Guests become part of the mystery when they enter Scooby-Doo Meets the Universal Monsters: Mystery of the Backlot. This immersive mystery has guests helping Scooby and the gang figure out who unleashed the monsters onto the set and save the movie shoot.
Spoilers ahead for Mystery of the Backlot.
Mystery of the Backlot
Guests are taken to the backlot on the tram and introduced to the situation on the lot by an introductory video.
When guests arrive, they receive a pamphlet entitled the Mystery Manual. This manual will help you solve The Case of the Phantom Director. It has Scooby and the gang featured at the top and silhouettes of Universal monsters on the bottom.
As you open the pamphlet, the first two pages explain how to investigate the mystery.
- Use the map on the back to find the four clues around Little Europe.
- Solve clues in any order.
- Use what you learn to cross names off the Suspect Page.
- The last remaining suspect is The Phantom Director.
- Head to The Big Reveal to see if you’re right!
Next, you meet the suspects. Each suspect has a name, likes, dislikes, and a possible motive. The first two suspects are producer Max Flash and security guard June Steele.
The other two suspects are publicist Karla Spinn and art director Arty Pressman.
The evidence pages provide guests with more information to figure out the mystery. It also provides the next steps to keep moving forward with the game.
There are four pages of evidence notes, providing additional guidance. For example, if one of the suspects has a certain item, they are still a suspect. But if they do not, they are innocent.
Guests also have a notes section to keep track of information they find out about each of the suspects, including what color cloak they wear.
There are two extra pages of note-writing space at the back of the pamphlet.
The back of the final page shows the map of the immersive area, including where to go for The Big Reveal at the end.
As you wander the backlot looking for clues, you’ll see characters waiting around for interactions, like Scooby-Doo seen above.
There are also mini movie set scenes, like a spooky cemetery full of footprints or “Fred”-quarters a.k.a. the Grip Department, where Fred will ask you how you’re doing on your search.
You will also run into some of the Universal Monsters who have been released onto the backlot by The Phantom Director. One of the ones you may see is The Bride of Frankenstein.
You’ll find Velma over in Video Village. She is ready to cheer on the crowd as they work hard to solve the mystery.
Daphne is over in the Wardrobe Department, where you’ll find cloaks with codes on them.
Shaggy is, of course, at Craft Services. He has renamed the area Snacks by Shaggy.
While we stopped by to see Shaggy, Frankenstein’s Monster showed up and started inspecting the snack area.
When you’re ready with the mystery solved, you head over to The Big Reveal. That’s when Daphne, Fred, Scooby, Velma, and Shaggy take the stage to let you know whodunit. Guests see the crew go from stage to screen as they wander around looking for The Phantom Director. During this search, they run into more Universal Monsters like Dracula who was behind a closed door.
When the villain is revealed, we discover it was Max Flash who was The Phantom Director!
By the end, Scooby gets his well-earned box of Scooby snacks, and the film can finish production.
At the end, guests can enjoy a photo spot where they step into the screen—literally. You can stand in the center of a TV screen as the villain between the Universal Monsters and Scooby, who reveals you to be the masked baddie.
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