Halloween starts early at Universal Studios Hollywood; Knott’s expanding

Halloween is still a couple of months away but the opportunities to get scared start Friday, Sept. 16, with Universal Studios Hollywood. That’s when the Southern California theme park’s annual “Halloween Horror Nights” officially begins this year.

Tickets are now on sale for the event, which runs through Nov. 5 including a newly introduced after 2 p.m. combo ticket that lets guests experience the theme park’s main attractions by day and remain for the terror that awaits at “Halloween Horror Nights.”

This year’s “Halloween Horror Nights” are: Sept. 16, 17, 23, 24, 29, 30; Oct. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31; and Nov. 4, 5.

Among the scary stops along the way are several new exhibits:

“The Exorcist”: This will be the first time an attraction has been based on the classic movie and just in time for the launch of a new TV series on FOX. Guests will see, hear, feel and smell every head-spinning scene from the film in the maze that recreates some of the film’s most haunting moments.

“American Horror Story”: The new maze includes scenes from several installments of the Ryan Murphy anthology series. Guests will see the twisted “Murder House” scenes from the first installment, check out a freak show from the fourth offering and be stalked by the murderous and deformed Twisty the Clown.

“Halloween: Hell Comes to Haddonfield”: Michael Myers is back in a new maze inspired by the classic “Halloween” horror franchise.

“Freddy vs. Jason”: Demented killer Freddy Krueger returns to the scene of the crime accompanied by hockey mask killer Jason Voorhees.

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Blood Brothers”: The maze pits guests against the demented killer Leatherface and his unhinged brother ChopTop.

“Krampus”: The dark Christmas legend becomes a maze based on the Christmas-themed horror film.

These go along with the new permanent attraction, “The Walking Dead,” plus the scare zone base “The Purge: Election Year” and performances by Jabbawockeez.

Go to www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com/Hollywood for more information or to get tickets.

Future plans

Knott’s Berry Farm will add two water slides to Knott’s Soak City Water Park. The new attractions are expected to be in place by the summer of 2017. Construction is scheduled to begin Sept. 12.

“Shore Break” will be more than seven stories and provide six different water slide experiences. Four of the slides on the 60-foot tall tower will start with guests climbing inside an Aqua-Launch chamber where they will wait for the floor to drop out from underneath their feet, sending them into a high-speed, vertical free fall through a series of flat loops and S-curves in a translucent flume.

The new attraction also will feature dueling tube slides that will take riders through a series of drops and turns.

As for the other new addition, “The Wedge” slide tower will take the location of the current “Pacific Spin.” It will be an open air family raft ride where as many as six guests at a time will face twists, turns and surprise drops.

For more information go to knotts.com, soakcityoc.com.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Halloween starts early at Universal Studios Hollywood; Knott’s expanding."