Review: Universal Fan Fest Nights Is Only Two Years Old. You’d Never Know.

by Joe Tracy, editor of Theme Park Magazine

Opening night, April 23. Universal Studios Hollywood is packed.

That alone tells you something. Universal Fan Fest Nights is only in its second year, and the crowd that showed up Thursday night was not the polite, curious crowd of a first-year experiment. These were people who had done their research, arrived in full cosplay, and came with specific plans. The energy was different from a regular park night. Sharper. More intentional. You could feel the passion that’s been poured into this event, and the guests who show up return it.

I stayed until the very end. The event runs until 1:30 AM, which still feels slightly surreal to say about Universal Studios Hollywood. Six distinct in-world experiences, rides running well past midnight, and cosplay everywhere you look. It is unlike any other night this park offers. Whether it’s worth the ticket price depends almost entirely on which experiences you prioritize, how long you’re willing to wait in line, and whether the IPs on offer are ones you actually care about.

Here is my honest breakdown, experience by experience:

Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep

For me, this was the best thing at Fan Fest Nights. It’s not even close.

Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep is set inside Soundstage 29 and runs guests through a story-driven walkthrough in which you play a member of the Harpers, a spy network working to stop the legendary beholder Xanathar from seizing control of the city of Waterdeep. Groups are divided into character classes. Each room advances the story. The acting is sharp, the special effects are well-executed, the lighting sells every scene, and the pacing keeps things moving without rushing past anything important.

The key is to commit. Get into the story. Follow the instructions from the characters around you. The more you engage, the stronger the whole thing becomes. I went through it multiple times. The experience holds up on repeat visits, unlike most theme park walkthroughs.

The climax involves the Xanathar animatronic, built by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. It’s one of the single most impressive things in the entire event. The craft that went into that puppet is visible from the moment it appears. For anyone who has spent time following what Jim Henson’s Creature Shop produces, seeing it in person in this context is something special.

D&D was popular last year. Universal brought it back by demand, added improvements to the sound design, and tightened up the storytelling between rooms. It shows. This is the experience you plan your night around. If you’re attending Fan Fest Nights and you do not go through Dungeons & Dragons, you are missing out Big time.

The Unofficial Star of the Night: Jurassic Park

Here’s something Universal Studios never officially announced as part of Fan Fest Nights: months ago, construction crews began building a special Jurassic Park-themed area. No press release. No formal announcement tied to the event. It just appeared.

And it is excellent.

The atmosphere is exactly right. The lighting, the music, and the area’s general aura all work together in a way that feels fully realized. The characters wandering through are well-cast and engaging. One actor, playing Dennis Nedry, was genuinely stealing scenes. The combination of character interactions and the immersive environment made this feel like something Universal put real creative thought into, whether it’s “officially” on the event roster or not.

On top of all that, Jurassic World: The Ride runs late into the night. With the lighter crowds at Fan Fest Nights compared to a normal park day, I was able to ride it multiple times with no wait. Riding Jurassic World at night, with the park quiet around it, is a different experience from the midday version. If you have not done it in that context, add it to your plan. It’s definitely a more dramatic experience at night!

ONE PIECE: Grand Pirate Show

I am not really a One Piece fan. I should say that clearly, because it shapes how I experienced this show.

What I can tell you is that the audience around me absolutely were big One Piece fans, and they were electric. The WaterWorld venue is a natural fit for the material. The Straw Hat Crew takes the stage, Marines arrive, Buggy shows up to cause chaos, and the whole thing turns into a 20-minute spectacle of pyrotechnics, stunt choreography, and comedic energy. The production values are high. The crowd was entirely locked in.

For One Piece fans specifically, this is the centerpiece of Fan Fest Nights. The show was inspired by a similar production at Universal Studios Japan. If you are a fan of the series, this may be the single best reason to attend the event. The food options tied to the show, particularly at the One Piece zone near Hollywood & Dine, were also generating long lines. Plan for it.

If you have no connection to One Piece, the show is still well-produced and worth watching for the spectacle alone. You may enjoy it more than you expect. But if time is limited and you’re not a fan, it is skippable in a way Dungeons & Dragons isn’t.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Forbidden Forest

The Harry Potter Forbidden Forest experience had the longest lines of the night. At one point, the wait stretched close to two hours.

Two hours is a long time to wait for what is, at its core, a slimmed-down version of the professional Harry Potter Forbidden Forest experiences that currently operate in multiple cities around the world. If you’ve attended one of those, this will feel noticeably scaled back. The scope is smaller, the creature density is lower, and the overall production is a few levels below those dedicated ticketed experiences.

If you haven’t been to one of those professional versions, your experience here will depend heavily on how long you waited. Walk in at 30 minutes or less of a wait, and you might find real magic in it. Walk in after standing in line for two hours, and the first scene and last scene, the strongest moments, might not feel like enough.

My honest recommendation: make the Forbidden Forest your first stop of the night. Hit it when the park opens before the lines build. Universal had a limited physical footprint to work with, and they did a reasonable job with what they had. The color work and visual effects in the first and last scenes, in particular, are impressive. There is also meaningful room to improve this experience in future years, particularly by incorporating more story elements along the queue itself to make the wait feel like part of the adventure.

Scooby-Doo Meets the Universal Monsters: Mystery on the Backlot

The concept is creative. You board the Studio Tour tram, ride out to the backlot, receive a Mystery Manual, and spend your time exploring the cobblestone streets of Little Europe and the Court of Miracles while gathering clues alongside the Mystery Inc. gang to identify who is sabotaging a monster movie production (in which you’re an “extra”). The villain changes every night, which is a smart touch. A spoiler from a friend who went on Friday won’t help you on Saturday.

The outdoor sets themselves are legitimately historic. Frankenstein (1931) and The Wolf Man (1941) were filmed on those locations. Walking those streets at night with Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, and the Wolf Man roaming through adds a layer that works well.

Where the experience loses some energy is on the tram ride itself. The screens show relevant footage, but the journey from the park to the backlot destination felt like a missed opportunity. Some story-related elements happening outside the tram during the ride, actors or simple environmental storytelling, would have made that transit feel like part of the adventure rather than just transportation. As it stands, the best parts of the Scooby-Doo experience begin after you step off the tram.

A few practical notes: this experience closes earlier than others. Check the schedule carefully before you plan your evening, because guests who don’t pay attention to timing risk missing the backlot entirely.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Moon Palace Chapter Deluxe

The DreamWorks Theatre does real work here. The screens, combined with special effect seats, make this a genuine 4D experience rather than a simple screening.

The film itself is a Japanese CG anime short, originally developed for Universal Studios Japan’s Cool Japan program, presented here with English subtitles. Super Sailor Moon battles an enemy threatening the Moon Palace and the Legendary Silver Crystal. It’s well-made, and the theater technology adds to the experience.

This is the clearest fan-specific offering in the lineup. Sailor Moon fans will enjoy it. People with no connection to the franchise will find it pleasant but forgettable. The runtime is short enough that it’s not a major commitment even if it’s not your IP. But in a night with limited time, if you’re unfamiliar with Sailor Moon, you can comfortably direct your energy elsewhere. If you’re a Sailor Moon fan, then be sure to experience it! It will be worth it.

Super Nintendo World: Colorful Yoshi Celebration

This is the lightest experience of the six, and that’s fine. Super Nintendo World is already one of the most immersive themed lands around. Fan Fest Nights adds colorful Yoshis throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, with green, yellow, and purple variants appearing at different locations.

There are also hidden passwords you can discover and unlock throughout the land for an added experience, which adds a small layer of interactive discovery beyond just the meet-and-greets. It rewards guests who slow down and pay attention.

One important note: Super Nintendo World closes earlier than other areas of the park. I’d recommend visiting earlier in the evening rather than assuming you can come back for it at midnight.

Rides at Night

One of the underrated pleasures of Fan Fest Nights is simply riding attractions with dramatically reduced wait times at hours when most theme parks are closed. Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride runs until 1:30 AM. Transformers: The Ride-3D matches that. Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey runs until 11:15 PM. Most rides throughout the park are open. There are a few exceptions, however. One of the best dark rides in the country, Secret Life of Pets, is closed even though the Despicable Me adventure next door is open.

Practical Tips for the Remaining Dates

Fan Fest Nights runs through May 16, 2026, with the following remaining dates: May 1-3, May 7-9, and May 14-16. Doors open at 7:30 PM, and the event runs until 1:30 AM.

The early access add-on, which gets you in at 6:00 PM, is worth serious consideration if Dungeons & Dragons or Sailor Moon are at the top of your list. Both experience lines grow quickly once the main crowd arrives.

Check the closing times for each area at the start of your night, then plan backward from there. Several experiences shut down well before 1:30 AM, and guests who don’t account for that may miss something they were counting on.

Cosplay is genuinely encouraged here in ways that most major theme park events don’t allow. Full costumes are welcome within the posted guidelines. It adds energy to the crowd that you don’t find at regular park nights, and it makes the whole event feel like it belongs to the guests in a specific way.

The Verdict

Fan Fest Nights 2026 is a well-executed after-hours event that rewards planning and punishes improvisation. The gap between the best and most average experiences is wide, but the best experiences, primarily Dungeons & Dragons and the Jurassic Park area, are genuinely exceptional. The One Piece show delivers for fans of the series in a way that 2025’s Fan Fest couldn’t.

Several people I overheard on opening night mentioned they found Fan Fest Nights more enjoyable than Halloween Horror Nights, which is a notable comparison. The experiences feel more personal. The crowds, while enthusiastic on opening night, are still well below the capacity of a regular park day. Walking onto Jurassic World multiple times before midnight is something you simply cannot do on an average Saturday in summer.

There is passion behind this event. You can feel it in how Dungeons & Dragons is staged, in the care that went into the Xanathar puppet, in how the backlot has been transformed for the Scooby-Doo adventure. Universal Studios has found something here that is worth continuing to build on, and the improvements from year one to year two are visible. That trajectory matters as much as what’s on offer right now.

If you have tickets, hit Harry Potter first (even with an Express pass, you’ll still wait a while if you don’t hit this first). Walk the Jurassic Park area and find Nedry. Accuse him of creating havoc in the park and watch him sweat! Stay late and ride things you normally can’t. The night runs until 1:30 AM. Use every minute of it. It’s worth it.

Universal Fan Fest Nights 2026 runs select nights through May 16. Remaining dates: May 1-3, May 7-9, May 14-16.

Explore More: Videos

Park Pass Review of FanFest Nights (note: I was sitting behind him on the Studio Tour – You can see me at 4:34 in the video)

Explore More: Resources

• Web Page: Universal Studios Hollywood FanFest Nights (Official)
• Article/Guide: Universal Fan Fest Nights: What to Expect at Universal Studios Hollywood (Theme Park Magazine)

Your Support Makes Theme Park Magazine Possible

Love our independent, ad-free theme park coverage? We’re passionate about bringing you these stories without the usual ad clutter, and it’s only possible thanks to supporters like you.

Your contribution directly funds more in-depth articles, stunning visuals, and keeps our focus purely on the magic. Please donate via PayPal today to help us continue this mission. – Joe Tracy, Editor

Learn more about why your support matters

About Joe Tracy

Joe Tracy, the creator, and editor of Theme Park Magazine, is a lifetime enthusiast of theme parks and immersive experiences. The publication was launched under his leadership on June 1, 2021, as a manifestation of his deep-seated love for all things themed. Joe has amassed over 20 years of expertise in both traditional print and online publishing.