Though Universal is well-known for its family of theme parks both in the US and around the world, parent company Comcast made waves last week when they announced that an experimental new theme park would be opening in a quiet corner of Texas in the near future. And while that information was already pretty shocking for long-time fans of the brand, Universal also made a smaller, but equally intriguing announcement at the same time, about a new Universal-themed area coming to Las Vegas. But don’t call it a theme park…
Bringing the Universal name to a pre-existing location with a custom attraction
Universal has been in the business of theme parks for over 50 years, establishing itself as a leader in this space and a legitimate competitor to industry leader Disney. When guests visit a Universal park, they know that they’re getting a quality vacation experience with world-class rides, entertainment, food and more. However, could just putting the Universal name inside of a pre-existing attraction help guests associate a different destination with the Universal level of quality in a space that is not a theme park? That’s what Universal is testing out with this brand new new effort.
Halloween Horror Nights gets a year-round attraction inside Area 15 in Las Vegas
In yet another move designed to be an extension of the Universal brand and a test of how powerful the name “Universal” can be, Universal has announced that it will be constructing a new year-round Halloween Horror Nights attraction on a 110,000 square foot pad as part of a larger expansion of Las Vegas’s immersive Area 15 entertainment attraction, which opened in 2020. To put that in perspective, that size is about the same as the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, which boasts one of the biggest attraction show buildings of all time.
So what’s going in this space? According to Universal, they are developing a year-round attraction that will feature unique and immersive, horror-centric experiences that will change periodically. Though not explicitly stated, this likely means that Haunted Houses that operate for several weeks at a time will likely be rotated throughout the year in this space, attracting guests from both near and far to experience a taste of Halloween Horror Nights, right in the middle of Las Vegas. In addition to the haunted house experiences, Universal has also said that guests can expect seasonal entertainment here as well.
In addition to haunted houses, this new space inside Area 15 will also feature dining areas, serving up regular food and beverages during the day that transform into haunted bars and eateries by night, with thrills and chills delighting diners and drinkers.
And of course it wouldn’t be a Universal attraction without a gift shop at the end, and Universal has confirmed that there will be a retail location in this space featuring one-of-a-kind merchandise that guests can purchase as well.
When will this new Halloween Horror Nights experience open?
Because this attraction is part of a larger complex, predicting opening timetables is a little tough. However, Winston Fisher, the CEO of the larger Area 15 complex said via press release that he hopes to break ground on the next phase of the complex (which includes other attractions in addition to the Universal space) in the next six months, which means we’re definitely more than a year away from this new Halloween Horror Nights concept terrifying its first guests.
While there are a lot of factors that will go into when this attraction opens, it seems reasonable to think that a late 2024 or early 2025 opening could be on the cards, depending on how quickly development and construction move along. But of course, since Universal is simply building an attraction on space that it doesn’t own, the final details will be determined by the Area 15 folks.
Could we see more Halloween Horror Nights pop-up experiences come to new cities in the future?
Like Universal’s forthcoming kid-friendly Texas Park, this Las Vegas attraction opening is a test. And if this experiment goes well, it seems reasonable to think that Universal almost certainly will expand its efforts and bring year-round or seasonal Halloween Horror Nights experiences to other cities around the US and potentially even in other countries. By testing to see if the Universal brand can get guests in the door of a smaller attraction rather than a full theme park, the parks group could be paving the way for smaller investments in single or small-scale attractions that have the potential to produce large profits for a fraction of the development cost.
And while we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Halloween Horror Nights concept come to entertainment complexes, malls, and more, Universal could also use other properties that it can develop attractions for as well, like Jurassic World, DreamWorks, and more, creating attractions in pre-existing spaces that appeal to those outside the horror fandom as well.
Of course, developments like this are still several years off, and it will be interesting to see how not only the standalone attraction in Last Vegas but Universal’s Texas park do once they open, potentially in 2025 or beyond.
No matter what happens with these Universal experiments, Disney is most certainly watching
Though Disney has dipped a toe into themed entertainment expansion beyond their theme parks with their resorts in Hawaii and South Carolina (in addition to their defunct DisneyQuest Chicago location) the world has definitely changed a lot since those attractions were built. You can bet that Disney is watching Universal’s expansion into regional markets with great interest. If Disney sees that Universal is successful in building smaller attractions outside of its theme parks, it seems very likely that we could see Disney try something similar in years to come.
There is certainly a lot riding on Universal’s two experiments in Texas and Las Vegas, but if these tests go well, it is not hyperbolic to say that the theme park business could change forever as a result.
