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Universal Studios Permanently Adds Walking Dead Theme Park Attraction, Coming Summer 2016

By Janice Malcolm
Published on: 16:41 PST, Mar 13, 2016

The Walking Dead has contributed heavily to a thirst for the undead, and Universal Studios is about to answer the call by giving year-round permanency to its current seasonal walk-through attraction beginning summer 2016. The announcement was made on Sunday’s episode of The Talking Dead series.

The Walking Dead seasonal attraction was offered as an immersive maze for the guests of Universal Studio theme park’s Halloween Horror Nights and has had a proven track record for being highly-attended. According to the AMC series, visitors to the zombie filled attraction will be able to follow in the footsteps of survivors for a completely immersive journey that will incorporate the use of both animatronics and live performers. Visitors should prepare for the year-round spooktacular Walking Dead attraction to be a re-imagined and enhanced version of the attraction which is based on the increasingly popular cable series of the same name.

The past four years have seen The Walking Dead attraction incorporated in Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights and featured elaborate mazes based off the show. The Horror Night Events has in fact been said to have only gained as much success in popularity and attendance as it has due to the inclusion of that particular attraction. The re-imagined Walking Dead attraction will retain the format of the experience, meaning that it will remain a walk through, instead of being an actual ride.

According to Comicbook.com, The Walking Dead‘s executive producer, director and all-around effects guru Greg Nicotero and his company, KNB Efx, partnered with Universal Studios to ensure the life like “walker” authenticity that fans of the show have grown accustomed to is in full effect during the ride. They are also working with the show’s production team on the revamping of the attraction which involved creating the attraction’s detailed landscapes, set designs, special effects, props and staging as well as the costumes and walker make-up that the performers use to give that look and feel of complete corporeal spookiness.

Several highly recognizable props from the series have also been replicated for the attraction. Press notes have also outlined that the new attraction will be significantly more intense than the Halloween version that has previously been featured.

The addition to the theme park will be housed in a new custom-built structure just inside the main entryway of the studio. Larry Kurzweil, president of Universal Studios Hollywood, has stated that The Walking Dead attraction will be the latest to use a portion of the whopping 75 percent new territory that the park has taken over in the last five years. In fact, this newest addition comes only a few months after the park added another game changing attraction in the form of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which is set to open in April.

IGN reported that Kurzeil released a statement on behalf of Universal Studios, promising visitors that the collaboration with those involved in the series itself will ensure an unforgettable intensity.

“The Walking Dead’ is a phenomenon that has successfully and consistently affected the psyche of viewers on a global basis, since its debut. We’re taking its intensity to the next level by collaborating with the show’s award-winning production team to create an authentic living representation of the series that can only be experienced at Universal Studios Hollywood.”

A video showcasing a sneak peek of the attraction was also released by the studios and can be seen above, and fans of the show are already gearing up for the Summer opening.

[Photo by Roberto Gonzales/Universal Orlando via Getty Images]

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