Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011 Haunted Houses, shows

It’s time once again to tell you what will be going on at this years Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011! Last year I was a bit disappointed as everything seemed the same, so to speak.

But this year they seem to be mixing it up a bit so maybe it will be worth the price. Each year they have a central theme, or head horror character. This year that character seems to be Lady Luck.

As it says in their official Halloween Horror nights website, try your luck at staying alive during horror nights and hope your luck does not run out! Sounds pretty cool to me.

This year at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011 there will be 8 haunted houses, 6 scare zones and 2 live shows. For those who never have been, let me briefly explain.

On the nights of Halloween Horror night, normally at around 6 to 7 PM, all the normal park goers in the Universal Orlando park (the old park) have to leave. Then people with the special Halloween Horror nights tickets are let in.

So that means this event is NOT included with normal park tickets. You have to purchase a separate ticket for each horror night event. More on those later.

Once inside they transform the whole park into a creepy, scary Halloween area. The main attractions are the haunted houses, of which there will be 8 this year. They all basically work the same.

You get in a line, a LONG line, and go through the haunted houses like a maze. Inside each one will have it’s own creepy theme and scary characters and scenes. Even the smells will be strong, with flashing lights and lots of other things to confuse you.

In between the haunted houses outside are 6 scare zones. These are basically areas outside you need to walk around the park to get to the other attractions. With these you see zombies, ghost and other creepies walking around that sometimes chase you a bit.

They normally have a central stage or area of some type that acts like a place to see some cool horror stuff. Each scare zone will have it’s own theme, from zombies to witches or whatever they decide to do that year.

Finally they have two live shows you can see this year. These are sit down shows that feature live action and music. I have to say last years shows were awful. I mean bad, not scary!

They also will have many of the normal theme park rides going that you can ride on. A few will be closed but the best ones, like the roller coasters should be going.

So now that you know what Halloween Horror night is all about, lets take a look at what they will be featuring this year in their haunted houses, scare zones and live shows shall we?

HAUNTED HOUSES

Nightingales Blood Prey
In this one you seem to be in the trenches during WWI. Savage Banshees who can transform themselves and feed on the weak are here, hunting you. Sounds kinda cool, I just hope it’s better than last years dogs of war.

Holidays of Horror
Your host H. R. Bloodengutz does one last television broadcast. It’s a Scare-Athon of Holiday based horror themes. Sounds like you see popular Holiday settings twisted into horror sets. This one sounds pretty good if they do it right. I’m thinking of the old tongue froze to a pole in a bloody twist! 😀

Saws and Steam
This haunted house is a big machine, with whirling blades, giant pistons, crushing gears and hot steam. It’s like you stepped into a wood chipper and have to find your way out. Another one that sounds good.

The Thing
This is based on an upcoming remake of an old horror movie called The Thing. Scientist in a remote Antarctic outpost discover a crashed ship. Soon a creature that can transform itself into any living form starts killing them one by one.

Winters Night
A pretty classic theme of a winter night in a Gothic cemetery. Lost souls and goons rise from the graves with their sights set on you,,,, Boo!

Nevermore, the madness of Poe
Imagine the greatest horror works of the late Edgar Allen Poe come to life. Each corner you turn reveals another classic Poe story that you step into and become part of it. Sounds promising.

The Forsaken
Sailors from the fourth ship of Columbus that did not make it have risen from the depths of the sea. They have come to a Spanish fort to extract revenge, which is where you are. Don’t you just hate it when that happens!

The In Between
This final haunted house I’m not sure what to make of. It’s suppose to be a 3D house where your between a 3rd dimension. You see creatures from another world and your eyes play tricks on you. It should be interesting.

So that’s the list of haunted houses at this years Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011. They sound like a nice mix of different themes, hopefully they will be better than last year.

Now a bit about the scare zones for this year. These are scattered around the park in between the haunted houses. Some of them you have to go through to get to other areas of the park. Here’s a brief rundown of them:

SCARE ZONES

Lady Luck, your luck has run out
Lady Luck is the central character this year at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011. So this scare zone features her, plus some of her goons and creepy sets I’m sure. Wonder how hot she looks? 😛

Acid Assault
An isolated town has been decaying for years from acid rain. The few remaining inhabitants feed themselves from people passing by. Sounds like a classic roaming zombie scare zone.

7 Temptresses
Daylight shows off the beauty of these sexy temptresses. Night however transforms them into their evil selves. Sounds like they may be on a stage or area and switch from “good” to “bad” forms. Worth checking out.

Canyon of dark souls
There are lots of evil creatures luring in the dark, so tip toe slowly through here or you’ll find yourself being attacked! Might see some cool creature costumes and characters here.

Grown Evil
A once lovely garden has overgrown and now home to strange evil animals and creatures. Wind your way through this creepy garden and avoid the strange beasts that dwell there. Should be another cool place with some scares!

Night Maze
Finally we have Night Maze. Not sure what it is, but it says it will be very black and always moving. Maybe they will turn a street into a black maze you have to go through and they keep changing the walls. Sounds fun to me. 😀

That wraps up the summary of this years scare zones at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011. They sound pretty good and should be at least as good or better than last year.

Finally we have the two live shows that will be going on. Now I have to say that Bill and Ted’s excellent Halloween adventure show last year was bad,,, REALLY bad! I’m not the only one who thinks that, all my friends said the same.

So I hope they are much better this year. I’m not going to check it out this year, so let me know what you think of it okay? Anyways here’s the two live shows they will have:

LIVE SHOWS

Bill and Ted’s excellent Halloween adventure
The two most excellent dudes party on as they skewer famous movies, stars and anything else that is popular. Hopefully it will be much better than last year. It sure can’t be any worst!

Death Drums
They don’t give you much info about this new show. Only to say it’s a “seductive, hard hitting and raw extreme drumming experience”. They also say each of the 3 shows held each night will be different. Interesting.

That wraps up my summary of this years 21st annual Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011 haunted houses, scare zones and live shows! For the most part they sound better than last year.

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011 runs on select nights from September 23rd to October 31st. Some nights run from 6:30 PM to 2:00 AM while other nights it ends at 1:00 AM.

Ticket prices vary depending on what nights you go and if you buy more than one night. You can save a lot if you buy several nights at once. But how many nights do you want to get creeped out?

They also sell an express pass. With this you get to jump to the front of the line at each haunted house ONE time per night. That means you get the fast lane at each house but only ONCE each that night. If you want to see the same haunted house again your stuck in the long line.

Now for a common question: what is the age limit for Halloween Horror nights? The answer is none. You can bring your 2 month old baby if you want, but your crazy if you do. They don’t recommend this event for kids under 13 years of age.

It is very intense and very scary for kids. You see very realistic gore, blood, demons, ghost and lots of other creepy stuff that is not for the very young. I would not bring my kids under 14 years of age,,,, if I had kids.

Another question is: do they serve and can you buy beer and alcohol drinks there at Halloween Horror nights? Yes they do and you can, lots of it! They do charge a lot for it however.

I’m not sure if serving alcohol to people stumbling around at night going into haunted houses is a really great idea, but I’m sure they make lots of money doing so.

For full details and to buy tickets to Halloween Horror nights 2011, plus find out the many different ticket packages they have, go to the official Halloween Horror nights website and check it out.

Nights can and do sell out, so I suggest you buy tickets online to make sure you can get in. So if your into this kind of stuff go and have fun. Costumes are NOT allowed by the way. Maybe I’ll see you at this years 21st annual Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights 2011! 😀