​Hundreds of employee volunteers band together in support of Universal Studios Hollywood’s 15th annual “Day of Giving” community outreach event as the destination once again plays host to 300 homeless children from Operation School Bell.
 
The inspirational “Day of Giving” event is a yearly Universal Studios Hollywood tradition designed to connect employees with diverse community organizations, many of which are beneficiaries of the Discover A Star Foundation whose mission is to empower individuals and families to lead more productive and fulfilling lives.
 
As part of the event, children will receive a selection of new clothing and school supplies, followed by an afternoon of fun at the theme park that includes a visit to “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” a chance encounter with Minions to experience the popular “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” ride and “Super Silly Fun Land” play zone, and a behind-the-scenes look at how movies are made on the world-famous Studio Tour.
 
The day-long event will also support several other non-profit organizations across Los Angeles, including Project Angel Food, Tree People, Habitat for Humanity and Shane’s Inspiration.

Early entry FTW!! 

Hey Tatsu, we see you hiding back there. 

DE-NIED!! Well, hope you enjoyed the update!!! 

Actually, the area was closed while Apocalypse was still testing. We had to come back later. 

Sling Shot is open as well 

Ready to head Underground? 

Video update and pics continuing below

Curvy

The station is really starting to take shape

It's gonna be awesome to see trains flying overhead in all directions

Nice Curves!! 

And lots of them! 

Twisty stuff all over the place

More of the station

The rest of the area is, well, not done. Crossing our fingers they don't leave it like this. 

There were supposed to be a lot more planters than two. 

Launch and electrical stuff. 

Some were expecting testing to start tomorrow, don't see that happening, but it should happen very soon. 

Twin Charged Tacos is open!!

Street Tacos and Sopes. 

Would have greatly preferred more Coke Freestyle. 

But it looks quite nice inside. 

The restrooms are also open, very nice but no pics inside. Because that's just creepy. 

An overhead view from Samurai Summit. 

This is as far as you can get for now. 

The park is preparing for Holiday In The Park, which begins in (checks calendar), 13 days? Didn't Fright Fest JUST end? 

Merch already available in the stores. 

Including, Christmas Poop Hats? I mean, what did you eat!?!?! 

The globes are back in Metropolis. 

Lots of lights strung up for Rockin' Universe. 

A few random odd's and end's from around the rest of the park. 

Revolution is currently running 1 train. The other train is on the transfer track. Not sure if it's getting pulled off or if it's coming back soon. 

Some Fright Fest props are still waiting to get put away for the winter. 

Superman (and Lex Luthor) are currently closed. 

More Fright Fest stuff lingering. They should do a "dark Christmas" theme in this area. =) 

Alrighty, that's going to wrap it up. We'll obviously be keeping our eyes on West Coast Racers over the next couple of weeks for testing and an opening date. As soon as we know, you will too!! 

Buena Park, Calif. – Southern California’s original theme park, Knott’s Berry Farm, will commemorate its 100th anniversary with its largest celebration ever, all paying tribute to the Knott family’s rich history and legacy of family fun for all. Kicking off May 15 through August 30, “A Knott’s Family Reunion,” will bring together old classics with new favorites, which includes the return of the beloved Bear-y Tales story in an all-new 4-D interactive dark ride, bringing to life a continuation of the classic attraction initially commissioned by the Knott Family and created in 1975 by the legendary attraction designer Rolly Crump.
​
“Knott’s Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair” is a new 4-D interactive dark ride that will take guests on an exciting journey through reimagined show scenes that are reminiscent of the original dark ride, including the Boysenberry Pie Factory, Frog Forest, Fortune Teller Camp, Thunder Cave, and Weird Woods,  culminating in a celebration at the County Fair. The story takes place 34 years after the original adventure and will follow Boysen Bear and Girlsen Bear as they travel to the Country Fair to earn the blue ribbon prize for their famous boysenberry pies, but Crafty Coyote is back along with his mischievous pups intent on stealing all the pies for themselves. Guests will climb aboard ride vehicles equipped with jelly blasters to try and recover the stolen boysenberry pies as they travel through whimsical and beautiful environments while competing for the highest score.

“The return of Knott’s Bear-y Tales is perfect for the 100th anniversary because it brings back one of the park’s most nostalgic and beloved attractions in an innovative 4-D dark ride format that will delight an entirely new generation of fans,” said Jon Storbeck, Vice President & General Manager of Knott’s Berry Farm.

Additionally, Knott’s will be celebrating its 100th milestone anniversary by immersing guests in new and nostalgic experiences throughout the park, delighting guests of all ages. 

The 100th celebration would not be complete without an Old West adventure. Ghost Town Alive! will return with a new interactive storyline for guests to explore and unravel alongside the characters of Calico. And the summer fun will continue long after the sun goes down when a special 100th Anniversary edition of the popular nighttime party, Knott’s Summer Nights returns with new live music, unique summer food offerings, Instagram-able photo opportunities, interactive experiences, and family-friendly games. Both Ghost Town Alive! and Knott’s Summer Nights will be offered on select days starting May 15 – August 30, 2020.

The Knott’s Family Reunion celebration will serve as the backdrop to the park’s entire 2020 Seasons of Fun events, which brings back all the fan favorites starting with Knott’s PEANUTS Celebration, a unique event dedicated to the beloved PEANUTS characters, taking place weekends from January 25 – March 1, 2020.

In spring, the much-anticipated Knott’s Boysenberry Festival returns with an array of one-of-a-kind boysenberry inspired food and drink items created by the Knott’s culinary team. The Knott’s Boysenberry Festival will offer a month of deliciousness from March 20 – April 19, 2020.

For fall, the spooktacular family-friendly daytime Halloween event, Knott’s Spooky Farm, will invite families with little ghouls ages 3-11 to celebrate the spooky season exclusively on weekends starting September 26 – October 31, 2020.

As winter rolls in, the feeling of Christmas will be discovered at Knott’s Merry Farm, where joy will be in season from November 20, 2020 – January 3, 2021.

The best way to enjoy all of the fun offered during the 100th-anniversary celebration at Knott’s along with all of the other exciting Seasons of Fun events is with a 2020 Season Pass. A Regular Season Pass includes unlimited admission in 2020 to Knott’s Berry Farm with no blackout dates, and a Gold Season Pass includes unlimited admission in 2020 to both Knott’s Berry Farm and Knott’s Soak City Waterpark with no blackout dates. Knott’s Season passes are now available at the lowest price of the year. Regular Passes are $99 or nine easy payments of $9.50 after an initial payment, and Gold Passes are $120 or nine easy payments of just $11.50 after an initial payment. These offers end on January 5, 2020. Applicable taxes and fees apply. Payment plans are only available at knotts.com.


For more information about next year’s milestone celebration, the new Knott’s Bear-y Tales attraction and Knott’s Season Passes, please visit knotts.com. Join the conversation about the newly announced event at Knott’s this year by using #Knotts100 or #AKnottsFamilyReunion.
 
 
About Knott’s Berry Farm and Cedar Fair Entertainment Company:
What began as a roadside berry stand and chicken dinner restaurant in the 1920s has evolved into Knott’s Berry Farm, one of Southern California’s most popular theme park destinations combining world-class thrill rides with traditional family favorite attractions and entertainment. Knott’s is also home to Knott’s Soak City Water Park, Knott’s Marketplace, and the full-service Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel. Knott’s Berry Farm is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company (NYSE: FUN), one of the largest regional amusement-resort operators in the world, is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Sandusky, Ohio. Focused on its mission to make people happy by providing fun, immersive and memorable experiences, the Company owns and operates 11 amusement parks, four outdoor water parks, an indoor water park and resort accommodations totaling more than 2,300 rooms and more than 600 luxury RV sites. Its parks are located in Ohio, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, Texas and Toronto, Ontario. It also operates an additional theme park in California under a management contract.

Written by Gregg Condon

Hi HHN!! We usually like to get here for early entry, but tonight we had a different agenda. 

We honestly hadn't really planned on doing mazes, or at the very least, 1 or 2, but wait times were pretty low so we decided to do a few. 

After quick walk-on at House of 1000 Corpses, we decided to celebrate the holidays! 

And then through Pandora's Box, which I have to be honest, we wish we'd gone through more during the season. Every night we had a different favorite (weird how that happens) and on Friday this was our favorite. 

We then headed downstairs to visit our Killer Klown friends and then back up top for Chainsaw Chaseout, which we love so much. 

Sunday afternoon we found ourselves back at Universal after seeing Jesus Christ Superstar at the Pantages. 

Side note, if you get a chance to see the 50th Anniversary Tour, DO IT!! It's amazing. 

We decided to have a late lunch/early dinner at Antojitos. 

Mexican Mule

The Torta was amazing 

As was the Quesadilla 

Having lived our entire lives in SoCal we're VERY picky when it comes to Mexican food. This isn't just "good for CityWalk" Mexican food, it's good Mexican food. 

Also, have had a couple of tweets from those in Orlando about their Antojitos and the service there. I'm happy to say that our service here on Sunday couldn't have been better. Yay!! 

Headed in for one last night ... 

Secret Life of Pets is coming along nicely on the outside 

Super Nintendo Land is bigger each and every time we visit 

They were having a HUGE sale 

I got this for $3.96. 

After tackling all 3 backlot mazes by about 6:30, we headed to Killer Klowns. 

This dude brought it, each and every night. Kudos!! 

20 minute waits for both Us and Pandora, don't mind if we do. 

We decided to live stream our last maze of Haunt Season 2019, Holidayz in Hell. Enjoy!! 

And with that, we say a sad farewell to Haunt Season 2019. 

Our final maze counts for the season and our visits with the frequent fear pass. We really did love being able to go multiple nights and see the progression of each maze. We will definitely be getting it again next year.

And just because this made us laugh way more than it should have. It's still HHN specific. =) 

Hope you all enjoyed reading our Halloween updates, we'll see you at Midsummer Scream on July 31st!!

And just because people have been asking, below are all of our maze videos, in order of favorite to least favorite. 

1 - Ghostbusters

2 - Killer Klowns from Outer Space

3 - Holidayz in Hell (we never did get a full video, see the live-stream above)

4 - Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman

5 - Creepshow

6 - Pandora's Box

7 - Us

8 - House of 1000 Corpses

9 - Stranger Things 2

We REALLY did love being able to experience the event multiple nights and I think you kind of need to in order to really see everything. 

Related Videos:

Related Updates: 

• Universal CityWalk Hollywood Tasting Event at Antojitos and Vivo - October 25, 2019
• Halloween Horror Nights 2019 Opening Weekend Pictures, Video and Review - September 16, 2019
• Jurassic World The Ride Media Night at Universal Studios Hollywood - July 23, 2019
• Universal Minions 5k at Universal Studios Hollywood - May 18, 2019
• Universal Orlando Non-Park Update - May 13, 2019

If you enjoyed this update please share with your friends and make sure you "like" us on Facebook and "follow" us on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

If you have any comments, please share them below

After checking in, our first stop was Vivo Italian Kitchen

As soon as we headed in we were greeted with wine, pasta and some nice looking dessert displays. We quickly made the decision to have "dinner" samples at each restaurant and then come back to Vivo to end our night with dessert. 

All of this was amazing, and shout out to the diners photo-bombing us. Didn't even notice this at the time. 

Ricotta Cheesecake. Wow!!! 

Mini Chocolate Vasi. I don't know what a Vasi is, but I know what chocolate is. And I know good chocolate something when I taste it. 

The restaurants mixologist was on-site to make some yummy drinks. We had the Old Fashioned and a Strawberry Rye (not pictured). Both were amazing. 

Some of the amazing food on the menu. 

We got to try the Sausage Ragu, it was to die for. 

Oh yeah, some of what the restaurant actually looks like. =) 

Our dessert sample with coffee of course. It was all fantastic. 

After stuffing our faces at Vivo, it was time to head over to Antojitos. This has always been a favorite of our readers in Florida so we were excited to see one coming here. And it didn't disappoint. 

Lots of amazing drinks. Seeing that it was a Tuesday night, and the Old Fashioned at Vivo was super good, didn't take more than a few sips here. But we WILL be back. 

Made a mental note that I NEED the Mexican Mule on our return visit. 

Let's get to the food

I LOVE spicy food. Like, love, love it. This had a tremendous kick. And I loved it. I think I had 3 or 4 of these mini tacos. But be warned. You'll need something to wash it down with. =) 

I'm probably the farthest thing from a Vegan that there is, well, maybe not the farthest. But this Vegan Chorizo was all kinds of amazing. Definitely am going to add some of this "Impossible" stuff to our shopping list to try it out. 

Had no idea that they could make Chicharrones out of chicken. Says the Guero. 

I'm getting hungry again

As somebody who is not a fan of tomatoes (but can eat non-chunky salsa) I love that they have guacamole with additives other than tomatoes. The Pomegranate seed one was amazing. 

Being born and raised in Southern California and having some of the best Mexican food within miles of our house for most of our lives we are VERY particular when it comes to Salsa. 

We are very happy to report the Salsa at Antojitos is amazing. 

The salsa roja (on the left side of the plate) was our favorite. 

So what's the final verdict? 

We really loved the food at both places, and for very different reasons. For us, Antojitos is definitely the more "casual" of the two places, as such, we will be more likely to eat there more in the future. 

On the other hand, for a special occasion (birthday, anniversary, etc) I could definitely see us choosing Vivo. 

And on the third hand, we totally talked about having dinner at Antojitos and then dessert at Vivo. =) 

Thanks again to Universal Studios Hollywood for inviting us out. We had an amazing time. 

Now about getting Antojitos to open for Breakfast after the Running Universal Events. I bet they'd make some amazing Chilaquiles. 

Written by Renée Girard

Tonight is opening night for Orlando’s brand new haunt, Dark Horizon: Point of No Return. Dark Harbor on the west coast is amazing so I can’t wait to see what they’ve brought here!

The red carpet is set and we’re ready for a night of fun and fear!

The characters are beginning to emerge and we’re seeing some impressive acts.

More creatures are coming out to greet the crowd.

There’s some tasty food to sample too!

So far everyone looks awesomely creepy. Really looking forward to seeing what’s lurking inside the houses.

The cast of Ghost Ship welcomes us aboard.

Bloody Watson and the gang of Murder Island might be the creepiest of all.

Dark Harbor has secret bars, and they’ve brought that tradition to the east coast.

A backpack full of alcohol? Yes please!

We’re going in!

​The Vodou House had some cool scares, and I had to crawl through a separate maze to get out! 

​There is a stage in the middle where different acts perform, like this guy tossing around fire!

​I love unique aspects of haunted houses when you get to do something other than simply walk through!

Ghost Ship and Murder Island are the other two houses and they’re both really well done! The secret bar is located inside Ghost Ship, which is a lot of fun when you find it.

​Not gonna lie, we had quite a bit to drink, but everything we had was delicious! I think the Poisoned Apple from the Cellar Bar was my favorite. I feel like there was so much to see and do, but we’ll be going back for more Saturday night!

​Back for more

​Love the secret bar!

​Got to see a different stunt show tonight with some aerial performances. 

​Going down the slide on the Ghostship!

​We hit all the houses again! Taking a break at the bars and then time for some more scares.

​A look at a map and a view of the event from above. We’ve had such a fun time at Dark Horizon this week and hope that it continues a successful run for the rest of this month!

For more information on Dark Horizon and links to purchase tickets, click here!!