Universal Studios Hollywood (USH) Discussion Thread

I've never done the other studio tours in LA but how does the Backlot Tour compare? I feel like you maybe could offer the tour as a standalone thing, but removing the tour from a day ticket to Universal would be a tremendous blow.

This isn't like the Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios. This one is actually good.

I've never done the other studio tours in LA but how does the Backlot Tour compare? I feel like you maybe could offer the tour as a standalone thing, but removing the tour from a day ticket to Universal would be a tremendous blow.

 

This isn't like the Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios. This one is actually good.

If memory serves me, the WB studio tour was more “personalized” and you saw a lot more things relating to the nuts and bolts of how a studio runs Compared to USH

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Only way I can *possibly* see this working is if they take some of the VIP exclusive aspects of the studio tour and move them to the regular tour. As it stands now, the current tour is in no way worth an “up charge”

 

 

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i agree. but i don't know the demographics. maybe people who've never been would think it's worth it. for me, so much was lost when all the original buildings burned down. i remember going thru when back to the future 2 and 3 were full on hot sets. the only thing i think left from then is the concrete.

if you do at least a watered down vip tour, seeing a set, or checking out the props warehouse, i guess that would be cool for $10. lol

but maybe as universal becomes more theme park than movie studio, it's an option.

Yikes, I didn't realize that they were proposal separating out the tram tour from general park admission entirely. I hope that Screamescape is right about the study being geared towards something not as clear cut as that.

I've never done the other studio tours in LA but how does the Backlot Tour compare? I feel like you maybe could offer the tour as a standalone thing, but removing the tour from a day ticket to Universal would be a tremendous blow.

 

This isn't like the Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios. This one is actually good.

The WB tour is much more expensive, longer, and handles smaller, more intimate groups. At points, the WB tour leaves the shuttles and continues on foot into the studio buildings themselves (which obviously the Universal version does not do). It is more informative and also feels more "authentic" in a way.

They are entirely different beasts, and Universal Studios would need to make major changes to their tour in order to make it even close to being equitable to the other studio tours in the area as a "standalone" offering.

It would be crazy for Universal Studios to treat the tour as an extra upcharge. It's not like they have enough room to replace it with anything worthwhile (especially at the capacity that the trams pull). Without the tram tours, Universal Studios Hollywood is easily the worst park in the area (and even with the tram tours, the park is rather small).

Yikes, I didn't realize that they were proposal separating out the tram tour from general park admission entirely. I hope that Screamescape is right about the study being geared towards something not as clear cut as that.

 

I've never done the other studio tours in LA but how does the Backlot Tour compare? I feel like you maybe could offer the tour as a standalone thing, but removing the tour from a day ticket to Universal would be a tremendous blow.

 

This isn't like the Backlot Tour at Hollywood Studios. This one is actually good.

 

The WB tour is much more expensive, longer, and handles smaller, more intimate groups. At points, the WB tour leaves the shuttles and continues on foot into the studio buildings themselves (which obviously the Universal version does not do). It is more informative and also feels more "authentic" in a way.

 

They are entirely different beasts, and Universal Studios would need to make major changes to their tour in order to make it even close to being equitable to the other studio tours in the area as a "standalone" offering.

 

It would be crazy for Universal Studios to treat the tour as an extra upcharge. It's not like they have enough room to replace it with anything worthwhile (especially at the capacity that the trams pull). Without the tram tours, Universal Studios Hollywood is easily the worst park in the area (and even with the tram tours, the park is rather small).

Yup. I won’t go back if they make it an up charge without any major changes. Then non tram attractions are literally just clones of each other (motion simulator rides)

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It has been announced that Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" will scare guests with a new maze at this year's Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood!

Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort take guests on a relentless tour through multi-platinum recording artist and filmmaker Rob Zombie’s twisted “House of 1000 Corpses,” inspired by Lionsgate’s 2003 cult classic horror film, as part of this year’s “Halloween Horror Nights” event, beginning in September.

 

The terrifying “House of 1000 Corpses” mazes bring to life the movie’s offbeat roadside tourist attraction, Captain Spaulding’s Museum of Monsters and Madmen, and introduces guests to some of the country’s most infamous serial killers, including Dr. Satan, a demented surgeon who has gone mad.

 

Without a moment to catch their breath, guests will venture to the chaotic home of the Firefly family, a sadistic clan of psychotic killers, where the psychosis deepens and the depraved thrive. It is a chilling journey into the netherworld of terror that weaves its way through a cavernous network of dark tunnels within the bowels of the house. Populated by the degenerate victims of Dr. Satan’s debauched operations, legions of tortured creatures shuffle about as Dr. Satan continues his twisted medical practice, eagerly awaiting a new installment of victims.

 

Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” is the ultimate Halloween event. For more than 25 years, guests from around the world have visited “Halloween Horror Nights” to become victims inside their own horror film. Multiple movie-quality mazes based on iconic horror movies, television shows and original stories come to life season after season. The terror bleeds to the streets of the parks with highly-themed scare zones, littered with menacing scare-actors lunging from every darkened corner to torment, terrify and scare “Halloween Horror Nights” guests.

 

“Halloween Horror Nights” begins Friday, September 6 in Orlando and on Friday, September 13 in Hollywood. Additional details about the events will be revealed soon. Tickets for “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort are on sale now. Visit http://www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com for more information and to purchase tickets.

Fun fact: this will be the 3rd version of the maze to be featured at HHN in hollywood! The first version came in 2000 when the film was first supposed to come out (but Universal later backed off releasing d/t the gore), the 2010 3D version, and now this version.

Universal Studios Hollywood has sent us a press release with details about the specialty tickets and R.I.P. Tours that will be available during this year's Halloween Horror Nights.

Universal Studios Hollywood ups the “Halloween Horror Nights” scare factor by tenfold this year and offers fans exclusive ways to maximize the terror with a variety of specialty tickets, including the premium R.I.P. Tour and must-have multi-night Frequent Fear passes.

 

“Halloween Horror Nights” begins on Thursday, September 12 with an exclusive first look Fan Preview Night, which features a limited number of tickets and the chance to explore this year’s 10 terrifying new mazes.

 

Opening night and event dates are: September 13-15, 19-22, 26-29; October 3-6, 10-13, 17-20, 24-27, 31; and November 1-3, 2019. Advanced purchase is recommended as event nights will sell out.

 

The new R.I.P. Tour offer groups of up to 12 a chance to scare in style and features exclusive access to “Halloween Horror Nights.” Helmed by a VIP Guide, R.I.P. Tour guests will be treated to unlimited Universal Express™ access to all mazes and attractions as well as reserved VIP seating at the Jabbawockeez show, private VIP trolley transportation to the backlot mazes, exclusive interactive themed photo ops and a special tour of the Universal backlot, gourmet buffet dinner at the exclusive VIP Dining Room & Lounge, access to exclusive lounges for drinks and desserts, and complimentary valet parking.

 

For fans who just can’t get enough, a series of multi-night Frequent Fear passes is also available. Guests can choose from four different Frequent Fear ticket options:

 

• Ultimate Fear Pass: scare every night of the 32 day event, including a ticket to Fan Preview Night
  
• Fan Preview and Frequent Fear Pass: 26 select nights including Fan Preview on September 12
  
• Frequent Fear Pass: 25 select nights
  
• September Pass: 11 select nights throughout the month of September

Visit Hollywood.HalloweenHorrorNights.com for more details and to purchase tickets.

 

“Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in a living, breathing, three-dimensional world of terror inspired by TV and film’s most compelling horror properties. Following is a list of this year’s wicked line-up:

 

• “Us,” an all-new maze based on the blockbuster film from Universal Pictures and visionary Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele
  
• “Ghostbusters,” Sony Pictures’ classic 1984 film comes to life for the first time ever in this all-new maze
  
• “Stranger Things,” based on seasons 2 and 3 of Netflix’s critically-acclaimed supernatural thriller
  
• “Killer Klowns from Outer Space,” the popular 1980s horror sci-fi film lands at “Halloween Horror Nights” in this all-new chilling maze
  
• “Creepshow,” inspired by the 1982 cult classic horror movie and Shudder’s all-original anthology series
  
• “Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man,” inspired by Universal’s original cinematic monsters and the movie studio that invented the horror film genre
  
• “House of 1000 Corpses,” inspired by Lionsgate’s 2003 cult classic film and directed by multi-platinum recording artist and filmmaker Rob Zombie
  
• “Holidayz in Hell,” an all-original maze featuring demented versions of everyone’s favorite seasonal celebrations
  
• “Curse of Pandora’s Box,” an all-new original maze based on the twisted Greek mythology tale
  
• “The Walking Dead,” Universal Studios Hollywood’s permanent attraction inspired by AMC’s popular television series
  
• The Jabbawockeez award-winning hip hop dance crew returns by popular demand with an all-new, high-energy performance created exclusively for “Halloween Horror Nights”

according to screamscape, USH has apparently been sending out a guest poll asking about guest thoughts on making the backlot tour an “up-charge attraction”

http://www.screamscape.com/html/universal_studios_hollywood.htm

 

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It sounds like they are not taking out the tram tour from the regular admission, but they are trying to sell the nicer backstage tour that is part of the VIP Experience as a separate add on.

according to screamscape, USH has apparently been sending out a guest poll asking about guest thoughts on making the backlot tour an “up-charge attraction”

http://www.screamscape.com/html/universal_studios_hollywood.htm

 

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It sounds like they are not taking out the tram tour from the regular admission, but they are trying to sell the nicer backstage tour that is part of the VIP Experience as a separate add on.

depending on price, that's really the part of the vip tour i'm most interested in. getting out and exploring an indoor set, and being able to walk around some areas in the backlot.

Halloween Horror Nights Red Carpet, Press and Fan Night was yesterday, September 12th. HHN officially opens today. There was a red carpet event out in front of Universal Cinema AMC. Many people associated with the movies and mazes walked the red carpet.

We had our own personal guide thru three mazes, House of 1000 Corpses, Stranger Things, and Ghostbusters. It was nice because for two of the mazes we were able to just walk right in. Especially Stranger Things which had a posted wait time of 200 minutes. Universal was packed, at least imo. I understand it's much worse during other nights of HHN. It seems that even with Universal Express, you'd have to really rush around to experience all the mazes. Personally, they get a little repetitive for me.

HHN, is just total sensory overload. Loud music here, chainsaw there, people everywhere, etc. etc. Just a crazy good time.

Anyway, on to some pictures. I honestly, don't know all these people I took pictures of on the red carpet. So, if you do, or I'm incorrect, please say so.

[fbvideonew]

Kelly Osbourne

Talia Jackson

Eli Roth "Hostel"

Seth Green, Actor

Pete Wentz Singer, Fall Out Boy

Michael Dougherty Director, Godzilla: King of Monsters

Grant Cramer "Killer Klowns from Outer Space"

Our awesome guide, Joy!

Wow...over 3 hours wait for a haunted walk-through. I sure as hell hope they sell skip-the-line passes like Cedar Fair's Fight Lane.

Wow...over 3 hours wait for a haunted walk-through. I sure as hell hope they sell skip-the-line passes like Cedar Fair's Fight Lane.

That's HHN's modus operandi. Either you spend $250+ for admission plus Universal Express, or you buy your admission and pray like hell you can get through all the haunts before 7:30pm when the lines are filled. It's the main reason I've avoided HHN in recent years. I can't justify spending the amounts they charge for one night when the haunts just aren't that good. Compared to Orlando, Hollywood is just a middle of the road haunt. Knott's Scary Farm is on the same level, if not better in many ways, and costs about half of what Universal charges. Knott's also gives unlimited Fright Lane access while Universal is one and done (unless you go for the even higher priced option).

SoCal has enough Halloween events that skipping HHN isn't a loss. Dark Harbor, Knott's, The Mist, Zombie Joe's, Reign Of Terror, and even Magic Mountain's Fright Fest are better, more economical options.

Which mazes are the most popular this year? I'm going late October and trying to determine which order I should hit them in. Obviously I'm gonna do Stranger Things as soon as possible, but what about the others?

^ Get in as early as possible, skip everything up top and get to the backlot, bang out those haunts, hit anything that's in the lower lot (skip rides for now), then head to the upper lot and hit those haunts. If you somehow manage to not wait 2+ hours for any haunts, then you can do the rides since they never have any lines during HHN.

If you take advantage of early entry (5:30pm), you can easily hit everything without needing express.

Except for those staggered opening times they're doing this year. Makes things quite confusing, as some mazes open at 6, some 6:15, some 6:30, some 6:45, and the rest at 7... but there's (currently) no place to find that out except for asking a team member while there. It's a mess.

And I wouldn't say a lot of those other houses are necessarily better. They all have their own pluses and minuses.

Wasn't confusing for me. I started with the 2 mazes I knew would have the longest waits, Stranger Things and Ghostbusters, then finished up the Backlot area. Went up while everyone else was heading down, and found 20 minute waits for the upper lot mazes.

Alright, thanks for the info. I remember last year was a bit disappointing, with a lot of black hallways, and even better versions of the same mazes in Orlando. How is it looking this year, hopefully better?

Wasn't confusing for me. I started with the 2 mazes I knew would have the longest waits, Stranger Things and Ghostbusters, then finished up the Backlot area. Went up while everyone else was heading down, and found 20 minute waits for the upper lot mazes.

There are signs at the front gate that say which mazes are part of early entry.

But in case anyone missed it: it's the studio tour mazes (Us, Pandoras Box) and all the lower lot except Killer Klownz (Stranger Things, Ghostbusters, Creepshow, Frankstein/Wolfman).

I would recommend starting with the backlot mazes so you can get 3 mazes out of the way early on.

TR from my trip to HHN last week, no pictures though, so skip if you want. I don't really care.

I got to the parking garage around 4:45pm and wandered around Citywalk for a bit to kill some time. Having done the drive from Vegas straight through and having eaten only a bowl of Cheerios that morning I was hoping to grab a quick bite prior to going into the park, but much to my dismay I was hit with the reality that Citywalk has next to no quick or fast service dining options, only full service sit down restaurants or a popcorn place. Shame, but I wasn't going to waste my time at a restaurant when there's early entry to be had, so off to the front gate I went.

Major shout out to one of the employees by the front gate who gave me some great advice when I walked up! I had purchased a standard ticket the day prior and I asked where I could go to upgrade to front of line access. She pointed towards the guest services windows but also told me not to waste my money. They were projecting an attendance of 10,000 guests that evening and told me that an average night is 22,000 guests, so I more than likely wouldn't need to upgrade. After confirming that there were locations once inside the park to upgrade I thanked her and sauntered on over to the entrance gates for early entry without an upgrade. Long story short, she was right, the place was nearly a ghost town most of the night, and I would have wasted $100. Good on you, random front plaza employee!

So here I am at the front gate waiting for them to open and they make the announcement that select attractions would be open for early entry, but not all. We would have to download the Universal Studios App to see which attractions opened at what time. Huh, that's weird, but fine, I guess. Why can't they just place a sign by the entrance with that information? This would be my first reminder that Universal is now owned by Comcast and therefore they will do anything and everything in their power to make your life more difficult. Long story short (part 2: Electric Boogaloo) Stranger Things (lower lot), Frankenstein Vs. The Wolfman (backlot), and Us (tram lot) would be open at 5:30pm, followed by Ghostbusters (backlot) and Holidayz In Hell (upper lot) at 5:45pm, then Killer Klownz (lower lot) and House Of 1000 Corpses (front friggin entrance) at 6. The other haunts would open at 7. Obviously their timing of the various haunts were designed to make my route through the park an everlasting hell, so I said screw it, I'm heading to Stranger Things right off the bat, then the backlot, then working my way through the rest of the park hitting what I could, opening times be damned.

Stranger Things - I went into this one not expecting a lot of scares. I've watched the series and I've never found it particularly scary but the style and creature designs certainly lent themselves to the event. This was the ONLY soundstage haunt, unfortunately. Every other haunt was housed in those black tents which really takes away from the scale of the haunts and the variety of the scares. You'll hear more about that later. Because this was the only soundstage haunt it also ended up being my favorite of the event. The sets were well done, the haunt was very long, there were a bunch of double-team scares, and I got the final scare targeted directly into my face, causing me to nearly fall over backwards (thanks, wall, for preventing that) and scream, "HOLY $&*@ WHAT THE #$ GAAAAAAAHHHHHH" as I ran out of the haunt like a fat kid running away from the gym (I can say that, I'm fat). It was a great way to start the evening!

Frankie Vs. Wolfenstein - I like that Universal is trying to embrace their classic monsters recently, and this haunt had a few great sets and scares in it, but the consistency just isn't there. I came back through this haunt a few hours later after the actors had a chance to warm up but it didn't make much of a difference. Was it fun? Sure! I just wish it stuck with the immersion that the opening scenes had. Sets that fully surround you and have actors coming from all angles quickly give way to black hallways and sudden loud noises with a strobe light. There were also a few "late" scares where I would pass the actor only to hear the sound trigger, turn around and see someone in a mask standing there expecting me to jump. That approach would work if they were to silently creep up on you, but not the way it was presented here.

Ghostbusters - Fun? Definitely. Scary? Not even a little bit, but that shouldn't be a surprise. This was the party haunt. Everyone inside (cast and guests) seemed to be having a blast playing these characters, especially Slimer. I had one of the Slimers waving his arms in a blacklight like he was at a party, so I started waving with him and he turned and gave me the double finger guns as if to say, "yeah, you get it, bro!" I do, Slimer, I do. Keep on rockin! I really hope this comes back in the future in a soundstage where it can really stretch out.

Creepshow - Crap. Worst of the event. Let it die and never return. Nothing but black hallways with strobes and loud sounds. I'd rather be stuck on It's A Small World for an hour than go through this again.

Killer Klownz - Water Gun: The Haunt. I'm pretty sure there wasn't a single scare in here that wasn't telegraphed five seconds in advance. I got blasted in the face with a Klown's water gun about 10 times. Decent sets, though, so hooray for that.

Holidayz In Hell - Just like Frankie and Wolfman, this one starts great and then quickly fizzles out. The ideas for the holidays were decent but after the first few you could tell they ran out of space and/or budget because every scene was extremely short, especially the one for Halloween, which should have gotten the most love. At least they did a decent job of avoiding black hallways!

Us - I loved this haunt. Like the movie it's slower paced. There aren't actors everywhere trying to get you. Instead you walk through large sets with one, maybe two actors, being creepy as hell. There are a few jump scares but mostly this haunt relied on putting you into very uncomfortable situations which resulted in very effective scares, in my opinion. The finale was also a fantastic use of a tried and true haunt staple. This is another one I want to come back!

Pandora's Box - The storyline here is pretty damn loose as you're just moving between scenes of varying dead things, but there were some very effective scares (and some not-so-effective) and creative designs. I just wish is didn't rely 100% on blacklight. That gets old very fast, especially when there's already Killer Klownz overdoing it.

House Of 1000 Corpses - Another victim of Frankenstein and Wolfman design. The first few sets were great but then it fell into black hallway after black hallway. Long stretches of the haunt with no actors, ineffective scares when they finally did show up, and a severe over-reliance on Captain Spaulding rather than the rest of the Firefly Family who, IMO, are far more terrifying.

The Walking Dead Attraction - We're just going to pretend this abomination doesn't exist, OK? Cool.

Transformers - Hoo boy, Universal, you need to get your act together. This ride is in ROUGH shape. The projections are all very washed out, the 3D isn't tuned properly anymore (tons of double images), most of the 4D effects weren't working, the audio was all over the place (most likely dead speakers or just awful volume control), just a sad shadow of its former self. I recall this ride being incredible five years ago. It's no Spider-Man but it was still a great use of the technology! Now? Yeesh. Justice League at Six Flags is more impressive. Universal, I beg you, put some cash into this ride immediately.

Jurassic World - Some sick bastard decided to turn the water effects to max when it was 60 degrees out. Thanks, bud. Appreciate it. God this ride sucks so much compared to what it used to be.

The Mummy - Hey look! This one hasn't gone too far downhill! A few of the dark ride section effects were janky but overall it's still a solid indoor coaster.

Jabbawockeez - I wish I could rewind my life 25 minutes. I clearly got the B-crew for this show. Half of the dancers were out of sync with the others and the production design seemed hell-bent on blinding the audience with lights every chance they got. Bill & Ted died for this.

I had a fun night but it'll probably be another five years before I bother with HHN again, especially when all of the local competition just does everything better and for a lower price.

Just FYI, Citywalk does have several fast food places to grab a bite: Panda Express, Taco Bell, KFC/PizzaHut, Subway, and Pink's. I think they are all on the second level, so that's probably why you didn't see them. Great review of all the haunts though, thanks for sharing. It's nice that the front gate employee gave you the heads up about not needing to buy the express pass.

nice review of the haunts, thanks for sharing. USJ HHN was my first time ever being in a Universal park, so it's cool to hear more opinions of the USA HHN stuff (even tho I follow along on Robb's tweets/posts about the parks)

I'm more of a set admirer than a "scare" admirer. . so I'd think that I'd enjoy the Universal HHN on a slow day, where could take the time going thru the haunts and looking at the set pieces.

Huge Killer Klown fan, so I'd think that would be my favorite.

Seconding the fact there's a slew of fast food options not only upstairs, but also a few in the main corridor: Ludobird and Crepe Place.

The early entry was a mess this year, and changed multiple times before settling in a very confusing schedule: ST and GB at 5:30, Frank vs. Wolf at 6:05, Creepshow at 6:15, Us at 6:00, Pandora's Box at 6:15, and Holidayz at 6:30. The mobile page at ushwaittimes.com has it all listed.

I think you're the only person I know who liked Stranger Things. Despite the long lines, it was pretty hated by everyone else. If you know the show, they left out a LOT of iconic imagery which left many fans unsatisfied.

Pandora's Box was very decisive in the haunt community... people either loved it--mainly because the scareactors were so aggressive and strategically placed--or hated it as a one-trick pony with all bright neon. I didn't really think of it being similar to Klownz. It's a fair point now that you bring it up, but such a different mood (and pretty dang true to the movie--I think it was actually better than Orlando's take on the same movie--and it's not often Hollywood's HHN is better than Orlando), it didn't bother me too much.

^^^ Thanks for the info, I wish I'd known that a few days ago, haha. That's another thing, the signage in Citywalk is almost nowhere to be found. I mean yeah, the vendors have signs at their location, but signs pointing towards the garages, the front gate, restrooms, and what vendors are where are very sparse.