Halloween Horror Nights 2014 Is More Dead Than Ever; The Walking Dead Returns!
Steve Barton
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In news that will likely surprise few but nevertheless excite many, the announcement was made today that this year’s Halloween Horror Nights event at Universal Studios will once again feature a “Walking Dead”-themed walkthrough, as it has for the past few years.
As executive producer/make-up man Greg Nicotero explained in the announcement video, which you’ll see below, the maze will be based around the show’s recently completed fourth season, allowing you to relive and actively take part in its most memorable moments and scenarios.
Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” events have a more than 20-year history of creating incredibly entertaining, horrifying Halloween experiences that are consistently rated the nation’s best. The events on each coast feature highly-themed, disturbingly real, haunted mazes based on everything from films to nightmares – and streets filled with hundreds of specially trained “scareactors.”
The “Walking Dead” maze will be coming to both Universal Orlando and Universal Hollywood, and Halloween Horror Nights 2014 will kick off sometime in September, running through Halloween. Head over to the Halloween Horror Nights website to learn more.
Though I’m willing to bet that those who attend the event every year are probably hungry for something a little different, I personally am quite happy to see “The Walking Dead” returning to this year’s Halloween Horror Nights because I’m actually attending for the very first time in my life. One of those bucket list goals I’ve been meaning to knock off for many years, and I can’t wait to take the trip to Terminus!
From the Press Release:
After rave reviews from fans on both coasts, Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood are bringing back AMC’s “The Walking Dead” to Halloween Horror Nights for an unprecedented third consecutive year. Horror-hungry fans will experience all-new terrifying mazes inspired by Season 4 of the critically-acclaimed, Emmy Award-winning television series.
This year’s bone-chilling mazes will place guests at the heart of a harrowing journey to seek sanctuary at Terminus, an elusive destination that promises community for all. Mirroring the terror that befell the residents of the West Georgia Correctional Facility, now overrun by savage walkers, the experience will send guests fleeing from the fallen prison into unknown territory as they once again stage a desperate battle for survival against flesh-eating walkers and ruthless humans.
“The Walking Dead” is based on the graphic novel written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The series tells the story of the months and years after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by sheriff Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. “The Walking Dead” is the number-one show on television for adults 18-49. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” returns for Season 5 this October.
“This has been an incredible collaboration, and I am thrilled to be working once again with the creative teams at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood to bring the world of ‘The Walking Dead’ to our dedicated fans,” said Greg Nicotero, Executive Producer and Special Effects Makeup Supervisor for the series. “I can’t wait for visitors to experience first-hand some of the iconic moments from Season 4 in what will be the biggest, most exciting and frightening ‘Walking Dead’ maze to date.”
About Universal Orlando Resort’s Halloween Horror Nights:
Universal Orlando’s maze will be the largest maze ever created at Halloween Horror Nights. It is literally double the experience and will feature more scareactors in one single haunted house than ever before. Guests will encounter iconic scenes from Season 4 of the hit show – beginning at the prison, fans will enter the cell block where the infection began, escape into the massive Big Spot location with a crashed helicopter ripping through its ceiling, and journey to the dilapidated country club overrun with walkers. These and other incredibly immersive environments culminate to the maze’s finale taking you to the End of the Line – Terminus. This year’s maze will be an entirely new experience, featuring never-before–seen walkers and brand new scares.
“Bringing a horror property back for a third year in a row is always a decision that is carefully considered. Fortunately, ‘The Walking Dead’ is unlike any horror brand around. Its appeal spreads across so many types of viewers. Hardcore and casual horror fans alike are watching week after week, and Season 4 offered many new and unique environments and walkers,” said Michael Aiello, Creative Development Director for Universal Orlando’s Entertainment team. “This year we are taking this partnership to the next level, with a monstrous soundstage maze and a scope that is bigger and badder than anything we’ve ever done in the history of our event.”
About Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights:
This year Universal Studios Hollywood will bring multiple interactive experiences from “The Walking Dead” to life throughout its “Halloween Horror Nights” event. “The Walking Dead: The End of the Line” will channel the many iconic scenes from Season 4 into a new maze, inviting guests to encounter the terror they viewed from afar. From infected walkers whose bleeding eyes struck a new chord of fear throughout the prison to the walker-filled tunnel on the crusade to Terminus, the ominous attraction will evoke a countless barrage of distressing images that will traumatize guests over and over again. The contemporary urban city streets, towering skyscrapers, brick-faced facades, and industrial exterior movie sets that make up Universal Studios’ world-famous production facilities will serve as the backdrop location for this all-new, frighteningly realistic maze. Swarms of walkers will also reawaken in an all-new terrifying scare-zone located adjacent to the maze.
The engrossing cult favorite television series will seep into other parts of Universal’s backlot with predatory walkers prowling the secluded wooded areas of the movie studio. “Terror Tram: Invaded by the Walking Dead” will send guests on the daunting path to Terminus, interspersed with landmarks and walkers from Season 4, including the “burned moonshine cabin,” “charred walkers,” and “mud walkers.”
“’The Walking Dead’ is a once in a lifetime property that has greatly expanded and redefined the horror genre,” said John Murdy, Creative Director at Universal Studios Hollywood. “Our fans are as intense as the walkers when it comes to new interactive experiences that put them at the heart of the show, so it’s our responsibility to create characters and environments that are as authentic to the series as possible. Working in partnership with the show’s Executive Producer and four-time Emmy Award-winner, Greg Nicotero, is incredibly rewarding. His expertise, combined with our vision, delivers the most outstanding and credible ‘Walking Dead’ experience anyone could imagine, outside of being on the show.”
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