August 11, 2014 – Southern California is in a unique position when it comes to the season of Halloween, so it only made sense that an annual convention celebrating all aspects of spooky culture would spring up in downtown Los Angeles. ScareLA, now in its second year, played host to a number of booths, events, panels, attractions and workshops, all under the umbrella of Halloween. Naturally, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights had a presentation there to reveal what is assumed to be the final maze. John Murdy and Chris Williams were on hand. They hyped up the event by…
Author: Jon Fu
August 7, 2014 – On Thursday, Universal announced a new maze based off of Universal Pictures’ film Dracula Untold – a reboot of Universal’s classic movie monster franchise. We’ve included Universal’s full press release below. Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort Sink Their Teeth into “Dracula Untold,” a Terrifying New “Halloween Horror Nights” Maze Inspired By Universal Pictures’ Upcoming Epic Action-Adventure ORLANDO, Fla., UNIVERSAL CITY, Ca., (August 7, 2014) — Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort breathe new life into history’s most notorious vampire, Vlad Tepes, the real life 13th century ruler and inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula…
August 4, 2014 – Despite the summer season and the onrush of guests flooding the park in seemingly record droves, construction at Universal continues on with several major projects in the works throughout the property. Within the park, construction for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Springfield continue to occupy the bulk of the Upper Lot – with guests continuing to flow through awkward detours (most notably the street between Flintstones BBQ and the Special Effects Stage) to access the Studio Tour and the Lower Lot. In similar fashion, construction for Halloween Horror Nights and Fast and Furious: Supercharged…
August 3, 2014 – In this episode, Adriana Morgan, Chris Glass and Jon Fu discuss the possible closure of Universal’s House of Horrors, the Studio Tour’s 50th anniversary and much, much more. Audio Direct download: August 3, 2014 PodcastiTunes link: (013) August 3, 2014 Podcast Jon Fu Jon Fu is the editor-in-chief of Inside Universal. Jon originally founded InsideUniversal.net in 2006 as a summer hobby aimed at providing families and fans a resource for all things “Universal Studios Hollywood.” Since then, the website has taken him throughout the United States and around the world – including to places like Universal…
August 1, 2014 – Last week, Comcast released their second quarter earnings revealing an increase in attendance and profits throughout their U.S parks. Each new quarter seems to be showing just how far the market has changed – tracing all the way back to the start of the decade. In 2010, Universal opened up two huge attractions that uplifted both coasts, with Hollywood opening King Kong 360 3D on the Studio Tour and Universal’s Islands of Adventure opening the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We will look at how these two attractions changed Universal’s fortunes and propelled their status in…
July 24, 2014 – First on Inside Universal – Universal’s House of Horrors will be closing in early September (as early as September 1) in preparation for Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood, Inside Universal has learned. While an early Fall closure is normal for House of Horrors as it undergoes its routine redress for the park’s more mature Halloween event, Inside Universal has also heard unverified claims that House of Horrors – in its current incarnation – may not return once Halloween Horror Nights concludes. If these claims do pan out, it is unclear as to what House of Horror’s potential…
July 22, 2014 – On Monday, Universal announced that the film, The Purge: Anarchy, will be featured in various scare-zones at Halloween Horror Nights 2014. The Purge: Anarchy is the sequel to the first Purge film released in 2013, envisioning the United States in the near future as a country with an annual night of “purging.” The annual purge is meant for citizens to have one night of legalized crime, with all emergency services suspended. Cities turn in to war zones as it becomes an “every man for himself” fight to survive the night. The Purge will make an identical…
July 17, 2014 – On Wednesday, Universal announced that the SyFy Channel television series Face Off will be making its way to Universal Studios Hollywood in a brand new maze, featuring the music of Figure. For those not familiar with the series, Face Off has been a hit show for SyFy Channel since 2011 centered around a competition based on the art of special makeup effects. Contestants perform weekly challenges to see who will be the next top special effects artist. Last year, Face Off made a small appearance in the Universal Monsters: Remix maze. The reimagined characters of Frankenstein…
July 17, 2014 – Despite the summer crowds and the blistering heat, Universal Studios Hollywood continues to embark on a comprehensive transformation plan aimed at revitalizing the entire park. While that obviously benefits Universal in the long run, the park now – as it stands – is in a state of painful transition. In fact, it’s difficult to set foot in an area of the park that doesn’t have some form of work going on. So with that in mind, we’re going to take a look at some landmark additions (which include the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Springfield and…
July 15, 2014 – Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Studio Tour. As we look down memory lane, here are just a few of the more prominent developments that occurred within Universal’s flagship attraction. 1964 – The Studio Tour Since its inception in 1912, Universal always been known for the unprecedented move of inviting the public onto its property for a special look at the movie-making process. In the early days of the studio, guests could wander through the backlot, buy lunch and cheer (or boo) their favorite actors. However, with the advent of talking pictures in the 1920s,…