Universal extends Halloween event
Universal Studios Hollywood’s annual Halloween extravaganza has been such a hit this year that the park is extending the event beyond Halloween.
Halloween Horror Nights, which launched Sept. 18 and has sold out five nights so far this year, was scheduled to end Nov. 1 but will instead continue to Nov. 6 and 7. It marks the first time that the 10-year-old event has been extended a week beyond Halloween.
“The success and growth of ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ at Universal Studios Hollywood over the past 10 years has been phenomenal,” said Xiomara Wiley, executive vice president of marketing and sales at the theme park. “We’re excited to expand the sold-out extreme horror experience to meet the demand of our fans and guests.”
Halloween Horror Nights, a collection of mazes teeming with actors in masks and makeup, plus dance performances and rides, was cited last year by the theme park’s parent company, Comcast Corp., as contributing to a 30% jump in theme park revenue compared with the previous year.
Among the six mazes at Universal Studios Hollywood this year, the theme park also launched for the fourth straight year a maze based on AMC’s popular series “The Walking Dead.” This year the maze was extended to twice the length of last year’s maze, adding twice as many zombie characters.
But Universal Studios is not alone in enjoying a financial boost during Halloween. For the first time, the Queen Mary in Long Beach reported selling out on its Halloween event — Dark Harbor — on the first Saturday of opening weekend this year, drawing 8,000 visitors.
Since the Halloween event launched in 2010, annual attendance has doubled to 120,000 visitors last year.