An article concerning Halloween Horror Nights XIV written by Mark K. Matthews from the Orlando Sentinel:
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First there was Halloween Horror Nights, a three-day trial of terror at Universal Studios.
Then it grew and mutated -- becoming son of Halloween Horror Nights in 1992.
Now, more than a decade since that first foray into fright, Universal has produced Halloween Horror Nights XIV, the scare that ate two parks!
The 18-night event opens at 6:30 p.m. tonight, and promoters promise "everything is bigger" this time around.
For unlike the previous 13 installments -- when Halloween Horror Nights was confined to either Universal Studios or its sister park, Universal's Islands of Adventure -- the 2004 version will tap both parks as hosts for Universal's monthlong tribute to the gross and ghoulish.
"We've been doing this for 13 years, and each year it becomes more popular," says Susan Storey, spokeswoman for the International Drive area resort. "We couldn't contain it to one park anymore."
Indeed, organizers even plan to use the space between the two theme parks for the event. Normally off-limits to visitors, this backstage area will feature haunted houses and "scare zones" -- open-air attractions such as Field of Screams, a two-acre cornfield without those friendly baseball playing ghosts, and the grizzled Fright Yard, a rundown section of town haunted by spectral gang members.
Other scare zones, which line the path between rides and haunted houses, include Point of Evil, the first space visitors will enter when they visit, and a haunted carnival called Midway of the Bizarre.
Halloween Horror Nights also includes a few regular scares. Many of the parks' major rides -- including Doctor Doom's Fearfall, the Incredible Hulk Coaster and the new Revenge of the Mummy ride -- will remain open, although others, like Jurassic Park River Adventure, will be closed.
There will be parades, drinks and plenty of beads for a bit of Mardi Gras fun to go along with $8.50 specialty drinks such as the vodka-spiked Shock Therapy and the rum-spiked Liquid Lobotomy.
Still, the haunted houses remain the key attraction for Halloween Horror Nights. This year, there will be wax houses, ghost towns and vampire-infested castles. A highlight should be the Hellgate Prison, the site of a riot gone wrong.
It all adds up to this year's focus on mental instability: "What's Your Breaking Point?" Past years have featured sadistic clowns and evil caretakers. Last year's theme centered on a director who made snuff films of fun-filled violence -- an ad campaign that got Universal into a bit of trouble when local residents started to complain.
The controversy didn't seem to scare anyone away though, and Universal expects another year of sold-out tickets.
Universal representatives would not release the number of tickets available -- citing company procedure -- but Storey noted capacity would be larger for this year's Halloween Horror Nights. Last year, as many as 20,000 showed up on the busier nights.
And as in years past, weekends are expected to be the busiest nights.
"Typically, Friday and Saturday are the busiest," Storey says. "So we encourage people to buy their tickets ahead of time."
Still, Storey warns that visitors who arrive in costume won't be able to participate in the fun. Those dressed up won't be allowed in because they may be confused with the more than 600 "scareactors" running through the park.
"It's a way of keeping track of who are our guests and who is part of the show," Storey says. "It's an overall safety issue for everyone."
Admission to Halloween Horror Nights is not included in the price of regular, daytime entrance to the park, so visitors who come for the day must pay again to get back inside, unless they decide to purchase a slightly less-expensive combination deal for $91.
Tickets solely to Halloween Horror Nights are about $58 with tax, about twice the cost of admission in 1992.