Photo: PRNewsFoto/Universal
You can’t keep a good man down. Or even, so it seems, a dead one. Season three is the scene and Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando are the stages for the Emmy-Award winning AMC series “The Walking Dead” as it makes its second year run at Halloween Horror Nights (HHN).
Universal Orlando is dedicating its entire HHN street experience to “The Walking Dead,” making this the first time ever that all of the scare zones in the park will be themed after a television series. Guests brave enough to walk the streets of Universal Studios Orlando will encounter familiar scenes from all three seasons of the show – including the perilous city of Atlanta and Hershel’s dismal barn – as well as hordes of blood-thirsty walkers who are hungry for their next victim.
Beginning September 20, 2013, fans will be able to walk in the footsteps of human survivors in a terrifying maze inspired by season three of the television series. Authentic and eerily real maze experiences will place HHN guests in the middle of the show’s prison, the West Georgia Correctional Facility, which is now overrun by hordes of flesh-eating walkers. The mazes at Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando will send guests cowering through the walker-infested wilderness that surrounds the prison and into the seemingly perfect town of Woodbury where gruesome secrets are concealed.
“What’s great about working with a property like “The Walking Dead” is that each season presents new environments and character for us to draw inspiration,” said John Murdy, Creative Director for Universal Studios Hollywood. “With the prison as the main setting of season three, we seized this opportunity to recreate that very environment, down to the last detail, to be as genuine and authentic to the show as possible. Using movie-quality production value, our goal is to make guests feel as if they are mired in the world of blood-thirsty zombies, which is something you can only do at ‘Halloween Horror Nights.’”
In its 20-year history, Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Night events have created incredibly entertaining, horrifying Halloween experiences that are consistently rated the nation’s best. The events on each coast, California and Florida, feature highly-themed, disturbingly real, haunted mazes based on everything from films to nightmares – and streets filled with hundreds of specially trained “scareactors.”
“The goal is always to surround guests with authentic and terrifying experiences,” said Michael Aiello, Creative Development Director for Universal Orlando’s Entertainment team. “The combination of ‘The Walking Dead’ themed street experiences and the haunted maze will make it difficult for our guests to escape the hordes of ravenous walkers they’ve seen on their television. The moment you pass through our gate, you become a survivor fighting for your life.”
“The Walking Dead” series is based on the graphic novel by Robert Kirkman. Published by Image Comics, the series tells the story of the months and years after a zombie apocalypse as it follows a group of survivors, led by Sheriff Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home.
“The Walking Dead” is the first original cable series ever to end the broadcast TV season as the number-one show for adults 18-49. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” returns for season four on Sunday, October 13, 2013 at 9:00 p.m. (EST).
Check out this all new haunted house, Cabin in the Woods, coming to Universal Studios Orlando this year.
For more information about Halloween Horror Nights at either Universal Orlando or Universal Hollywood, please visit HalloweenHorrorNights.com.
