Universal Studios Announces Dates for Next Year’s 30th-Anniversary Halloween Horror Nights

This year’s Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in both Hollywood and Orlando only recently wound down, though attendees have a lot to be excited for as the dates for next year’s horrifying event have already been announced for Orlando. The theme park has confirmed that the event will take place on select nights between September 10 and October 31, 2020. What makes next year’s festivities so exciting is that it will be the attraction’s 30th anniversary and, with the amusement park taking horror to extreme levels on a yearly basis, we can only imagine what it will pull off for the momentous milestone.

Per press release, “What began as a three-day event in Orlando in 1991 has become the world’s premier Halloween event – Halloween Horror Nights. Each fall, as the sun sets on days filled with thrills and the night awakens with a frightening chill, the most terrifying names in horror and pop culture take over Universal Studios Florida – forcing guests to come face-to-face with what scares them most. Elaborately-themed haunted houses based on everything from cinematic greats and cult favorites to original abominations created by the twisted minds behind the event come to life – each filled with so much detail, they rival movie sets. Hordes of menacing scareactors prey upon guests in various scare zones throughout the streets of the park. And when guests need a break from the screams, they can enjoy live shows and Universal Studios’ most exhilarating rides and attractions.”

It adds, “Halloween Horror Nights has grown into a global phenomenon and can also be experienced at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Singapore each fall. Details and dates for those events will be revealed in the months ahead.”

This year’s event saw mazes honoring classic films like Ghostbusters and Killer Klowns from Outer Space, in addition to burgeoning classics like Us and the TV series Stranger Things. While Universal Studios doesn’t often release details about planned mazes until the months leading into its launch, we can surely expect another impressive 10 mazes, five scare zones, and live performances.

Both in terms of honoring its roots, and to appeal to its fan base, we won’t be surprised if the ’80s get a lot of love at next year’s event.

“There’s actually a study that we looked at when we were trying to decide what we were going to do, knowing we had already negotiated Stranger Things,” Senior Director – Entertainment Creative Development of the event Michael Aiello shared with ComicBook.com last year. “And how did we want to paint the picture of the event … did we want ’80s to filter through? And how much? How little?”

He added, “There’s a really cool thing we read called ‘Nostalgia Pendulum.’ Which, in a nutshell, states the consumer 30 years ago is now the creator, now. And that’s why we’re seeing this trend in the ’80s. Because it’s people my age, older, that are attaching the things they loved when they were kids. And you see that trend every 30 years. Here’s something not even horror-related: Trolls. That was a toy in the ’60s that then had a resurgence 30 years later, and 30 years from that, it’s a film.”

Stay tuned for details on next year’s Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.

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