Halloween Horror Nights without the horrors? Welcome to Universal Studio's new Fan Fest

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“Star Trek” is simply a franchise that’s ever seemed ripe for exploration successful a taxable park. Space travel, aliens, magic-like exertion and, possibly astir importantly, an underlying content successful human-centered optimism.

Encounter idiosyncratic who saw “Star Trek: The Experience” successful Las Vegas, which opened successful the precocious ’90s and ran for astir a decade, and expect nostalgic reflections of moving aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise and taking portion successful transporter illusions. But since the second shuttered, “Star Trek” has fundamentally lacked a large taxable park-like attraction successful the U.S.

Touch screen-like panels with a retro-future look.

Until today. Universal Studios Hollywood has made “Star Trek” 1 of the centerpiece attractions of its caller after-hours event, implicit with a vessel span that was precocious utilized arsenic a acceptable portion connected “Star Trek: Picard” and a committedness to employment immoderate clever stagecraft to simulate that transporter feel. The springtime complement to Halloween Horror Nights, Fan Fest Nights focuses connected taxable parkland theatrics and sci-fi, gaming and anime alternatively than horror.

Separately ticketed evening events person go a mode to wring much dollars retired of taxable parks, with the Disneyland Resort fundamentally offering them year-round, and present Universal expanding its offerings beyond the autumn season. Single evening tickets commencement astatine $74, and determination are packages and add-ons that tin agelong the terms each the mode to $373. Guests are encouraged to travel successful costume, and Universal’s rides volition beryllium operational passim the evening.

Fan Fest Nights volition travel the Horror Nights formula, that is it volition diagnostic original, pop-up attractions themed to “Star Trek,” “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Back to the Future,” with different installations centered connected anime hits “One Piece” and “Jujutsu Kaisen” and limited-time experiences peppered successful passim its taxable parkland lands. There volition beryllium quality interactions — “Wicked’s” Elphaba and Glinda, for lawsuit — but Fan Fest Nights, which launches April 25 and runs connected prime nights done May 18, places a premium connected immersive theater-like offerings that diagnostic guests pursuing and interacting with actors.

“One of the things that makes these experiences truly peculiar is the exploratory quality of them,” says Stephen Siercks, elder manager of amusement astatine Universal Studios Hollywood and enforcement shaper of Fan Fest Nights. “It’s a spot of a choose-your-own escapade on the way.”

A antheral successful a achromatic garment successful a medieval-like phantasy setting.

“Star Trek: Red Alert” is acceptable successful the epoch of the bid “Star Trek: Picard” and the walk-through attraction volition ferry guests onto the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D, the communicative that the vessel is docked successful a museum. Things, of course, spell wrong. “Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep” volition instrumentality participants connected a mini-quest centered astir a dragon unit and a mid-show radical puzzle. “Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley” volition utilize Universal’s filming locations to make a festive feel, 1 that volition diagnostic a creation enactment and aggregate actors for attendees to travel done branching storylines.

In a departure from Halloween Horror Nights, the “Star Trek” and “Dungeons & Dragons” areas are expected to past astir 12 minutes, each featuring aggregate rooms wherever actors volition execute and interact with the guests. Participants volition traverse them successful tiny groups, which Universal describes arsenic “pulsing” visitors from abstraction to space. By contrast, a Halloween maze lasts conscionable a mates minutes and features recorded dialogue. The thought is to make a much interactive, theater-inspired consciousness that provides participants greater clip to not lone unrecorded successful the worlds of the properties but besides let each amusement to consciousness somewhat different.

“It was important to america to beryllium capable to make the stories and truly make the characters and the environments,” Siercks says.

Siercks says Fan Fest has been successful improvement for astir 3 years. While Universal has nary shortage of historical sci-fi franchises — “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” springs to mind, particularly due to the fact that it erstwhile boasted its ain thrust astatine the taxable parkland — the workplace for Fan Fest partnered with the likes of Paramount and Hasbro to bring successful franchises that person much precocious been progressive connected streaming oregon successful theaters. Only with “Back to the Future” did Universal pat into its catalog to slope connected assemblage sentimentality.

“Hill Valley,” says Siercks, referring to the fictional municipality of “Back to the Future,” volition let guests to measurement disconnected a tram and bent retired successful a moving backlot. “They’ll acquisition Courthouse Square arsenic it was successful the ‘Back to the Future’ film. That’s precise peculiar to us, and 1 of the pillars of Fan Fest Nights. We’ve created caller types of quality experiences. You get to travel your chosen quality to let the communicative to unfold.”

“Star Trek” volition usher guests from aggregate rooms aboard the ship, including a shuttle bay outfitted with a ample LED screen, a sick bay and, of course, the bridge. After being corralled into a makeshift shuttle, 1 that volition see immoderate rumble effects successful the level to simulate the sensation of movement, we’ll participate the shuttle bay and witnesser a mysterious abstraction entity look to instrumentality power of the ship. This volition pb to panic among our circuit guides, and an assortment of applicable effects. Don’t miss, for instance, a nutrient replicator connected the fritz, wherever holographic beverage volition consistently neglect to decently materialize.

Further along, we’ll spot a warp halfway commencement to destabilize, and our groups volition look to separated. The Enterprise volition proceed to beryllium disrupted by the entity, and astir 10 actors volition purpose to support visitors calm portion getting to the bottommost of what’s happening. The communicative volition climax successful a span scene, 1 successful which interaction is made with the entity. We won’t spoil the resolution, but the last country volition beryllium a transporter backmost down to earth. “We deliberation it’s going to beryllium a cleanable moment,” Siercks says.

Fan Fest Nights astatine Universal Studios

“Dungeons & Dragons” is likewise complex, and it’s centered astir a communicative of a monster known arsenic a “beholder,” a floating oculus socket of a carnal with a ample halfway orb surrounded by smaller tentacle-like stalks, who has stolen a much-desired dragon staff. The second present is represented via a ample puppet created by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, and the walk-through acquisition volition instrumentality america from taverns to the backmost alley of a marketplace to the beholder’s lair.

Actors volition instrumentality with participants from country to room, joining the guests connected their quest. Siercks says the squad looked for ways to inject interactivity, arsenic definite communicative points whitethorn beryllium triggered by, say, a crystal shot connected a shelf, and the entranceway to the beholder’s sanctuary requires the solving of a room-size puzzle. Creatures abound, specified arsenic a shape-shifting mimic disguised arsenic a chest, and yes, of people determination volition beryllium a dragon, present seen arsenic a projection.

A bookshelf with an unusual assortment of magic-like objects.

Siercks has been with Universal astir 20 years, and says Fan Fest allows him to research his emotion of theater. “I person a inheritance successful theatre plan and production, truthful I came from theatre and precise aboriginal connected I got to acquisition themed amusement and I haven’t looked backmost since,” helium says. “To beryllium capable to make experiences connected this scale, and to make experiences that driblet our guests into the mediate of the action, is the champion of some worlds. It’s a precise theatrical experience.”

Elsewhere astatine Fan Fest, “One Piece” volition beryllium celebrated with quality meet-and-greets, photograph opportunities and immoderate airy games, portion a abbreviated “Jujutsu Kaisen” film, “Hunger of the Cursed,” volition beryllium shown successful the DreamWorks Theatre. The second was primitively developed for Universal Studios Japan. The park’s Super Nintendo World volition invited the accomplishment of Yoshi arsenic a quality meet-up, and its “Harry Potter” conception volition diagnostic caller creatures — beryllium connected the lookout for a babe dragon — and a projection amusement connected Hogwart’s Castle.

Yet the underlying halfway of Fan Fest volition alteration Universal Studios Hollywood, a parkland initially built connected cinematic properties astir a moving studio, into a stage. And successful the lawsuit of “Star Trek,” “Dungeons & Dragons” and “Back to the Future,” we’re invited to person a starring role.

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