April 28, 2025 • 5 mins
KFI's entertainment guru Heather Brooker is diving into Universal Studios' latest after-hours sensation: Universal Fan Fest Nights. Running on select nights from April 25 to May 18, 2025, this immersive event transforms the park into a celebration of beloved fandoms, from 'Star Trek' and 'Back to the Future' to 'Dungeons & Dragons', 'One Piece', 'Jujutsu Kaisen', and more.
Fans can experience walk-through adventures like 'Star Trek: Red Alert', where you'll tour the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, or 'Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley', taking you back to 1955. Engage in cosplay, meet iconic characters, and savor themed foods and exclusive merchandise. Heather spoke with Fan Fest Nights Executive Producer Stephen Siercks to find out what fans can expect during this inaugural event.
Fans can experience walk-through adventures like 'Star Trek: Red Alert', where you'll tour the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, or 'Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley', taking you back to 1955. Engage in cosplay, meet iconic characters, and savor themed foods and exclusive merchandise. Heather spoke with Fan Fest Nights Executive Producer Stephen Siercks to find out what fans can expect during this inaugural event.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Red Alert.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
We're diving into Universal Studio's latest after our sensation, Universal
FanFest Nights. It just opened on April twenty fifth and
we'll run through May eighteenth. And I was one of
the lucky few that got to be there on opening
night for this immersive event. It's totally transformed the park
into a celebration of some beloved fandoms from Star Trek
(00:23):
and Back to the Future to Dungeons and Dragons, One Piece,
Jiu Jitsu, Kaisen and more. And I have to tell
you this experience.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Was completely immersive.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Wait until you go and get a closer look at
the Back to the Future experience. You have to get
on the Studio tour tram. It takes you down to
Hill Valley. Of course, other fandoms are represented as well.
We've got the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with a
special show on the Castle. You've also got Super Nintendo
World that has special things planned each night. Definitely something
you don't want to miss if you're a fan of
(00:54):
any of these properties. I had the opportunity to talk
to the executive producer of fan Fast Nights, Steven curt,
so we've got.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
A little more info. Tell me a little bit about
fan Fest Nights. What is it all about?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
So?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Fan fast Nights is the ultimate immersive fan experience, and
we're celebrating the genres of sci fi, fantasy, gaming, an
anime in a way that drops our guests into the
middle of these iconic worlds and allows them to explore
it and also celebrate one another through community activations as
well as overall engagement throughout the event.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Is it one fandom per night or are they all
in the same night.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
One of the best parts about fan Fast Nights is
that you get to experience all the fandoms each and
every night of the event. So we really encourage our
guests to take it all in, soak it all up
and enjoy all the experiences every single night of the event.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
So right now, where are we and what experience are
we getting a sneak preview of?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
So right now we're getting a sneak peak of Star
Trek Red Alert, which is one of our immersive walkthrough attractions.
And this one is fun because it's a story based
pulse attraction, meaning that we're able to really dive into
the iconic environments like the Shuttle Bay where we are now.
The Sick Bay and in your Rooms, ultimately leading to
the bridge of the Enterprise d And by being a
story based pulse attraction, we're able to really take in
(02:07):
the characters, be able to develop the story, and be
able to experience these environments in a way that we
haven't allowed our guests to as much previously as part
of seasonal events here at Universal Students Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Some of these areas have been described as in world experiences.
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
So an in world experience to us here at FanFest
Nights is the ultimate immersive experience, meaning that we're really
able to bring our guests and as mentioned, drop them
into the middle of the action, whether it be here
at Star Trek at our other event activations, as well
really being able to allow them to experience these brands,
experience these franchises, experience these genres in an exciting way.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Now, tell me why did Universal want to do something
like this? Like, you guys didn't have to add all
this extra work for yourselves.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Why did you guys want to do this?
Speaker 3 (02:51):
The fans certainly wanted to experience more, and we wanted
to certainly give them more, So that was at the
core of fan Fest Nights, And we had two foundational
goals as part of developing this event, fan first and
authentic fan first, meaning that we wanted to service the
fans who have such fandom for these genres, and authentic
in delivering a uniquely universal perspective to these brands in
(03:11):
a way that we can bring them to life, building
on some of the legacy of events like Halloween, Hornets
and other things that we've done here at Universal Studios, Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Now, how can you make sure that this is something
that fans are going to like? What kind of research
you do? Are you talking to fans? Are you saying like, hey,
what do you guys want to see? What goes into
the decision making for the properties that you picked for this.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
We did a lot of research in developing the lineup
and the content for this first year of Fan Fast Nights,
and we're really excited about the mix of the different
genres of sci fi, fantasy, gaming, and anime and speaking
about the fans and the authenticity. Specifically with Star Trek
REHD Alert, we were really excited to partner with Paramounts
and the Star Trek franchise team to bring this experience
to life. They were collaborators and creative partners of ours
(03:54):
from the very beginning and developing the concept all the
way through final execution.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Aside from tickets sales, what is going to be the
biggest indicator for you that this was a success.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
One of the most amazing things about developing these style
of events is being able to stand in these attractions,
stand in the experiences and just watch the reaction, watch
the reaction of guests coming out of them, engaging with them.
And also with FanFest Nights, celebrating one another through areas
like our block party where we're celebrating the fans and
the fandoms through cosplay, celebrations, trivia contests, really being able
(04:26):
to soak up the energy of the event each and
every night.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Now you mentioned cosplay, can people dress up?
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Costplay is one of the foundational aspects of FanFest Nights,
So being able to celebrate the fans and celebrate their
affinity for these genres through cosplay, as well as just
the community aspect of being together throughout the night.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And our tickets on sale right now? Where can people
get tickets?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Tickets are on sale now? Go to Universal Studios Hollywood
dot com for all the information.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Universal fan Fest Nights runs now through May eighteenth, and
it's truly a wonderful event for the entire families. Very friendly, friendly,
all ages welcome. I know my family and I had
a really good time. So thanks to Stephen and thanks
to Universal for having us. I'm Heather Broker. Thanks for listening.
Remember you can listen anywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Red Alert.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
We're diving into Universal Studio's latest after our sensation, Universal
FanFest Nights. It just opened on April twenty fifth and
we'll run through May eighteenth. And I was one of
the lucky few that got to be there on opening
night for this immersive event. It's totally transformed the park
into a celebration of some beloved fandoms from Star Trek
(00:23):
and Back to the Future to Dungeons and Dragons, One Piece,
Jiu Jitsu, Kaisen and more. And I have to tell
you this experience.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Was completely immersive.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Wait until you go and get a closer look at
the Back to the Future experience. You have to get
on the Studio tour tram. It takes you down to
Hill Valley. Of course, other fandoms are represented as well.
We've got the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with a
special show on the Castle. You've also got Super Nintendo
World that has special things planned each night. Definitely something
you don't want to miss if you're a fan of
(00:54):
any of these properties. I had the opportunity to talk
to the executive producer of fan Fast Nights, Steven curt,
so we've got.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
A little more info. Tell me a little bit about
fan Fest Nights. What is it all about?
Speaker 2 (01:07):
So?
Speaker 3 (01:07):
Fan fast Nights is the ultimate immersive fan experience, and
we're celebrating the genres of sci fi, fantasy, gaming, an
anime in a way that drops our guests into the
middle of these iconic worlds and allows them to explore
it and also celebrate one another through community activations as
well as overall engagement throughout the event.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Is it one fandom per night or are they all
in the same night.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
One of the best parts about fan Fast Nights is
that you get to experience all the fandoms each and
every night of the event. So we really encourage our
guests to take it all in, soak it all up
and enjoy all the experiences every single night of the event.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
So right now, where are we and what experience are
we getting a sneak preview of?
Speaker 3 (01:45):
So right now we're getting a sneak peak of Star
Trek Red Alert, which is one of our immersive walkthrough attractions.
And this one is fun because it's a story based
pulse attraction, meaning that we're able to really dive into
the iconic environments like the Shuttle Bay where we are now.
The Sick Bay and in your Rooms, ultimately leading to
the bridge of the Enterprise d And by being a
story based pulse attraction, we're able to really take in
(02:07):
the characters, be able to develop the story, and be
able to experience these environments in a way that we
haven't allowed our guests to as much previously as part
of seasonal events here at Universal Students Hollywood.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
Some of these areas have been described as in world experiences.
What does that mean?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
So an in world experience to us here at FanFest
Nights is the ultimate immersive experience, meaning that we're really
able to bring our guests and as mentioned, drop them
into the middle of the action, whether it be here
at Star Trek at our other event activations, as well
really being able to allow them to experience these brands,
experience these franchises, experience these genres in an exciting way.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Now, tell me why did Universal want to do something
like this? Like, you guys didn't have to add all
this extra work for yourselves.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
Why did you guys want to do this?
Speaker 3 (02:51):
The fans certainly wanted to experience more, and we wanted
to certainly give them more, So that was at the
core of fan Fest Nights, And we had two foundational
goals as part of developing this event, fan first and
authentic fan first, meaning that we wanted to service the
fans who have such fandom for these genres, and authentic
in delivering a uniquely universal perspective to these brands in
(03:11):
a way that we can bring them to life, building
on some of the legacy of events like Halloween, Hornets
and other things that we've done here at Universal Studios, Hollywood.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Now, how can you make sure that this is something
that fans are going to like? What kind of research
you do? Are you talking to fans? Are you saying like, hey,
what do you guys want to see? What goes into
the decision making for the properties that you picked for this.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
We did a lot of research in developing the lineup
and the content for this first year of Fan Fast Nights,
and we're really excited about the mix of the different
genres of sci fi, fantasy, gaming, and anime and speaking
about the fans and the authenticity. Specifically with Star Trek
REHD Alert, we were really excited to partner with Paramounts
and the Star Trek franchise team to bring this experience
to life. They were collaborators and creative partners of ours
(03:54):
from the very beginning and developing the concept all the
way through final execution.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Aside from tickets sales, what is going to be the
biggest indicator for you that this was a success.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
One of the most amazing things about developing these style
of events is being able to stand in these attractions,
stand in the experiences and just watch the reaction, watch
the reaction of guests coming out of them, engaging with them.
And also with FanFest Nights, celebrating one another through areas
like our block party where we're celebrating the fans and
the fandoms through cosplay, celebrations, trivia contests, really being able
(04:26):
to soak up the energy of the event each and
every night.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Now you mentioned cosplay, can people dress up?
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Costplay is one of the foundational aspects of FanFest Nights,
So being able to celebrate the fans and celebrate their
affinity for these genres through cosplay, as well as just
the community aspect of being together throughout the night.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
And our tickets on sale right now? Where can people
get tickets?
Speaker 3 (04:47):
Tickets are on sale now? Go to Universal Studios Hollywood
dot com for all the information.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Universal fan Fest Nights runs now through May eighteenth, and
it's truly a wonderful event for the entire families. Very friendly, friendly,
all ages welcome. I know my family and I had
a really good time. So thanks to Stephen and thanks
to Universal for having us. I'm Heather Broker. Thanks for listening.
Remember you can listen anywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
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