at the park. The Halloween event included sleeping in the Wild Arctic ride and eating breakfast with Shamu, she said.
Other events without the major corporate backing ran over the years, including Skull Kingdom off International Drive. Skull Kingdom’s rushed 1997 opening had scare actors building the sets inside the castle and not wearing costumes or spooky make up. Instead they shared masks and wore black T-shirts, Williams said.
“Opening day was kind of a mess,” Williams said.
Things got better.
One scare actor dressed as Michael chased out a visitor from the castle. The visitor on a bachelor party ran out of the castle, screaming and escaped to his vehicle — and Michael followed inside, Williams said.
Skull Kingdom closed in late 2006 and the building got demolished.
Williams had her own scary admission.
“Listen, don’t come for me,” she joked when she admitted she doesn’t go to Halloween events in Orlando. “I’ve never been to one and part of that’s because I’m a scaredy cat… I’m a phony and scared.”
“A holiday that started just as an evening of hijinks and pranks really has blended in with the horror genre overall and created a very immersive experience that is built on adrenaline and nostalgia.”
The Orange County Regional History Center regularly features talks on Orlando’s unique history from boy bands to the theme parks. Williams’ Lunch and Learn event on Halloween will be replayed later on the center’s YouTube page.
One comment
Billy Rotberg
October 5, 2024 at 6:12 pm
Everyday is Halloween with democrats in charge…Running their freak show.
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