(I have one of those "annual passes" for USH.)
I got an e-mail from Universal Studios Hollywood, announcing the opening of a new attraction, "House of Horrors."
The announcement said its opening was March 31, a Saturday.

Any insiders for USH out there to fill us in on the early scoop?
For example, does USH have soft openings, like DL, so that I ought to go Friday (one day prior) and get a sneak peak before USH's official day?

I just came home from Universal Studios Hollywood.

I paid for general parking, i.e., $10, in Curious George.

Hours = 9:00 to 8:00; but they close the admission gates at 6:00 pm. They must be adding two hours per EASTER BREAK because they close at 6:00 normally.

I saw photo ops with MARILYN MONROE and DRACULA and SHREK.

I did see the HOUSE OF HORRORS. It is the same walk-thru as its VAN HELSING attraction. Fewer mummies, more modern monsters (Chuckie; Leatherface).

They closed the eatery FRANK 'N' STEIN and made that unit a photo pickup place.

DOC BROWN'S FRIED CHICKEN was finally open. I had never seen this eatery open in all the years I had visited. So, I had my dinner there. Real fried chicken, comes with mased potatoes and gravy, plus cole slaw. (Their combo #1.)

I finally saw the "new" Whoopie Goldberg version of the STUDIO TOUR. A modest change. The main feature is still the tour guide himself/herself.

I did see their FAST AND FURIOUS segment. Two cars which undergo bullets and fire. And then "dance" (via hydraulic arms underneath).

The tour still has:
EARTHQUAKE; KING KONG; MUMMY'S TOMB; PARTING OF THE RED SEA; JAWS; FLASH FLOOD.
They still show the scenes from GRINCH and from WAR OF THE WORLDS.
This time, some sets were occupied with crew. I had never seen that before. All other times I went, nobody was filming anything anywhere.

Lines were thin. The Studio Tour was like a 3 minute wait. Virtually no queue. I walked to the "star" in the immediate boarding area.

If you go on the Studio Tour, avoid the first compartment. The engine noise is pretty loud, and I suspect the last-most cars (of 4 cars) would probably be quieter per the ambient noise.

In CITYWALK, part of the theater area was partitioned off for a movie premier, per the signs. The title I did not recognize, and I don't remember. "Mother Ghost" or "Ghost Mother"?

That's all. I only went for a couple of hours, since I have an annual pass, and saw some stuff during their Halloween weekend.
:|
I am toying with the idea of going on the WB (Warner Brothers) studio tour again, as I did 5 years ago.
I likewise am considering doing the SONY (old "MGM") studio tour in Culver City. I saw JEOPARDY there, but did not do the tour, five years ago.

I don't have the urge to do NBC (Burbank) again. The NBC tour is the lightest-weight tour, in my opinion. You'll see the "Tonight Show" set, which is good, but the rest is not as interesting as Universal or WB.

Is this attraction really scary. I have a nephew who wants to see it but Im not sure if it will scare him. Is it anything like what happens on Halloween? Thanks..

Is this attraction really scary. I have a nephew who wants to see it but Im not sure if it will scare him. Is it anything like what happens on Halloween? Thanks..

If you ever went in it when it was the Mummy or the Van Helsing attraction its basically the same. It's MUCH darker, at least I thought so. The first part took us forever to walk through b/c you literally couldn't see anything. It may have just been my eyes adjusting. But still.

It's filled with different "themed" areas, or like scare zones. So it's kind of like their Halloween event all tied up into one attraction. Theres a frankenstein area, mummy area, Chuckie area, even a texas chainsaw massacre part which I loved!!!

I would say its pretty scary for younger kids. But then it depends on how easily they get scared. The "scare" actors in the attraction get very close to you and come out of nowhere. So you are never expecting.