It’s Halloween Time and what are idle hands to do? Universal Studios’ can help you scratch that itch. If there’s one thing I look forward to each year it’s Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights.

If you live in a major city, chances are that your local theme park dresses itself up for this spooky time of year. Some go all out and others try to. For your money there’s no better theme park venue and event than Universal Studios’. Hands down there is no better time to be had than at Universal’s staple Halloween Horror Nights.

I have been attending since the late 90′s and it just keeps getting better and better. The quality of the mazes and the truly disturbing things you find within each one are top notch. The thing to remember is that the theme park is a working, major Hollywood studio. Add to that it’s the one that created the horror genre and the very icons of horror that keep us awake at night.

This year Universal’s Horror Nights had some nice additions to it’s lineup. They partnered up with Silent Hill and AMC’s The Walking Dead which took over not only the Terror Tram but one of the mazes as well. With all the hype surrounding AMC’s The Walking Dead and the studio level production of the mazes at Universal’s Horror Nights it was a perfect monster mash-up.

This year Universal featured 6 Horror Mazes, two returning favorites and four all new additions:

The Walking Dead: Dead Inside
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Saw is the Law
Welcome to Silent Hill
La Llorona: La Cazadora de los Niños (The Child Hunter)
Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3D
Universal Monsters Remix (exclusive to Universal Studios Hollywood)

Along with the mazes there was the Terror Tram: Invaded by The Walking Dead in addition to four Scare Zones: Silent Hill, Toyz, Witches and Klownz.

Although Alice Cooper and La Llorona are returning mazes from 2011, they are not the same maze. This is something I’ve always loved about Universal’s Horror Nights. Even in years when a particular maze may return it’s always different (re-imagined if you will).

Opening night was a little over a week ago. This gives you an entire month to block out the time to have the little child in you scared to death. General admission tickets start at $41.99, but trust me you’re going to want to get Front of the Line passes. This event always draws huge crowds so plan ahead and avoid the horror of those long lines. Front of the Line passes start at $89.99 per person and that’s good for one use at each maze. There are also discounts for buying tickets early. Get all the details and pricing by clicking here.

The standout mazes this year for me were Silent Hill, Alice Cooper 3D and La Llorona. I don’t scare easily and typically the fun for me lies in the awesomeness of the maze construction and the cast members in costume & makeup. This year however Silent Hill & La Llorona got me with some pretty damn good scares. You truly are immersed in those mazes and you’re left wanting to shake the disturbing images you’re exposed to. Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3D is on another level altogether. It’s basically wha I would imagine an acid trip gone bad is like. The trickery/ studio magic used to achieve the 3D is trippy (for lack of a better word). The way the effect is used together with the scares inside the maze keep this maze in my top 3 for the second year in a row.

The Walking Dead: Dead Inside maze is a great addition. You essentially get to experience the first few episodes of AMC’s The Walking Dead, which is awesome. I mean, how can you go wrong with zombies right?

Lastly there was the exclusive Universal Monsters Remix. This maze is exclusive to Universal Studios Hollywood this year. It’s an interesting twist of horror and a rave. I know that sounds weird, but it actually works out pretty well. This maze is set in the House of Horrors maze attraction towards the front of the park. Be sure to give it a walk through and remember to bring your glow sticks.

Be sure to check out Universal’s Horror Nights attraction this month through October 31st. You can pick up discounted tickets at www.halloweenhorrornights.com. Also be sure to follow Horror Nights on Twitter and Like them on Facebook.