Universal Parks brings dungeons and dragons, and evil things on the night of Fanfest

Since 1991, Universal Studios has put theme park guests in the middle of their most iconic horror franchise every October as part of Halloween Horror Night. Countless horror icons, from Leatherface to Jason Voorhees to Freddie Kruger, featured Halloween residences at Universal Theme Parks, but for the first time in the US, Universal Studios is bringing new genres to life: science fiction and fantasy. Universal Fan Fest Night, which will start at Universal Studios Hollywood on April 25th and runs until May 18th, will film the after-hour formula for Halloween Horror Night and move to new franchises such as Dungeon & Dragon, Star Trek, One Piece and Wicked. Stephen Siercks, director of entertainment production at Universal Studios Hollywood, speaks about the concept of Fanfest Night, which grew from a desire to provide fans with an opportunity to step into the world beyond horror. “Fanfest Night is based on the heritage of Halloween Horror Night. As guests said they wanted more, we began exploring the various genres that resonated with the guests. That brought us to sci-fi, fantasy, games and anime.” When it was time to narrow down which titles would most translate into interactive theme park attractions, Siercks says the universal team sought out a world that was fully realized in an iconic setting. “We saw the franchise and the fandom around the franchise. We saw the environment that allowed our guests to explore. For the character, we were able to present it as a pillar of the brand with two ultimate goals: fan-first and authentic.” An early pick to join the Fanfest Night franchise roster was “Star Trek.” This is represented by 10 “next-generation”-inspired forward bars, Quark's Cafe from Deep Space Nine, and the immersive walkthrough “Star Trek: Red Alert.” “The Red Alert allowed us to celebrate the latest and heritage of the Star Trek world,” Sierks said. “We can participate in the experience through “Picard,” one of the latest iterations, “Picard,” and then through the conceit of Starfleet Museum, celebrating the legacy of the “next generation” and allow guests to tour “Enterprise-D” to celebrate the legacy of the “next generation” of the heritage. “Sharing it with my kids. Another franchise celebrating a major anniversary at Fanfest Night is “Dungeons & Dragons.” This is represented by the experience with the first Roll Tavern at Universal Studios Hollywood and “Dungeon & Dragons: The Secret of Water Deep.” “Dungeon & Dragon” will turn 50 this year. It is still socially relevant and up-to-date, allowing guests to explore the world of “dungeon & dragon” in ways they have never seen before, allowing them to realize some of these iconic environments and characters. Following the adventure bard and injustice through the city of Waterdeep, the walkthrough sees guests face-to-face with Zanasar of The Guild, the legendary founding crime thieves guild of “Dungeons & Dragons.” “The biggest and worst seen Xanasar out there is right in front of you. It was the pillar of the event's first development. The natural progression into the walkthrough of “Dungeon & Dragons” developed it as one of the main experiences. ” Early on, we knew we needed to represent one of the people we saw, and we quickly worked on Xanasar being the right character. Working with Jim Henson's company, we were able to bring it back to life and have a complete human figure in front of you. It distills the vast, player-driven world of “Dungeon & Dragon” into a walk-through attraction. We developed “The Secret of Water Deep” and started with a wide range of strokes that wanted to represent the towns of Sword Coast and Water Deep. It ultimately led to a conflict with Zanasar. Storytelling. Another iconic character that became lively for Fanfest Night is the “Evil” witches Glinda and Elphaba. Its costume, hair and make-up designs were inspired by John M. Chu's blockbuster film Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. “We are fortunate to be able to celebrate 'Evil' as part of Fanfest Night. It's unique and universal to welcome Glinda and Elfaba as characters for meeting and greetings, and as we're here in Hollywood, we have an incredible casting team that can take you straight from the screen to the park. “It's not just live-action characters who lively in Fanfest Night. The event featured homage to the colorful characters from the 1999 animated series with the same name as the Japanese manga One Piece. “One Piece” is a fan zone concept that takes over one of the streets of the park and makes it happen with characters, photography opportunities and other experiences. The central part is the characters, and one of the basic goals of Fanfest Night is to allow these different characters to live in the streets and allow guests to interact with them. ” Guest interaction is extremely important for the overall experience in the themed world of entertainment, especially Universal Studios Hollywood. When you are able to create one-on-one connections with guests, talk to characters, and interact with them, it brings more of the story.” As the title can be expected for future fanfest nights, Siercks says it is exploring a franchise that allows Universal to continue the fan night. Our inauguration certainly plays chords in science fiction, fantasy, games and anime fandoms. I look forward to being the foundation of what can continue to grow beyond this. “This interview was edited and condensed.