For 40 years, there’s been only one paranormal investigative organization you’re gonna call when there’s something strange in the neighborhood. With the franchise just celebrating this milestone anniversary, as well as the release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire on the 2024 movie schedule, you’d think it couldn’t get any sweeter for us fans. That’s where we’d be wrong though, as Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida are celebrating the Ghostbusters in the most perfect way possible.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Is Coming To Halloween Horror Nights
That’s right HHN fiends, the Ghostbusters are now confirmed to be a part of the 2024 Halloween Horror Nights houses for both the Florida and California variants of the beloved spooky tradition! While there have been whispers of this very concept taking shape, Universal Destinations & Experiences have finally unveiled a new house that’ll take fans into the events of Frozen Empire.
For those of you who've wanted to take Garraka head-on since seeing this year's entry in the continuing Ghostbusters saga, you're in luck. The company has provided a video that runs down what to expect, which you can watch below, and it suggests that very prospect:
While I know it hasn’t been that long since 2019’s Ghostbusters HHN house, it’s still nice to see one of the best ‘80s movie franchises coming back to life via theme parks, especially when this new variant is going to focus on the expanded world of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Although I must admit, the echoes of the past are what really have me excited for this spectral spectacle; and for two very specific reasons.
Why Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’s Halloween Horror Nights House Is A Fitting Celebration
Now there are two big reasons why, as a Ghostbusters fan myself, I think this Halloween Horror Nights celebration is perfect. The first one is that anyone who knows the early days of Universal Studios Orlando history knows that the Ghostbusters Spooktacular stage show was one of the opening day attractions at the fledgling amusement experience.
Bringing the Busters home yet again is another one of those fond reminders of Universal attractions we wish they’d bring back. However, reading further into the press release announcing this happening, the attention to atmosphere and detail that Halloween Horror Nights pays toward its subjects is absolutely out in force once again. Here’s a sampling:
As guests venture through the haunted houses, they will find themselves in the sinister world of the supernatural, from Ray’s Occult Books shop to the Ghostbusters’ new high-tech lab and containment facility to the dank New York City sewer system. Fans will embark on this petrifying journey alongside the Ghostbusters, encountering iconic ghosts who slime and nefarious villains who are out for revenge – all while trying to escape an army of ghastly creatures bent on cracking bones and turning their veins into rivers of ice.
So what you’re telling me Universal is that I’ll finally get to step into Ray’s Occult Books, before 7 P.M. on weekdays and Midnight on Saturdays, and walk around? To say that this is a dream for someone who watched the underrated Ghostbusters II religiously, after wearing out their VHS of Ghostbusters, is being polite.
Stepping into the world of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire sounds like a very good idea right now, even if there's a slight chance of being frozen to death in two of the warmest states of the U.S. So to the people of Orlando and Hollywood, I issue this kind but firm warning of urgency: you’d better be good, for goodness sake. Because, whoa-oooh, somebody’s comin’; and it’s not just our dependable heroes.
Halloween Horror Nights starts at Universal Studios Orlando on August 30th, with Universal Studios Hollywood kicking off its festivities on September 5th. Tickets are on sale now, but sadly copies of the latest update to Tobin’s Spirit Guide are not included.
