“Party on, dudes!” Every year, guests flock to the Castle Theater to watch an installment of the long running show Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure. Seen as a running tradition for Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood, Bill and Ted is a combination of dance and skin with an abundance of popular culture mixed in for safe measure. So after last year’s wildly successful show, how does Bill & Ted 2013 fare? 2012 – Bill and Ted’s worse enemy? Here’s the answer: probably not as well. But in the end, I’m conflicted. Here’s why: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure has…
Author: Jon Fu
“I will feast on your soul.” Few films have had a cult following comparable to the Evil Dead. In 1981, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell brought to screen a film that would propel their careers to cult status and forever change their lives and the entire horror genre. Now in 2013, the creative forces behind the original film are back, ready to bring fresh blood to the table with a completely reimagined film based on the original 1981 cult flick. “Promise, you’ll stay till the end.” In this maze, David and three of his friends bring Mia (his sister) to…
“We’re all infected.” This year, Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights delivers a unique one-two punch with the Walking Dead Terror Tram and the new backlot experience. Universal has taken The Walking Dead and turned it into one of the most immersive haunt experiences to date – spanning two sections of their studio (which include the famous Bates motel site coupled with the crash site from Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds alongside the towering metropolitan facades). In this first article, we will focus on the Terror Tram which covers seasons 2-3 of The Walking Dead. The Terror Tram lays down the…
September 20, 2013 – Studio Souvenirs and the Nickelodeon Stuff gift shop have been demolished, Inside Universal has learned. The Adventures of Curious George water playground and ball room are also in the process of deconstruction in preparation for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. All three attractions closed on September 3 as part of Universal’s ongoing redevelopment of the Upper Lot. As a result of the recent closures, the pathway from New York street to the Studio Tour entrance has now been walled off, with guests entering the tour through an alternate route between the now-defunct Studio Souvenirs gift…
September 13, 2013 – We’re back with another photo update from Universal Studios Hollywood, this time detailing the continuing work on Halloween Horror Nights, the construction associated with the closure of Studio Souvenirs, the Adventures of Curious George and Nickelodeon Stuff and the ongoing audio enhancements at WaterWorld. In an effort to make browsing easier, we’ve delineated our photo update by introducing specific sections. Simply click on the index below to view a portion of the update. Park Update Index » Park Entrance » WaterWorld » Halloween Horror Nights » Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem » September 3 Closures » Miscellaneous…
September 9, 2013 – In the midst of obsessive theme park fan sites, blogs, Twitter accounts and Facebook fan pages lies the folks over at @FakeThemePark. If you’ve never stumbled upon their Facebook or Twitter account before, @FakeThemePark provides a witty, comedic and sarcastic look at the theme park industry, parodying many of the elements that you might be familiar with as a theme park fan or employee. What’s more, most of their commentary is given on Twitter within the limit of only 140 characters or less – an impressive feat that joins together brevity and sharp wit. For those…
September 7, 2013 – In this month’s edition, Adriana, Chris and Jon discuss the park’s recent closures, Universal Plaza, WaterWorld and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The video and audio download are located below. Thanks for watching and listening! Audio Download the show in audio form from SoundCloud.com. Downloads are only available for one month after the initial recording. Jon Fu Jon Fu is the editor-in-chief of Inside Universal. Jon originally founded InsideUniversal.net in 2006 as a summer hobby aimed at providing families and fans a resource for all things “Universal Studios Hollywood.” Since then, the website has taken…
September 3, 2013 – As part of the ongoing redevelopment of the Upper Lot, Universal Studios Hollywood has now walled off the Studio Souvenirs gift shop, the back portion of the Cantina restaurant and the Jaws photo opportunity. While Bruce the shark may be relocated in another location (if Florida is any indication), Studio Souvenirs and the latter half of Cantina are both not expected to return. A staple of the Upper Lot, Studio Souvenirs – and Doc Brown’s Chicken – was once originally themed to the fictional resort town of Amity Island, inspired by the Universal blockbuster hit Jaws.…
After five and a half years of operation, the Adventures of Curious George playground has soaked its last delighted guests. Located on the Upper Lot just before the entrance to the Studio Tour, the Adventures of Curious George wet and dry playground and ball room provided families a place to play to fight off the summer heat, a shaded seating area for tired parents, a ball room where the entire family could share laughs, and a small dry playground for younger children too small to join their older siblings in the larger water area. As was announced back in April,…
August 29, 2013: Universal Plaza Opens In what used to be a dusty street right out of the Old West now stands a symbol of Universal Studios Hollywood. Built in less than year from the ground up, the Universal Plaza has finally opened to the public on August 29, 2013. While the Plaza still has many little finishing touches to come, and is still waiting for the completion of a few more parts, the effect it has had on the flow and feel of the park is unmistakable. Universal Plaza brings new shopping and dining experiences, a water play area,…