I'm A Universal Orlando Fan Who Usually Skips Halloween Horror Nights. One Reason I'm Super Bummed To Be Missing It This Year

I love Universal Orlando Resort. Universal's best attractions are some of the best theme park experiences you'll find anywhere, and it has the best theme park restaurant I’ve ever been to. While it often gets overshadowed by that other Orlando theme park resort, there are things I think Universal Orlando does better than Disney World . It is just about all you could want, but I have a confession to make: I’ve never actually been to Halloween Horror Nights.

The most popular time for most people to visit Universal Studios Florida is the time that I tend to stay away. The truth is that jump scares and I don’t get along. I am very easily startled by them, and I really don’t like being startled, so HHN has never been a high priority for me. This year, however, I wish I had made the trip after all. This year's does offer some unique opportunities, including a house based on A Quiet Place , which promises to give fans a different experience. But the thing I have my eye on is the HHN Tribute Store, because it looks incredible.

My friends at ThrillGeek have provided some great pictures of the new HHN Tribute Store. The store is a seasonally-rotating location that changes several times a year based on whatever Universal Orlando Resort is celebrating at that moment. While there is, of course, plenty of awesome unique merch, it is a store. What makes the Tribute Store really cool is the way it's given a level of story and theme on par with most attractions. This year looks better than ever.

Even if you’re not looking to spend a lot of money on stuff, if you’re going to be visiting Universal Orlando Resort for Halloween Horror Nights, it’s worth it to just wander through the Tribute Store and see everything the team has done to create it.

The traditional Summer Tribute Store is done up in a 1980s theme that includes classic Universal movies like E.T. , Jaws , and Ghostbusters. This year, it was the perfect complement to the new Cinesational Symphonic Spectacular which debuted in June . The new nighttime show celebrated the music of those movies among so many others.

The Tribute Store was designed to look like a classic video store in one room and an arcade in another. As somebody who had a lot of experiences with both in the 1980s, I loved it. I was only disappointed the games weren't actually playable. While the terror of HHN may not be my normal idea of fun, this store looks equally cool.

While I won’t be at Halloween Horror Nights this year, that doesn’t mean CinemaBlend won’t be on hand. We’ll have people checking out HHN in both Florida and Hollywood over the next week to bring you all the great stuff from the events on both coasts. It’s just being handled by people who deal with jump scares better than I do.