The Last of Us was a haunted house park attraction that was part of Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights event. It took place at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks during select nights in September, October, and November of 2023. It is based on the events of the 2013 video game The Last of Us, developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 3. It was announced on June 15th, 2023, to celebrate the game's tenth anniversary.
In the attraction, guests navigate the Pittsburgh quarantine zone and the Hotel Grand alongside Joel and Ellie as well as other survivors, and encounter enemies from the game including infected, raiders, and hunters. Universal collaborated with Naughty Dog and Neil Druckmann, creative director of the game, while Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson reprised their roles and recorded additional dialogue as Joel and Ellie, respectively.
Background[]
Universal's Halloween Horror Nights is an annual Halloween-themed event held at Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando, Hollywood, Japan, and Singapore. Universal Studios Hollywood first featured an event titled Halloween Horror Nights in 1986, which was actually a haunted tram tour bearing little resemblance to the modern event. It was marred by the accidental death of an employee who had volunteered to perform in the event, discontinuing it. In 1991, the longest-running and most successful iteration of the event began at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando as a three-night event known as Universal Studios Fright Nights. The following year, it was rebranded as Halloween Horror Nights, and was advertised as the second annual event. Since then, it has evolved into a scare-a-thon event filled with themed haunted houses, scare zones, and shows that runs over the course of select nights from early September to late October or early November. Universal Studios Hollywood began holding the event in 1997, while the Singapore and Japan locations followed in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
The Orlando event was held at Universal Studios Florida from 1991 until 2001, after which it was moved to the neighboring Islands of Adventure for 2002 and 2003. In 2004, a dual-park format was tested, which opened parts of both parks, before returning exclusively to Islands of Adventure in 2005. The event made its return to Universal Studios Florida in 2006, and has been held yearly with the exception of 2020, when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the first year that Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights was not held since its inception. The event later resumed with its 30th year in 2021.