To celebrate all five seasons of Netflix's Stranger Things, the streamer and Universal Orlando Resort partnered up to create an entertainment show titled Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins for Universal's Halloween Horror Nights' (HHN) 35th anniversary. Stranger Things is no stranger (pun intended) to having a presence at Universal Studios' HHN event. In the past, the theme park created a haunted house during HHN for each of the first four seasons, and in 2026, fans will have the chance to walk through a house themed after the fifth and final season.
However, that is not the only Stranger Things content coming to HHN this year, as Netflix and Universal developed a special lagoon show called Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins, which pays homage to the series as a whole. HHN's Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins is a projection and water show that takes place in the body of water (often referred to as the lagoon) at Universal Studios Florida, in the middle of the park.
Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins features iconic songs played throughout the series, as well as the most recognizable tracks from the show's score. While the music is playing, fans can watch scenes from all five seasons of the show on two water screens (just walls of mist in the middle of the lagoon), as color-changing water fountains and lights create a visual spectacle across the body of water. Behind the lagoon, various graphics are projected onto the buildings inside Universal Studios Florida to enhance immersion.
Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins is a 13-minute show at HHN that takes fans on a journey through the series' most iconic moments. The water projection show starts out with the WSQK radio station projected onto the building behind the lagoon, as fog rises from the water while Diana Ross' "Upside Down" blares through the park's speakers.
The scene quickly changes as the lights go out and "Upside Down" fades away, ushering in an orchestral version of The Who's "Baba O'Riley." This is where the show really begins: as more fog is emitted from the lagoon, the color-changing fountains come into full operation, with lights, water, and projections giving Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins a grand entrance.
As the song continues, projected images of Stranger Things' main characters appear on the screens of mist in the middle of the lagoon.
For a brief moment, the lights go out, and the music stops playing. However, everything returns as Hawkins High School is projected onto the background buildings, The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" begins blaring triumphantly, and scenes from Stranger Things' first two seasons begin playing on the mist screens.
Fans are treated to a montage of moments (with dialogue) from the first two seasons, featuring characters such as Millie Bobby Brown's Eleven, Sadie Sink's Max Mayfield, Noah Schnapp's Will Byers, Finn Wolfhard's Mike Wheeler, and more.
While clips from the Netflix series are being showcased on the mist screens in the water, shots from all five seasons are projected onto one of the buildings in the background. These notably do not have dialogue.
The song is then cut off, with sinister music from Stranger Things' score replacing it. Fans are given a look at some of the scenes where Will Byers is being searched for in Season 1, with fog and a projection of a forest on the background buildings.
The next scene features the alphabet and Christmas lights that Joyce Byers used to communicate with Will in Season 1 on the buildings, while the mist screens showcase Demogorgons and Will. While this is going on, the color-changing fountains are spewing water dozens of feet in the air.
Moments later, Brimborn Steel Works replaces the previous background projection, as fans are shown the scene from Stranger Things Season 3 in which Dacre Montgomery's Billy says the Mind Flayer forced him to commit terrible acts. Additionally, the main group of characters is shown in this scene.
The background quickly shifts to a projection of Starcourt Mall (also in Season 3), where the final battle from that installment is showcased on the mist screens. Meanwhile, fireworks projections begin playing on the Starcourt Mall background.
Shortly after, guests are treated to a projection of the Snow Ball, along with clips from that scene, as The Police's "Every Breath You Take" plays over the park's speakers. As the song continues, shots of some of the most iconic friendships and relationships throughout the show are shown.
In what is perhaps the most spine-chilling moment of the entire Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins Show, Max is featured looking straight ahead as the music cuts off and the iconic clock tolls throughout the lagoon. For the first time, Vecna appears.
The show begins by showcasing clips of various characters talking about Vecna, then quickly cuts back to the show's main antagonist. Meanwhile, the background buildings slowly crumble, revealing the Upside Down.
However, pure terror quickly transforms into the embodiment of epic, as the opening riff of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" fills the lagoon while Joseph Quinn's Eddie Munson is shown shredding an electric guitar.
"Master of Puppets" undoubtedly gets the most time in the spotlight from any of the songs played up until this point, as it continues while a montage of Vecna mangling the bodies of Hawkins citizens plays on the mist screens in the lagoon. While all of this is occurring, the background buildings reveal the Hellfire Club logo.
HHN allows the entirety of the "Master of Puppets" guitar solo to play, featuring clips of Vecna, the main group of characters, and Eddie's solo from Season 4.
After "Master of Puppets" is cut off, fans witness the heartbreaking moment where Eddie takes his last breath with Dustin present. This is done extremely effectively, as the music cuts off, the background projections go dark, and the water spouts recede. The entire show forces fans to witness that scene in the same way as in Stranger Things Season 4, without any distractions.
Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins then finally transitions to the fifth and final season of the show. A grand arrangement plays as shots from Season 5 appear on the mist screens, all while the background becomes a portal to the Upside Down. Will is shown using his powers. Vecna gets plenty of attention, and then the lagoon show transitions to a montage of clips from all the Netflix series' seasons.
To conclude Return to Hawkins, HHN plays an epic version of the show's main theme as the title card slowly reveals itself on the mist screens. Meanwhile, the water turns red, as do the background projections, seemingly bringing the show to an end.
However, a WSQK broadcast then reveals that there is one final song. As the water spouts and the lagoon turn purple, Prince's "Purple Rain" allows guests to say one final goodbye to one of the most beloved and successful Netflix series of all time.
The full Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins lagoon show can be seen below:
Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins - A Fitting Tribute With One Thing Missing
Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins at HHN 35 is undoubtedly going to resonate with nearly every Stranger Things fan. Universal's show does what it promises by playing the hits (both in the scenes shown and in its song choices) and, as a whole, is a wildly fitting tribute to Stranger Things and its impact on pop culture.
However, one has to notice the elephant in the room: the omission of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" and Max's graveyard scene from Season 4. That song, as well as the scene that goes with it, is arguably the most iconic moment from the Stranger Things series, but it does not show up anywhere in the lagoon show.
This could be for legal reasons, but some fans will undoubtedly walk away feeling they were left wanting more, since that song and scene were not included in Return to Hawkins.
Nevertheless, Stranger Things: Return to Hawkins will likely be viewed as a success for HHN. The Halloween event always features a lagoon show, but in recent years, many fans have felt it was becoming a bit stale and that Universal could have done better. It would not be a surprise if many parkgoers call Return to Hawkins the best lagoon show since HHN 32's Ghoulish - A Halloween Tale.
