One of the best Southern California theme park Halloween events worth experiencing is Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights.In my opinion, all of the Southern California theme park events are worth experiencing. Universal Studios, however, does one thing better than any of the other guys. They bring terrifying movies and tv shows to life. The other guys simply can’t without the exclusive rights to all of the horror franchises Universal Studios owns.They showcase horror fan-favorite film and television shows with an amazing amount of detail. The authentic masks, the detailed costumes, the elaborate sets, will blow your reality away. There you are standing face to face with Freddy straight from your nightmares!
Halloween Horror Nights added a surprising new dimension to the experience!
Something Halloween Horror Nights incorporated in the mazes for 2016 were aromatic scents. There was pumpkin (this was actually pumpkin spice which is probably better than pumpkin) in the Halloween maze. You could smell it as you passed through a giant pumpkin. The Krampus maze had gingerbread smells in the kitchen. There was also burning wood and perfume in American Horror. These scents really added to the experience.On the flip side, what did not add to the experience were the bad smells. I could have done without the smell of vomit in The Exorcist and rotting flesh in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre maze. These smells made me want the maze to end, but not because I was too scared. Overwhelmed and so distracted by the horrible stench, I couldn’t take in all the hard work that was put into these experiences. I just wanted it to be done with and I couldn’t get out of those mazes fast enough.Well over half of the regular attractions stayed open for the event. So you get to take in some of the rides as well. A few of them even seem to go with a Halloween theme.The scare zones seemed to fall flat this year. The scare zones in previous years have been great. I think the lack of variety with all zones being themed with The Purge just didn’t do it for me.Suffice it to say, they have some really decent merchandise for this event! I had trouble making up my mind which souvenir to get. I ended up choosing a package of postcards representing each of the mazes.
Best surprise ever- I got to live a part of horror history!
My favorite thing this year was the opportunity to stand on the steps of the Psycho house, with Norman Bates holding a knife to my throat, for a photo. I definitely hope they continue this type of experience in the future!This year I purchased the early entry pass and was able to enjoy the park, including Harry Potter land, before they started shutting things down for the event. I highly recommend doing this as it was more than worth the added cost! For about 3 hours, very few people were in the park and I got to ride many of the most popular rides without waiting. I practically walked onto Harry Potter twice in a row!I’ve only gone on Sundays, mid-October and the crowds have been pretty light. A few years ago I invested the extra money and purchased the front of the line pass. It was great to go to the front of the line like a rock star but probably only worth the cost at the end of October.Another important thing to note, they do not serve alcohol during the event. Probably for the safety of everyone. They do sell alcohol prior to the event starting (during the early entry hours). Be aware and plan accordingly.Overall, Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights is a really fun experience and the mazes are always getting better. It is honestly hard to imagine how the mazes could get much better but I look forward to finding out next season if they do.
