Halloween season is in full swing. The mazes, scare actors, and parks are all back in business to scare the hell out of you. If you’re in the market for some scares in the Southern California area, there’s really no better place than Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. It’s slightly daunting to go for the first time, and you have plenty of options when you enter the park. Last week, we gave you the detailed review of all the mazes and attractions at Horror Nights Hollywood, so here’s your itinerary for your night of fright at the park.

Buy tickets for Horror Nights at https://hollywood.halloweenhorrornights.com/.

Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood – Rising From The Dead [Fright-A-Thon Review]

Get There Early, Hang Out At CityWalk

Courtesy of: Universal Studios Hollywood

Depending on your ticket, you can enter the park early before Horror Nights officially begins at 7:00pm. For certain passes and ticket options, you can enter early at 6:00pm. Luckily for people who want to hang out or grab a bite to eat beforehand, CityWalk is open at the same time as Universal Studios Hollywood. Park in one of the lots, whether that’s preferred parking, Jurassic Park, Curious George, or Rideshare to the park.

Getting here early has a couple benefits, you can get a better parking spot, and get the food out of the way, so you don’t have to wait in lines in the park!

Start With The Haunting Of Hill House and Pandora’s Box

  • The Curse of Pandora’s Box maze at Halloween Horror Nights 2021 at Universal Studios Hollywood

These two mazes are located fairly far away from the main area of the park. If you parked at the Curious George lot, they are right underneath that structure. So once you head in the front entrance of Universal Studios Hollywood, head down the main boulevard, through the first scare zone, and then take a left into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Once you’re all the way through, signs will guide you to the area with the Hill House and Pandora’s Box mazes.

This area is really only for these two mazes, and it’s kind of a trek to get down there, so once you’re done with these two, unless you’d like to go through the mazes again, that’s it. These two mazes are absolutely fantastic, and immersive as hell. There are carts selling Horror Nights merch and food, so if you’re down here, you won’t be left without water or food.

Choose Your Own Adventure: The Exorcist/Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers/Bride of Frankenstein Lives!

Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives maze at Halloween Horror Nights 2021 at Universal Studios Hollywood

After finishing out Hill House and Pandora’s Box, you really can choose your own way. Download the Universal Hollywood app or check out the signs posted with wait times, If you see the queue times for mazes that you want to go on are shorter, go check those out first, and wait for the longer ones to die down. The longest wait I saw was 75 minutes for Haunting of Hill House and Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

This is a reminder that the queue lines might look daunting, but stay in line, the lines move fairly fast when you’re in them. You really can’t go wrong with either choice here though. In our review, we did give Bride of Frankenstein Lives! the highest grade of any of the mazes in the 2021 edition.

There Is Always The Option To Buy Express Passes

If you don’t want to wait in line, Universal does offer the Express pass for a fee, either before you enter the park, or at the park. After 11:00pm they offer the Express Pass upgrade for a lesser fee. So if you’re willing to wait around, that could be an option for you. If you really don’t want to wait in lines of 30-60 minutes (the longest wait I’ve seen has been 75 minutes), the Express Pass is the way to go.

Check Out The Scare Zones, And Other Rides/Attractions During Your Visit

Scarezone at Halloween Horror Nights 2021 at Universal Studios Hollywood

There are a couple scare zones throughout the park, and also other attractions open. You won’t be able to check out the Despicable Me section of the park or other shows. However, The Simpsons area of the park is open and all the various food and games are there for you to peruse. As for other parts of the park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is also open with both rides in that section of the park available. Down in the Lower Lot, Jurassic World, The Mummy Returns, and Transformers: The Ride are great breaks from all the frights of the mazes.

The Terror Tram is also back for 2021, so if you’re into getting murdered by people celebrating The Purge, it’s for you. The Terror Tram doesn’t take anywhere near as long as the queue time suggests, so if you need a break or want to stretch your legs on a nice walk through the backlot, that’s a good option to separate the schedule between two of the mazes.

The Park Is Open For Business And For Scares Of All Kinds

Like we said in our review of Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood, you can’t go wrong with the scares and frights on tap. If you don’t want to wait in longer queue lines, you can upgrade your General Admission ticket for the RIP Tour or Express Passes. If you follow the loose schedule here, you’ll be able to get through all the attractions in the park with time to rest, get food, and even try out some of the mazes twice. Stay late, get scared, and you’ll have a great time at Universal Studios.

For more on horror, check out Fright-A-Thon or stay tuned to That Hashtag Show.