UNIVERSAL'S HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS
Universal Studios, Hollywood
100 Universal City Plaza
Univeral City, CA 91608
Phone: 1-800-UNIVERSAL
Websites: Universal Studios - Halloween Horror Nights
- Is Halloween Horror Nights your favorite haunt? Then vote for it in our poll.
- Check out our interview with John Murdy, the creative mastermind behind the operation.
- Scroll down toward the bottom of this page to see our videos of Halloween Horror Nights.
2007 DATES: October 5-6, 12-13, 19-20, 26-28, 31
TICKETS: $51 at the door. Advance tickets for October 5 & 6 are available at the website for $29; advance tickets for October 28 & 31 are available online for $34; advance tickets for October 12-13, 19 & 26 are available for $41. Purchase them here. (NOTE: The money-grubbers at Universal actually have the nerve to charge you a 99-cent processing fee for printing your advance tickets at home. The nerve!)
NEW FOR 2007: For this year, the haunt emphasizes the presence of slasher icons Freddy Kruger, Jason Voorhees, and Leatherface. There will be four new mazes and a new version of the Terror Tram, which allows visitors to get off the bus and take their chances walking on foot through the haunted Universal backlot.
OTHER INFORMATION: The official website advises that this event may be too intense for younger children. No costumes are allowed.
HISTORY: After a disappointing debut in the 1980s, Universal's Halloween Horror presentation was resurrected to good effect in the 1990s, including numerous elaborate mazes, featuring brand names like Rob Zombie and Clive Barker. After the turn of the millennium, the Hollywood Studio neglected to present a Halloween attraction for a number of years (although Universal Studios in Florida did have a 2005 haunt). 2006 saw Universal Studios Hollywood back in business for Halloween.
FEATURES: Like Knott's Scary Farm, Universal's Halloween Horror Nights features a mix of mazes, shows, and scare zones specially crafted for the season. All of the regular rides and attractions remain open for business (such as Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park in the Dark, and Terminator 2 in 3D, Waterworld, but not Back to the Future, which closed in September 2007). Univeral promises to transform the standard attractions into "bloodbaths, as if scenes from hororr films...exploded to life."
HAUNTS: 2007 promises four new mazes; Jason, Freddy, and Leatherface will haunt one each, designed to capture the tone of their individual films. There is also an all-new Backlot Terror Tram Tour.
- Terror Tram - Take a tour, get off the bus, and wander past the Bates Motel and the Psycho House, shudder through the "War of the Worlds" airplane crash sight, cringe from the clutches of wandering zombies.
- A Nightmare on Elm Street - Freddy Kruger haunts your dreams
- Friday the 13th - Jason Voorhees hacks your body.
- Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Leatherface chainsaws your bones
- House of Horrors - after a temporary switch for Halloween 2006, the old Van Helsing attraction has become a permanent, year-round walk-through maze loaded with Universal's classic movie monsters; expect even more vampires, cannibals, and psychos for the Halloween season.
SHOWS:
- Chucky's Insult Emporium - like a faded former star, the Don Rickles of horror is reduced to a second-rate lounge act
- Magic Show - stunt magicians Kevin James and Brian Bushwood seek to amaze you with fire-eating, hammered eyeballs, and the ever reliable sawing someone in half gag.
SCARE ZONES: This info is leftover from 2006; some scare zones may change for 2007.
- New York City - the big apple turns blood red thanks to a hazardous waste spill
- London - ghosts of the Victorian era haunt this street, including Jack the Ripper and Mr Hyde
- Deadwood - the old west becomes a literal ghost town
- Midieval Village - spooky executioners and other ghouls lurk in the fog
OTHER INFORMATION: No costumes or masks allowed. For more details about 2007 you can sign up at the official website to receive updates.
REVIEW: Read our review of opening night, Friday the 13th, 2006. Read our review of opening night, Friday, October 5, 2007.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Find preview images for 2007 in the Halloween Haunts section of our Photo Gallery.
OPINION POLL: Is Halloween Horror Nights your favorite haunted Hollywood attraction? Then vote for it here.
VIDEOs: See videos from Horror Nights 2006 and 2007.