After months and months of speculation news finally broke that The Walking Dead is getting a permanent attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. In an episode of The Talking Dead, host Chris Hardwick dropped the news that the show will receive a permanent home at the historic, Original Studios Theme Park. Check out the video below.
That’s right. An all new, year round walkthrough attraction based on the most popular cable TV show in history is coming to Universal Studios Hollywood when “The Walking Dead,” sets up permanent residency at The Entertainment Capital of L.A. in an all-new immersive, cutting-edge attraction.
Universal Hollywood has consistently been the champion of the year-round, haunted walkthrough attraction. For years, guests enjoyed the classic monsters in Universal’s House of Horrors which ran from 2007 to October 31st, 2014. With the unprecedented overhaul of the entire park, the old Stage 13 structure at the front of the park had to be removed. All was not lost however. A brand new, theme-appropriate structure is now standing in that same place and is set to house an even more terrifying experience.
Universal Studios Hollywood has worked with AMC and “The Walking Dead” for years as a signature “Halloween Horror Nights” maze. It has consistently polled as one of the most popular mazes each year it has appeared at the annual event. The popularity demanded that this sought-after experience go from a seasonal to 365 day opportunity. The advantage here is the ability to set up far more substantial scares in a permanent structure, raising the bar for immersive walkthrough storytelling.
“’The Walking Dead’ is a phenomenon that has successfully and consistently affected the psyche of viewers on a global basis, since its debut,” said Larry Kurzweil, President of Universal Studios Hollywood. “We’re taking its intensity to the next level by collaborating with the show’s award-winning production team to create an authentic living representation of the series that can only be experienced at Universal Studios Hollywood.”
As Universal does with Halloween Horror Nights in all of their world-class mazes, they have partnered with the forces behind the show to bring an unprecedented level of of authenticity of this new attraction. Partnering with “The Walking Dead’s” creative team, including visionary executive producer and director, Greg Nicotero and his special effects company, KNB Eft to masterfully create the show’s realistic decaying walkers. KNB will construct prosthetics, utilize original molds and painstakingly apply paint and detailing to the attraction walkers. The integral involvement of the creative team will not only inspire the emotional connection fans experience, it will be among the attraction’s key distinguishing characteristics that will define it as a living version of the show. The goal here is to create an experience that significantly intensifies any other iteration previously developed within the theme park.
“We’re so grateful for our longstanding partnership with the talented team at Universal Studios Hollywood. We’ve shared a successful three-year partnership at Halloween Horror Nights and now this permanent ‘The Walking Dead’ walk- through attraction takes the relationship and the fan experience to the next level,” said Charlie Collier, President of AMC and SundanceTV. “Along with our great partners at Universal, it means a great deal to us to continue entertaining — and frightening — passionate, loyal fans of ‘The Walking Dead’ for years to come.”
The new Walking Dead walkthrough attraction is set to debut in summer 2016.
