Okay, I finally have my review ready from opening night!
I got to visit on opening night of the first ever Fan Fest Nights! It felt really weird coming to Universal at sunset, enjoy the cool weather, and get an entry wristband for an event that’s not HHN. But here’s a detailed review of everything I’ve done in order:
Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley: This was the absolute first thing I did knowing this would be the main “selling point” of the event. It felt surreal to be dropped off at the actual Courthouse Square. The best way I would describe the whole experience would be if they mixed the Holidays Made Here experience they had at Warner Bros with the Gilmore Girls sets with Ghost Town Alive from Knotts. Massive props to the casting because the casting was on. Freaking. Point with all of the main characters. Every 30 min they would cycle and recreate the iconic scenes from the movie. There were some good photo ops and I got to take a picture with the Goodest time travler boi! I kinda wished there was a little more to the Clocktower like having a mini stunt show or something, but hey, this is their first time doing an event like this so I can forgive that. Hopefully they will maximize the concept next year but the casting really made the whole experience! Maybe they could also have the facades have actual shops and eateries like they had with the Gilmore Girls sets at WB at Christmas.
I ate at Mel’s to get the pastrami patty melt. Was pleasantly surprised how good the pastrami was for a theme park. It’s not the Hat by any means but it’s not bad! I was kinda expecting a burger patty to go with it, but I liked it. Shake was also pretty good. Worth the $11? Ehhhhh…..I think I’ll stick with my In N Out shakes. Lol
Dungeons and Dragons: Secrets of Waterbridge: It felt weird going into a stage that wasn’t a haunted house. What’s cool is that the whole experience filled the entire sound stage. I didn’t expect much from this experience, but while the acting was a little cheesy, the set design in here, the effects, and the animatronics/puppets were really cool! It was literally a smaller scale Poseidon’s Fury.
Jujitsu Keisen: Hunger of the Cursed: As you know, it’s a direct import from USJ. In fact, they kept the references to USJ in the show. When they mentioned that park, everyone in the preshow LOL’d. I will say I’m mixed about no English dub. I appreciate keeping the dialogue all original Japanese, but the English sub was a little distracting. No to mention when characters were supposed to expect out of the screen, the English subtitles kinda ruined that effect. Otherwise cool overlay. I hope they do more for future events like Evangelion, Dragonball, or even port over the Attack on Titan “ride” over here. Also interesting to note: This is the longest iteration to be shown at this theater. I thin k it clocked in almost twice as long as KFP…that would explain the long waits for this.
Star Trek: Red Alert: Gonna be real, I think this was the weakest experience of the event. I may be bias because I’m not much of a “Trekie”. The design of the rooms was great, but I just didn’t feel any sense of urgency. Acting was cheesy and it was kinda hokey. Would’ve been nice if there was some element of fright by having the Borgs involved, but oh well. It’s their first year.
So what did I think of the first-ever Fan Fest Nights? While there are definitely things they can improve, I had a great time! I think it’s a very solid inaugural year overall! Not only is this their first time doing this event, but this is the first event of its kind. It was great to have a Hill Valley experience at the actual location they filmed it at. It was great having a Poseidon’s Fury-esque experience at USH. It was also cool to see a USJ-import in the Dream Works Theater. Although nothing is going to beat HHN as that is the ultimate after-hours event, this is the perfect “holdover” event for us and a great HHN-calibur event for those who aren’t into horror or getting scared. Although it sounds like they will, I really hope they do this again next year! Here’s what I would like to see next year:
One Piece stunt show at WaterWorld. Come on. It’s a huge IP that’s begging to be used for that venue. When they first announced the event, IU thought for sure that’s what they were gonna do for One Piece. Alas, it sounds like they just wanted to test the waters.
If it’s a strain on the budget and turnaround time between this and HHN, I think having two “In-World Experiences” and the BTTF Tram is just fine. I would much rather they focus on quality over quantity, especially if they take my suggestion and decide to add a One Piece show for Water World. D&D set a perfect one, pace, and feel for what this event should offer. I know this is a more kid-friendly event, but I really don’t want them to be afraid to add an element of fright if the narrative calls for it to be engaging. Star Trek really needed that to be interesting as it just didn’t work without a perceivable threat. Like Wesker said something like a Borg Invasion would’ve done wonders for it. They could’ve handled that without making it too terrifying for a non-horror audience.
BTTF was great. I would be shocked if they didn’t bring that back next year as that was likely the main draw of the event. Should they bring it back, I hope they have something like a mini stunt show with Doc Brown trying to connect the plugs on top of the clock tower. I can understand them not wanting to do something that ambitious for the first year, but I hope they do it next year!
Also, I’m glad I didn’t invest the money into early entry or Express. You really don’t need that. This surprises me considering how I was concerned how the “tour aspect” of ST and D&D would hold up the lines. It sounds like all the crowds went to the meet and greets and food, which is where you could really use the Express. Maybe they should factor that in.
But yeah go check it out! I’m looking foreword to going back one more time!