The inaugural event for Universal Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood is underway, and we experienced the Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley tour.
The typical Studio Tour passes through the Hill Valley Courthouse Square set of “Back to the Future” during the day. However, during Universal Fan Fest Nights, guests get to actually walk through the set after disembarking from the “Universal Fan Tram.”
The experience begins by loading the tram at the station before going down the hill, just as you would in the daytime Studio Tour. The last tram departs at 1:00 a.m.
The experience lasts roughly 45 minutes and is a continuous set of shows throughout Hill Valley.
Videos play as the tram travels down the hill into the set. They say your time travel will be instantaneous, and you won’t even realize it’s happened. So, there is no time-traveling effect other than the logo on the screens changing to look like it’s on a tube TV.
They drop you off near the billboard and the entrance of what will be Lyon Estates in the future.
After walking through that section, there is a banner welcoming guests to Hill Valley, and “Mr. Sandman” is playing in the background.
Universal is actively encouraging you to follow characters around, interact with them, and see what they do. Here, service station attendants are dancing and singing.
There are carnival games, which include a strength tester, Ring the Bottle, and Plinko. They’re $20 per play, but you are guaranteed a prize, and at least two of the games had “Back to the Future Prizes.”
In the carnival area, Biff is a menace between his story moments, heckling people at the carnival games, and trying to scare people at the dance.
Many of the moments are lifted from the film, like the above Enchantment Under the Sea dance scene. Marty does get on stage and play “Earth Angel” with the band, before falling to the ground and coming back to life when George stands up for himself at the dance.
The area is dripping with detail from the films with storefronts from Hill Valley along with many photo-ops and backdrops.
Due to time limitations, many of the moments from the film are altered, such as the original meeting place of Marty and Doc Brown. In this experience, the meeting occurs on the steps of the Clock Tower.
Guests do get to influence the moments from the movie, like helping Marty with what he should say to Doc Brown, or helping George write a poem for Lorraine. A lot of these experiences reminded us of the character-driven story on the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
One photo-op is reminiscent of the initial temporal displacement of the DeLorean when the “OUTATIME” license plate falls off the car.
Einstein doesn’t interact with any of the shows. He is part of another photo-op, and he sits in the DeLorean off on a side street.
There’s also a refreshment stand that is serving cookies from Mel’s, along with other snacks and treats.
Other interactions with George, Lorraine, and Marty are occurring around the Hill Valley set.
The 45-minute experience culminates in a time travel moment, which is a projection on the Clock Tower and some lighting effects for lightning and the DeLorean driving by. However, they don’t actually drive a DeLorean down the street.
Guests are not necessarily limited to the 45-minute experience and can stay in the area, interacting with characters for as long as they wish. However, with the last tram leaving at 1:00 a.m., everyone likely needs to be on the last tram out around 2:00 a.m.
The exit tram reloads and departs on the other side of the Courthouse Square.
Fan Fest Nights is also honoring the 40th Anniversary of “Back to the Future” with themed merchandise and food.
In addition to “Back to the Future,” Universal Fan Fest Nights celebrates Star Trek, Dungeons & Dragons, One Piece, Jujutsu Kaisen, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and Super Nintendo World. Glinda and Elphaba from “Wicked” also appear. Check out the event’s cosplay guidelines, a preview of more merchandise, and special menu items.
Check out our video highlights from the Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley:
Do you have plans to attend Universal Fan Fest Nights? Let us know in the comments.
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