By Leslie Reyes and Diana Aceves
Universal Studios hosts an annual event full of fright and terror to initiate the Halloween spirit!
Event dates begin in September 17 to November 1st from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. on every event night!
Annual Pass holders receive a discount, tickets are only $45, front of line tickets are $160, Universal offers a Day and Night combo, which is only $110!
Prices are more convenient if they are bought online. One could save up to 20 dollars if bought online. Tickets are only $65!
If you plan on attending this terror filled event, remember that costumes, food/drinks bottles, recording/flash photography, flashlights or laser tags are not permitted! You WILL be sent home if you disrespect the scareactors!
This year, Universal has added a prominent tale to their mazes, Halloween: Michael Myers comes home. This maze takes you to the Michael’s childhood haunted, murder home, where Michael is patiently waiting to take his revenge. Alongside this maze, a paranormal maze based on the Insidious saga is introduced, Insidious: Return to the Further. This maze is filled with the maltreated souls of the death, which “live” for the chance to live again. This year, Guillermo del Toro introduces Crimson Peak: Maze of Madness. This attraction takes you to a creepy, gothic manor house, Allerdale Hall, which is filled with the vengeful spirits of the victims of that ancestral home. Alongside these new attractions, several mazes return to the park due to popular demand. The returning mazes include AMC’s: The Walking Dead, and AVP: Alien vs Predator.
Universal Studios World Famous Tour takes a different turn during September/ October nights becoming the terror tram.
You are taken back to Terminus which is infested with gorey cannibalistic walkers. If you think that this is frightening, the purge is going on which allows all crimes including murder to go on for 12 hours.
Terrifying new mazes are there which are not meant for the faint of heart.
This year something new has been added to the mix. America’s best dance crew Jabbawockeez have made their debut in Universal Studios providing new choreography with music that makes the crowd wanting more.
I would say that this is an event not worth missing out on. While this is a place meant to bring chills, it does not have characters running around coming in your personal space that many places would normally have during this time of year. It does have characters walking around with props that pop up randomly in front of you causing you to jump from surprise.
A senior at a APB, Erik Reyes, thought that this event wasn’t worth all the hype. He expected more especially from the characters he wanted to be Although he said, “The Insidious maze was worth the wait because it caught me off guard. I thought I wasn’t going to be scared. I was soooo wrong.” Basically, he wanted much more terror.
Seniors at APB, Ana Flores and Luis Sotelo, agreed that the Terror Tram was overcrowded and thrown out of the park’s element. They expect to see improvements regarding the scare factor and arrangements in future years. However, they enjoyed the mazes despite the incredibly long lines. Ana’s personal favorite was Halloween which featured Michael Myers and Luis’ favorite was Insidious. Although their night at the event consisted of constant falling and crawling, they both agreed that Horror Nights is worth the cost, because the event managed to scare them at some point in the night.
Overall this is not an event to miss out on. Besides the lack of terror it is a must event for halloween.
