Year after year, Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood is one of the top must-visit haunt events on our list! The whole Universal Studios property comes to life (especially with the addition of Death Eaters in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) with music, monsters, pyro and terror, not to mention delicious themed drinks and snacks. It’s one of the events that opens earlier in the season and it always helps us set the tone for the spooky season to come (even if it’s sometimes in the 90s outside-that’s Los Angeles for you). So to celebrate HHN’s 2023 season, some of our team is looking back at their favorite mazes over the years.
And PS: Yes, we still mostly call them Mazes despite HHN Hollywood recently changing the name to Haunted Houses to match Orlando’s event. Old habits die hard.
Ashley’s Favorites:
NOPE/Us Walkthrough (2022) – While this wasn’t a proper maze, this was my favorite thing I’ve done at HHN. Being on this set was unreal and combined with the spookiness of the Us characters roaming throughout, plus the creepy power outages within experience, I could have gone through this walkthrough over and over again.
Universal Monsters: The Bride Of Frankenstein Lives (2021) – This maze was so unique and really succeeded in telling the story of the Bride as you went through each room. The scenes were insanely creative and it was so much fun to go through that we definitely went more than once!
Holidayz in Hell (2018) – This stole my heart when it appeared as a scarezone. I loved the unique take on all the holidays and the new creepy characters that were imagined with each one. The sets were great and I loved it even more when it turned into a full on maze!
Sara’s Favorites:
The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare (2022) – Being a fan of The Weeknd’s music already had be excited, but I went in wondering “how are they going to make this into a cohesive haunt?” Kudos to the team behind this maze for making After Hours Nightmare one of the craziest, scariest, adrenaline-boosting mazes I’ve been through. I was singing, screaming, bouncing off the walls with excitement. So fun I went back another night for it!
Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses: In 3-D Zombievision (2010) – I love Rob Zombies and his movies. This maze brought House of 1000 corpses to life in a terrifying way! Probably almost peed my pants at least twice and the 3D element was wild.
La Llorona: La Cazadora de Niños (2012) – The massive La Llorona animatronics eating the children were so unexpected. The concepts and high-detailed sets made my skin crawl and I’ve enjoyed the reiterations of this theme ever since.
Joe’s Favorites:
Terror Tram (2022) – Walking through the actual set from the movie NOPE was phenomenal. I got the most jump scares from the terror tram, thanks to the great scare actors.
Killer Klowns (2022) – The sets, color, and lighting are top notch. Some of the changes from the 2019 version are very welcome, like being closer to Klownzilla. This haunted house makes you feel like you’re in the movie.
The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare (2022) – Just being on sound stage 29 upped the ante for this haunted house. The distorted music, experiments, and monsters made this my favorite.
L.J.’s Favorites:
Trick R’ Treat (2018)
Beetlejuice at HHN Orlando (2021) – (We get it, you’re cool and you went to HHN Orlando too.)
I’m torn between Ghostbusters (2019) and Freddy vs Jason (2016). That one was fun.
