Review: Is Universal Hollywood Fan Fest Nights Worth It?

Universal Fan Fest Nights is an extra-ticket event at Universal Studios Hollywood features experiences from various films, TV shows, games, and anime franchises. The event is similar to Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, in that temporary attractions are set up in the existing theme park that are exclusive to the event. Except this time these experiences are not scary. What does Universal Fan Fest Nights have to offer and is it worth the price of admission? Keep reading to find out.

The red carpet that’s usually at the entrance of Universal Studios Hollywood has been replaced by a purple carpet for the event.

Here’s a list of franchises that are represented at Universal Fan Fest Nights, as well as the name of the experience associated with them:

• Back to the Future film series – Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley
• Star Trek film and television series – Star Trek: Red Alert
• Dungeons & Dragons game and film series – Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep
• One Piece anime and manga series – One Piece: Grand Pirate Gathering
• Jujutsu Kaisen anime and manga series – Jujutsu Kaisen: Hunger of the Cursed
• Super Mario Bros. game series – Let’s Go Yoshi!
• Harry Potter book and film series – Meet Niffler and Occany in Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade, and Hogwarts Always projection show

As of publishing this article, the remaining dates of Universal Fan Fest Nights are May 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 15 16, 17, 18. Tickets range between $74 to $84, with additional charges for VIP, Express Pass, or early entry options.

The events begin at 7:00 PM and ends at 2:00 AM. Entry lanes at the park’s main entrance are clearly marked for the different ticket categories. If you arrive early, you’ll be let in about 20 minutes before the event and then wait for the event to begin near the Hello Kitty store and Starbucks.

We’ll now go through each of the offerings at Universal Fan Fest Nights.

Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley

For me, Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley was the main draw of the entire event when it was announced. I’m a huge fan of the series, as are most people who grew up in the 80s. So I had high expectations of this particular attraction. Thankfully it did not disappoint at all. The experience starts by going to the Studio Tour queue area where you are greeted by the “save the clock tower lady” from Back to the Future. Like with many aspects of this experience, it looks like she jumped right off of the screen.

As you all know, Mayor Goldie Wilson wants to destroy Hill Valley’s clock tower. The save the clock tower lady is having people sign petitions to stop the destruction.
If you sign her petition she’ll give you a flyer to help spread the word.

Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley takes place on the Universal Studios backlot accessed via the Studio Tour trams. Along the way you’ll see videos from modern day Doc Brown to setup the experience. Upon arriving to Hill Valley you’ll see the Lyon Estates billboard, just like Marty McFly did when he arrived in 1955.

The Lyon Estates entrance, future home to the McFly family.

After exiting the tram, you turn the corner and get a look at 1955 Hill Valley. This is the actual courthouse and filming location from Back to the Future 1 and 2, which makes the whole experience feel extra special.

The Welcome to Hill Valley sign is available for a photo op.

I was able to recreate this picture from when I visited the Hill Valley set in 1992.

Biff Tannen’s actual car used for the movies is on hand as well.

Here’s a creative photo op, the fire streaks and spinning license plate from when the DeLorean goes back in time. Yes, the license plate actually spins.

Speaking of the DeLorean, Doc Brown’s creation is on hand for pictures along with his faithful sidekick Einstein.

All of the major characters and some side characters are present to interact with, pose for photos, and reenact key scenes from the first Back to the Future movie.

Marty McFly himself arrives in 1955 and you’re there to witness it. Just like in the movie, he’s look for Doc Brown to help send him back to the future.

Marty’s mom Lorraine and one of her friends are part of the experience, and again just like in the film Marty is trying to get his future mom and dad together so he doesn’t become erased from existence.

Mr. Strickland roams around looking for slackers, or in this case deputizing my girlfriend’s son as a hall monitor at Hill Valley High School.

It wouldn’t be Back to the Future without the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. Marvin Berry & the Starlighters are on hand to provide the entertainment, and yes they do actually perform songs from the movie.

As I mentioned, the story of Back to the Future is being recreated all around you while you are visiting Hill Valley. The entire experience takes about 45 minutes and there’s no announcements made for when a new scene starts. Everyone lingers around town square and you need to be on the look out for characters so you can observe the scene they are about to start. It’s easy to miss a moment so it’s not unusual for attendees to watch the show 2 or 3 times so they can see everything.

There’s a couple of carnival games set up in the corner where you can win prizes. Here I witnessed Biff Tannen threaten George McFly with a giant mallet.

Between scenes, characters are given plenty of time to chitchat with visitors. Even future mayor Goldie Wilson appears to ask people ways to help clean up the city.

Things ramp up when Biff tries to get Lorraine to go the the dance with him. “Get you meat hooks off of me!”

One of Biff’s goons holds back Marty while Biff does his thing.

This gives George the opportunity to finally take down Biff and ask Lorraine out to the dance.

Lorraine and George go to the dance and Marty joins the band on stage. However just like in the movie, one last obstacle stands in the way. The crowd is encouraged to cheer George on one last time.

George kisses Lorraine. Marty is saved and then he plays Johnny B Good while everyone dances along.

Biff, defeated, yells at me “What are you looking at, BUTTHEAD?!”

The lights then go out and the scene where Marty finally travels back to 1985 is projected on the courthouse.

Lightning hits the clock tower and Marty is sent back home as Doc Brown emerges from the court house as the crowd cheers him on. 10 out of 10, no notes. This is easily one of the best theme park experiences I have ever seen and worth the price of admission. Fans of Back to the Future or even fans of cool-things-happening-in-themed-environments need to see this. They’re able to mash all the key emotional moments from the movie while also leaving enough space for characters to improvise, which is an impressive accomplishment.

Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep

Dungeons & Dragons is a long running game and film franchise, with the games featuring fantasy role-playing elements. In the games, players can select the type, or “class” of character they want to be. This is represented in the Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep walkthrough experience when visitors are split up into four classes; wizards, rogues, clerics, and fighters. In the end these character classes don’t matter much, but it’s a fun nod to the series. While you’re in line, a huge projection screen displays information and lore about the series.

The experience starts with a High Elf character explaining that you are in the city of Waterdeep and you’ll meet the Harpers, which are the “guardians of justice.” Our quest is to obtain the Dragon Staff of Ahghairon.

There’s a lot of cool props and things to look at in this room.

A tiefling and human appear to guide us through the rest of the experience. I only know the world of Dungeons & Dragons through the Baulder’s Gate 3 game, so it was cool seeing a tiefling in real life. Universal did a great job with the makeup and costume.

Our tiefling guide encounters what appears to be a treasure chest, but then it turns out to be a mimic monster in disguise. The monster is defeated, a puzzle is solved, and we are guided into Xanathar’s lair.

We’ve found Dragon Staff of Ahghairon but then…

Xanathar the Beholder appears and tries to stop us. This is a seriously impressive puppet created by Stan Winston Studios specifically for Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep. This alone makes the entire thing worth experiencing.

With the Dragon Staff of Ahghairon in hand we’re led into a forest where our group encounters a new villain. We’ve been tricked by the dastardly Cult of the Dragon. Thankfully our friends the Harpers defeat the villain and save the day. Overall Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep is a fun experience with a lot of great effects and details to discover. I know little about D&D, while my girlfriend and her 10 year old son knew nothing before this experience, but we all had a great time and considered it to be the second best attraction at Universal Fan Fest Nights. It’s a bit of a bummer there was little crowd participation during this experience considering D&D’s role-playing game background, but it does make sense since they have to squeeze a lot of people through these attractions at these kinds of events.

On the way out, there’s a photo op where you can take a picture inside a gelatinous cube.

Star Trek: Red Alert

On to Star Trek: Red Alert. This takes you onboard the famous Enterprise-D from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Things immediately go haywire with alarms going off while the actor quickly sets up the story.

Visitors are shuffled to various rooms as the characters try to figure out what’s going on.
I’m being purposely vague describing the Star Trek experience because the storyline doesn’t really matter here. I consider myself to be a slightly above casual Star Trek: The Next Generation fan and because of that I thought it was cool to be in a Star Trek environment while actors say and do Star Trek things.

The final scene takes place in the screen-used Enterprise-D bridge set from Star Trek: Picard. That alone makes Star Trek: Red Alert worth seeing.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Hunger of the Cursed

Jujutsu Kaisen: Hunger of the Cursed is a film straight from Universal Studios Japan. It’s based off of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga and anime series, which I have zero knowledge of. In Universal Studios Japan the film is presented in a ultra wide and tall 3D format in the former Terminator 2: 3D theater, but in Hollywood it’s been shrunk down to fit on the smaller Dreamworks Theater screen. That unfortunately means the 3D is gone and there’s some obvious pan & scanning taking place. However, I did find this film enjoyable and it’s worth seeing if you have time. It’s a fun romp that takes about 20 minutes.

The movie ends with the characters breaking through the backdrop to reveal the backside of the Universal Studios Japan. You can even see the highway bridge and San Francisco section of the park. It gets very meta when the characters talk about buying a Universal Studios Japan annual pass while they walk off and chant “USJ! USJ! USJ!”

One Piece: Grand Pirate Gathering

Another anime franchise which I know nothing about, One Piece. Here visitors can meet characters from the series and eat themed foods.

The star of the show is Luffy. He meets along with his Straw Hat Crew; Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji.

Some One Piece props in the area.

Sanji’s Galley is a redressed version of the parks Cocina Mexicana menu. It’s got the same menu as usual, but all of the items have been given names to tie it into the One Piece anime. I’ll talk about the crowds and wait times later, but it’s worth mentioning that that this dining location and the One Piece meet and greet has the longest lines, by far, during my entire visit.

Super Nintendo World: Let’s Go Yoshi!

Super Nintendo World: Let’s Go Yoshi finally brings the beloved character to Super Nintendo World. The main draw here is a Yoshi meet and greet and a Yoshi egg scavenger hunt.

Walk into Super Nintendo World and grab a headband. From there you can hunt down Yoshi eggs with the hints provided on the headband. When you’re done you’re given a gold medallion which grants access to a extra special Yoshi meet and greet.

Eggs are hidden low and high.

The standard green Yoshi meets near Princess Peach’s usual meeting spot, but if you complete the scavenger hunt you can meet the special pink or blue Yoshi.

Since the line is hidden away we had no idea how long and slow moving it would be. In the end we waited 90 minutes to meet pink Yoshi.

Meet Niffler and Occany in Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade

New creatures have been added to Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade for Universal Fan Fest Nights. The Occany is a small bird-like creature which is held by a person walking around Hogsmeade, while Niffler is a jewel and money hungry little critter located outside of Owl Post. I’ve never seen or read anything from the Harry Potter series, but this little thing is seriously cute. Niffler moves, squeaks, and tries to steal the jewels of the attendant accompanying it. It’s all very amusing.

Hogwarts Always

Hogwarts Always is a projection show taking place on Hogwarts Castle during Fan Fest Nights. Thankfully the show takes place every half hour so there are plenty of opportunities to see it.

Universal Fan Fest Nights Crowds and Wait Times

There’s no other way to describe the crowds at Universal Fan Fest Nights than “shockingly low.” I’m not able to publish the rumored ticket sales numbers I was told, but I can say that they are surprisingly low. The wait times for the experiences at the event reflect these supposed low ticket sales. Most attractions, such as Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley pictures here, never got above a 5 minute wait during the first two nights of the event.

Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep has a gigantic queue set up, but it remained empty most of the time. I checked wait times frequently during the first two nights of the event and never observed a wait.

There’s two dance parties, one with a DJ and one with a live band. Every time we walked by there where no people on the dance floor. Will the crowds at Fan Fest Nights grow over the next few weeks? Possibly. All I know for sure is that my group wasted $173.00 each because we bought the Express Pass option with our ticket in advance. We could have bought the normal $74 ticket and been perfectly fine. However, if there were heavy crowds, the Express Pass would have been the only way we would have been able to experience everything.

Universal Fan Fest Nights Special Food and Beverage

A number of special themed food and drink options are available around Universal Studios Hollywood for the event. Seen here is the Star Trek themed Quark’s Cafe.

Being a huge fan of both Back to the Future and stupid gimmicky theme park food, I of course headed to Mel’s for the Back to the Future menu.

They were unfortunately sold out of the Time Machine Pastrami Melt and Outatime Cookie, both of which I wanted to try. It’s surprising and disappointing that they were already out of things on the second night of the event.

I got the Flux Capacitor Patty Melt and Time Traveler’s Milk Shake. The milk shake didn’t have the little blue orbs that were in the picture, so I guess they were out of those too.

The Flux Capacitor Patty Melt was a totally fine and average theme park burger.

Not one, not two, but three special Coca-Cola drinks were created for Fan Fest Nights.
Over in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, this delicious little meat pie was added for Fan Fest Nights. It’s good, but I wish it was bigger. It’s filled with braised beef, potatoes, peas, onions and carrots.

Here’s the Dungeons & Dragons themed Fireball, which is a spicy chocolate brownie with a strawberry, chili, lime filling and topped with Pop Rocks. We wanted to try the Beholder’s Brew Fondue and Gelatinous Cube dessert at the Dungeons & Dragons First Roll Tavern, but they were sold out as well. We gave up on event food after finding multiple sold out items and focused on experiences instead.

Which rides are opening during Universal Fan Fest Nights

Besides the exclusive experiences, a number of rides are open during the event. Most of them with little to no wait.

• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
• Flight of the Hippogriff
• Secret Life of Pets – Off the Leash
• Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
• The Simpsons Ride
• Jurassic World – The Ride
• Revenge of the Mummy – The Ride
• Mario Kart Bower’s Challenge

Overall Universal Fan Fest Nights is a lot of fun, and it’s a decent value if you pay the normal event ticket price. You get all of the park’s usual lineup, plus several new event exclusives that are worth seeing. It’s also fun and unique being inside Universal Studios Hollywood until 2:00 AM, especially when crowds are low and wait times are almost nonexistent. The main draw here is obviously Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley. It’s one of those experiences that you almost can’t believe that they pulled off, and one that I find myself thinking about days later. This is the first time Universal has tried an event like this outside of Halloween Horror Nights, so I hope it’s a success and they build on it each year and bring in different franchises.

Are you going to Fan Fest Nights? What did you think if you’ve already been? Let me know in the comments.