Universal Orlando confirms dates, ticket prices for Halloween Horror Nights 2012

A range of dark creatures are set to shuffle into Universal Studios Florida this fall. Image © Universal Orlando

The Universal Orlando Resort has announced the dates of the Halloween Horror Nights 22 events, which will take place in September and October 2012.

As usual, the hugely popular Halloween celebrations will be hosted in Universal Studios Florida, and will take place on September 21, 22, 27, 28, 29, 30 and October 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31. Universal is offering a diverse range of ticket options for the event, all of which are detailed on the official Halloween Horror Nights website.

During Halloween Horror Nights, areas of Universal Studios Florida are dressed up as "haunted houses" and "scare zones". Fans of the House of Horrors attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood will know what to expect, with real actors mingled in with the guests to create genuinely unpredictable scares.

Universal Orlando is yet to reveal details of the themes for this year's Halloween Horror Nights attractions. However, there have been strong hints that a haunted house based on zombie-packed TV series The Walking Dead is in the works.

Several categories of ticket are available for the Halloween Horror Nights 22 events:

• General admission tickets - allow admission for one night's event, priced at $88.99.
• Frequent Fear Passes - allow admission on multiple selected dates, priced at $81.99. The Frequent Fear Pass Plus allows admission on a wider range of dates, and costs $96.99.
• Florida resident tickets - residents can receive discounts on both general admission tickets and Frequent Fear Passes, with admission on Sunday-Thursday nights priced at $41.99.
• Annual Passholders - deep discounts are available for passholders, with prices as low as $36.99 for single-night tickets for some dates.

In addition to basic admission tickets, Universal Orlando typically offers Halloween Express Passes which enable guests to skip the queues for Halloween Horror Nights' mazes and scare zones. These are not currently available from the Universal website but are likely to appear at a later date.

As it did in 2011, Universal Orlando is also offering a range of "Gory Getaways", which combine entrance to Halloween Horror Nights events with a stay at one of the resort's on-site hotels.