The Tour Takes a Nocturnal Detour : Attractions: Universal Studios will perk up its 30th anniversary with fireworks, laser shows, unusual entertainers and late hours.

A juggler with a live chicken on his head. Magicians impaling themselves on swords.

Yes, a few things will change around Universal Studios Hollywood this summer.

The theme park will celebrate its 30th anniversary by undergoing a transformation each evening, parking its trams in favor of fireworks, laser-light shows and a smattering of unusual performers. “Hollywood Nights” will run from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m., marking the first time the park has stayed open late on a daily basis.

“The entire atmosphere will change,” said Don Burgess, a Universal producer. “There will be live music and different kinds of food. We want it to be like a party.”

This summertime make-over begins June 24, but guests can see another new attraction, “The Flintstones Show,” beginning today. The musical picks up where the record-setting film leaves off, particularly in terms of special effects. Actors are whisked over the audience in a giant pterodactyl. A volcano shoots Fred through the rafters.

“It’s complicated,” explained Norm Kahn, the show’s technical director. “We wanted to take you to a new place with the Flintstones.”

The new attractions and new hours complement a strategy by which Universal has grown beyond its daytime tour to include restaurants and hotels, movie theaters and the CityWalk promenade. One executive calls it the “molding of the hill.”

In the process, the park has become the region’s second-most popular tourist attraction, according to a Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau survey. Universal reports that approximately 8 million people visited last year--5 million for the tour, 2 million for the theaters and another million for CityWalk.

Disneyland, by comparison, drew an estimated 11.4 million during 1993, according to Amusement Business magazine.

This summer, Universal would like to keep customers around so late that they’ll decide to return for another day.

This is not the first time the park has ventured into the dark. Special shows have been offered on recent Halloween nights, for instance. But “Hollywood Nights” is far more extensive.

At the center of this after-hours project will be the “SpectraBlast” show with its futuristic video jockey at the controls of multi-shaded laser animation, pyrotechnics and 10-story water explosions. As mock DeLoreans mingle with UFOs overhead, a stuntman will be slung 150 feet through the air by something called a “reverse bungee.”

In a nearby sound stage, a magic group called the Pendragons will perform elaborate tricks, including what Universal has billed as a “spellbinding impalement.” Meanwhile, costumed monsters and street performers--including the juggler and his chicken--will stroll the park’s walkways.

“We’ve never done anything like this before,” Burgess said.

“The Flintstones Show” also represents a stretch for Universal, being the park’s most expensive stage effort to date. To produce his special effects, Kahn summoned up the same technology that went into such nearby attractions as “Backdraft” and the $60-million “Back to the Future--The Ride.”

Universal took a gamble in planning this expensive attraction to open on the heels of the film. Park executives waited anxiously in the days before the movie’s debut, worried that bad box office might cast a pall over their show. But record ticket sales have inspired Universal to hurry its production onto the stage two weeks ahead of schedule.

The 20-minute show features a large cast and a colorful, elaborate set. Park executives worked closely with Hanna-Barbera and Amblin Entertainment, which co-produced the film, to develop a complementary look and feel. Director Barbara Epstein did some curious homework to develop the story, which has Fred Flintstone discovered by director Oliver Stone and whisked by Pterodactyl Airlines to Hollyrock to make the world’s first rock video.

“I watched every Flintstones cartoon,” Epstein said. “They’re on at 8:30 in the morning, I can tell you, and I watched them while I walked on my treadmill.”

The show will run during the daytime and evening. Admission to the park covers both sessions. And to reinforce the suggestion that there is too much to experience in a day, Universal will begin offering two-day passes.

“You can stay here and do a lot of different things,” said Jim Yeager, a Universal spokesman.

However, the traditional trams will continue to run their back-lot circuit during the day, presumably for those who aren’t thrilled by the prospect of chickens, pterodactyls and self-mutilation.

* Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal City; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Closing time extends to 1 a.m. on June 24. Tickets are $31 general, $24.95 for seniors and children ages 3 to 11. Two-day tickets are $50.50 general, $40 for seniors and children. Parking $6. (818) 508-9600.