Universal Fan Fest Nights 2026 - Speculation & Rumors

[Jonathan]

During the original media event, Stephen Siercks mentioned that they’ve been working on bringing this event to life over the last 5 years to Universal Studios Hollywood

 

[ItsAtrap]

I would love to see food at BTTF. Simple diner food - hot dogs, hamburgers, malts, meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

 

[Clive]

I would love to see food at BTTF. Simple diner food - hot dogs, hamburgers, malts, meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

Apparently, they avoided serving more substantial food and alcoholic drinks at Courthouse Square because they wanted to incentivize guests to leave after a certain amount of time. It's annoying, but given how crowded it got down there, I get it.

 

[Freak]

Apparently, they avoided serving more substantial food and alcoholic drinks at Courthouse Square because they wanted to incentivize guests to leave after a certain amount of time. It's annoying, but given how crowded it got down there, I get it.

I don’t think there were any restrooms down there either? That would be a way to incentive guests to leave. Annoying but smart.

 

[Wesker69]

I don’t think there were any restrooms down there either? That would be a way to incentive guests to leave. Annoying but smart.

They had the trailer portable restrooms on the right side of the courthouse.

 

[Clive]

I don’t think there were any restrooms down there either? That would be a way to incentive guests to leave. Annoying but smart.

Yeah, I think they had to include restrooms just for practicality / accessibility reasons.

 

[BriefCasey]

Just to set expectations, my guess is they will keep basically everything that was there this year - Back to the Future, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Trek. Each may get tweaks/improvements based on (pretty consistent) guest feedback (changes to Trek story, more characters/scenes in BTTF to spread out crowds, better audio mixing in D&D, etc.)

I would anticipate at least one additional "major" attraction to help fill out the slate. Part of me suspects this will be an anime experience of some kind given the overwhelming reaction to this year's limited offerings.

I think a new USJ show import is fair game to have at least one thing new for 2026. As I said in the main thread I just hope they make something work to please both the dub and sub crowds and maybe add 3D.

I know I've been clamoring for JoJo since it's got a coinciding media release going for it, but I'm also well aware it's definitely gonna be a wild west with all the different IPs they can probably choose from. All I can do is cross my fingers since I'm not sure if JoJo will get another shot if it doesn't get the Dreamworks theater next year. Then again, there was nothing already coinciding with JJK for this year, was there?

Also, I wonder if they'll put a Fan zone in French street too.

 

[kingcooger]

Blue sky:

A Wicked themed walkthrough that has us acting as palace guards in training as Elphaba first meets The Wizard.

We get to see The Wizard’s throne room and directed to go catch the witch (could retheme D&D puppet), be in the hallway during the flying monkey attack, break into the wizard’s old supply room (where we see Elphaba fly above us), and end up on the terrace as Elphaba flies away.

 

[bdubsCEO]

I might be biased because I’m generally not huge into anime but love the series, but I saw more Jojo cosplay at FFN than any other series that wasn’t actually represented at the event. It would be a perfect fit with the audience and vibe they’re trying to cultivate for FFN.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

As someone looking into a Feb/March trip to LA next year I'd be interested in if the event will be available earlier in the season or stick to the mid/late spring time frame.

 

[Viator]

As someone looking into a Feb/March trip to LA next year I'd be interested in if the event will be available earlier in the season or stick to the mid/late spring time frame.

With the mishap they had of the dates, I think it's clear Universal wants to expand the date calendar for FFN (but they probably couldn't due to how close it was to Grad Bash). Have to think a Early April start date would make sense. I don't know if they'd go into March this early though, especially with SS15 and UBE Venue being venues that would need to likely start work by the end of December/Early January.

___
Throwing a thought out especially as they see the potential value of M&G's--I wonder if we might see The Apothicary Diaries migrate from Osaka over here. The IP has already announced a continuation, and I think I keep seeing high critical responses from critics in the anime industry. Could be an interesting if more limited form of representation.

 

[BriefCasey]

With the mishap they had of the dates, I think it's clear Universal wants to expand the date calendar for FFN (but they probably couldn't due to how close it was to Grad Bash). Have to think a Early April start date would make sense. I don't know if they'd go into March this early though, especially with SS15 and UBE Venue being venues that would need to likely start work by the end of December/Early January.

___
Throwing a thought out especially as they see the potential value of M&G's--I wonder if we might see The Apothicary Diaries migrate from Osaka over here. The IP has already announced a continuation, and I think I keep seeing high critical responses from critics in the anime industry. Could be an interesting if more limited form of representation.

Considering JJK didn't seem to have any pre-existing media to my knowledge when FFN first launched, chances are whatever gets picked for the Dreamworks theater could be a random pick. Guess we'll see if they actually do start coinciding with any media releases on the horizon, cause I now see that's not the only anime thing that could potentially be aligning with FFN 2026.

Aside from that I could see French Street being used for another Fan Zone if possible. That place was surprisingly dead on my visits this year.

 

[Freak]

It might be a bit late for it to happen next year, but I think they should seriously look into K-Pop Demon Hunters.

 

[Viator]

It might be a bit late for it to happen next year, but I think they should seriously look into K-Pop Demon Hunters.

I wonder if it could actually be viable to consider it for M&G's.

While it would be late to add it to new experiences (and it's definitely too early to go Hollywood Dream in adding custom audio for Hollywood Drift), I could see a One Piece level of photo ops and maybe food offerings be a quick get. With talks of a potential sequel and a stage musical, I imagine Sony wouldn't mind wanting to grow the outreach as they can.

My personal 2026 Speculation has been on two things: the first being Potter Wands 3.0. I wonder if they'll opt to bring them over from Orlando, with some exclusive wand elements for USH.

The second, is depending on when Hollywood Drift opens I wonder if F&F might be included as part of the offerings for the sake of having a bunch of picture cars around the area. Maybe even work with some LA Custom shops on having LA cars represented as part of Fan Fest Nights.

 

[Eckert]

-More anime. They totally underestimated the appeal of One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen at the event and it was plain to see.

-No carnival games right next to the Einstein meet n greet at Destination: Hilly Valley there was a loud hit the bell game that people were playing non-stop

 

[ParkExplorer9513]

I think we need a little more gaming representation apart from just Super Nintendo World DLC (if you catch my drift). I was more than happy to meet Yoshi and try the Yoshi menu items in Toadstool, but it can't just be Mario holding the entire weight of Gaming during the event. Gimme Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, or even outside of Nintendo with Sonic the Hedgehog or something! Every other featured genre had two series representing them at the inaugural event. The line to meet the multi-colored Yoshis was one of the worst.

 

[Freak]

I wonder if it could actually be viable to consider it for M&G's.

While it would be late to add it to new experiences (and it's definitely too early to go Hollywood Dream in adding custom audio for Hollywood Drift), I could see a One Piece level of photo ops and maybe food offerings be a quick get. With talks of a potential sequel and a stage musical, I imagine Sony wouldn't mind wanting to grow the outreach as they can.

My personal 2026 Speculation has been on two things: the first being Potter Wands 3.0. I wonder if they'll opt to bring them over from Orlando, with some exclusive wand elements for USH.

The second, is depending on when Hollywood Drift opens I wonder if F&F might be included as part of the offerings for the sake of having a bunch of picture cars around the area. Maybe even work with some LA Custom shops on having LA cars represented as part of Fan Fest Nights.

From how things are progressing, I think F&F is going to barely make opening night for Fam Fest. They’re not gonna do anything for FFN except just open it assuming the ride opens when it should.

I figured they would’ve started testing by now, it they’re not even halfway done with the sound walls yet. They can’t test until they’re built. At this rate I don’t see them testing until October at the earliest, which would probably put softs to February/March. I might be way off with these estimates, but my point is this: they won’t do anything special for it if they’re going to just open the ride.

-More anime. They totally underestimated the appeal of One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen at the event and it was plain to see.

-No carnival games right next to the Einstein meet n greet at Destination: Hilly Valley there was a loud hit the bell game that people were playing non-stop

For sure. I would be shocked if they don’t do a One Liece overlay for Water World. That’s the most obvious thing to do.

I think we need a little more gaming representation apart from just Super Nintendo World DLC (if you catch my drift). I was more than happy to meet Yoshi and try the Yoshi menu items in Toadstool, but it can't just be Mario holding the entire weight of Gaming during the event. Gimme Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, or even outside of Nintendo with Sonic the Hedgehog or something! Every other featured genre had two series representing them at the inaugural event. The line to meet the multi-colored Yoshis was one of the worst.

They need a meet-and-greet for the Cow. The line would be nuts!