Roll for initiative! Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep returns to Universal Studios Hollywood Fan Fest Nights to take your party on a thrilling adventure into the lair of Xanathar the Beholder.

Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep

The interactive walkthrough debuted at the very first Fan Fest Nights in 2025 and has returned largely unchanged for this year’s event. The experience is located on the Lower Lot behind Transformers: The Ride.

After walking past Universal offices and waiting backstage in an outdoor queue, a Team Member will assemble your party and send you inside a soundstage.

You walk past a large red D&D logo and into the first room, where you’ll hear the backstory of your quest.

A display case filled with Dungeons & Dragons toys, props, cards, and more divides the room.

Among the paraphernalia on the top of the case, which includes magic item reference cards, player sheets, and entries from the Monster Manual, are the actual character sheets for the heroes we’ll be meeting: Evalina Kempflina (a level 5 Tiefling Fighter) and Throckary Heartsong (a level 5 Dwarf Bard).

There are also painted miniatures of the characters fighting Xanathar the Beholder.

Artwork of different monsters and famous figures from Dungeons & Dragons lore is projected onto the walls.

Symbols on the floor where you’re standing designate your class: Fighter, Wizard, Cleric, or Rogue.

A short video plays, sharing that we are members of the Harpers, charged with retrieving the powerful Dragonstaff of Ahghairon from the notorious thieves’ guild leader Xanathar the Beholder.

The wall slides open, and we enter a shop filled with magical items, weapons, and artifacts.

Its proprietor, a High Elf named Lanalay Starshadow, gives us more information on our task. She explains that Xanathar stole the Dragonstaff from the notorious Cult of the Dragon, another criminal enterprise in Waterdeep with whom we must contend.

Via magical projection, Lanalay gives us more background on Xanathar, including that he’s devoted to his pet goldfish Sylgar and hates being mocked (foreshadowing a certain spell that will be useful later). She then introduces us to Evalina and Throckary.

Evalina and Throckary appear and lead the guests through a passageway into the next location, a Harper hideout in a marketplace.

The stone walls are covered in Wanted posters for associates of Xanathar’s Thieves’ Guild and the Cult of the Dragon, as well as references to The Yawning Portal tavern and an enticing ad to become a Mind Flayer (Baldur’s Gate 3 fans will know this is not a great idea).

Evalina and Throckary discuss the plan, outlining what each of our classes needs to do at specific points. They also locate a Rod of Absorption, which is put into their Bag of Holding.

Being a Charisma-based Bard, Throckary is confident that a Vicious Mockery spell will be enough to incapacitate the “insecure diva” Xanathar, and together we practice our jeers.

At one point, the suggestion is made to split the party. As seasoned D&D players know from firsthand experience, and which Evalina reiterates, “You never split the party!”

However, we’re loud enough to attract the unwanted attention of none other than a red dragon, which warns us that “Waterdeep will burn” and sets the tent aflame. As fires break out in the corners, we rush out and down into a dungeon. (Fitting!)

We enter a round, dark room with walls stacked with crates, a suspiciously conveniently placed pile of objects in the center of the room, and a large chest off to one side.

Throckary and Evalina discuss how to escape and surmise that this is most likely a puzzle. Throckary casts Bardic Inspiration; the room lights up, and Evalina finds a Wand of Lightning Bolts.

This also awakens the treasure chest Mimic, who starts gnashing its sharp teeth and advancing on our Harper heroes.

Throckary quickly stuns the Mimic with a Thunderwave spell.

The pair figure out that if guests stand around the room underneath symbols on the wall, the doors will open and free us, which is exactly what happens.

We enter Xanathar’s treasure-laden lair and immediately spot the Dragonstaff, glowing with magic from atop a pile of gold.

As Throckary uses the Rod of Absorption to nullify the Dragonstaff’s power and grab it, Xanathar appears. The Beholder is a massive animatronic created exclusively for the experience by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.

Evalina races up to deal a blow to the Beholder, but he hits her with a Sleep spell.

As she stumbles, fighting not to fall asleep, Evalina knocks over Sylgar’s goldfish bowl. Xanathar screams in rage.

Recognizing that Xanathar is vulnerable, Throckary casts Vicious Mockery, and as we all yell insults at him, the shamed Beholder retreats.

Throckary casts a Portal spell, and everyone escapes.

The stunned Beholder is still glaring at us as we walk through the wall into the final room.

After the chaos of the last couple of encounters, the peaceful forest glade is definitely a relief, especially for our spell-starved Bard and fatigued Fighter. Unfortunately, it is short-lived.

Lanalay Starshadow reappears, now revealed as the wanted Cult of the Dragon associate. Laughing, she snatches the Dragonstaff and revels in her victory.

Evalina summons up her last shred of strength (with a little help from Throckary’s Bardic Inspiration) and grabs the Wand of Lightning Bolts.

With a blast of blue bolts, Evalina dispatches Lanalay Starshadow and saves Waterdeep from the imminent threat of the Cult of the Dragon.

Throckary and Evalina thank us and invite us, their Harper friends, to join them on their next adventure.

Were you happy to see Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep return for Fan Fest Nights? Let us know on social media.

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