Universal Studios Hollywood today dropped a video of Ghostbusters star Dan Aykroyd and director Ivan Reitman walking through the franchise's Halloween Horror Nights maze at the park.
It's just highlights, with Aykroyd mugging his way through some of the maze's top scenes. (Though don't you dare try to play along with the scareactors!) If you want a longer view of Hollywood's installation of Ghostbusters, without the celebrities, check out our full POV video.
And maybe compare that with the Ghostbusters installation in Orlando at Universal Studios Florida's Halloween Horror Nights.
Orlando gets the bigger crowds for its event, but Hollywood welcomes more celebrities, in case you want some stars with your scares. When I about to enter the Stranger Things maze on opening night, I had to hold for a moment to let the Duffer brothers go through first, for example. Most fans go through the park without ever seeing anyone famous, but whenever you visit a top park - especially in Southern California - there's always at least a small chance that someone you know from TV or the movies might be there.
If you've seen or met a celebrity in a theme park, please share your story in the comments.
Tweet
Sometimes I specifically search for images of celebrities at theme parks OUTSIDE of the L.A area. If I spot them there, and it's for a personal vacation rather than an event or promotion, then I feel kind of warm, thinking they're at least plausibly theme park fans.
If they're only ever spotted at the OG Disneyland, then it's like going to the beach or hiking. Not a big deal.
It doesn't move me one iota to see a celebrity at Disneyland or Universal Studios Hollywood. But I love to see them at Disney World or Universal Orlando or however rarely, at international parks.
Come on, celebs! Get out of the L.A wasteland and see the other parks! :)
The whole TMZ/tabloid celebrity culture thing confounds me a bit. Having developed some connections to the entertainment industry over the years, I understand the tension entertainers feel between wanting a little downtime outside the house and knowing that their livelihood depends upon cultivating and sustaining a large fanbase. Being ignored in public can be both a wish and a nightmare at the same time.
I've been around parks and celebrities long enough now that I feel like I can tell the difference between when an entertainer is in a park to be seen and when they're just trying to have a nice day off, like the rest of us.
Generally, I avoid "celebrity" coverage around here because I don't want the people I know IRL to feel like I might be "covering" them when that's not appropriate. But at the same time, I think it's fascinating to see people who were involved in a franchises' film or TV productions experience their theme park version, such as in this video. So many of them really love this stuff, and I love that in return.
We were exiting Indiana Jones at Disneyland a few years ago when I got excited because I thought Leonardo DiCaprio passed us by on a VIP tour. Turns out it was just Derek Hough.
Ouch.
About 12 years ago, I got to meet Paul McCartney at Disneyland while exiting Splash Mountain.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
Back before Terminator 3D opened at Universal Orlando, we went during the soft opening of the attraction. Just as we got to the front of the line to go into the theater, the doors closed and the crew asked if we would mind waiting another 20 minutes for a VIP group.
Someone asked if the VIP was President Clinton.
A crew member responded, "No. The entire Letterman show staff is here from New York."
No one said another word while we waited.