An article concerning Halloween Horror Nights XI written by Robert Johnson from the Orlando Sentinel:
Transcription[]
Mummy Dearest. Effects Supervisor Lee Everitt puts finishing touches on the Mummy archaelogical dig and tomb at Universal Studios for Halloween Horror Nights, which starts at Friday and rules during its 19-night run at the attraction.
No Holding Horrors Back[]
Universal Studios Vowed To Scare Its Guests Silly At Halloween Horror Nights Despite Minor Changes.[]
October 4, 2001|By Robert Johnson, Sentinel Staff Writer
Universal Studios isn't about to let terrorists scare it away from scaring its guests during Halloween Horror Nights, which starts Friday.
"While we're extremely sensitive to the events of Sept. 11 and their impact on people, we also know that escapism can alleviate a lot of tension," said Adrian LePeltier, Universal's director of show development and one of Horror Nights' creators.
Universal is bucking a trend toward a less fearful Halloween in the United States this year. Many retailers and those organizing hundreds of seasonal "haunted houses" are rethinking their approach to the first major holiday since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.
Halloween has become a $4 billion annual commercial event as well as a bonanza for Universal and a parade of other theme parks.
But Universal is right to avoid toning down its activities, insists Leonard Pickel, editor of Haunted Attractions magazine in Charlotte, N.C., and owner of a seasonal haunted house called "Mayhem Manor."
The tradition of giving people good scares amid real national fears was firmly established during the 1950s, he says.
"That was the heyday of science fiction, with the giant spiders and other monsters that were based on people's fear of nuclear power's dangers," Pickel said. "You can't stop Halloween because of bin Laden."
Not that Universal hasn't shown some sensitivity regarding the attacks. Jim Canfield, a spokesman for the attraction, says the proposed name of one haunted house was changed from "Terror Land" to "Scary Tales" after Sept. 11. And a new entertainment area that was to be called "Bloodbath Underground" will instead open as "The Ooze Zone -- Fright Club."
Also, Universal's decor in some haunts is being combed to eliminate the usually obligatory occasional body part or severed head. But Horror Nights doesn't rely on fake gore anyway; its mainstays are shadows, sounds, strobe lights and the like. Canfield said traditional scares such as a "vault" full of "clawing, scratching rats" will go on as scheduled.
More than 100 parks will stage major haunts for at least several nights this year, compared with less than a dozen in 1990, according to tourist industry estimates.
And while Universal is usually Orlando's No. 2 theme park, it rules the 19 nights in October during its Halloween event. On those evenings, the park closes briefly at 6 p.m. and reopens to crowds that cram in at rates as high as 30,000 a night.
Meanwhile, Disney World settles for a more modest event: five nights of "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween," aimed at children. SeaWorld's Halloween celebration --"Shamu's Spooktacular" -- includes a costume parade and special decorations for two days.
This year, the 11th for Horror Nights, Universal is nudging up the admission price by a couple of bucks to $48 a person for out-of-state tourists, although cheaper tickets are available for Florida residents.
LePeltier says he thinks patrons will expect new scares and nothing less intense than previous years. "People come to our Halloween event expecting high-quality suspense and a `boo' that's funny -- not harmful."
Among this year's features are five newly themed haunted houses -- such as "Run," described as a place where "guests are thrown into a diabolical game show" where "freaks and maniacs menace with chainsaws."
To escape, guests must "literally run through a series of dark, winding corridors of padded walls and chain-link fencing, with hardly a chance to catch their breath, let alone scream."
To think up such stuff, LePeltier and several other Universal show-design veterans spent days holed up in a suite at the attraction's Portofino Bay hotel this summer to brainstorm ideas. They listened to eerie music, discussed criticisms elicited from some Horror Nights guests last year and talked about favorite parts of scary movies that might be re-created this year.
"Some ideas got thrown out because of safety or other issues," LePeltier said. For example, he wanted to blindfold guests and have them feel their way along a "gunky rope through a dark room" to escape.
"In the end, you're forced to acknowledge that some of these things can't or shouldn't be done. After all, it would take some people an eternity to find their way along a rope in the dark -- and we need to move our guests through quickly to keep the lines short."