UNIVERSAL CITY, Ca., ORLANDO, Fla., (July 22, 2014) — As the gates to “Halloween Horror Nights” open, so too does the annual Purge begin at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort with the debut of a terrifying new scarezone, “The Purge: Anarchy,” inspired by Universal Pictures’ new thriller, which scored the highest opening for a horror film this year.

“The Purge: Anarchy” scarezone will greet guests with pure unadulterated fear, bringing to life the turmoil and pandemonium that awaits those vulnerable to masked vigilantes in search of new victims. Reimagining the movie’s premise that on one night every year, any and all crime is made legal, the scarezone will be inhabited by average citizens transformed into sadistic felons during this period of government-sanctioned lawlessness. Like civilians in the movie fighting to survive, guests will be at the mercy of cunning wit, luck and speed as they attempt to outsmart and outlive the anarchy brought about by those who believe in an “eye for an eye.”

The Purge: Anarchy, the sequel to last summer’s surprise hit, moves from the confines of a suburban neighborhood to the streets as the government begins its annual 12-hour Purge to ensure that the crime rate stays below one percent for the rest of the year. With all emergency services suspended, it’s the one night when society regulates itself without thought of punishment or fear of retribution. For average people who do not have the means to barricade themselves indoors with a state-of-the-art security system, anarchy rules and no one is safe. In this new story, an unlikely group of five citizens discover how far they will go to protect themselves and, ultimately, each other, as they fight to survive a dangerous night fraught with impossible decisions.

From director and writer James DeMonaco (The Purge, Assault on Precinct 13), The Purge: Anarchy stars Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Carmen Ejogo (Away We Go), Zach Gilford (Devil’s Due), Kiele Sanchez (A Perfect Getaway) and Michael K. Williams (The Wire).

“‘Halloween Horror Nights’ is about taking guests out of their comfort zones and placing them at the core of unimaginable horror,” said John Murdy, Universal Studios Hollywood’s Creative Director for and Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights.”  “Because the premise of ‘The Purge’ could theoretically happen, our scare-zone elevates that sense of fear and forces you to really watch your back.  Imagining how your neighbor, friend or enemy could take revenge on you without retribution because you wronged them takes horror to a whole new level, and we wanted to bring that gut-wrenching terror to every one of our guests.”

“‘The Purge’” scarezone will invade the streets of ‘Halloween Horror Nights’, taking up most of our New York back lot. The chaos that reigns in the film will be replicated nightly, but now our guests can actually attempt to survive the night themselves,” said Michael Aiello, Director of Entertainment – Creative Development, Universal Orlando Resort. “The familiar emergency broadcast will be heard announcing the commencement of the annual Purge, and all hell will literally break loose.”

Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” events have a more than 20-year history of creating incredibly entertaining, horrifying Halloween experiences that are consistently rated the nation’s best. The events on each coast feature highly-themed, disturbingly real, haunted mazes based on everything from films to nightmares – and streets filled with hundreds of specially trained “scareactors” in uniquely themed scare-zones. In addition to “The Purge:  Anarchy,” other announced experiences include, “The Walking Dead:  The End of the Line,” “From Dusk Till Dawn” and “Face Off: In the Flesh.”

To complement its numerous mazes, “Halloween Horror Nights” features a variety of terrifying scare-zones designed to provoke heart-pounding fear as guests traverse the park from one traumatizing experience to the next, unsure of what lies just around the corner.

To learn more about this all-new “Halloween Horror Nights” scarezone, click here:  The Purge: Anarchy.

About Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios HollywoodSM, The Entertainment Capital of L.ASM. includes a full-day, movie-based theme park and Studio Tour; the CityWalk entertainment, shopping and dining complex, the Universal CityWalk Cinemas and the “5 Towers” state-of-the-art outdoor concert venue.  World-class rides and attractions include the popular “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” family adventure ride, the intense, award-winning ride, “King Kong 360 3-D” on the famed behind-the-scenes Studio Tour, the critically-acclaimed mega-attraction, “Transformers™:  The Ride-3D,” “The Simpsons Ride™,” “Revenge of the MummySM—The Ride,” and “Jurassic Park® —The Ride.”

Updates on “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood are available online at HalloweenHorrorNights.com/Hollywood and on Facebook at: “Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood,” on Instagram at @HorrorNights and Twitter at @HorrorNights as Creative Director John Murdy reveals a running chronicle of exclusive information. Watch videos on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube and join the conversation using #UniversalHHN.

Universal Studios Hollywood is part of NBCUniversal, a Comcast company. Follow Universal Studios Hollywood on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About Universal Orlando Resort

Vacation like you mean it at Universal Orlando Resort – where every heart pounding, jaw-dropping, goose-bumping second counts.  It is the only place where you can turn spending time with your family into spending time as a family. Together, you can soar above Hogwarts with Harry Potter, swing above the streets with Spider-Man, become a Minion in the hilarious and heartwarming Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride, and join Optimus Prime in the fight to save mankind on the new mega-attraction, TRANSFORMERS: The Ride – 3D. And, coming this summer, you can step into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley.

Universal Orlando Resort is home to two incredible theme parks: Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure; four magnificently themed on-site hotels: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort and the newest addition, Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort; and Universal CityWalk - a unique dining and entertainment complex featuring one-of-a-kind restaurants, shops and nightclubs. And located just minutes from Universal Orlando Resort is Wet n’ Wild, Orlando’s premier waterpark.

Tickets and vacation packages for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando are on sale now at HalloweenHorrorNights.com\Orlando. More information about the event will be available soon. Updates on Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights are available on Facebook at Halloween Horror Nights – Universal Orlando and on Instagram at@HorrorNightsORL. Plus, fans can get exclusive updates from Creative Development Director Mike Aiello on Twitter at @HorrorNightsORL.

Universal Orlando Resort is part of NBCUniversal, a Comcast company. Follow Universal Orlando Resort on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

Six Flags Magic Mountain, partnering with radio station ALT 98.7, is hosting a private Colossus party this coming Saturday night, July 26, from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.  In addition to radio station winners, the party is open to the public for a small fee of $36.  For that price, guests will receive all access to Colossus and Scream, entertainment provided by ALT 98.7, hourly contests with prizes in addition to a one-of-a-kind Farewell Colossus button.

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

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

The dividing line between Springfield and Hogsmeade

A few shots from up above

The Three Broomsticks

Moving over to Forbidden Journey, concrete work is continuing and some show elements are starting to be added. Well, at least some mechanisms that will eventually be show elements. 

It would be cool if the Tram was going to go under this part of the show building and give tram riders a behind-the-scenes look at the ride. But it's not gonna happen. 

The staging area

If you look closely at the photo below, you can see the mechanism for the Whomping Willow. 

A closer view, kudos to our friends at Westcoaster for catching this in their update last week. 

A couple of pictures of the Fast and Furious building. Not much to see really other than a big box. 

Last but not least, a couple of pictures of the maze near Mummy starting to take shape. Down in the right hand corner of the picture below you can see construction. 

What is typically the entrance for the maze

Thanks again to Scott for sending us these great pictures. If you have any pictures to share with us, please do not hesitate to email us or send us a message on Facebook or Twitter. 

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

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

Below are the screen shots I took while playing around with the app. As you'll see some of the features are only available inside the park, which is honestly fine. It should make me want to go to the park to do everything the app has to offer. 

As you can see, with the Sea World App you can pick which park you'd like to explore. 

Once you get into the app you are shown some news. Below you'll see some info on the 50th and how you can add your tickets or passes directly to the app. Pretty cool!! 

News and Deals and Fun Pictures with some awesome Sea World Fun Frames and Filters. 

And lastly, some tips on how you can use the app to filter results for Rides/Shows/Food and more as well as a full screen view of the map. You can also skip all of the tips if you'd like to just explore on your own. =)

The front page of the app has options for tracking your car when arriving, the park hours, weather, checking into the park and exploring the park. 

If you try to click the "I'm In The Park" button at home you will get the message on the right. Can't wait to visit the park to see what other options we get. 

As we scroll down on the home page you will get the remaining showtimes for the day and some information about Behind The Scenes Tours and social media links. 

As you'll see, the picture icon is displayed on every page just in case you see something you want to take a picture of while exploring the app. 

You can purchase Tours directly from the app. On the right you'll see the options for adding the Penguin Up-Close Tour to your visit. Because this is the one I'd choose. =)

If you have an existing Sea World account you can log in and access all of your passes. 

The Explore option allows you to sort between Rides, Shows, Attractions and dining. Clicking on the bubbles will show which Ride is near you. 

The Shows and Animal Attractions options. 

And lastly, dining options in the park. 

To the right, the weather option which is a bit different than the normal Weather Channel app, I like this one better and may start using it for my home weather forcast. LOL. 

The 50th Scavenger Hunt ... not sure what all the goals are, but it should be fun to do when we are at the park next. 

So what do you think? is this something you are planning on using next time you are at one of the Sea World/Busch parks? Have you already used it? If so, let us know what you thought in the comments below. 

UPDATE: The App has now added Commerce Capabilities

Orlando, Fla., (July 17, 2014) – SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: SEAS) today announces additional enhancements to its popular park mobile apps, available for iPhone and Android devices. The latest update to the SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place Discovery Guide mobile apps allow guests to make unique purchases and redeem offers on their mobile devices while in these parks.

The new commerce features include:

• Quick Pay, which allows guests to use their devices as a payment method. Once guests have connected their account to a credit card they can pay for culinary and merchandise directly with their mobile device throughout their visit to SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Diego, SeaWorld San Antonio, Busch Gardens Tampa, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and Sesame Place.  
• By using Quick Pay, guests can register a credit card right in their Mobile App account and use the app to quickly and easily pay for purchases the remainder of the day
• Additionally, the three SeaWorld parks will pioneer new products just for mobile app users including one-time use Quick Queue® to some of the most popular attractions, including Antarctica®, Rio Loco® and Shipwreck Rapids®. 
• Busch Gardens and Sesame Place will introduce one-time offer and awareness messages to park guests with incentives for culinary, merchandise, and future visit products.

The multi-year focus on digital innovation includes the recent introduction of mobile ticketing and responsive Web design, among the first in the theme park industry. The investments go beyond new technology, but also extend to park operations for a guest experience that is more interactive and connected.

For more information about the new Discovery Guide mobile apps, check out the video at SeaWorldParks.com /mobile. The app can be downloaded free from the Apple or Google Play app stores.

About SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc.

SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE: SEAS) is a leading theme park and entertainment company delivering personal, interactive and educational experiences that blend imagination with nature and enable its customers to celebrate, connect with and care for the natural world we share. The Company owns or licenses a portfolio of globally recognized brands including SeaWorld®, Shamu® and Busch Gardens®. Over its more than 50-year history, the Company has built a diversified portfolio of 11 destination and regional theme parks that are grouped in key markets across the United States, many of which showcase its one-of-a-kind collection of approximately 86,000 marine and terrestrial animals. The Company’s theme parks feature a diverse array of rides, shows and other attractions with broad demographic appeal which it believes deliver memorable experiences and a strong value proposition for its guests. In addition to its theme parks, the Company has recently begun to leverage its brands into media, entertainment and consumer products. Copies of this and other news releases as well as additional information about SeaWorld Entertainment, Inc. can be obtained online at seaworldentertainment.com. Shareholders and prospective investors can also register to automatically receive the Company's press releases, SEC filings and other notices by e-mail by registering at such website.

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

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

New York street, pre 2008 fire. 

Jurassic Park building, this is the site where the War of the World set is today

Great Outdoors house

World's largest blue screen

The tour is ever changing depending on filming going on and sometimes you can get clues as to what is filming or the studio is promoting. 

Because of filming, no two trips on the tour are ever the same

Everybody should know what this is from

One of the biggest losses during the 2008 fire was that of King Kong

I do miss the banana breath

Some things that are supposed to be temporary end up staying much longer than they probably should. 

On June 2, 2008 a fire broke out on the New York sets which sadly destroyed many of the facades and the fan-favorite King Kong. 

Due to the closure of New York Street, the park added some other tram stops which helped fill the gap

Always one of my favorite spots on the tour. The fountain has been missing for awhile now. 

A look at the re-construction of the New York sets 

One of the coolest Tram changes over the past few years has been it's use for the "Terror Tram" for Halloween Horror Nights, which gives guests the opportunity to walk through some of the sets including Bates Motel, Psycho House and War of the Worlds sets. 

Even the Grinch sets usually receive some cool lighting

Unfortunately due to the neighbors, the fire from the walk-through has been gone for a few years. 

A few years ago, Halloween Horror Nights featured the "Kong Express" which took visitors to the new King Kong and back to the lower lot. 

On June 2, 2011 the latest tram tour video made it's debut with new host Jimmy Fallon

Have a Tramtastic Day!! 

Let's take a look at what the tour looks like today. 

The new New York sets

CSI has been filming on the lot for more than a decade, so don't think you are really seeing Las Vegas

Flash Flood, still one of my favorites

The Fan-Favorite Jaws got a nice rehab earlier this year

Jurassic Park sets

King Kong "Miniature" and War of the World set, two things that have long been overdue for replacement

With the new addition of Fast and Furious: Supercharged opening in 2015 and great minor tweaks such as bringing the Collapsing Bridge back, the tram tour is heading into it's second 50 years stronger than ever. 

So what would you like to see on the future of the Universal Studios Tour? What franchises would you like to see represented? 

What are some of your favorite memories of the tour ... share them below!! 

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

If you have any comments, please share them below. 

Six Flags seeks individuals with a passion for Halloween and scaring. The park’s casting team is looking for nearly a dozen trained dancers for the popular Dead Man’s Party and Ghoulmaster’s Ghosts stage shows, more than 150 scare actors for the park’s haunted midways and creepy terror trails, variety performers for street shows, and technicians to work behind the scenes to create the ambience of Fright Fest through special effects, lighting and sound.

No prior acting or scare experience is necessary to fill the acting roles.  Auditions include several fun acting exercises in a group setting.  Dancers must be ready to showcase their inner zombie and have dance training in jazz and hip hop. They will learn several dance combinations during the audition with professional dancer/choreographer and Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance finalist Ashle Dawson. No preparation is required for either set of auditions, but headshots and resumes are welcome. Variety performers should arrive ready to showcase their talents, such as magic, juggling, stilt walking, etc.

Applicants interested in technician positions should complete the pre-employment application online and arrange an in-person interview.

Anyone interested in applying for a Fright Fest position should first complete the pre-employment application at www.sixflagsjobs.com. Audition dates, times and locations are available on the website. Additional questions can be answered by calling the Entertainment Department at 732-928-2000 ext. 2225.

Fright Fest begins Sept. 20 and runs weekends through Nov. 2.

WHAT
Dance Auditions:
July 18 at 7 p.m.
July 19 at 1 p.m.

Scare Actor and Variety Performer Auditions:
July 25 at 6 p.m.
Aug. 2 & 3 at 1 p.m.
Aug. 15 at 6 p.m.
Aug. 16 at 1p.m.
Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.

Please be prompt, as latecomers will not be permitted to audition. Applicants must be at least 16 years of age. Guests are not be permitted inside the auditions.

WHERE
Six Flags Great Adventure, 1 Six Flags Boulevard, Jackson, NJ 08527.  Use Employment/Service Entrance on Route 537. Dance auditions take place in Showcase Theater; acting auditions take place in the Employment Center.

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

If you have any comments, please share them below.