Universal Fan Fest Nights 2025: Review from opening night of new after-hours event
Universal Fan Fest Nights — a new after-hours event at Universal Studios Hollywood — celebrates “Star Trek,” “Back to the Future,” “Wicked,” Nintendo, “Harry Potter,” Dungeons & Dragons, “One Piece,” and “Jujutsu Kaisen.” While attending, guests can join forces with their favorite characters, celebrate with other fans, and even cosplay.
This past weekend, Universal Studios Hollywood near Los Angeles, Calif. invited fans of all kinds to “really go there” during the first-ever Universal Fan Fest Nights. The event comes to life from the minds of Halloween Horror Nights’ creators and invites guests to step into the worlds of fan-favorite stories.
Myself, along with Attractions Magazine publisher Matt, were able to attend the first official night of the event on April 25, 2025. Below are some thoughts about what we saw, who we met, and what we ate and drank throughout the night!
What Fan Fest Nights is — and what it isn’t
Even though Universal Fan Fest Nights (FFN) shares the same creative team as Halloween Horror Nights (HHN), this event isn’t fully at the same scale as its October counterpart. Whereas every intellectual property represented at HHN comes with an immersive maze (or “house,” depending on which coast you prefer), only “Star Trek,” Dungeons & Dragons, and “Back to the Future” have this kind of experience at FFN. Other fandoms, like “One Piece,” Nintendo, and “Wicked,” are represented with character meet-and-greets. “Jujutsu Kaisen” even brings its unique show over from Universal Studios Japan (presented in the original Japanese, if you prefer subs to dubs).
Photo by Matt Roseboom
With this in mind, I feel like it’s difficult to do a true “ranking” of the attractions from Fan Fest Nights, as it would be similar to comparing apples to oranges (or in this case, Yoshi Berries to Devil Fruit). Instead, I’m going to group what we experienced into tiers and use those to give my thoughts about the experience. With that all said and done, let’s get on with the show!
S-Tier: Best attraction at Universal Fan Fest Nights
‘Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley’
In my mind, the single greatest experience at Universal Fan Fest Nights is the one closest to my own heart: “Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley.” I have been a diehard “Back to the Future” fan since I first saw the movie on a bus ride home from my 8th-grade French class trip to Quebec, and since that day, I’ve held this movie as close as one possibly could.
When I heard one of the centerpiece attractions for FFN would be themed to my favorite movie of all time, I was intrigued. When I heard it would be located on the actual Courthouse Square set, I was cautiously optimistic. After all, even if it was a themed photo-op area, it would still be kind of neat to just walk around that set (up until this night, the closest I’ve ever gotten is driving by on The World-Famous Studio Tour). As the event drew nearer, word started to trickle out that this experience was going to be more than just a mere photo opportunity. When we arrived to the set, having traveled via “Fan Tram,” I found myself not just transported to Hill Valley, but possibly to heaven itself.
To put it succinctly, “Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley” is a scaled-down version of the immersive character experiences that existed on the ill-fated Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, putting you in the middle of the action from the last third of the film itself.
While you’re there, you’ll get to meet the characters you know, like Doc, Marty, Lorraine, George, and Biff, but also other citizens of Hill Valley might enlist your help in preparing for the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance. I was brought onto the Hill Valley High Speech and Debate team by a member of the dance committee and was tasked with helping Principal Strickland prepare for a speech he was giving at the start of the dance. Later, I helped Goldie Wilson create a slogan for his future mayoral campaign. Sure, you could watch Doc and Marty talk about the importance of getting back to the DeLorean before the fateful lightning strike, but you could also help a member of the Hill Valley Preservation Society collect signatures to save the clock tower!
The entire loop for this experience takes about 45 minutes, and honestly, I could have stayed through three or four of them. In fact, we doubled back later in the evening and followed a few characters that we didn’t see the first time around!
A-Tier: Second-best attraction at Fan Fest Nights
‘Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of the Waterdeep’
I’ve been a TTRPG (tabletop role-playing game) player since college, and one of my favorite things to do in my free time is to listen to actual play Dungeons & Dragons podcasts like “The Adventure Zone” or “Dimension 20.” All that said, I was a bit mystified when I heard that Universal was planning to bring Dungeons & Dragons to the Universal Fan Fest Nights event. What does that even look like? Would it be some sort of interactive show? A walkthrough of a famous D&D location? A menagerie of monsters and creatures?
It turns out, the answer is a little bit of everything! “Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep” puts the guests in the middle of the action, recruiting us to be a member of The Harpers and recover a stolen magical artifact from the legendary beholder Xanathar. The experience is incredibly detailed and has some of the coolest costumes and effects I’ve seen at a theme park event. Xanathar himself is a GIGANTIC puppet created by the masters at Jim Henson’s Creature Shop specifically for the event. I would not be lying if I said that my jaw dropped when he first appeared, even if I knew he was going to be somewhere in the attraction.
The only downside of this experience is that it lacks a little of the randomness that comes with playing D&D. I would have liked to see some integration of a Natural 20 or a Critical Failure while the other members of our adventuring party were leading us on our quest. It’s possible there were some references I missed, as this walkthrough attraction is very narrative-based, but the “host” characters weren’t mic’d up in a way that made it easy to understand them, so much of that narrative is a little lost.
B-Tier: Fun experiences, but lacking in execution
‘Star Trek: Red Alert’
It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this far into this review that I am a nerd. However, up until recently, the adventures of Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the crew of the Enterprise D were a bit of a blind spot to me. Don’t get me wrong; I love “Star Trek.” “Strange New Worlds” and “Lower Decks” got me through the newborn phase with my son, and I have proclaimed my love of Deep Space 9 loud and proud since I first laid eyes on it. When I read that Star Trek was coming to Universal Fan Fest Nights, I decided to rectify the glaring omission of my nerd cred by AT LEAST watching every “Star Trek: The New Generation” movie. I did, and I have thoughts, but this is not the place to share those. That’s what Letterboxd is for.
Anyways, this made me adequately excited to step aboard “Star Trek: Red Alert,” and from a pure thematic level, I was not let down. It was incredible standing on the ship I had grown to love. The level of detail, not just in the environments, but in the costume and makeup department, is incredible. (My DS9-loving heart leaped with joy when the medical bay officer we encountered turned out to be a Trill).
My biggest complaint is the story of the experience is, let’s say, lacking. I would have loved to see some classic “Star Trek” villains make an appearance, say the Romulans, or the Borg, but instead we get caught up in a (SPOILER) misunderstanding with a nondescript space blob (END SPOILER). The actors do a great job playing up the danger, and they almost make up for it, but the experience is too short. It feels like things are just starting to ramp up and kick into another gear when it comes to, in my opinion, an abrupt end. The experience is still worth going through, and if you’re a Trekkie, you’re guaranteed to have a good time with it.
‘Let’s Go, Yoshi!’
In Super Nintendo World’s “Let’s Go, Yoshi!” activities during Universal Fan Fest Nights, guests have the opportunity to meet Mario’s sidekick and trust dinosaur steed Yoshi for the first time anywhere in the world!
As someone whose “Mario Kart” character of choice is the little green guy, I was extremely excited at the opportunity to meet the character who has won me so many races. As with everything else in Super Nintendo World, Yoshi looks like he stepped right out of the Nintendo Switch screen and into the real world!
There’s also a Yoshi Egg scavenger hunt, which encourages you to look throughout the land for various colored eggs. It’s a fun way to take a moment or two to appreciate all the detail that permeates every inch of this land. That said, the prize for completing the scavenger hunt is a meet & greet experience with a specialty colored Yoshi (blue or pink, differing from his standard green). Unfortunately, Yoshi’s wait time was 45+ minutes during our visit. I love the guy, but we had a lot to see and do tonight, so we opted not to see him in his multicolored form.
I’ve heard from multiple people that this line is always lengthy, so if meeting Yoshi is at the top of your to-do list, I recommend heading to the lower lot first to try to get a jump on the scavenger hunt.
Everything else
‘One Piece: Grand Pirate Gathering’
Neither Matt nor I are big anime guys, so we weren’t particularly drawn to either of the offerings in this realm. However, even as an outsider, I couldn’t help but admire the enthusiasm the crowds showed toward “One Piece: Grand Pirate Gathering.” The longest lines in the park probably stemmed from the opportunity to meet Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Crew, including Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji.
I’m not super familiar with these characters (I tried to watch the original “One Piece” anime in preparation for this visit, but I could only carve out enough time to watch two of the 1,127 episodes), but I was blown away by the attention to detail on each character, as well as how “screen accurate” they all are. Heck, the Sanji meet & greet character even had a prop cigarette! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a theme park character with a cigarette! Honestly, the excitement over seeing these characters was so palpable, it made me want to watch the show to get in on some of the fun.
‘Jujutsu Kaisen: Hunger of the Cursed’
Another big anime franchise is represented at Universal Fan Fest Nights in “Jujutsu Kaisen: Hunger of the Cursed,” which has been ported to the DreamWorks Theater directly from Universal Studios Japan. It’s even presented in the original Japanese, with English subtitles. (That’s right, Universal Studios has weighed in on the eternal debate of subbed vs. dubbed, and they chose subbed).
Fantastic beasts in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Over in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we found some fantastic beasts, including a baby dragon, a grand Occamy, and even a Niffler. All of these were pretty neat, with the Niffler being the standout. The puppeteers and actors working with these beasts give everything a fun, interactive spin, and honestly, I wished there were more of them! (Let me meet a Demiguise, Universal!)
Elphaba and Glinda meet & greet from ‘Wicked’
Elphaba and Glinda make their west-coast debut during Universal Fan Fest Nights, greeting guests at Universal Studios Hollywood for the first time.
Food & beverage items
The food and beverages we tried all came from the “Star Trek”-themed Quark’s Café and were pretty tasty. I had the Klingon Targ Legs, and they were a perfect accompaniment to the grand adventure we were on that night. I wanted to try the Cardassian Dog, but they had sold out for the night by the time we got there. If specialty food is high on your priority list, try to grab something earlier rather than later. (Bonus points to Quark’s Café for having a framed picture of Quark’s Bar regular, Morn.. Sometimes the tiniest details make all the difference.)
Photo by Jeff DePaoli
Final thoughts
In closing, Universal Fan Fest Nights is an amazing addition to the special events at Universal Studios Hollywood, and is a great way to celebrate whatever it is you’re a fan of. It’s the platonic idea of Comic-Con: the cosplay, meet & greets, and activations without having to camp out overnight to watch a trailer for a TV show in a hotel conference room.
I’m excited to see how Universal Fan Fest Nights grows and evolves, not just this year, but in possible future iterations as well. To borrow a phrase from USS Enterprise D helmsman Geordie La Forge, or at least the actor who plays him, “You don’t have to take my word for it!” “Really go there,” and see for yourself! The event runs select nights now through May 18, 2025.
Here’s our video report from opening night of the event:
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