{"id":203270,"date":"2025-09-05T21:09:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T21:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/203270\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T21:09:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T21:09:18","slug":"slash-guns-n-roses-legend-talks-about-his-favorite-theme-park-rides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/203270\/","title":{"rendered":"Slash, Guns N&#8217; Roses legend, talks about his favorite theme park rides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Guitar ace Slash rose to prominence with an unmistakable look as the anchor of Guns N\u2019 Roses. A true rock \u2019n\u2019 roll persona, the artist was once rarely seen without a drooping cigarette and a top hat, the latter of which could barely contain his face-engulfing curly hair. <\/p>\n<p>Now, as of this week, he\u2019s a theme park character at Universal Studios Hollywood. <\/p>\n<p>           <video playsinline=\"playsinline\" loop=\"\" preload=\"none\" title=\"Slash is a big part of Universal\u2019s Halloween Horror Nights\" data-video-id=\"00000199-1829-d0d7-afd9-dc3d02320000\">               <\/video>               <img class=\"image\" alt=\"\"   width=\"473\" height=\"840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757106554_222_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>             <\/p>\n<ul data-element=\"action-bar-menu\" class=\"flex gap-2 list-none  absolute w-full h-10 top-0\">\n<li data-element=\"action-bar-share\" class=\"flex  w-full h-10 top-0 lg:items-center lg:justify-center \">\n<p> Share via     Close extra sharing options  <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Slash, or, rather, a skeletal facsimile of him played by an actor, will be available for photo opportunities and meet and greets at Universal\u2019s Halloween Horror Nights, which runs most evenings through Nov. 2. For the musician, born Saul Hudson, it\u2019s a dream fulfilled. A lifelong devotee of theme parks and coasters, Slash has been closely aligned with Halloween Horror Nights since 2014, when he first began scoring music for its haunted houses. <\/p>\n<p>And the character, he says, was partly his idea. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went to them and said, \u2018Hey, can we have one of those stilt walkers?\u2019\u201d says Slash, referring to the larger-than-life lurkers who haunt guests during the festivities. \u201cThat would be really cool. So they came up with one and he looks pretty menacing.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Slash enjoys the idea of being a towering, sometimes intimidating presence. That\u2019s clear when he\u2019s on stage as the attention-demanding cornerstone of numerous bands. And he likes to scare, as evidenced by his own horror-focused film production company, BerserkerGang. But get Slash one-on-one, and he really just wants to geek out on his favorite theme park rides. <\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"A vinyl record set inside a spooky haunted house. \"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757106555_435_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Universal Studios has released a second vinyl compilation of music Slash has composed for Halloween Horror Nights over the years. <\/p>\n<p>(Gabriella Angotti-Jones \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n<p>We talked to Slash about a week before Halloween Horror Nights opened from Orlando, Fla., where he was holed up recording an album with his band the Conspirators. That work, he says, will be released in 2027 due to planned 2026 touring obligations with Guns N\u2019 Roses. He lamented that he wouldn\u2019t have time to visit Walt Disney World and Universal\u2019s new Epic Universe. The latter Florida park is home to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/travel\/story\/2025-04-09\/universal-studios-epic-universe-theme-park-orlando\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a monsters-themed land<\/a> that Slash said he was eager to see. <\/p>\n<p>His love of theme parks runs deep, and is, of course, nonpartisan. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m a real Disney head,\u201d he says, joking that such a declaration may not make his Universal partners happy. He says he first visited Disneyland in the early 1970s. \u201cI really can\u2019t put into words what makes it so magical, but there is a definite thing there that you feel when you\u2019re actually there. I\u2019ve loved it since I was a little kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I love theme parks in general,\u201d he continues. \u201cI love roller coasters. I love that carnival energy going on. I love arcades. I love everything about that festive outdoor thing, and I\u2019ve never grown out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arguably, he\u2019s grown into it. <\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"Halloween season means it's time for Universa's Halloween Horror Nights, which runs through early November at the theme park.\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"3000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757106556_543_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Halloween season means it\u2019s time for Universa\u2019s Halloween Horror Nights, which runs through early November at the theme park. <\/p>\n<p>(Gabriella Angotti-Jones \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n<p>Slash has a deep fascination with Universal Studios, made clear by his knowledge of how <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/story\/2023-08-03\/how-the-universal-studios-tram-tour-defined-the-modern-theme-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the park\u2019s backlot tram trek<\/a> \u2014 officially designated as the World-Famous Studio Tour \u2014 has shifted over the years. And as a lifelong horror fan who speaks nostalgically of watching 1970s films such as \u201cThe Wicker Man,\u201d \u201cThe Omen\u201d and \u201cThe Exorcist\u201d with his parents, Halloween Horror Nights is especially dear to Slash\u2019s heart. <\/p>\n<p>Slash was first drawn to the event in 2013 due to a haunted house themed around the music and images of Black Sabbath. The artist was given a tour of Horror Nights by <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/story\/2022-09-07\/a-look-inside-the-weeknds-halloween-horror-nights-maze\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">John Murdy<\/a>, who has long overseen the West Coast edition of the festivities. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was so blown away,\u201d Slash says. \u201cI was elated. I remember physically making giddy sounds. The whole thing, from the stilt walkers to the invisible bush figures who would hide in the bushes and were camouflaged, it was unbelievable. I wanted to be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Murdy was open to the idea. \u201cThe first time I walked into his personal recording studio, the first thing I noticed was a huge print of \u2018Bride of Frankenstein,\u2019 our 1935 classic, hanging on the wall. And I was like, \u2018Oh, we have something in common.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"A pair of actors in D\u00eda de Muertos and clown makeup. \"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757106557_661_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Halloween Horror Nights is filled with haunted houses and scare actors. <\/p>\n<p>(Gabriella Angotti-Jones \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n<p>Slash would go on to write the music for six Halloween Horror Nights houses centered around Universal\u2019s classic monster characters. This year, he\u2019s returned to Horror Nights with a score set to a relaunch of an original, Depression-era set maze, \u201cScarecrow.\u201d Musically, it\u2019s a departure for the artist. \u201cScarecrow\u201d includes a Slash-composed cover of traditional folk number \u201cO Death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe started talking \u2018Scarecrow,\u2019 and as pure coincidence, he said, \u2018Oh, I just learned the banjo and the dobro,\u2019\u201d Murdy says. \u201cHe was learning all these traditional Appalachian instruments, and I said, \u2018That\u2019s awesome because my house is set in the Dust Bowl.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That Slash has been dipping into more Americana-influenced music isn\u2019t a complete surprise. His 2024 solo effort, \u201cOrgy of the Damned,\u201d leans blues for instance, including a blistering, rootsy take on early Fleetwood Mac rocker \u201cOh Well\u201d with country star Chris Stapleton. Selections from Slash\u2019s Halloween Horror Nights work, minus the new \u201cScarecrow\u201d music, will again be available on a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dekoentertainment.com\/slash\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">limited-run vinyl<\/a> sold at Universal Studios during Halloween Horror Nights. <\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"A skeletal stilt walker and guitarist Slash. \"   width=\"2000\" height=\"2998\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757106557_335_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Slash is featured this year as a \u201ccharacter\u201d at Halloween Horror Nights, a skeletal, stilt-walking interpretation of the artist. <\/p>\n<p>(Gabriella Angotti-Jones \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs soon as they gave me the concept, my brain went into that realm \u2014 I could pull out my pedal steel, and do an Americana-type approach, as opposed to the goth, kind of pseudo-metal thing I was doing for all the Universal Monsters,\u201d Slash says.<\/p>\n<p>Slash has become such a Halloween Horror Nights fixture that this year will feature a bar centered around the artist, one complete with a mini top hat as a dessert. When asked how he feels to be immortalized as a sculpted sponge cake with coconut lime mousse, he doesn\u2019t flinch. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wish I could explain in words how much I love that kind of stuff,\u201d Slash says. <\/p>\n<p>He is, after all, a theme park regular, although his favorite rides are found a few miles from Universal Studios in Anaheim. \u201cI love the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. That and Pirates of the Caribbean will always be my two favorite rides,\u201d he says. \u201cThe attention to detail and the creative element and everything that is going on with those old Disney rides is still, to this day, second to none.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"infobox-title\">Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios<\/p>\n<p>The mark of any true theme park aficionado is an appreciation of slow-moving, old-school dark rides, attractions that are set in darkened show buildings and often filled with an assortment of vignettes. Slash singles out Universal\u2019s \u201c<a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/entertainment-arts\/f3v-dun3qce-123\" data-autoplayable-video=\"true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash<\/a>\u201d as another highlight. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went with my stepdaughter and we  went on that ride and it\u2019s great,\u201d Slash says. \u201cThe \u2018Pets\u2019 one is  really sweet. I\u2019m a big animal guy. We love our cats, so that was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>            <img class=\"image\" alt=\"Crowds lined up to enter &quot;Scarecrow,&quot; a haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights featuing music by Slash.\"   width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757106558_97_\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>         <\/p>\n<p>Crowds lined up to enter \u201cScarecrow,\u201d a haunted house at Halloween Horror Nights featuing music by Slash. <\/p>\n<p>(Gabriella Angotti-Jones \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n<p>And before Slash can finish his next thought, he starts gushing about a recent trip to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he visited Ferrari World, home to a number of celebrated roller coasters. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can talk about this stuff all day,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Guitar ace Slash rose to prominence with an unmistakable look as the anchor of Guns N\u2019 Roses. A&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":203271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[8067,1582,276,2385,43995,112153,42423,112151,106326,2961,224,5337,975,112155,112154,101767,112152,941,77921,1628],"class_list":{"0":"post-203270","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-artist","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-day","12":"tag-disneyland","13":"tag-favorite-theme-park-ride","14":"tag-guns","15":"tag-halloween-horror-nights","16":"tag-haunted-house","17":"tag-la","18":"tag-los-angeles","19":"tag-losangeles","20":"tag-music","21":"tag-roses-legend","22":"tag-scarecrow","23":"tag-slash","24":"tag-theme-park-character","25":"tag-universal","26":"tag-universal-studios-hollywood","27":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115153742451904300","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}