Universal Studios Hollywood’s Fan Fest Nights, an ingenious springtime extension of the after-hours formula utilized by the lucrative Halloween Horror Nights, has returned for its second year. And it has evolved greatly from last year’s debut, emphasizing more complex interactivity and the role of anime franchises in the event.
For those unaccustomed to Fan Fest Nights, it began last year, a hard-ticket after-hours event where guests are encouraged to express their fandom – whatever it is! – by taking part in experiences inspired by their favorite properties and dressing up in outfits inspired by their favorite characters. (I walked into the park behind a couple dressed as characters from Cartoon Network’s “Over the Garden Wall,” even though the limited series was not represented at the event.)
While it is loosely modeled on Horror Nights, the first year of the event offered a nifty mixture of experiences – there were a couple of walkthrough experiences that mirrored the sensation of walking through an HHN “house,” built around “Star Trek” and Dungeons & Dragons, but there was also a 3D movie based on a popular anime that was imported from Universal Studios’ Osaka park and a scavenger hunt in Super Nintendo Land, based around Mario’s dinosaur friend Yoshi.
But the centerpiece – indeed, the true standout – from the first year had you travel to the lower lot and ramble around Courthouse Square, a famous shooting location that has been featured in everything from 1950s genre classics like “It Came From Outer Space” and “Tarantula,” to a 1959 episode of “The Twilight Zone” to “Gremlins.” But the reason that guests visited Courthouse Square during Fan Fest Nights was to take part in an elaborate “Back to the Future” experience. You could just hang out down there and watch actors portray all of the key characters from the movie – you’d watch as Marty first visited 1955, coming around the corner and bumbling into the service station, observe Biff getting reprimanded by the principal and, later in the night, larger tableaus blossomed, like the Enchantment Under the Sea dance and, even later, you’d see the lightning strike the clocktower. There were even two strips of flaming pavement and a license plate spinning around, just like it did when the DeLorean was sent back … to the future.
The ”Back to the Future” experience was a real highlight, but it was a little bit aimless. You could spend literal hours in the Courthouse Square, watching as the scenes would play out and transform, as guests interacted with the performers and new actors (with different energies and play styles) would enter the picture.
While, by all accounts, a huge success, the lack of structure for “Back to the Future” was something that Universal Creative and the park’s entertainment teams have addressed in the sophomore year, with a pair of big-draw experiences.
The first, and most successful, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Forbidden Forest: A Search for the Hippogriff, is based on the beloved IP created by J.K. Rowling and has become increasingly important to the Universal Parks portfolio. A walkthrough exhibit set in the Forbidden Forest (actually the extended outdoor queue for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey), where a small group of guests follow a Hogwarts professor as we traverse the area looking for an escaped Hippogriff, which finally reveals itself as a huge, fully articulated puppet. (This has shades of the Dungeons & Dragons experience, which climaxes with an encounter with a monster created by the wizards at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.)
The experience is funny and exciting, with some great reveals and encouraged (but not necessary) participation of guests, especially if they have one of the interactive wands that Universal sells in the Wizarding World gift shops. The small group setting, the stewardship of the performers, it all just works, in a big, big way. And judging by the wait times, the experience will be back, should Fan Fest Nights return for a third year.
As for the other marquee experience, Scooby-Doo Meets the Universal Monsters: Mystery on the Backlot, the results are more mixed. This is meant to really recapture the “Back to the Future” magic from last year and it does, to a degree, although the importance placed on participation is a big deterrent. To explain: the experience is set in Little Europe, a backlot location where they shot many of the classic Universal Monsters movies. It’s typically off-limits to guests; you glide by it on the backlot tour but that’s usually as close as you get. This is where you’re taken, to solve a mystery involving the Universal Monsters, the filming of a new movie (creatively titled “Monsters! Monsters! Monsters!”) and, of course, the Scooby Gang – the group of intrepid investigators and their adorable, snack-loving dog.
Before you board the Universal trams, you’re handed a book that is nearly as thick as a Cheesecake Factory menu. This is where you’re meant to detail clues, write down observations, and generally come to the conclusion of who is behind this mystery (the particular details of the mystery, along with much of this experience, is pretty fuzzy). You will also interact with both the Scooby-Doo characters as well as the Universal Monsters. Shaggy, for instance, can be seen at the catering station, grilling up some huge sausages.
And while the level of interactivity is encouraged, it was a little discouraging to see dozens of people leaning up against a wall and writing down clues with their little golf pencils, instead of just taking in the atmosphere. If the first year of Fan Fest Nights was about the vibes, this is much more interested in productivity. At the end of each night, you can watch a big reveal to see who the villain is. One of the cooler aspects of this year’s FFN (see, even the acronym mirrors Halloween Horror Nights’ abbreviated HHN) is that the villain is changed out every few days; that means the clues change, too. It also means that if you come to Fan Fest Nights twice during the extremely limited run, you could get two completely different outcomes.
If you want a lazier, more vibe-oriented walkthrough, there’s a “Jurassic Park” outpost on the lower lot near The Mummy that should fit the bill. There are some performers who do shocking good riffs on original characters as you meander through the different “eras” of the franchise, surrounded by screen-used props, replicas and occasional “live” dinosaurs.
The other big change, besides the more guided centerpiece experiences, is the greater emphasis on anime.
During the first year of Fan Fest, there was a meet-and-greet centered around “One Piece,” along with that “Jujutsu Kaisen” 3D movie in the DreamWorks Theater (where a “Kung Fu Panda” attraction typically resides). The meet-and-greet in particular was one of the more in-demand aspects of FFN. And this year Universal has doubled down.
“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon the Miracle: Moon Palace Chapter Deluxe,” another theatrical anime experience borrowed from the Japanese park, is now exhibited at DreamWorks Theater. You can also meet the “Sailor Moon” characters in the plaza outside the theater. In addition to the “One Piece” meet-and-greet, there is an aquatic stunt show in the “Waterworld” theater (“One Piece: Grand Pirate Show”) and seemingly endless merchandise and food and beverage offerings, themed to “One Piece” and available exclusively during Fan Fest Nights. The whole area is themed to “One Piece” and it’s very impressive. There’s so much emphasis on anime properties and there were so many guests dressed as characters from those properties that it’s easy to imagine an entirely anime-themed version of Fan Fest Nights. There have been countless anime-themed takeovers of the Japanese park; certainly they can be repurposed here. There have been several “Neon Genesis Evangelion” experiences at the Universal park, including one that mixes “Evangelion” and “Godzilla.” Time to bring them stateside.
In its second year, Fan Fest Nights has become something more ambitious but also more unwieldy. They are clearly still in the test-and-adjust phase; next year, all the kinks should be ironed out, they should be able to bring in even bigger IP and find the right balance between atmospheric and interactive offerings. Also, with the event only running on select nights between April 23 and May 16, it would be great if the event started earlier in the year. If you push it past May 16, you’re encroaching on the busy summer season at Universal Studios Hollywood, which we understand would be bad. But if you started it in March, say in time for the first wave of spring breaks, then it would give more people an opportunity to experience Fan Fest Nights and for the event itself to evolve, which is certainly what happened at the “Back to the Future” experience during year one. Fan Fest Nights, more-so than Halloween Horror Nights, is an organism that is able to react and change based on guest interaction and demand. But if the story is so linear, it might not be able to happen in a way that feels so invigorating.
It’s still very much a must-do for themed entertainment enthusiasts. Your level of participation might vary, but no matter how you engage, you’ll still likely be dazzled.
