Halloween Horror Nights Mazes Ranked 2018

Last night we attended the opening of Universal Studios Hollywood Halloween Horror Nights 2018, and we were able to experience all of the mazes, and scare zones. There are some fun surprises ahead in this list of popular franchises and classics as well. We have listed our take on the mazes, favorite to least favorite. Each of these mazes had something unique to offer, and while there were no “bad” mazes, there were definitely some that stood out more than others. I was joined by my wonderful photographer (DisneyBySteph) and a horror movie buff who wishes to remain anonymous.

First, here’s a little video overview from Dusty and Steph:

1) Poltergeist (inspired by the 1982 classic)

 

Hands down, this was our favorite maze of the night. This new maze was one of the best I’ve seen from Universal. Between the clever theming to recreate scenes from the cult classic movie, and the chilling multi-sensory scares it was the most memorable of the mazes. Right from the get-go the maze is filled with one haunting thing after another, and even after exiting the maze, it still left me trying to catch my breath from back to back freights. “You left the bodies and you only moved the headstones!” Thank goodness. Makes for a great maze!

2) Trick ‘r Treat

When this maze was announced, I was expecting it to be my personal favorite. While it didn’t make the top of the list, second place is pretty darn good. The campiness of the movie translates into an incredibly effective and wonderfully gory maze. I was fascinated with how inventive some of the props were. I’m writing this with the vision of the kid sitting on his porch (vomiting poisoned candy) burned into my memory, which is the sign of success for the designers! “Always check your candy.”

3) Universal Monsters

This was one of the last mazes I went through, I was expecting it to be a fairly basic and straightforward attempt. There’s one or two of those type of mazes every year it seems. But to be honest, I was surprised but the detail and depth of this haunted house. It was simply beautiful, from the Wolf Man’s courtyard to the operating table with The Bride of Frankenstein, I was so fascinated with the characters and their reimaginings that I almost didn’t want to leave. The only thing I didn’t really understand was the promotion of an original soundtrack for this maze by Slash. The music really just seemed like any other haunted attraction music. This maze has an added bonus of a delightful scare zone at its exit, the Haunted Masquerade, which makes for a double feature of fear and fun.

 

4) The Horrors of Blumhouse: Chapter Two – Truth or Dare and Unfriended

This was an interesting maze for me. In spite of not seeing either of the movies the maze was inspired by, it ranked fairly high on our collective list of what we enjoyed most. Although I didn’t completely understand the premise of the maze, I understood the scare factor loud and clear.

5) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights Unmasks Haddonfield’s Infamous Slasher in an All-New terrifying maze Based on “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers.” The scares here are strong, and it’s a great tease for the upcoming film . . . but I was a little let down by too many Micheal Myers jump scares one after another. There was enough atmosphere in this maze that the scares could have been accomplished without that overused trick.

6) Terror Tram: Hollywood Harry’s Dreadtime Stories

As is so often the case, the Terror Tram was a mixed bag for me. The opportunity to walk through the Bates Motel and past the historic Psycho house is always something magical. Additionally, the crowd management for this attraction was MUCH better handled as compared to last year. I’m also a huge fan of the Hollywood Harry story created for this attraction in a previous year. There’s a great set-up video in the queue and another good one on the tram to the Bates Motel, which explains this clown’s sad spiral into madness and murder. Unfortunately, the story goes off the rails with hillbillies taking peoples faces and dog-faced men with chainsaws that has nothing to do with Harry. Had they remained laser-focused on the Harry storyline and his ties to a series of murders at Universal Studios over the years, this one could finally have been the perfect Terror Tram experience I’ve been waiting for all these years. Still, the opportunity to get up close to the Psycho sets and walk through the War of the Worlds plane crash make this a must-do.

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7) The First Purge

This maze was a blur for me. It didn’t have as many successful scare tactics compared to the myriad of other mazes. While the props were delightfully gruesome, it overall didn’t quite add up to be a maze that I would be willing to wait in a wildly long line for. Perhaps I caught an odd cycle and didn’t see all the scares, but my companions felt similarly. 

 

8) The Walking Dead

While this attraction can be found at the park all day every day, we included it on this list because it remains a Halloween favorite. Since this is an attraction that can be seen virtually at any time, we scored it towards the bottom of the list. Not because it isn’t amazing, it is, but because it isn’t as special compared to the new mazes. It sure would be great if they found a way to plus this maze for Halloween, giving it a Halloween Horror Nights hook would make it a much bigger draw at the event.

9) Stranger Things

This was a surprise for me. The set design is fantastic, the costumes and music are perfect. It all looks like it should be the maze of the year. And the 3 hour waits made it the most popular by guests as well. Unfortunately, all of that didn’t add up for us. The impressive Demogorgon monster may have been the problem. yes, he’s terrifying . . . but he’s EVERYWHERE. All of the jump-scares involve a creature that you see more in this one maze than you do in the entire run of the Netflix series. It was just too much and desensitizing. That having been said, this is still a fun maze and well worth seeing. But in a year of great mazes, something has to end up at the bottom of the list. This year, that maze just happens to be the most popular kid in school.

This is also the only maze this year without an entry experience. There is no facade between the guest and the entry door. You simply queue up in a dark soundstage and wait to go through a door.

Scare Zones

The scare zones this year were an improvement over 2017. One, in particular, should probably be considered a cross between a full-fledged maze and scare zone.

Trick ‘r Treat

You’ll encounter Trick ‘r Treat as soon as you pass Hell’s Harvest. Sam and his minions are sure to welcome you to their Halloween festivities. But be careful, Sam has his rules that you don’t want to break.

Holidayz in Hell
Of all the scare zones this year, this is the one that I adored. In fact, I loved it so much I braved the zone twice. Your favorite holiday characters, including Mrs. Claus, the Easter Bunny, Uncle Sam, and even Father Time and others, are imagined as hellish fiends ready to torment anyone headed into the holiday season.

Toxxic Tunnel
As you cross from the theme park portion of the lower lot towards the mazes on the back lot, you’ll be funneled through a dark tunnel filled with workers-turned-radioactive-monsters that are out for blood. You’ll enter this zone twice, once on your way to the mazes and again on your way back. Due to the high capacity of the portal, there’s not a lot they can do here other than use color-changing lights and soul-thumping music. Still, it’s fun and we ended up lingering here for photos and to watch guests trying to avoid the monsters.

Hell’s Harvest
A dark pagan harvest festival fills the streets with voodoo dolls which are brought to life and looking for human sacrifices. This is the first scare zone you’ll encounter as soon as you enter the front gate.

Monster Masquerade
Monster Masquerade is sort of an extension of the Universal Monster’s maze. You step out of the maze into the “The Danse of the Dead” masquerade ball. This is the fun version of the monsters following the more tense version in the maze.

Which Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights haunted attraction are you most looking forward to (choose up to three in the poll below)?

TIPS AND THOUGHTS

• 2018 is a strong year for Halloween Horror Nights. There wasn’t a maze that we didn’t enjoy. As always, crowds build closest to the first attraction they encounter. That means that the Upper Lot mazes will be most crowded early in the evening as guests arrive. The pattern reverses as the evening goes on, with guests migrating to the Terror Tram and Lower Lot.  Our advice is to arrive in time for opening and do the Lower Lot first. Then make your way to the Terror Tram, and finally the Upper Lot mazes.
• Eat before you go. Lines for everything are insanely long.
• If rides are your thing, you’ll find the lines are particularly short during the early hours of the event.
• We ran out of time to see the dance show. But we’d seen it in years past at Universal and before that at Knott’s Berry Farm. While we can’t comment on the show this year, in the past it hasn’t felt like a must-do. We’d recommend saving this show for a time when you feel the need to sit or you’ve already completed everything else.

TICKETS

Tickets for all nights are available now, including the Ultimate Fear pass (which grants access throughout the event)

HHN runs September 14th through November 3rd on select nights.

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Looking for a little more Halloween fun? Don’t miss MiceChat’s exclusive VIP experience at Knott’s Scary Farm. Meet the designers and haunt legends, enjoy a delicious Mrs. Knott’s chicken dinner, get front of line privileges on all of the rides and mazes and lots of other MiceChat perks and surprises. Just 15 tickets remain. Sign up now 

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Micechat Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt VIP Event – Saturday, September 29th

Join us in the fog-shrouded streets of Ghost Town for the MiceChat Knott’s Scary Farm Halloween Haunt 2018. We are once again working with the great folks of Knott’s Berry to bring you a magically scary event. Leave the real world behind and enter a dream-land of spooky fun with fellow MiceChat readers.

This year’s panel discussion will feature animatronic and haunt superstars Garner Holt and Bill Butler (of Garner Holt Productions). We’ll also be joined by Jeff Tucker (Knott’s Entertainment Supervisor, creative, and writer of the Hanging), and John Waite (one of the godfathers of the original theme park haunts). An epic way to launch your Halloween season!!!

Our VIP event is the ultimate way to experience Knott’s Scary Farm:

• Admission into Knott’s Scary Farm
• Meet and greet with maze designers
• Backstage tour of a new maze before the event
• MiceChat panel discussion with legends and creatives
• All you can eat Private Pre-scare Boo-fet dinner
• Early entry into Haunt
• Unlimited front of the line access to all mazes
• Front of line for Fastlane rides
• A bone-chilling night of MiceChat fun

Have you always wanted to go to the haunt but you were too afraid? Join 150 of your fellow readers who will help keep you safe from the monsters. Not afraid? Help Dusty lead the way through the fog!

Get your tickets now – HERE – before they disappear!

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Thanks for staying with us until the dead end. We are gravely tired after a ghoulish night of terrifying thrills. But we’ll be scaring up even more Halloween for you next week as we bring you photos and news from Disneyland and Knott’s Scary Farm.

Have you made it to Halloween Horror Nights this year? What were your thoughts?

 

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