What a difference two weeks makes? I mean within the span of a fortnight we have seen The Shining get its hedges, the Mystery Maze in the Jurassic Park Queue get more detailed, and suddenly three new tents have sprung up for mazes in both the upper lot and backlot. That is not to mention all of the other fun things happening at Universal Studios Hollywood like the Starway expansion, the construction of new theme park space on the lower lot, and the invasion of the upper lot by jailbird Minions and the Dreamworks characters. Let’s get to work on Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights part 5.

Also, did you know that HorrorBuzz is hosting a short film festival at Midsummer Scream? That’s right! Join us in The Screaming Room where we have currated a lovely assortment of terrifying shorts your you to enjoy!

Halloween Horror Nights Twitter

Yeah don’t forget: This week Universal is holding auditions for HHN. If you have ever wanted to try your hand at scaring the USH out of people this is the perfect place to try.

HHN auditions for USH will be held at the Universal Hilton on July 6, 7 and 15. To sign up go to https://t.co/hd7LWZGijv

— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) June 24, 2017

It was another quiet couple of weeks for Creative Director of Universal Studios Hollywood and Halloween Horror Nights, John Murdy. Two tweets total. One teased an announcement, the other confirmed there was nothing on the horizon.

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes” Stay tuned my patient Boils & Ghouls…something’s coming soon!

— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) July 10, 2017

I cursed myself by quoting from “The Scottish Play” (theatre people will get the reference). Waiting for info. Hang in there Boils & Ghouls

— Horror Nights (@HorrorNights) July 12, 2017

Upper Lot

There is a ton of action happening on the upper lot here. New characters to play with and maze construction!

MINIONS MUY MALO

Those adorable minions from Illumination Pictures release of Despicable Me 3, there is a new, rather seedy photo op nestled between the Brooklyn facades and Shrek 4D. Careful. They may try to recruit you.

Parisian Courtyard

YES! More maze madness! The last time we had a maze in this area of the park was for the brilliant Halloween maze from two years ago. The mere thought of something coming back to this spot makes me crazy excited for what might be coming.

Universal Plaza

But before we get too spooky, we neglected to let you all know about the collection of Dreamworks characters that have taken up residence in Universal Plaza in anticipation of the new Dreamworks theater.

I think I need to bring my niece here. She would go nuts!

This guy had boundless energy and was hilarious!

MAZE 4 Waterworld Queue

It was confirmed by Murdy, through the @HorrorNights twitter account, that a maze will be taking up residence in the Waterworld queue again. But this week we were stupid and forgot to go look because the siren call of frozen butterbeer was too much to resist. Slap us like a red-headed step child. Sorry.

Lower Lot

More action in the lower lot here as construction projects and mazes continue.

Starway

The expansion of the Starway continues and looks to be speeding up. The framework for the canopies have all been painted, the glass panels installed, and the fourth escalators are getting geared up.

The Shining • Maze #2

This is the coolest part of maze construction and the most boring part, especially with a maze at this particular location. We know what it is, we know that it is almost finished, we can even see the beginning and ending of the maze. Now what? I know, right???

The hedge maze entrance.

The hedge maze exit that will, most likely, be flocked in snow.

Jurassic Park Queue Maze

Okay so what the heck is this maze??? It is nearly done and, at this point, anything in this spot has been announced due to it being entirely recognizable. Well, part of the fun is speculation. So, what the heck do you think it is?

Back Lot

Venturing out into the backlot we see not one, but three mazes under construction.

Maze 3: American Horror Story: Your Roanoke Nightmare – Backlot

As we had reported, the mounds of dirt have been moved and the American Horror Story maze is now under construction in this spot. Spoiler alert. There are trees. Lots of them. Also there will be stunning and detailed sets.

The black peaks of the tent canopy can be seen here.

TREES!

Maze 1 and Maze 2

With no word from Murdy yet, we can see that suddenly two maze tents have popped up in the former spaces of Krampus and Freddy Vs. Jason. Both of those were huge crowd favorites. Will the luck of these spots carry over?

Told you there was a ton of stuff to see! Okay, can you believe how much has been done? What else will be coming our way? This is the most exciting time, when mystery abounds and the promise of big announcements hangs in the air. We will return to Universal in two weeks to update you further.

Wait. There is something else happening in two weeks. What could it be?

OH YEAH! Please come see us at Booth 131 during Midsummer Scream, July 29th and 30th! We have plenty of fun things for you to enjoy including how to start planning your Halloween Season. We can’t say much more. But get ready. Things are gonna get scary.