The debut of any event is sure to have some issues, but for such a huge event, Universal Fan Fest Nights 2025 kicked off with some minor problems (you can even say nitpicks) but otherwise was a solid base for future events. If you’ve ever wondered what Halloween Horror Nights would be like without the pants-ruining scares, this is it. Fan Fest Nights 2025 takes guests into the worlds of One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, Star Trek, Dungeons & Dragons, Harry Potter, Nintendo, Wicked, and Back To The Future. Some properties have more to do than others, and that’s okay. The same team behind Halloween Horror Nights worked on this event to create an immersive, interactive, and entertaining springtime event.

Right as you enter the park, you’re greeted with the Wicked meet and greets with Elphaba and Glinda. These had some of the longest lines for fans, because the actresses playing Elphaba and Glinda give each guest their own bit of time to chat and take pictures. They switch out every so often, so if your character of choice isn’t there, just come back a bit later. This line tends to stay fairly long as the event goes on, because it’s right when people are entering and exiting the park.

The Universal Courtyard has a stage with a band playing classic tunes. One of the biggest qualms I had with the event was here. There’s a stage, and a sort of Coca-Cola area with games, but there are no real drink booths or anything else. If you want people to hang out, there needs to be something to keep them there. Waiting in line while listening to the bands is a way to do that.

One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, And Star Trek Shine

For One Piece fans, the Grand Pirate Gathering is a collection of photo ops and meet-and-greets with Luffy and his Straw Hat Crew. There are photo ops with Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. This area does get quite busy with all the characters having pretty solid lines to meet them. Good thing for One Piece fans, all the characters look fantastic, like they jumped off the pages of the manga or out of your screen from the anime.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Hunger of the Cursed is inside the Dreamworks Theater and it’s a 4D mini-movie taken from Universal Studios Japan for this event. It has moving seats, environmental effects, and an extra-wide projection that takes the audience to Tokyo Jujutsu High School. This has subtitles for fans of the anime, so it’s in the native Japanese audio. This was one of the attractions that shocked me with how vibrant and detailed the screen looked. I’ve never watched the show, but this made me want to. Filled with action, this was one of the highlights.

Star Trek: Red Alert is just across the way from the Universal Courtyard and takes guests into the Starfleet Museum! Well, that is, until an alien attacks and the museum is turned into a mystery as to what the aliens are there for. The mystery entity wreaks havoc on the U.S.S. Enterprise-D’s systems. You go through corridors, sick bay, and end up on the iconic Bridge, a screen-used set piece from Star Trek: Picard. This was just what the doctor ordered: an immersive experience that should make Star Trek fans happy.

Dungeons & Dragons and Back To The Future/Hill Valley Are The Main Events Of The Night

Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep is down on the lower lot behind Transformers: The Ride. It routinely had the longest line of the night, but was also the main attraction. You join other adventurers to save Waterdeep from Xanathar the Beholder and steal some of his treasure. Along the way there are dragons, wizards, magic, and even some other surprises for fans of D&D. This was like a game come to life complete with humor and some amazing effects. The absolute highlight was seeing Xanathar the Beholder in all his puppetry/animatronic glory. For fans of Halloween Horror Nights, this was basically like going through one of those houses, but without the scares. This is one of the reasons to experience this event.

The best part of the entire Fan Fest Nights 2025 experience was Hill Valley though. This takes you from the Studio Tour entrance on the trams to 1955 and Hill Valley, California. The glorious clock tower set and the surrounding backlot facades make for an absolutely breathtaking experience. Everything is done up like it was on the movie and over 45 minutes, the actors around the area, take you through Back to the Future. Doc Brown, Marty, Biff, George, Lorraine, and others are all around to answer in-world questions, mess with guests, and act out scenes from the movie. There’s a band playing like it’s the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, and it all culminates in a big finish with the finale of Back to the Future projected onto the clock tower.

There are also photo-ops with a made-up DeLorean and EINSTEIN the dog. Yes, that is easily the best photo-op in the whole event. Outside of that, this area is just rich in detail, and it feels like you can walk around down here for hours just seeing the sights. Being on the backlot like this is just a different experience overall. You can feel the magic of the famous films that have been made down here. It’s a shame that Universal Studios doesn’t have the Halloween Horror Nights houses down here anymore.

Food, Drink, Oh, And Yoshi

I wasn’t able to try everything in regards to food and drink at the event, but I was able to make it to the First Roll Tavern for a D&D themed cocktail. I had the Eldritch Blast, which was a vodka-based cocktail with explosive popping boba. Like most theme park cocktails, it wasn’t anything that’ll knock you out, but it was a tasty cocktail with nice theming. To pair with it, I got the Beholder’s Brew Fondue. This item was a bit disappointing because it’s basically bread and fondue, but there wasn’t enough fondue given. It was a ketchup-sized cup for like half a loaf of bread basically. For one person, it wasn’t enough. I cannot imagine sharing this with multiple people dipping.

As the night went on, I also made a voyage to Quark’s Cafe for the Cardasian Dog. This was a giant corn dog covered in hot cheetos with cheese sauce, and smoked gouda on the inside. This thing was massive but tasty. It did come with a similar (maybe the same) cheese sauce to what was given with the D&D food. This time, there was plenty of cheese sauce, so it shows they can give more if they want to. I had no complaints about the Dog.

As for other food, there’s plenty of options around the park. You can read our Ultimate Guide to the Food here.

The final thing I want to bring up is meeting Yoshi in Super Nintendo World. The line for this capped fairly early in the night, so if you want to meet Yoshi, you’ll have to be there pretty early.

An Overall Good Experience That Can Be Made Better

With this being the first event, I was quite impressed by the offerings from Universal Studios Hollywood. There were some issues on the opening night including people waiting quite a long time for food at Mel’s Diner, or the Quark’s Cafe not having enough items throughout the night. Those are issues that can be easily fixed. The foundation for a great Springtime event is here though. Not everyone wants to be scared out of their mind, and Universal Fan Fest Nights allows people to go that are fans of these properties. Cosplay is encouraged for the event, which is awesome.

For a first try at this, Universal Studios Hollywood showed that there’s plenty of promise in this idea. It might not have been perfect off the bat, but nothing ever is. Universal Fan Fest Nights is a great way to spend a night at the park with other like-minded fans. It runs on select nights from April 25th-May 18th, 2025.

You can get tickets for the event right here.

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