Patch Notes // latest change 2025.08.27
Universal Studios · Universal Orlando
Shop · opened 2004 · Universal Studios · 4 changes on record
For Halloween Horror Nights 34, the HHN Tribute Store took over Sahara Traders and the adjacent Palace Arcade for the first time, opening August 27, 2025, a day after its announced August 26 date; in 2024 Sahara Traders had only hosted HHN 33 teaser/hint installations rather than the Tribute Store itself.
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Ahead of Revenge of the Mummy's 2022 reopening, Sahara Traders received a thematic overhaul with heavier 'Museum of Antiquities' theming, new details, and Easter eggs, including King Kong references tied to the building's former Kongfrontation attraction and a Boris Karloff Imhotep statue in a sarcophagus.
Sahara Traders closed in late January 2022 and was converted into the limited-time 'Universal Monsters: A Tribute to the Creatures of the Night' store (which opened January 28, 2022) while Revenge of the Mummy was down for refurbishment.
Sahara Traders opened as the gift shop at the exit of Revenge of the Mummy on May 21, 2004, occupying the former Kongfrontation building and replacing that attraction's Safari Outfitters Ltd. shop.
That's every change on the record at Sahara Traders since 2004.
The spotters in our Discord catch the next one first — and the record only grows when someone notices.
Per the documented record, Sahara Traders at Universal Studios opened on May 21, 2004.
The most recent closure/refurbishment documented for Sahara Traders is dated Jan 2022: Sahara Traders closed in late January 2022 and was converted into the limited-time 'Universal Monsters: A Tribute to the Creatures of the Night' store (which opened January 28, 2022) while Revenge of the Mummy was down for refurbishment.
The latest documented change (documented Aug 27, 2025): For Halloween Horror Nights 34, the HHN Tribute Store took over Sahara Traders and the adjacent Palace Arcade for the first time, opening August 27, 2025, a day after its announced August 26 date; in 2024 Sahara Traders had only hosted HHN 33 teaser/hint installations rather than the Tribute Store itself.
4 documented changes, dating back to 2004 — the fan-kept shop changelog nobody else keeps.
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