Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Florida has been scaring the pants off park-goers for over 30 years, with terrifying haunted houses, scarezones, and live entertainment. However, it looks like there is a new offering rumored to be in development for 2023 that could bring something a little different to this event: a character meet and greet inspired by an iconic Satruday Night Live character!
David S. Pumpkins could be coming to Halloween Horror Nights as a character meet and greet experience… Any Questions?
According to rumors, Saturday Night Live character David S. Pumpkins (famously portrayed by Tom Hanks in both 2016 and 2022) will be appearing at this year’s event as a meet-and-greet character at the new Peacock Halloween Bar, located behind Lombard’s Seafood Grille.
Nothing has been confirmed just yet about this, but considering the event is kicking off in just a few weeks, this seems like a pretty credible rumor right now, and if it is indeed happening we’d expect an official announcement just before the event kicks off on September 1. The rumors, first posted by WDWNT, also say that a variety show featuring this character could be in the works, even though this possibility seems less likely.
If this rumor proves true, this would actually be the second appearance of this character at Halloween Horror Nights, as he previously appeared in the former Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure.
Could there be more surprises in store for this year’s Halloween Horror Nights?
With the official start to Halloween Horror Nights just around the corner, Universal has already announced all of the houses and scarezones this year, including IP houses based on Stranger Things, The Exorcist: Believer, The Last of Us, and Chucky.
Rumors had swirled earlier this year about a possible M3GAN scarezone or character experience, but those whispers have died down in recent weeks, especially as all of this year’s scarezones are themed to connect through the Dr. Oddfellow character. Of course Universal could still surprise us with something related to this popular movie, but it does seems less and less likely at this point, as Universal would undoubtedly want to advertise the addition of this character to their lineup, and this IP wouldn’t fit in with the other themed scarezones.
Though it seems a little strange for Halloween Horror Nights to introduce a character meet-and-greet experience, the David S. Pumpkins character has been very popular since it was first introduced, and his rumored location will ensure that this experience doesn’t have any effect on the scares happening elsewhere around the park.
If this meet and greet does happen, we’d imagine it will be very popular, so guests will need to make sure they prioritize meeting him early in the event so they don’t miss any of the other scares around the park waiting on a David S. Pumpkins meet and greet. This year’s Halloween Horror Nights kicks off September 1, and runs select nights through November 4. More information can be found on the official Halloween Horror Nights website here.
