Alice Cooper plans theme park attraction

Alice Cooper is branching out from shock rock to family entertainment, launching an attraction at Hollywood's Universal Studios theme park. Welcome to My Nightmare is a spooky new maze, inspired by Cooper's forthcoming album. Cooper has helped design an attraction that takes guests past electric chairs, guillotines, giant spiders and at least one "predatory snake". The installation is part of Universal Studios' Halloween programming, running from 23 September to 31 October. "As a life-long Alice Cooper fan who's been motivated and inspired by his craft, I am absolutely thrilled by this incredible opportunity," creative director John Murdy told the Hollywood Reporter . "It's a nightmare come true." For Cooper, the maze seems less about life-long passions and more about promoting his 26th studio album. The Welcome to My Nightmare maze will incorporate songs from Cooper's Welcome 2 My Nightmare album, due 13 September. The new LP is a sequel to his 1975 album, produced once again by Bob Ezrin and featuring several members of Cooper's original band. Unlike the original Welcome to My Nightmare, the 2011 album includes a duet with, er, Ke$ha. The maze "is a nightmare that will haunt visitors' dreams for a long time to come", Cooper said. It's a "living horror movie", he said, "so there's no place more appropriate to offer a preview of the new [record]."