Halloween Horror Nights are HERE at Universal Studios!

Carnival of Carnage is the theme this year at Universal's Holloween Horror Nights. Hosted by Jack the clown, promises to be the most scariest event you ever experienced. The top features are Freddy Krueger - who will turn your dreams into nightmares and have you screaming all night; Jason Voorhees - the slasher from Friday 13th, will have you looking over your shoulder at every sound, and Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, who will chop you into pieces to be made into barbecue and chilli.

If you dare, you can enter the 8 terrifying haunted houses like:

• "Dead Silence" - The curse of Mary Shaw - don't scream, she will rip out your tongue
• "A Nightmare on Elm Street" - Dreamwalkers will have you trapped as Freddy Krueger chases you in a nightmare you can never wake up from
• "Psychoscareapy" - Home for the Holidays
• "Vampyr" - Blood Bath of horror where you may never see daylight again
• "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" - Flesh Wounds is where you are hunted-down inside the house of terror
• "Friday the 13th" - Camp Blood where Jason returns!
• "Jack's Funhouse" in - Clown-O-Vision where you get to know Jack and his freakish ways
• "The Thing" - Assimilation where fear has no shape!

Thats not all you can experience at Holloween Horror Nights. If you manage to survive the haunted houses you can enjoy some of the exciting shows this year. There is a Freak Show where you will see some of the most freakiest people who promise to push the limits of the definition of humanity. The Rocky Horror Picture Show, an old time favorite, is a live tribute to the cult classic film presented by the wildest group this side of Transylvania. Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure will have you laughing out of your pants with their time-traveling phone booth portraying this years pop culture icons and celebrity screw-ups. And Jack's Carnival of Carnage is where Jack the Clown is center stage tormenting those who dare to volunteer to be part of his warped carnival. There is also a "Midway of the Bizarre" where you can see sinister sideshows like Rat lady, Killer Carnies, the Troupe Macabre, Motormaniacs and the Chainsaw Drill Team.

If you have the guts to experience this horrifying event, come on out to Universal Studios Holloween Horror Nights to have the scariest night of your life!

Sleuths Mystery Dinner - Best Dinner show in Orlando?

It's been well over 2 years since I'd visited Sleuths's Mystery Dinner Theater in Orlando and I had really loved it. It was my favorite show in Orlando and I wanted to go back just to see if things had changed. So we booked reservations on Easter weekend and, yes, things had changed.

The first thing I noticed is that they moved locations. They are in the Goodings plaza on International Drive and have a beautiful new facade. The location should attract more business for them, being right next to Mercado and all.

But then, when I went inside, it was like entering a flea market. They have a check in desk in the middle of their waiting room/gift shop. Now, when you visit Medieval Times, the gift shop sells swords and shields and family history charts. Things that make sense for where you visit. But the gift shop at Sleuths is full of everything. It's like a gift shop on the outskirts of Disney. Note to Sleuths: YOU DON'T HAVE TO SELL EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN! So much stuff that it really cheapens the atmosphere.

So the check in is painfully slow, especially if you are running late, but once they check you in and you get seated, the show begins rather quickly. We attended an 8:30 show, so they let us in the theater at 7:50. Now, unlike the basketball arena sized shows at Dixie Stampede, Medieval Times and Arabian Nights, this is a VERY intimate setting. I think there may have been 80 people in the room. And that was a full showing. They have 13 different shows that they put on a rotating basis, so if you went to see Sleuth's 4 or 5 different times, there's a good chance you won't see the same performance. That's a huge plus in my book.

So you sit down and you salad is already at the table with bread and you can start eating. Free beer, soda and wine is brought by the pitcher so that the waiters aren't in the way of the actors. And the actors begin coming in and interacting with you immediately. They talk to the guests at each table, insult the guests at each table and interact with them as if you were a part of the show. Our particular show had us as guests at a Manor in England so all references by the actors when they spoke to us were as if we were across the pond and they were somewhat unfamiliar with Orlando and it's surrounding areas.

This is a bawdy show though. The humor is rather adult at times. There are children's tickets available and I saw plenty of families with kids under 13 at their tables, but my recommendation is that you keep the pre-teens at home or the hotel for this one. The characters try to keep the language in check but some things just slip out and many of the jokes would cause a younger guest to turn to their parents for an explanation. Sometimes, an uncomfortable situation.

Dinner is served about 1/3 of the way through the show. You can choose either cheese lasagna, prime rib (for and additional $3 up charge) or roasted chicken. The food was probably a 6 out of 10. My memories from a couple years back rated the food more like an 8 or 9 but the quality seems to have slipped in my opinion. Things just didn't seem extra fresh.

But the show is SPOT ON! Hilariously acted, our show was a murder mystery with 4 suspects. You have to really be on your toes to spot subtle clues as they occur around the room or are hinted at in brief conversations. After dinner, tables are encouraged to work together to generate a question and answer forum for the suspects to clear up any detective work and try and determine who the murderer is and what their particular weapon was. It's a giant game of CLUE, actually. But a heck of a lot funnier.

Still one of my favorite shows in Orlando for the fun (but less for the food), Sleuths Dinner Show tickets are available at discounts. But you MUST make reservations. They'll do 2 or 3 shows a night and they will all be sold out. Adults - you'll love it....it's not your typical sanitized, squeaky clean Orlando fun. Children - you'll probably not get 50-60% of the jokes but you'll have fun looking for clues and comparing your CSI skills with mom and dad. The show lasts about 2 hours.

Don