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4 (out of 5)

So, you Will Smith-wannabes think you have the stuff to join the Men in Black? Slip on some black shades, enter the “recruitment program” at MIB Alien Attack and find out. Issued laser guns, passengers travel in ultra-sophisticated vehicles through an alien-infested New York City streetscape and rack up points by blasting the otherworldly bugs.

Beware. The bugs, it turns out, blast back. It’s zap or be zapped time.

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4.5 (out of 5)

Like Universal Orlando's other original Harry Potter-themed rides, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is spectacular.

Located in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure (one of three theme parks at Universal Orlando), Hagrid's is a hybrid dark ride and roller coaster. Unlike nearly all other attractions that attempt to blend the thrills of a coaster with the immersive storytelling of a major E-Ticket ride, Universal hasn’t sacrificed anything. It is both a richly themed, compelling attraction filled with stunning animatronics and other captivating elements as well as a full-throated, scream-tastic coaster.

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Universal Studios Florida has already been capitalizing on the Vin Diesel series with Fast & Furious – Supercharged. As in Hollywood, which featured a similar immersion tunnel attraction as the finale of its Studio Tour, the Florida ride will close down in anticipation of the new coaster. Which is just as well. Supercharged on both coasts was decidedly meh. As I wrote in a recent review of the Fast & Furious ride, a coaster–especially a high-thrill one–would make a heckuva lot more sense to showcase Dom Toretto and his “family’s” world of auto racing.

As for the high thrills, in-the-know rcdb.com claims Florida’s Hollywood Drift will rev up to 72 mph, which is the same speed as the California coaster. That would make it the fastest and tallest coaster at Universal Orlando–but not in the theme park capital of the world. Mako at SeaWorld Orlando hits 73 mph, and the even more furious Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa accelerates to 76 mph. In terms of height, Florida thrill machines Iron Gwazi, Mako, and the 200-foot-tall SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa will all tower over the new Fast & Furious ride.

While it will share the same name as the California coaster, it’s unclear what else the Florida ride will share. It will almost surely feature the same 360-degree spinning capability to simulate the car-crazy family’s penchant for souped-up “drifting” autos. (The coaster is called Hollywood Drift after all.) It will also likely be manufactured by Intamin, the European company responsible for the West Coast version of the ride as well as Universal Orlando standouts, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and VelociCoaster.

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The announced 170-foot spike pretty much guarantees that the Florida coaster will include magnetic launch motors. Hollywood Drift won’t be the first coaster at Universal Orlando to include a spike. The less intense Hagrid’s ride features a 65-foot dead-end spike; the new coaster will climb nearly three times as high. Passengers on SeaWorld Orlando’s Ice Breaker brave a 93-foot spike. There are plenty of spikes out there in coasterdom, including a 420-foot doozie on Cedar Point’s Top Thrill 2. Of course, what goes up must come down, so Hollywood Drift will include at least some backwards-facing action when its trains plummet down the spike and continue in reverse.

By the way, Universal says that the spike element will be located adjacent to CityWalk. Fast & Furious will occupy the plot vacated by the recently demolished Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit. That ride’s route circled around a spot adjacent to CityWalk’s Hard Rock Cafe, which is probably where the new spike will send passengers soaring up and down. California’s Fast & Furious coaster does not include a spike. Its continuous circuit navigates the extreme elevation changes at the studios, which is located near the Hollywood Hills. The land at Universal Orlando (like most of Florida), however, is relatively flat.

There had been rumors about a “Ghostbusters” or “Back to the Future” coaster taking the place of Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit. What do you think about Universal opting for another Fast & Furious coaster instead? Are you sorry to see Supercharged go?

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2.5 (out of 5)

The Universal theme parks have long invited visitors to “ride the movies.” Many of its attractions incorporate large screens and media–literally placing ride vehicles in front of movies–to insert guests in the middle of Hollywood blockbuster action. By sending hapless passengers on a high-speed highway chase, Fast & Furious – Supercharged, the souped-up attraction at Universal Studios Florida, attempts to take the you-are-there action to the extreme. But it largely falls flat and may be the ride that convinced the company to pull back from its over-reliance on screen-based storytelling at its parks.

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Just beyond the front gate, guests will encounter the Isle of Curiosity and get to meet Gabby from DreamWorks’ Gabby’s Dollhouse. Heading left, they will discover TrollsFest and the funky doll characters from the popular films. Universal says this land will include two interactive play areas, including Poppy’s Playland. Befitting the target audience, play zones will abound throughout Universal Kids Resort.

It will also include rides, although the company didn’t explicitly announce any details about what’s in store. Looking at the concept art it shared, however, it’s clear that TrollsFest will feature a kiddie coaster (see above). According to rcdb, it will be called Rhonda’s Trollfest Express (although “TrollsFest” seems more likely as the middle name for this ride) and will be manufactured by the German company, Zierer. It should be similar to the Grover-themed coasters at the two Busch Gardens parks, which incorporate booster wheel lift hills. Also pictured in the TrollsFest image is a spinning ride which appears to be a Zamperla Samba Balloon.

DreamWorks Land at Universal Studios Florida, the revamped kids area that debuted in 2024, offers Trolls Trollercoaster (love that name!). In fact, the Florida outpost for kids seems to have served as something of a template and testing ground for the new park.

Heading counter-clockwise from the entrance gate, guests will enter SpongeBob SquarePants Bikini Bottom, which will feature a sprayground. In addition to giving kids a chance to expend energy in multiple play zones, Universal Kids Resort will also offer plenty of opportunities for them to get wet. Given the hot and humid weather in Texas, that seems like a wise choice. Case in point, the Minions vs. Minions- Bello Bay Club in the center of the park will offer a soaking river raft ride. There will also be a character meet-and-greet with the quirky yellow characters as well as a play zone in this area.

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In the back of the park, guests will find three lands, including Shrek’s Swamp. It, too, will feature a sprayground, Shrek’s Swamp Splash & Smash, as well as a playground, Shrek’s Swamp Rompin’ Stomp. Shrek’s buddy will have his own land, Puss in Boots Del Mar, which will give kids a chance to participate in games such as El Gato’s Meow.

Rounding out the lands at the new park will be Jurassic World Adventure Camp. According to Universal, kids will be able to interact with a newborn dinosaur and romp in yet another play area. As shown in the picture above, there will apparently also be a coaster in this land. Rcdb contends this one will be called Jurassic World: Cretaceous Coaster and will be similar to the Flight of the Hippogriff coasters at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands at the Universal Studios parks in Hollywood and Florida. And do I spy a mini drop tower ride?

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I’m holding out hope that Universal Kids Resort will have at least one dark ride among its attractions. The concept art shows structures that could be show buildings in the Jurassic World, Puss in Boots, and TrollsFest lands. However, they could also be theaters, restaurants, or gift shops. Regardless, it’s unlikely that any dark ride at the modest park would be an E-Ticket attraction along the lines of The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. Instead they would probably be lower-profile attractions (think: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride).

Just beyond the front gate, the 300-room Universal Kids Resort Hotel will offer accommodations at the new property. It, too, will include a play area as well as a pool.

“We envisioned this park through the unbridled creativity of kids where infinite imagination, curiosity and free-spirited play were core to our design philosophies,” said Brian Robinson, executive VP and chief creative officer at Universal Creative. “It produced a park that’s pure joy and an absolute celebration of what it is to be a kid.”

Might you plan a visit to Universal Kids Resort? Or do you think this will be more of a regional park catering to folks primarily from Texas?

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Oh, the horror. I’m not talking about the maddening resort fees or the sky-high costs for what used to be the cheapo, loss-leader buffets that beckoned folks into casinos along the Las Vegas Strip. I’m talking about Universal Horror Unleashed, the new attraction that brings Halloween Horror Nights-like fun and mayhem to Sin City. I got to brave its four haunted houses and check out everything else on offer at the venue. I’m here to report it’s scary good.

Located at Area15, the immersive entertainment district located off the Vegas Strip, Universal Horror Unleashed (UHU) marks a bold move for Universal Destinations & Experiences and represents the company’s first foray into a new market with a standalone haunt experience. (It has plans to roll out more and has announced that it will also be unleashing horror at a Chicago location in 2027.) While UHU clearly takes its cues from the wildly popular Halloween Horror Nights at Universal’s parks in Hollywood, Orlando, Singapore, and Japan, the Las Vegas attraction is unique–and in some ways, better–in its own right.

For one, rather than sticking with the Halloween season, UHU will be open year-round. Instead of a temporary, pop-up event that’s retrofitted at a theme park, the dedicated space offers permanent haunted houses and other features. It’s also located entirely indoors, which means Universal’s horror-mesiters can control the environment (including the climate, which is a great thing in a city that regularly posts triple-digit temperatures) and deliver a compact, thematically consistent experience. The way that UHU presents its haunted houses is markedly different from Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) as well.

A Frank encounter

If you’ve been to HHN, you know the drill. Once you reach the front of the line at a haunted house, you join the conga line and proceed through a maze of corridors and sets en masse. With a steady stream of folks preceding and following you, the “scareactors” (the performers who lie in wait to scare the snot out of guests) may or may not time their assaults to draw the most snot from you. More often than not, I find that a ghoul comes out of hiding just ahead of me, or I hear the telltale scream of a good scare right behind me. It’s still disconcerting and curdles my blood, but there’s nothing quite like a direct, in-your-face confrontation.

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UHU, however, controls entry into the houses by sending one small group at a time to face the demons within. Each house has a nicely themed queue that leads to a holding area where staffers dispatch a group of no more than five guests every 45 seconds or so. As a result, my posse and I had our own personal haunt experiences with perfectly synced scares. There were no other guests in sight. With no distractions, we were enmeshed in the worlds of the characters and their storylines, which is the very essence of themed, location-based, immersive entertainment.

And get this: In each house, the small groups are corralled into a space in which multiple scareactors perform a brief scene. For instance, my gang and I–and we were the only ones there–got to witness the moment that Frankenstein’s Monster is pumped full of electricity and comes alive. When he broke free of his restraints and started coming after us, we hightailed it out of there. It was quite a sight to behold and to be a part of.

“Everything that you do here has more depth of interaction with what we call that core environment,” says TJ Mannarino, VP of art and design for Universal’s entertainment division and one of UHU’s visionaries, explaining how the Vegas attraction distinguishes itself from HHN. ”Basically, the world that we’ve set is a place in which you can now come and play.”

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There is a downside to the intimacy and deep immersion, however. While the crowds are considerably smaller at UHU compared to the throngs that descend on the parks for HHN, that doesn’t mean there aren’t lines for the houses. That’s because only a few guests are allowed to enter at a time. We waited about 20 to 30 minutes for each house. That’s a lot less than typical wait times at HHN, but it’s a wait nonetheless. I’d imagine guests would spend less time in line by avoiding weekends and visiting on Thursdays or Mondays (UHU is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays) and by arriving in the afternoon (the venue opens at 2 p.m.) instead of the evening.

Universal shows some styles

The Universal Monsters house, which is set in the gothic crypt of Van Helsing, also features appearances by a cadre of classic characters that established Universal’s horror movie legacy some 100 years ago and defined the genre. The Mummy, Dracula, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and others lurk in the crypt’s dank recesses. Of UHU’s four houses, this was the highlight for me.

I really liked Exorcist: Believer as well. It is more or less the same as the house Universal presented at HHN in 2023, which uses the 2023 Blumhouse sequel to the 1973 original film as its reference. The Vegas version does not include the haunting “Tubular Bells” song, however (perhaps due to licensing rights?), but its private audience, mini-performance does depict a brief exorcism ritual that is a real head turner (see the photo at the top). The supernatural vibe in the Exorcist house is quite different from the gothic feel of the Universal Monsters maze. And it’s distinct from the old-timey, Dust Bowl aesthetic presented in Scarecrow: The Reaping. The variety is intentional.

“We picked different horror environments,” Mannarino says. “We know people that love horror aren’t all into the same style of horror. Having that mix really makes the experience great.”

The Scarecrow house is based on similar houses that the parks featured at past HHN events. It represents the lone UHU maze devoted to original content conjured by the fiendish minds at Universal Creative. Set on an old farm, its largely monochromatic color palette establishes a creepy tone. The all too lively scarecrows that inhabit its cornfields are the stuff of nightmares (in a good way, mind you; that’s the whole point of UHU).

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The least engaging house, in my estimation, is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It’s based on the iconic slasher movie and is the most gory and extreme of the four UHU houses. But it’s not nearly as graphic as many HHN houses. This Leatherface has nothing on the sadistic Art the Clown who is tearing up the Terrifier houses now at HHN in Florida and Hollywood, for example. The chainsaw-wielding guy seems more like a lumbering oaf than a threatening psycho killer.

A horror playground

There is plenty more to do beyond the houses at UHU. A large common area, which is themed as an abandoned horror movie prop warehouse, is filled with artifacts and scareactors who are only too happy to engage with guests. Some walk through the crowd, while others are stationed in sets scattered throughout the space. There are some Cirque-du-Soleil-esque acrobats in harnesses that soar above the guests, giving the warehouse some offbeat energy. HHN mainstay Jack the Clown and his sidekick Chance preside over a brief stage presentation and game show that include audience participation and brings some kinky, horror-infused, Vegas glitz to the proceedings. The demented clown also has his own bar that serves themed cocktails.

There are some tasty and creative dishes available for purchase as well at both sit-down and counter-service eateries. Which begs the question: Is UHU a horror attraction? Or is it a cool place to hang with friends in Vegas that features highly unique entertainment?

“I think it’s both,” Mannarino said when I posed the question to him. “We built a space where we want you to feel comfortable if you’re a horror fan, if you enjoy a little bit more of the darker side of life. There is no place right now, except for Horror Unleashed, that gives you this environment year round.”

Which raises another question: Will folks come to UHU year-round? Universal has a lot riding on that business proposition. Sure, Halloween has exploded in popularity. However, the company must be betting on the steady stream of horror films and TV shows that are released throughout the year and the proliferation of fans that can’t get enough of the genre, regardless of the season. It’s something of a gamble. But you know the old Vegas adage: The (haunted) house always wins.

Among the headlining houses, I was most impressed with Terrifier, based on the film series featuring Art the Clown. The sadistic bozo certainly gives Arthurs a bad name. The movies take slasher cinema to the extreme, and the HHN house is true to the spirit of the franchise.

“Art’s masterful kills in those films were so gory, we just had to bring the gore to life,” enthuses Lora Sauls, senior manager for the creative development group at Universal Orlando and longtime HHN mastermind.

Indeed, the house is littered with Art’s kills, spattered with blood, and chock full of severed limbs and internal organs. There are remnants of a circus in his funhouse, but it is permeated by a patina of dank filth and evil, especially in the disgusting bathroom through which guests are routed. HHN creatives have always waged a multi-sensory assault when they craft their mazes, including plenty of evocative smells. But, is that actually sewage wafting in the air of the Terrifier house? Ew.

By the way, Art can be seen riding his tricycle, honking his horn, and otherwise terrifying guests outside the confines of his house on the park’s streets. There is no host that serves as the face of this year’s HHN, but Art seems to be the de facto ringleader. I have a feeling we may be seeing more of the killer clown at future events.

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In my estimation, WWE Presents the Horrors of the Wyatt Sicks was a close second for this year’s crop of brand-name houses, partly because I’m a pro wrestling fan. It’s an odd choice for an HHN theme, because the sports entertainment spectacle that is WWE isn’t typically associated with horror (aside from its horrific displays of staged violence), and there isn’t an obvious crossover among fans. But wrestling storylines have incorporated elements of horror, especially those of the late grappler, Bray Wyatt (née Wyndham Rotunda). Mike Aiello, senior director of entertainment creative development at Universal, who is a huge pro wrestling enthusiast and horror fan and has been an HHN mastermind for years, befriended Rotunda. He pitched the Wyatt Sicks theme and gives props to leadership for greenlighting the concept.

“We’re incredibly lucky,” says Aiello, referring to his gig. “We can be selfish and actually do the things we want to do, because we are also fans of all this stuff.”

The house pays homage to the popular wrestler and to the creepy characters he created, who lurk throughout its corridors. There are plenty of scares, and even the most WWE-illiterate will appreciate the vibe. But I got a huge kick out of the wrestling insider references, such as a backstage sign directing folks to the “Gorilla” position, named for the spot where the late WWE wrestler and exec, Gorilla Monsoon, coached performers just before they entered the arena. There are also folding tables and chairs stacked and ready to be brought to the ring (if you know, you know), posters for long-ago matches, bejeweled, spandex costumes hanging on racks, and more to take aficionados of the squared circle behind the scenes. It is certainly one of the more unusual HHN houses, but it works surprisingly well.

There’s Art, and then there’s art. While the pop culture-based houses are great, I was the most taken by El Artista: A Spanish Haunting. It is a recurring theme at HHN; the brand name IP houses generate buzz for the event and take starring roles, but the original content houses often outshine them. Festooned with Spanish moss and architectural flourishes, the 19th-century colonial manor through which guests enter the maze sets the stage for the lavishly designed house. It tells the story of an artist descending into madness and shows the work that he has created coming to life with evil intent. Yes there are some potent scares, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of the exquisitely produced sets with its statuary, artwork, special effects, and other touches. It’s always amazed me that so much effort goes into creating HHN houses such as El Artista, even though they will only be open for a few weeks.

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I was also taken by Hatchet and Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters, a spinoff of the B-movie-themed Slaughter Cinema house from last year’s event. With its rustic buildings and dusty streets, the Old West world building showcased here is masterful. It’s ostensibly about bounty hunters, but the focus is really on the bizarre demons that have materialized in the town. They seem to be particularly interested in attacking us. The pacing is great, and the scares are plentiful.

Other IP houses include Five Nights at Freddy’s, based on the video games and the movies they inspired. It takes place at an abandoned Chuck E. Cheese-like arcade and pizza restaurant from the 1980s where the animatronic characters come alive at night to terrorize the hapless guard watching the property (and the guests making their way through the house). It is less about scares and more about the impressive robotic characters created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. I had high hopes for Fallout, an ode to the post-apocalyptic hellscape depicted in the video games and Amazon Prime show, but it falls flat. I was expecting more elaborate sets and more ominous tension. Even more disappointing? Instead of giving one of horror’s most iconic characters his HHN due, Jason Universe just gives us one hockey-masked maniac after another lashing out at guests.

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For the original content houses, Dolls: Let’s Play Dead is plenty creepy with its charred and forlorn life-sized dolls looming everywhere and the twisted little girl who presides over the playroom taking great interest in the HHN guests who have been shrunk to the size of a toy. I had imagined Gálkn: Monsters of the North would transport visitors to an icy, frozen tundra. Instead, it’s more of a remote, bucolic, Scandinavian village that has been overtaken by an odd assortment of elaborate creatures. Still, the sets are striking, and the scares are solid. I didn’t totally get Grave of Flesh. According to Universal, we are supposed to be attending our own funeral and then face the wrath of flesh eaters. Instead, I saw a guy dressed in his burial suit, a bunch of skeletons, and what I guess may have been a mausoleum. I don’t know what happens in the afterlife, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be ogling other folks who are dead and buried. The house had an engaging soundtrack though.

There are scare zones, of course, throughout the park. I got a kick out of the green-glowing, radioactive ghouls wandering Mutations: Toxic Twenties in the New York area. Perhaps the scariest thing at HHN are the subwoofers that are turned up to 11 at Nightmare Fuel: Circus of Decay. The crazy-loud show features beefcake guys and scantily clad gals nominally performing circus acts, but mostly doing dance routines.

What HHN house most intrigues you? What do you look for in a haunted maze?

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Art the Clown (no relation) of Terrifier fame will slash his way through haunted houses on both coasts. Guests will enter the demented bozo’s funhouse and be subjected to an R-rated heaping of grisly gore. The silent clown (I always knew there was something creepy about mimes) has an ample bag of tricks and enjoys torturing his victims in creative ways. He will be setting his beady, black-lined eyes on the folks who visit his house. Expect literal rivers of blood, including a platelets-filled Tunnel of Love. Intrepid HHNers will be able to choose between a wet path and a dry path. Regardless, they won’t be able to avoid getting soaked by blood.

One of cinema’s modern-day slasher pioneers, Jason Voorhees, will also be out for blood in both Hollywood and Orlando. The Jason Universe haunted houses will feature plenty of opportunities to confront the machete madman from the classic Friday the 13^th flicks. Universal says that there will even be multiple Jasons in a single scene, so there will be no avoiding the guy who has given hockey masks a bad name. Guests will get to visit Jason’s original stomping ground, Camp Crystal Lake, and witness some of his infamous kills.

The post-apocalyptic hellscape from the Amazon Prime Video series, Fallout will be on display at both HHN events. In this haunted house, guests will start their journey in Vault 33 and witness the show’s heroine, Lucy MacLean, narrowly escape a massacre. The fun doesn't end there however, as folks will follow Lucy to the wasteland surface where creatures such as large mutated cockroaches known as Radroaches lurk. A word of warning: Be prepared to get drenched in Radroach guts. I hear it will pair well with the voluminous blood from the Terrifier haunted house.

Universal will be announcing more headlining houses for both the Florida and California HHN events. Guests will also be able to board the Terror Tram in Hollywood. The repurposed Studio Tour trams will transport visitors onto the backlot where they will disembark for some yet-to-be-revealed freaky fun. Both of the HHNs will offer haunted houses with original content as well. While the houses featuring brand-name movie and TV franchises resonate with horror fans and help sell tickets, the homegrown houses often end up being the best of the bunch.

Universal Orlando has announced a number of additional houses, including Hatchet & Chains: Demon Bounty Hunters. Folks who have experienced Slaughter Cinema, a past haunted house, may recognize the title as one of the films that was playing at the macabre movie theater. Grave of Flesh has an interesting premise. Guests who brave this house will get to attend their own funeral and then experience what it’s like after they die. Since it’s HHN, we’re not talking about the pearly gates or any other aspirational afterlife scenario; we’re talking about getting buried in a cemetery and enduring flesh-eating creatures. Yikes!

In Dolls: Let’s Play Dead, guests will enter the bedroom of a twisted girl who likes to dismember, burn, and otherwise abuse her dolls. There’s one catch: Visitors will be shrunk to the size of the playthings and will be at the mercy of the little sicko. Universal promises there will be loads of blood and gore when the dark side of Nordic fairy tales comes to life in Gölkin: Monsters of the North. Following HHN tradition, the 2025 event will include a Latin-themed house. Set in a manor in the 1800s , the statuary of a mad artist will come alive and terrorize guests in El Artista: A Spanish Haunting.

Among the scare zones at the Orlando event will be The Cat Lady of Crooked Lane, at which feral cats will abound, and Masquerade: Dance with Death, which will feature vampires attempting to conceal their identities by donning masks.

Will you be heading to Halloween Horror Nights this year? What house are you most anticipating?

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In 1999, when Universal opened Islands of Adventure, its second gate at Universal Orlando, it helped usher in an era of theme park lands that are devoted to single intellectual properties. Marvel Super Hero Island and Seuss Landing focus on creative brands rather than a single IP, although they function as multiverse lands in which multiple characters and storylines coexist. Jurassic Park, however, transports guests and envelops them in the world and mythology depicted in the dino-centric movies and books. In 2010, the park introduced the first Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which takes single IP world-building and immersion to the next level. With four meticulously crafted, IP-driven lands (including another Potter-inspired one), the new Epic Universe follows the trend.

Although the UK park will probably be called “Universal Studios” (no official name has been released thus far), the company’s US-based studio parks have largely evolved from taking guests behind the scenes of moviemaking to placing them into lavishly staged real-world facsimiles of movie franchises. It is likely that the British park will follow suit. So what properties will get the nod?

What may be most striking about the new park, which is scheduled to open in 2031, is what it likely won’t include: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Harry and the gang are fixtures at Universal’s parks in Hollywood, Orlando, Japan, Beijing, and Singapore, but the Universal park where J.K. Rowling and her fictional Potterverse are actually based will reportedly not build another Hogwarts School because the nearby Warner Bros Studio Tour already pays homage to the films and books.

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According to a BBC source, filling the fantasy void–castle and all–will be a Lord of the Rings land. Eagle-eyed fans scouring pixellated magnifications of Universal’s concept art have noted turreted buildings and other indications supporting the premise. If true, the UK park would score a major coup. The Tolkien series is a rare worldwide blockbuster franchise that has yet to be represented at a theme park. Fans, who are just as passionate about hobbits as others are about house-elves, would surely travel afar for the chance to visit Middle-earth.

If prognosticators and spies are correct, the veddy British James Bond would get his own gadget-filled land. The BBC says that a stunt show featuring the 007 sleuth is in the works. It would supposedly be similar to The Bourne Stuntacular, the (incredible) attraction at Universal Studios Florida. However, that show incorporates an enormous screen and is staged in an indoor theater, whereas the concept art for the UK park shows an outdoor amphitheater (see the top of the image above) in which a stunt show appears to be taking place. Some have speculated that a WaterWorld show, which has been wowing audiences at Universal’s parks in Hollywood, Japan, Singapore, and Beijing for years, could be headed to the outdoor arena.

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Speaking of veddy British, the lovable Paddington Bear would anchor a land featuring rides and attractions for young children. That makes a great deal of sense to me. He is a cherished character who would have powerful emotional appeal. I could see kids (and wistful adults) queueing up to meet the adorable chap. I could also see Paddington Bear becoming the Mickey Mouse ambassador proxy for the UK park. A Minions (and possibly other Illumination Entertainment properties) land would likely also cater to younger visitors. The screwball yellow characters have become a Universal parks staple.

Another Universal staple, Jurassic Park (or the spinoff, Jurassic World), would almost surely find a new home in England. The concept art appears to show a land with a marquee attraction similar to Jurassic World Adventure at Universal Studios Beijing (which, based on reports and on-ride videos, seems to be one of the world’s great dark rides). Other features referenced in the art include a twin drop tower ride and a children’s interactive play area. A nearby coaster in the artwork could represent a clone of Jurassic World VelociCoaster, the wildly popular ride that wows guests at Islands of Adventure.

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If we are to believe the BBC’s reporting and fans’ detective work poring over the illustration, a second major coaster will be themed to “Back to the Future.” That seems far-fetched. The last time Marty McFly went time traveling in a film was 1990. Universal closed both of its Back to the Future: The Ride attractions in 2007 to make way for The Simpsons Ride. But Hill Valley’s Courthouse Square, which is part of the Hollywood park’s backlot studio tour and was the site of a pivotal scene in the original BTTF, seems to be clearly identified in the concept art. If the rendering of the blue coaster is accurate, it looks like it could be an LSM launch coaster from Intamin in the style of Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg–complete with a massive spike. Lending credence to a BTTF revival at a theme park, the new Stardust Racers coaster at Epic Universe is embellished with a Flux Capacitor on the back of the trains.

Rounding out the park will be an entrance plaza that looks like an ode to the golden age of Hollywood, a 500-room hotel, and a retail, dining and entertainment complex á la CityWalk. Universal says that it expects the park to attract 8.5 million visitors in its first year of operation, which would make it the largest attraction in the UK.

What would you like to see represented in Universal’s UK park? Would you want to visit park with lands themed to Lord of the Rings, James Bond, and Paddington Bear?

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It’s been a few days since I got to visit Universal Epic Universe as part of a media preview of the new park in Orlando, and I’m still grinning from ear to ear. In my last post, I shared some first impressions and general thoughts about two of the lands, Celestial Park and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. Let’s step through the portals of the other three lands as I continue my gobsmacked initial take on the hugely anticipated park.

Shedding some light on Dark Universe

In the run-up to Epic Universe’s opening, I’ve been especially intrigued by Dark Universe. An ode to the classic monsters of the company’s venerable movie studios, I was delighted to see Universal so fully embrace its legacy and curious to find out how it would bring the land to life. Turns out, it’s killer.

Emerging from the portal tunnel, theatrical fog (a staple of Halloween Horror Nights, the Universal event that helps inspire the Epic Universe land) envelops guests as they make their way through an old cemetery. Rounding a corner, they enter Darkmoor, a bedraggled village filled with monsters, monster hunters, and wary folks trying to steer clear of the macabre monster machinations. At the far end of the village lies Frankenstein Manor, a gothic castle that immediately takes its place as one of parkdom’s great visual weenies. Every few minutes, electrical sparks, crackling with energy, light up the turret atop the foreboding building, signifying the strange experiments taking place within. Simultaneously, the lights flicker and threaten to extinguish throughout the village. It is one of many wonderful, grand-scale illusions at the new park. I didn’t get to see the land at night, but I’d imagine it takes on an even more ominous tone, particularly when the manor alights from the power surges.

The E-Ticket attraction, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, that lies inside the manor is a real howl. We meet Dr. Victoria Frankenstein, the great-great-granddaughter of the original monster re-animator who is waging a battle against Dracula and trying to prevent him from releasing the Phantom of the Opera, The Mummy, and other monsters she is holding captive. The attraction deploys a Kuka robotic arm ride vehicle that is similar to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, but instead of relying mostly on screens, Monsters Unchained deftly combines visual media (no 3D glasses required) with practical sets, effects, and animatronics.

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And oh, the animatronics. A towering, lumbering Frankenstein’s Monster is nonetheless surprisingly nimble. The movements are so fluid and lifelike on many of the figures, I would swear they are costumed actors. Universal says there are 14 robotic characters sprinkled throughout the attraction, but it seemed like more. As with Battle at the Ministry, the interplay between the screened content and the animatronics is so seamless, it’s often hard to distinguish one from the other, which is an incredible testament to the creative team that designed the attraction as well as the evolution of the technology available to them. While the movement of the ride vehicles is a bit aggressive, and there are a few mildly startling moments, the overall tone of Monsters Unchained isn’t as terrifying as the company had indicated it would be. There are even a few, um, stabs at lighthearted comedy. Some Halloween Horror Night houses are much more intense. Regardless, the attraction is wildly sophisticated, intensely engaging, and one of Universal Creative’s crowning achievements.

As for Dark Universe’s other attraction, Curse of the Werewolf, the rotations on the spinning coaster’s cars–at least the car I rode in–are surprisingly potent. I emerged from the ride a bit dizzy. Also, the random spinning had me facing the wrong way each time I passed through the indoor barn, so I missed seeing the Werewolf in its rafters. The ride is fine (although some family members may find this “family coaster” a tad too aggressive), but I much prefer the similar Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City.

Tracking Super Nintendo World

Folks who have visited Super Nintendo World at Universal’s Studios Hollywood will recognize the highly stylized, pixillated facsimile of a video game realm come to life at Epic Universe. I had experienced Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, the first major ride-through attraction to incorporate augmented reality, at the California park, and the version here is virtually identical. While it is not quite at the level of Epic’s other dark rides, Monsters Unchained and Battle at the Ministry, it is nonetheless mighty impressive. Like the rest of the land, which is filled with punchable question blocks and other targets Nintendo fans will recognize, Mario Kart is highly interactive (which is what you’d expect from an attraction based on a video game).

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Unlike in Hollywood, the larger land also includes an additional outpost, Donkey Kong Country. This is where Mine-Cart Madness, a cantilevered coaster that I’ve been highly anticipating, is located. It features a boom arm attached to a hidden track that allows the single-car trains to seemingly jump gaps and perform other physics-defying stunts lifted from the Donkey Kong games on the ride’s apparent track.

The ride is a bit rough; oddly, however, it is smooth when the car is going up the supposedly uneven, rickety wooden slats on the lift hills and jostles passengers when they soar down uninterrupted track sections. I was disappointed that the boom arm and the real track are not entirely hidden from view. But (and it’s a big but), I’ll be darned if I didn’t involuntarily panic when it appeared the car was going to leap off the track to certain doom even though I logically knew that was not the case. I think the notion of the cantilevered coaster holds great promise–even if Mine Cart Madness doesn’t quite deliver on the concept.

There are dragons aplenty in Isle of Berk

Universal’s spectacular world building extends to How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk. The mythical animals abound in the richly detailed land. I happened upon an ice-breathing dragon that periodically emits cold blasts. There are dragons that walk in the land and an impossibly cute and expressive animatronic Toothless that guests can encounter in a meet-and-greet experience. And yes, there are dragons flying overhead in the “The Untrainable Dragon,” a stellar musical presentation imported from Universal Beijing that includes glorious singing and Broadway-level production. The tricked-out theater includes screens that envelop its sides, which reminded me of the DreamWorks Theatre Featuring Kung Fu Panda at Universal Studios Hollywood. There are no outdoor dragon flyovers at Isle of Berk–at least not yet. I suspect the promised airborne creatures, which will likely be powered by drones, will debut closer to the park’s official opening.

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Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, is a delightful family coaster from Intamin, the same manufacturer that created Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Coaster. With its launches and mid-course show scene, it reminds me of the Potter-themed attraction, although Hiccup’s is a bit slower and foregoes elements such as a vertical rollback and a drop track; as such, it is a perfect gateway ride for aspiring coaster warriors (or for folks wary of more extreme thrills). It is not a marquee attraction on the level of Stardust Racers, but Hiccup’s may be something of a sleeper hit for Epic Universe.

Younger kids will surely adore Isle of Berk, but I do wonder whether families will find that the park offers enough for them to do. Many will likely steer clear of Dark Universe altogether, and the height requirements (granted, a number of which are as low as 40 inches) and/or intensity of most of the other lands’ rides might preclude them from hopping aboard. For that matter, with only seven major attractions (some of which are prototypes that may experience downtime as Universal works through operational and technical issues) and four smaller ones, I wonder about their capacity and the wait times that guests might encounter.

Anticipation for Epic Universe, partly generated by Universal itself and partly by the media (guilty as charged), has been extraordinary. Improbably, the park exceeds those lofty expectations. Given the buzz, I’m guessing that demand for tickets to Epic Universe and attendance will be, well, epic.

Again ATPers, feel free to shoot me some questions about Epic Universe. And share your thoughts about Dark Universe, Isle of Berk, and Super Nintendo World–or the park in general.

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In the coming weeks, I’ll do some deep dives with attraction reviews and more. But for this article, I want to share first impressions and general thoughts about two of the lands.

A walk in the Celestial Park

Making their way through the Chronos tower portal at the front gate, guests enter Celestial Park. While it serves as a gateway to Epic’s four other lands, the expansive area is considerably larger than most park’s entry plazas, such as the Magic Kingdom’s Main Street U.S.A. or the Port of Entry at Islands of Adventure.

“It’s where we put the ‘park’ back into theme park,” is how Mark Woodbury, chairman and CEO, Universal Destinations & Experiences, describes the land.

With its lovely flowers and landscaping, fountains, whimsical architecture, statuary, stirring music, and kinetic energy, Celestial Park sets the tone for Epic. The stunning Universal Helios Grand Hotel anchoring the far end of the land helps establish its Mediterranean influence and chic, cosmopolitan vibe. By the way, the distinctive copper domes of the hotel are a new highlight of the skyline in Orlando’s I-Drive area. Additional shade and greenery as well as benches would give Celestial Park more of a park-like feel (and a break from Florida’s sometimes brutal sun), but this is a place designed for people on the move.

Speaking of on the move, the dual-launch, twin-track racing coaster, Stardust Racers, is the featured attraction in the land. Holy moly, what a ride. It ranks right up there with Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa, Mako at SeaWorld Orlando, and Universal’s own Jurassic World VelociCoaster among the elite thrill machines in Florida–and really anywhere. A true dueling coaster (the best of its kind IMHO), its “Celestial Spin,” in which one train inverts directly above the other and then trades places, is a coaster do-si-do for the ages. Wild acceleration, robust and abundant airtime, great pacing, lovely themeing: Stardust Racers has it all.

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The Constellation Carousel in Celestial Park is an intriguing and beautiful contraption that’s as much fun to watch as it is to ride. Instead of hanging from above, the animals and chariots are mounted on poles that can turn as well as rise and fall. The entire platform spins of course, but it can reverse direction, and there are concentric circles within the larger platform that independently rotate. The prancing horses and other vehicles are programmed to dance in harmony with a variety of musical compositions.

When Universal Orlando opened the original Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure, it changed the course of theme parks by crafting a meticulously detailed land themed to a single IP. It took immersion and world building to the next level. The new park capitalizes on the trend by presenting four lands, each devoted to one property, including Universal’s third take on the Potter mythology. Each land has its own portal tower through which guests enter. Their tunnels have projected imagery to enhance the transitions.

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Become part of a battle at the Ministry of Magic

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic first transports guests to a 1920s-era Parisian neighborhood inspired by the Fantastic Beasts spinoff series. It is reminiscent of Diagon Alley, the Potter land at Universal Studios Florida, in scale and scope, but is even more grand and enveloping. There is a wonderful show, “Le Cirque Arcanus,” which is nominally a circus presentation, but is really a pretense to showcase a Fantastic Beasts storyline with engaging puppetry, special effects, and theatrical sorcery. The pre-show is so long and elaborate, I thought it might be the main event until we were ushered into the theater.

The featured attraction, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, takes place in 1990s-era London and the British Ministry of Magic, which guests reach via the Metrofloo. Whisking passengers through space and time, the magical passageway is something of a disappointment. It’s really little more than a short tunnel enveloped by a bit of green theatrical fog through which guests walk. The attraction itself, however, is a revelation.

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The long queue, which looks like it’s capable of accommodating multitudes of muggles, is nothing short of stunning. There’s no functional reason why it’s such a cavernous, lavishly appointed space with a ceiling that is perhaps 40 feet tall and includes a changing, projected sky other than to immerse and wow guests. Consider me wowed. The audacity sets the stage for the attraction.

Guests board 14-passenger “magic lifts” to witness the trial of uber-meanie Dolores Umbridge. Picture ride vehicles like those in Disney’s Tower of Terror. Now imagine these massive, box-like vehicles mounted on (what must be enormous) Kuka robotic arms, the same technology that’s used on the groundbreaking Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction at Islands of Adventure. Now imagine the vehicles and the arms tethered to roving motion bases, the kind used for one of Universal’s other genre-busting attractions, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. I believe that is what is going on at Battle at the Ministry. Whatever is going on, I was positively floored.

Rather than relying mostly on screens (although the content on the screens that are present, which is not 3-D, is remarkably crisp and realistic), the gargantuan sets include animatronics, practical scenery, projections, effects, and other themed design trickery. Combined with the wild movements of the vehicles, it is a jaw-dropping tour-de-force. It is the kind of attraction that makes my heart sing and reminds my why I love parks.

Next time, I’ll share some thoughts about Universal Epic Universe’s other three lands: the monsters-inhabited Dark Universe, Super Nintendo World, and How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk.

Shoot me some questions or share your thoughts about Celestial Park, the new Potter land, or Epic Universe in general.

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In 2023, Universal Studios Hollywood announced that it would be building Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, a marquee roller coaster. It is set to launch in 2026, with no more specific timeline given. With the track now under construction and coming together quickly, I’m guessing that the coaster may open early in the year.

According to the park, it will feature “groundbreaking” 360-degree rotation of the cars that will “create a seamless sensation of drifting cars as guests spin in motion at furiously fast speeds.” I get the pun, but that’s a curiously worded statement. There have been other spinning coasters, such as Pandemonium, cloned rides from Gerstlauer that can be found at five Six Flags parks. Many spinning models are designed to freely rotate, and the combined weight and distribution of the passengers in the vehicles can make the rotations intense. That can cause discomfort or even motion sickness for some riders. The “furiously fast speeds” cited by Universal likely refers to the speed of the trains on the track and not to the speed of the cars’ rotations.

A few coasters, such as Time Traveler at Silver Dollar City and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot, control the spin for a more restrained experience. I’d imagine that Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will forego freely spinning cars (and therefore assaults on passengers’ vestibular systems) in favor of limited rotations. Intamin, the company responsible for highly regarded Universal coasters such as Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, is building the new ride. The manufacturer includes both a family spinning coaster and a larger, more thrilling spinning coaster among its product line, although only the former includes a controlled spinning option. The Hollywood Drift ride will be custom designed and may include prototype ride vehicles that would limit and control the cars’ rotations.

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Built into the Hollywood hills, the topography at Universal Studios offers an incredible canvas for a coaster designer. The ride will begin on the park’s upper lot, but will take advantage of the dramatic elevation change as it snakes over and around the long Starway escalators that connect to the lower lot.

Fast & Furious-Supercharged to close

A coaster, especially one that “drifts,” seems ideally suited for a Fast & Furious theme. The new ride won’t be the first attempt by Universal to capitalize on the wildly popular film franchise, however. From 2006 to 2013, guests aboard the Studio Tour got to see cars attached to Kuka robotic arms (the same technology that’s used for the ride vehicles on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) get exploded and hurled toward the trams. It was an odd and silly sequence.

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In 2015, Fast & Furious Supercharged debuted as the finale of the Studio Tour. The media-based motion simulator attraction incorporates an immersion tunnel like the park’s King Kong 360 3-D (and the similar Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Islands of Adventure). But unlike Kong, the CGI media for Supercharged suffers from the “uncanny valley” syndrome and calls attention to itself, thereby taking guests out of the experience. Neither the Hollywood attraction nor the Universal Studios Florida version of Supercharged have been fan favorites.

In anticipation of the new Fast & Furious coaster, the California park has announced that its Supercharged tour finale will close on March 10, 2025. Universal says that it will be announcing a replacement attraction soon. There has been no word about the fate of Orlando’s Fast & Furious ride, which was closed during Halloween Horror Nights in 2024 and seldom operates at full capacity.

Lands revealed for Universal Kids Resort

Scheduled to open in 2026 in Frisco, Texas (near Dallas/Fort Worth), Universal Kids Resort will extend the Universal parks brand beyond Hollywood and Florida in the U.S. As its name implies, it will focus on younger children and their families. Unlike its existing properties, Universal Kids Resort will be a micro park. The 97-acre parcel will accommodate a hotel, parking, and back-of-house operations as well as the park itself, which is likely to be around 25 acres. Typical theme parks, such as Universal Studios Florida, are about 100 acres.

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The company had previously announced the Texas project, but other than hinting that it might draw on movies and characters that are part of the DreamWorks family, it provided virtually no details. Universal still hasn’t offered much in the way of details about the new park’s actual attractions, but it has disclosed the themes for its lands. As anticipated, DreamWorks Animation will be represented by franchises including Shrek, Trolls, Puss in Boots, and Gabby's Dollhouse. Universal’s own Minions and Jurassic World will be part of the mix as will Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants.

All of the films and characters have a presence in the existing Universal parks. It’s likely that the Texas park will take inspiration from the DreamWorks Land that opened last June at Universal Studios Florida. It incudes play spaces, splash pads, a small coaster, and interactive elements themed to Trolls, Kung Fu Panda, and other movies from the animation studios.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to bring these iconic stories to life for kids and families to experience, interact with and play together,” says Sarah Gibbon, VP & executive producer at Universal Creative.

The company did reveal that the park will include a Shrek-themed playground, a facsimile of SpongeBob Square Pants’ pineapple-under-the-sea neighborhood, some kind of watery fun based on the Minions, an interactive (and probably not particularly scary) experience with the “beloved dinosaurs of Jurassic World,” and a Trolls music festival. In addition to spinning rides and at least one kid-sized roller coaster, I’d imagine that there might be a dark ride or two–but probably not at the scale of Universal’s E-Ticket attractions like Skull Island: Reign of Kong.

Might the Hollywood Drift coaster give the Fast & Furious franchise the theme park attraction it deserves? Would you and your family want to visit Universal’s micro park?

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4 (out of 5)

Everything about Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure theme park is massive. Enormous gates open to let 40-foot-long, 50,000-pound, 72-passenger trackless vehicles onto the mysterious island. Humungous dinosaurs threaten to attack the passengers and send them hurtling over a cliff until an even larger, more menacing King Kong comes to their rescue. After he saves the day, the big galoot–18 feet wide, 30 feet tall from mid-chest to the top of his Escalade-sized head, a roar louder and more sternum-vibrating than anything Ariana Grande could ever hope to belt out–stares down the puny human survivors.

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Universal announced in 2023 that the year-round haunt, modeled after the wildly successful Halloween Horror Nights seasonal events it has been offering at its parks for years, would be coming to the AREA15 entertainment district in Las Vegas. Now, the company has revealed additional details, including an opening date in 2025 and a rundown of the houses that will be featured at the standalone attraction.

Universal Horror Unleashed will offer four haunted houses, one of which will invite guests into the realm of the classic Universal Monsters. Dating back to 1923 with the silent film, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” the Hollywood movie studio has been cranking out creature features showcasing the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, The Mummy, The Wolfman, and a host of other celluloid scarers that are enmeshed in popular culture. They established the company as horror pioneers. Where Disney is best known for its animated characters, the monsters are an integral part of Universal’s legacy.

Fittingly, the monsters have long played important roles at Halloween Horror Nights. In 2022, for example the seasonal event presented Universal Monsters: Legends Collide, which brought Count Dracula, The Mummy, and The Wolfman together for a battle to see who reigns supreme. At this year’s HHN, gal ghouls Dracula’s Daughter, She-Wolf of London, and the electrifying Bride of Frankenstein shared the spotlight. As a demonstration of the continued relevance and appeal of the Universal Monsters, Dark Universe, one of the five lands that will debut next year at Epic Universe, will pay homage to them.

So, it’s no surprise the monsters will get their own house at Universal Horror Unleashed. The company didn’t reveal which monsters would take up residence in Vegas or any other details about the maze. Likewise, it’s unclear what exactly might lurk in the dark at the attraction’s other three houses, although they will all be based on ones that have been presented at previous Halloween Horror Nights. Scarecrow: The Reaping, for example, was one of the original houses at the 2022 HHN and featured an old-timey farm with lanky, living scarecrows that terrorized guests. The two other houses will be reference “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and Blumhouse’s “The Exorcist: Believer.” Leatherface has brought his trusty power tool to a number of HHNs through the years, including the one that just wrapped up at Universal Studios Hollywood. The Blumhouse version of The Exorcist was a featured house at the Orlando and Hollywood events in 2023. Will the Scarecrow and Exorcist houses duplicate or borrow heavily from their HHN predecessors? We will have to wait and see.

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In addition to the houses, Universal Horror Unleashed will include “four sinisterly themed and immersive areas, featuring unique live entertainment experiences” according to a press release. That sounds suspiciously like scare zones, but it’s odd that the horrormeisters didn’t identify them as such if that’s the case. Themed food and beverages will also be available. The company promises that the attraction won’t remain static and will be updated with seasonal events.

Universal is hyping the Vegas undertaking as “the company’s first-ever year-round horror experience.” That’s not quite right. First of all, Universal Studios Florida has long offered the wonderful hybrid dark ride/coaster, Revenge of the Mummy (which was on the midway at the Hollywood park as well for a time), along with the presentation, the Horror Make-Up Show. (If you haven’t seen the show, make it a point to check it out; it’s filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes info about the art and science of making horror films, but it is also hilarious and entertaining .) More significantly, from 2016 to 2020 Universal Studios Hollywood featured a year-round, Halloween Horror Night-style maze based on “The Walking Dead.” And of course, Dark Universe, which will also open next year, will present horror no matter the season.

Universal Horror Unleashed will be yet another Vegas attraction that makes Sin City like a giant, un-gated theme park. Sure, gambling is still the engine that drives the town, but even folks that never drop a nickel into a slot machine can find more things to do there than at a major park.

Might Universal Horror Unleashed motivate you to head to Vegas next year? Do you think a year-round haunt will be successful?

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Universal Orlando continues to release details about Epic Universe, the new theme park that it will be opening May 22, 2025. The info has park fans, myself included, going gaga in anticipation. Perhaps no attraction is more anticipated than Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, which will be the highlight of the park’s Dark Universe land. Now we have a first peek at the animatronic monsters that will be part of the attraction. And, oh my, they look scary good.

There will be 14 robotic characters in all, which Universal promises will be the fastest-moving animated figures ever created. Leading the pack will be Frankenstein’s Monster, who will tower over the proceedings at nine feet tall. Speaking of unchained, guests will see the 800-pound behemoth walk in Dr. Victoria Frankenstein’s lab as part of the preshow.

To the best of my knowledge (and feel free to correct me by leaving a comment below), the only animatronic character that walks as part of an attraction is Benjamin Franklin in The American Adventure at Disney World’s Epcot. The figure can be seen climbing up stairs during the presentation. Yes, Disney has introduced “dynamic robots,” such as Judy Hopps, that can independently move in controlled environments. But they have not been part of attractions, and they have all been diminutive in size. The hulking Frankenstein’s Monster will apparently be, er, unbolted, as he makes his way around the lab. It should be an astonishing sight to behold.

The Dark Universe attraction will also include animatronic representations of Dracula, The Wolf Man, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

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“Monsters Unchained has the most technologically advanced animated figures that have ever been built,” says Peter Carrillo, senior creative director at Universal Creative. “They are visceral, they are powerful, they are intense. And from a technical standpoint, they exceed beyond everyone’s wildest expectations for what an animated figure can do.”

Check out the stunning characters in this clip from Universal. Note the fluidity of movement and their startlingly lifelike essence.

Audio-animatronics, as Disney dubbed its robotic characters, have certainly come a long way since the primitive birds and flowers first appeared in 1963 as part of the Enchanted Tiki Room in Disneyland (where they continue to perform to this day). The pioneers of the art form, Disney has steadily improved the technology of its figures. In 2019, it debuted all-electric A-1000 animatronics at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

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Universal may be more known for its screen-based attractions. But it has created its own impressive animated characters, such as the original (and now defunct) King Kong at Universal Studios Florida. Bob Gurr, the legendary Disney Imagineer who helped create the Abraham Lincoln animatronic for the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair, had a hand in developing the big ape for Universal. Although it is only shown from the shoulders up, the more recent animatronic figure featured in Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure is mighty impressive as well. But the monsters that are on the way to Epic Universe truly look groundbreaking.

Long before Universal made any announcements about what would be coming to its new Orlando campus, insiders had been hinting that an attraction featuring the classic Universal monsters was in development and that it would take themed entertainment to the next level. That’s saying a lot from the company that created jaw-dropping attractions such as The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. (By the way, the Dark Universe headliner will reportedly feature the next generation of the robotic Kuka-arm ride vehicles featured in the Potter attraction.) If these glimpses of the animatronic characters are any indication, it would seem Monsters Unchained could indeed revolutionize the industry.

Do you appreciate animated characters in attractions? Like me, are you drooling in anticipation of Monsters Unchained?

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The 500-room, Mediterranean-influenced hotel looks stunning in the renderings provided by Universal. Gold and copper accents figure prominently as do stars, comets, and other flourishes depicting planetary playfulness. Tying in with one of the new park’s five lands, there will be “How to Train Your Dragon”-themed suites for children (and adult fans of the DreamWorks animated movies and TV shows). Enormous windows in the lobby, other common areas, and the guest rooms themselves will give patrons unfettered views of the bustling Epic Universe.

“You’ll really feel like you’re immersed in the entire theme park,” says Jessica Icons, assistant director of facility design at Universal Creative. “You can reach out and touch a roller coaster. Who wouldn’t want a theme park in the backyard?”

Bar Helios, a rooftop lounge, will grant especially sweeping views of the theme park. The airy Flora Taverna, which, as its name implies, will be adorned with lots of greenery, will offer an open kitchen that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The back of the hotel will open to a well-appointed pool area.

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This is just a hunch, but with large lagoons looming just beyond the lobby of the Grand Helios, and the building framing Celestial Park, which serves as the hub for Epic Universe, I wouldn’t be surprised if the hotel provides a backdrop for digital projections, fountains, and other elements of a nighttime multimedia presentation. That would really integrate the park and the hotel.

The new hotel will join Universal Orlando’s other Signature Collection of upscale hotels. Three of the properties, the Royal Pacific Resort, Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock Hotel, currently include Universal Express Unlimited, which offers skip-the-line access to most of the attractions at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. It’s unclear at this point whether the passes will also work at Epic Universe, although it’s unlikely. That’s because Universal indicates that the Express Unlimited passes will not be bundled with the room rates at Helios Grand, which is so closely aligned with the new theme park. It is surprising that the Helios Grand, which the resort is characterizing as “the pinnacle of Universal Orlando’s hotel experiences” won’t include the skip-the-lines amenity. The theme park resort’s other Signature hotel, the Sapphire Falls Resort, does not include Express passes either. Note that hotel as well as day guests can purchase Universal Express separately.

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When the Helios Grand debuts next year, the portfolio of onsite hotels at Universal Orlando will increase to 11 properties and a total of 11,000 guest rooms. The theme park resort will also be adding two additional hotels, the Stella Nova and Terra Luna, to its new campus in early 2025. They will be near, but not immediately adjacent to Epic Universe and will fall into the Prime Value category. All of Universal’s accommodations are operated by Loews Hotels.

With three theme parks, a water park, the CityWalk dining, shopping, and entertainment complex, and 11 hotels, it’s clear that the days when Universal was seen as an add-on to a Disney World vacation are long past. As the only hotel in the theme park capital of the world that will be part of a theme park, the Helios Grand will make a bold statement.

Have you stayed at a Universal Orlando hotel? Might you book a stay at the Helios Grand?

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“The biggest horror franchise is Universal Monsters,” said Lora Sauls, Universal Orlando’s show director of entertainment production, at a media event kicking off the opening night of HHN. Talking about the Eternal Bloodlines house, she added, “It’s an all-female monster story.”

The horror royalty’s kin, such as Dracula’s Daughter and She-Wolf of London, team up to seek revenge for past indiscretions, and we are caught in the bloody crossfire. With its gothic vibes, the sets are gorgeous, and the production value, which includes video media, is lush. I had a hard time following the convoluted storyline, however, and missed hanging with The Wolfman, The Mummy, and other more established characters. Unless I hadn’t noticed her earlier in the house, leading lady The Bride of Frankenstein–a classic in her own right–didn’t make an appearance until the final moments. Still, it’s always great when the Universal Monsters get to shine. (That’s why I can’t wait to check out their dedicated land, Dark Universe, at Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park opening next year.)

Two female fiends preside over the outdoor scare zones at the 2024 edition of HHN. SINIST3R represents physical horror, whereas SURR3AL embodies more psychological terror. I really got a charge out of SINIST3R’s Torture Faire zone, which depicts a renaissance fair gone horribly wrong. Dandies in doublets wield machetes, while bedecked women wander the fair shackled in stocks. Other gruesome scenes abound. Like much of HHN, the zone inspires simultaneous admiration for its clever concept and, ahem, execution as well as disgust for its depravity. But, you know, the good kind of disgust.

Talk about dysfunctional families. As children, the three Barmy siblings celebrated one of their joint birthdays by brutally murdering their parents. Now adults, they gather on the anniversary of the eventful day to re-stage the gruesome event, and we are invited to the party. Two of the siblings represent the female gender in the Triplets of Terror house. The story is presented as a kind of live-action true crime podcast complete with a narrator. The party favors include plenty of gratuitous gore.

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In my estimation, this year’s best house is Insidious: The Further. Based on the popular movie series, HHNers literally enter through a giant red door into the Further realm. I’ve been attending and writing about Halloween Horror Nights for over 20 years now, and as a grizzled veteran, I generally do not get rattled walking through the houses. But Insidious really gave me the creeps.

“It’s one of the most terrifying haunts houses we’ve ever designed,” Sauls said. She’s not kidding. It’s a testament to the creative team that developed Insidious and used tricks of the trade, such as pacing, set design, misdirection, sound design, costuming, jump scares, special effects, and makeup to great effect. Two scenes in particular, which force guests to walk through rooms in very close proximity to a gaggle of characters, some of which are mannequins and some of whom are live scareactors, had me quite unsettled.

Not far behind Insidious, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire also really impressed me. It’s clear from the exceptional production value that Universal lavished plenty of money, resources, and talent on the house. There are lots of video screens, effects, and stunning sets, including a three-story-tall firehouse/Ghostbusters headquarters. It’s a longstanding HHN tradition to include at least one comedy house, and Frozen Empire, which is more funny than scary, serves that purpose this year. Following the story of the most recent movie in the series, the house includes snow, blasts of frigid air (which is welcome in Orlando’s oppressive heat and humidity), and ice-encrusted characters.

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Slaughter Sinema 2 is another standout and another HHN, er, stab at comedy. A sequel to an earlier, popular house, it returns guests to the Carey Drive-in where a second roundup of fictitious B-movies comes to life. The folks working on this clearly had a ball coming up with some of the film titles, such as “Mummy Strippers Unwrapped.” After seeing the movie poster and hearing a trailer snippet promoting the movie, we round a corner and, yup, encounter mummy strippers dancing around a pole. By definition, B-movies are bonkers, but the preposterous ones presented here often had me cracking up. With a dozen or so films depicted, each scene evokes a wildly different genre and mood. For instance, “Hell 3-D” (“All hell is breaking loose” according to a tagline on the poster) allows the creatives to present a brief black light-infused scene with eye-popping DayGlo colors.

Another original house that stands out is Major Sweets Candy Factory. It’s a prequel to a previous scare zone which shows how the confectioner developed the treats that turn sugar-addled kids into psychotic killers. It’s brief, but has a great industrial aesthetic taking us into the bowels of the old factory. Incorporating multi-sensory effects, it begins with the intoxicating scent of sugar and candy.

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Perhaps the most disappointing house is the heavily hyped A Quiet Place. I didn’t see much of the promised American Sign Language presented. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly, but I found it odd that, despite the absence of a musical score, there was a cacophony of screams, roars, thwacks, and other outbursts filling this decidedly unquiet place. It just wasn’t all that scary or evocative of the movies.

Rounding out HHN are three original houses, all of which are fine but not as stellar as the event’s other three original entries. I was quite taken by the two giant puppets in Monstrous: The Monsters of Latin America, especially the shape-shifting witch owl, La Lechuza. Otherwise, I found the house to be a bit flat. The Museum: Deadly Exhibits takes us inside the gallery of a folklore museum where the latest presentation, The Rotting Stone, is causing havoc. The tone was suitably ominous, but I didn’t get the sense of dread I had anticipated given the concept. Sure they wanted to add me to their main course, but I found the goblins, orcs, and other creatures in Goblin’s Feast, who reminded me of Shrek and Yoda, more funny than frightening. There are some nice sets, however, including one with a full-sized waterwheel.

The spirit of the season can be found throughout Universal Orlando. For example, Toothsome Chocolate Emporium at CityWalk, known for its epic milkshakes, has a special Halloween-themed concoction that includes delicious chocolate chili ice cream and cinnamon topped with pumpkin-colored whipped cream, an edible marigold, and a Day of the Dead chocolate cookie. Slurping the creamy shake, I first tasted the rich, sweet cinnamon-infused chocolate, followed by a mildly spicy hit of chili. It was sinfully delicious.

Will you be heading to Halloween Horror Nights this year? Based on my review, which house most intrigues you?

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The multiverse gathering of monsters will pit Saskia Van Helsing, daughter of Count Dracula’s killer, Abraham Van Helsing, against Countess Marya, the vampire’s daughter, who seeks to avenge her father’s murder. The creative team behind HHN developed the Sasika character to help establish a new generation of monster hunters and monsters that can carry the torch for their famous dads. She-Wolf and The Mummy’s main squeeze, Anck-Su-Namun, join Team Dracula, while The Bride of Frankenstein aligns with Van Helsing. I don’t know which bloodline will prevail, but I suspect a fair amount of blood will be shed along the way.

I’m a huge fan of the classic monsters, and appreciate the love they get at HHN. They are almost always one of the highlights at Universal’s fall events. The film fiends are an important part of the studio’s legacy, and it’s heartening that they continue to play important roles both on the screen and in the parks. As for legacy, get a load of this: The Eternal Bloodlines house will be presented on Sound Stage 12 on the Hollywood’s studio’s back lot where movies such as 1935’s “The Bride of Frankenstein” and 1931’s “Dracula” were originally shot. The West Coast HHN house will exclusively feature a soundtrack composed by Slash, who has lent his writing and fretwork to past events.

Eternal Bloodlines will provide a preview of sorts for Dark Universe, the classic monsters-themed land coming to Epic Universe, the hugely anticipated theme park scheduled to open in 2025 at Universal Orlando. Its centerpiece attraction, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, will incorporate a gaggle of ghouls such as Dr. Victoria Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Mummy.

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The other houses based on big-name properties at the two stateside HHNs will include Insidious The Further, where The Red-Faced Demon and KeyFace will lurk; Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which, in the spirit of the movie franchise, will likely be this year’s comic relief maze; and, capitalizing on the recently released sequel, A Quiet Place, which will test guests’ abilities to suppress their screams. The Hollywood park will also present The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Legacy of Leatherface haunted house. I’ve already shared info about the six original content houses on tap for the Orlando HHN (and indicated that the homegrown scarefests often steal the show). The Hollywood park will be releasing details about its three remaining houses shortly.

Among the scare zones in Florida will be Swamp of the Undead, where zombies will be on the hunt for victims to feed to the bog; the twisted renaissance faire-themed Torture Faire (if you ask me, everyday renaissance faires inflict plenty of torture); the (apparently) all-female Demon Queens; and Duality of Fear, at which guests can either follow a sinister or surreal path. It seems there will be narrative threads linking some or all of the zones together.

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In addition to the scare zones in Hollywood, which will include the pro wrestling-themed Luchadores Monstruosos, the California park will again present the Terror Tram. It repurposes the tour trams and deposits guests onto backlot sets filled with scareactors.

The 2024 edition of HHN at Universal Studios Hollywood is scheduled for select nights from September 5 to November 3. In Florida, the event will take place on select evenings from August 30 to November 3. On Thursday, August 29, the Orlando park will offer Halloween Horror Nights Premium Scream Night. The limited capacity event, priced at $350 per person, will grant access to all houses with shorter wait times and staggered entry (for more intimate and potentially scarier experiences) and include other perks such as all-you-can-eat food and drink.

Will you be heading to HHN on either coast? What house most appeals to you?

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However, Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, the flagship attraction at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, will be “the most ambitious ride we’ve ever created,” according to Scott Verble, assistant director, executive producer at Universal Creative. That’s saying a lot for the team that developed The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, The Bourne Stuntacular, and other mind-blowing achievements. “This is absolutely a game changer,” Verble adds.

Verble offered his enthusiastic assessment of the forthcoming attraction in a video that Universal just released as part of its reveal of the fifth and final land that guests will be able to explore when Epic Universe opens in 2025. Coming on the heels of Hogsmeade at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure and Dragon Alley at Universal Studios Florida, the new land will complete the theme park resort’s Wizarding World trilogy. It would seem that Ministry of Magic will adhere to the same level of groundbreaking immersion and wild attraction innovation that characterize the other Potter lands.

After muggles make their way though the portal, they will pass under the massive Phoenix Arch and enter into Place Cachée, a 1920s-era Parisian neighborhood inspired by the Fantastic Beasts series.

“We built to scale streets in Paris,” says Patrick Braillard, senior show writer for Universal Creative. “This is the biggest thing we’ve ever built.” Similar to Diagon Alley, the cityscape will completely embed guests in the Potterverse and shield them from any visual intrusions beyond its confines.

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“Our shortest building is taller than the tallest building in Diagon Alley,” adds Eileen Stephens, senior director, projects at Universal Creative, referring to the sheer scale of this Wizarding World.

Perhaps taking a cue from Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, it sounds as if Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry will be a grand-scale, multi-act experience with at least two ride systems. Making their way to the Métro-Floo, guests will be able to enter fanciful fireplaces and magically trek from 1920s Paris to 1990s-era London and the British Ministry of Magic. They will ostensibly be there to witness the trial of Dolores Umbridge. Of course, in the tradition of theme park attractions, things will go horribly wrong. In this case, Death Eaters will bust the Potter baddie out, and Muggles aboard Ministry of Magic lifts will find themselves in the middle of a good-versus-evil battle.

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It’s unclear how Universal will replicate the lifts, but the attraction’s designers say that it will combine different and new technologies. The elevators will have the ability to move sideways as well as up and down. Some are speculating that the ride vehicles will be a variation of the Scoop roving motion base vehicles first used on the Spider-Man attraction. Battle at the Ministry will be “a heart-pounding adventure and on a scale we have never attempted before,” promises Braillard.

Returning (again via the Métro-Floo?) to Muggle Paris, guests will be able to enter a circus tent where Le Cirque Arcanus will be presented. Possibly drawing at least some inspiration from Cirque du Soleil, Universal is promising an all-out theatrical show with high production value that will incorporate puppetry, live aerialists, and special effects. Fantastic beasts will be among the performers.

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No Wizarding World would be complete without a shop to upsell pricey wands. At Epic Universe, muggles will be able to peruse the shelves of Cosme Acajor Baguettes Magique. As at the other lands, wand-wielding guests will be able to cast spells at tricked-out spots throughout Place Cachée. Using the gizmos, guests will also be able to interact with fantastic beasts wandering the land.

Hungry would-be wizards will be able to grab French-leaning bites at the ornate Café L’Air De La Sirèn as well as the more foreboding Le Gobelet Noir. US expats will be able to grab some brews and other drinks at Bar Moonshine, an American outpost in Paris. Butterbeer will undoubtedly be on tap at the bar. A Bièraubeurre (that’s the addictive concoction en francais) Cart will also serve the frozen and non-frozen beverages that are staples of the Wizarding Worlds.

Universal has revealed details about two hotels, Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort, that will be opening soon at the new campus. But it has yet to come clean on the in-park Universal Helios Grand Hotel, which looks mighty impressive.

Now that all of the lands and attractions have been revealed, what are you most looking forward to at Epic Universe? What do you think about this Wizarding World multiverse where Fantastic Beasts and the original Harry Potter franchise will exist alongside one another?

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