Photo Courtesy of Universal Studios

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It’s that time of year again! Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates Halloween. For as long as I have lived just forty short minutes away, I’ve never experienced the nightmarish adventure that is the Halloween Horror Nights until this year. 

I’m going to start off by saying that I highly recommend it! I had an absolute blast screaming my butt off and seeing the park in a whole different light. I truly enjoy Universal Studios Hollywood during the day and throughout the year, but the experience of Horror Nights gives you the opportunity to check out other areas of the park, attractions, as well as some modifications to some of your favorite rides!

Universal Studios Hollywood
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City,CA 91608

Tickets

The most affordable way to buy tickets is online. Online ticket sales can save you anywhere from $5 – $25, depending on when you are planning to attend. The earlier in the Halloween season you attend, the cheaper the prices are! The online discount isn’t the only way to save though. Annual Passholders get some major discounts! The best part about these discounts? Share the wealth! You can buy for your friends too. I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer on how many, but we purchased 4 tickets on one pass holders card number. Tickets do sell out! We went the last weekend in September and our tickets were $46 with the annual pass discount and the event was sold out!

There are three options for tickets:

• Front of Line Ticket
  • Admission to Halloween Horror Nights
  • One-time Front of Line access to each maze / attraction
  • Priority Seating at the Jabbawockeez live show
• General Admission
• Day/Night Combo

We purchased the General Admission Ticket and I was happy with the purchase. The Front of the Line Tickets could be right for you, but we took advantage of all the time we had so we didn’t find them necessary and we did all that we wanted to (even with our event night being sold out). The Day/Night Combo is also an awesome idea but it just wasn’t right for us. I just couldn’t imagine being at the park all day and genuinely enjoying and being awake enough to last through the night.

Hours & Early Entry Admission

Halloween Horror Nights is open from 7:00 PM – 2:00 AM every event night. Event nights begin mid-September and run through Halloween weekend. September dates include Fridays & Saturdays and October dates are Thursday – Sunday. You can check out this year’s schedule here.

I would highly, highly recommend taking advantage of early admission! Early admission will get you into the park as early as 5:00 PM. Only certain mazes are open but it is definitely worth doing. Once we got into the park we immediately headed for the Walking Dead maze. The mazes will open up at 6:30, so yes you’ll be waiting in line, but you’ll be one of the first in. I would recommend hitting a maze that is indoors. As much as I loved the Walking Dead maze, it wasn’t quite dark yet. The Early Admission will give you an edge on getting one maze out the way before the park technically opens up and I think it made all the difference for us. The best part about early admission? It’s FREE!

Attractions

I think there are the perfect amount of attractions at this year’s Horror Nights. Although, we didn’t do everything open in the park, we were able to do everything we wanted to do! This map is your guide to the mazes, selected open rides, scare zones and the live show.

• Halloween – This was the scariest maze! This line was also the longest throughout the entire night and it was the last attraction we visited immediately before leaving. I think the combination of sleep deprivation and Mike Myers made for the scariest of experiences.
• Insidious – This was one of the most horrifying movies I had ever seen.. well until the end, which was pretty awful. This maze does not disappoint though! Set in a small house, you have to maneuver through the demons of hell.
• This Is the End – I know you’re probably thinking.. why is this movie apart of the Horror Nights? Well I thought the exact same thing, BUT you truly can make anything scary when something is popping out at you unexpectedly. The coolest part of this maze was that it was in 3D. I know that seems odd seeing as life is already that way, but trust me.. it is so cool!
• Walking Dead, Wolves Not Far – I mean it’s the Walking Dead, one of the best shows there
  

  Walking Dead, Wolves Not Far

  is! This maze takes place in Terminus, where you’re dealing with the evils of Zombies and learning they may not be the most dangerous thing you will face.

• Crimson Peak – We decided against going through this maze. It is on the lower lot which is very cool, but because this is a new movie that none of us were familiar with, we figured we should spend our time elsewhere.
• Alien vs Predator – This maze was also located on the lower lot and was probably my least favorite. It was definitely creepy, but I guess it all depends on what scares you!
• Terror Tram, Survive the Purge – My favorite attraction! Was this movie great? No, not really. But the concept behind it was interesting and scary and I think that provided enough backdrop for this awesome attraction. This is an outdoor walkthrough, so wait until it gets dark to go! We headed down to get in line when the sun starting setting so by the time we got on, we were perfect!
• Jurassic Park, In the Dark – This is the only ride that changes at night and it has an entertaining twist. I would recommend it!
• Jabbawockeez – If you haven’t heard of them, this is a group of incredibly talented dancers. Unfortunately, set show times are hard to plan around so we didn’t see them perform, but I’ve linked their youtube channel!
• Other rides that are open: Transformers the Ride 3D, Revenge of the Mummy, The Simpsons, and Despicable Me.
• There are four scare zones throughout the park as well. I didn’t experience anything too scary, but I did see some poor souls being chased.

Discounts

With the purchase of your Horror Night’s ticket, you can get some nice discounts in City Walk! We arrived around 4:00 PM to take advantage and grab a bite to eat. Here’s where you can get those discounts:

• Bubba Gump – 10% off food purchase
• Camacho’s Cantina – 10% off food purchase
• Hard Rock Cafe – 20% off food & retail purchase
• Jillian’s – 1 free 1 hour game play in the arcade
• Jody Maroni’s – 10% off any combo
• Samba’s Brazilian Steakhouse – 15% off food purchase
• Subway – Get a free 6″ sandwich with the purchase of a sandwich and a drink. Sandwich must be of equal or lesser value
• Tony Roma’s – 15% off food purchase
• Wasabi – 15% off food purchase
• Wolfgang Puck – 15% off food purchase

Security

Unlike during the day, security is hyped up a bit for this event. Costumes, halloween makeup and masks are not permitted, although I did see a pretty groovy man in sequins, bellbottoms and platform heels! They are also strangely picky about what you bring in, I had to throw away a brand new pack of gum.. Bummer! Also, alcohol is not permitted or sold at all during the evening event.

Parking

One negative to the festivities of Horror Nights are the hiked up parking prices. These prices apply after 3 PM.

• Self Parking
  • Peak Front Gate – $40
  • Preferred Parking – $25
  • General Parking – $17

• Valet Parking
  • First 2 hours – $15
  • Over 2 hours – $30

I hope you enjoy your trip to Universal Studios Hollywood – Halloween Horror Nights!