Horror Unleashed Vegas

Getting into spooky season, I couldn't wait to check out the recently opened Universal Horror Unleashed near AREA15 in Las Vegas. For someone who has never been to a haunted attraction before (I was always too scared when I was younger to even fathom the idea!), I thought this was the perfect introduction for ME. I think if you go to haunted houses and attractions regularly, it might be a little mild for you.

General Admission tickets range from $69-99, with a $10 off discount for Nevada residents. That ticket gets you access inside and to visit all four houses once. There are free "shows" and acts that happen every so often as well. The ticket does not include food or beverage purchases. There is, however, free parking at the parking structure opposite the building. The four houses include: Scarecrow, Universal Monsters, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Exorcist. Of the four, everyone's favorite in my group was Scarecrow. It was probably the most thrilling, with a really immersive setting, and trippy effects. I also loved Universal Monsters because it gave you a glimpse of each character's story (Frankenstein, Dracula, Phantom, Creature From the Black Lagoon, etc). So while this one was probably the least scary, I really loved the set designs.

As far as food and beverage goes, they have two restaurants: a quick-service bbq spot with just a few menu items, and a sit-down restaurant called Premiere House. They also have three bars: the one inside Premiere House, Jack's Alley, and The Boiler. The Boiler and Jack's Alley have the same menu, with The Boiler having two additional specialty drinks. They do have a few NA mocktails as well, with all drinks ranging from $12-19. All-in-all, I'd rate the cocktails I got at a 6-7 out of 10. Nothing mind-blowing, but nothing awful that I didn't want to continue drinking. Food was probably about the same. My pulled pork sliders were yummy, but the pizza skull was a miss.

I like that you can take your time and hang out in the space, walk around, drink, eat, and go in the houses at your leisure. They give you a card that has the times when the houses are open, and they'll scan your barcode from your email when entering the queue. After visiting once though, what exactly is my draw to go back? Our tickets alone for myself and my husband were close to $200 total after taxes and fees, and our food and drink cost for the night was about the same (we had dinner and a drink at each bar). I feel like it's something you'll visit once, and that's it. I would love if they changed their pricing/ticketing structure, and made it basically a "cover fee" to enter the space, then charge a la carte pricing per house and maybe do a bundle deal if you buy all four houses. I also don't know if they plan on switching up the houses on a yearly basis. Although it's unlikely with the amount of work put into them, that would be another way to draw people back for another visit. I'd love to be able to go back and visit the restaurant and bars again, but not for close to $100 just to enter.