Universal Studios has announced a new series of after-hours live action events, ‘Universal Fan Fest Nights’, which seem to be a scare-free version of the theme-park’s hugely popular Halloween Horror Nights. We’re particularly intrigued by the Dungeons and Dragons features – Universal Studios has tech and budget that most LARP events would kill for.
The Fan Fest Nights will take place over the weekends at Universal Studios Hollywood between April 25 and May 18 2025, and are ticketed separately from daytime park entry. The events will have areas themed around Star Trek, Back to the Future, Dungeons and Dragons, OnePiece, Jujutsu Kaisen, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and Universal Studios says “our lineup is expanding with more to be revealed”.
The events will involve “immersive experiences, celebratory moments, themed food, and exclusive merchandise”, and come “from the creators of Halloween Horror Nights”. The gloss for the DnD section says you’ll be going on an “adventure with fellow Harpers to save Waterdeep from Xanathar”, a Beholder crime lord with a fixation on its pet goldfish.
Unless we hear specifically otherwise, we don’t think that attending the event means creating a character with their own DnD class and special powers, arming up with a foam sword, and entering into a freeform game with other players. And this will only be part of the night – this won’t be a complete DnD takeover of the themepak.
However, Universal’s horror nights are extremely immersive experiences, with actors who don’t break character (NPCs), custom designed haunted houses (adventure locations), practical effects (spells), and more. It’s not going to be as interactive as a LARP, but it might be a simpler experience for a newcomer to lose themselves in.
Then there’s the budget and tech Universal can bring to bear, turning actors into the non-human DnD races or even monsters. It’s possible that Xanathar will only be an off-stage presence, but Universal has the expertise to create a seriously high tech puppet absolutely bristling with eyeballs.
LARP has a reputation as the deep end of the DnD hobby. It’s certainly true that you’ll get more from a LARP the more time you’re able to commit, and having a budget for your costume and kit doesn’t hurt – but we think a lot of people would really enjoy it, if they only tried it. Universal can’t reproduce the freedom or the community of a LARP, but it might create a stepping stone that helps people who just like dressing up for the ren faire to explore a little deeper.
In the world of paper DnD, we’re waiting for the Dungeon Master’s Guide to arrive on the DnD release schedule. To make sure you don’t miss our review when it hits, follow Wargamer on Google News!