‘The Walking Dead’ returning to Halloween Horror Nights 2013 with new house and a street takeover

For the first time in Halloween Horror Nights history, a common theme will take over every scare zone in the theme park. Watch out for Walkers AKA zombies, and those fighting them as “The Walking Dead” returns to Universal Studios.

Fans with a voracious appetite for AMC’s “The Walking Dead” will have a chance to walk in the footsteps of human survivors when Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort debut an all new terrifying maze inspired by Season 3 of the award-winning television series.

The eerily authentic and disturbingly real maze experiences will place guests at the heart of the show’s once impenetrable prison, the West Georgia Correctional Facility, now overrun by hordes of flesh-eating walkers. The maze will send guests cowering through the walker-infested wilderness that surrounds the prison and into the seemingly utopian town of Woodbury where gruesome secrets are concealed.

Universal Orlando is also dedicating its entire street experience to “The Walking Dead”. Guests brave enough to walk the streets of Universal Studios Florida will encounter iconic scenes from all three seasons of the hit show – including the perilous city of Atlanta and Hershel’s dismal barn – and fleets of blood-thirsty walkers who are hungry for their next victim.

“The goal is always to surround guests with authentic and terrifying experiences,” said Michael Aiello, creative development director for Universal Orlando’s Entertainment team. “The combination of ‘The Walking Dead’ themed street experiences and the haunted maze will make it difficult for our guests to escape the hordes of ravenous walkers they’ve seen on their television. The moment you pass through our gate, you become a survivor fighting for your life.”

“What’s great about working with a property like ‘The Walking Dead’ is that each season presents new environments and characters for us to draw inspiration,” said John Murdy, creative director for Universal Studios Hollywood. “With the prison as the main setting of Season 3, we seized this opportunity to recreate that very environment, down to the last detail, to be as genuine and authentic to the show as possible. Using movie-quality production value, our goal is to make guests feel as if they are mired in the world of blood-thirsty zombies, which is something you can only do at ‘Halloween Horror Nights.’”

“The Walking Dead” is based on the graphic novel written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The series tells the story of the months and years after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by sheriff Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. “The Walking Dead” is the first original cable series ever to end the broadcast TV season as the number-one show for adults 18-49. AMC’s “The Walking Dead” returns for season 4 on Sunday, Oct. 13.

Halloween Horror Nights is a separately ticketed event. It runs select days in Orlando from Sept. 20 to Nov. 2, 2013. For more information about “Halloween Horror Nights” at either Universal Orlando Resort or Universal Studios Hollywood, visit HalloweenHorrorNights.com.