Heroes and adventurers will get to face off against Xanathar the Beholder on a quest to recover a stolen relic when they step inside a real-life Dungeons & Dragons game during a new after-hours fan event at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Fan Fest Nights will run on select evenings between April 25 and May 18 at the Hollywood theme park.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Courtesy of Universal)
The new separate admission, after-hours event dedicated to sci-fi, fantasy, gaming and anime will feature Dungeons & Dragons, Star Trek, Back to the Future, Harry Potter, One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen.
Fan Fest promises to be a cross between Halloween Horror Nights and Comic-Con with walk-through attractions, fan zones, anime films, light projection shows, drone shows and character meet-and-greet photo ops as well as cosplay opportunities, themed food and exclusive merchandise.
I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience last week from Universal Studios Hollywood Entertainment Production Senior Director Stephen Siercks.
Universal Studios Hollywood Entertainment Production Senior Director Stephen Siercks inside the Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/SCNG/Orange County Register)
Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep will take over Soundstage 15 on the Universal backlot where The Weeknd: Nightmare Trilogy maze was located during Halloween Horror Nights.
Fan Fest visitors will walk through the Dungeons & Dragons story-based pulsed experience in groups of 10 to 20 people at a time.
“Small enough groups that you get an intimate experience, but large enough that you get the energy of the room,” Siercks said. “So you get a chance to develop the story, understand the characters and really dive into the environments.”
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Courtesy of Universal)
The six scenes in Dungeons & Dragons will take about 10 to 12 minutes to experience with visitors spending about two minutes in each room.
The Fan Fest creative team was busy working on operational planning, programming and rehearsals during my tour of the Dungeons & Dragons immersive experience.
Consider this your spoiler alert as we embark on a scene-by-scene preview of the Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep coming to Fan Fest Nights.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/SCNG/Orange County Register)
1) Preshow
The preshow scene gives fans the chance to celebrate Dungeons & Dragons gameplay with familiar artifacts from the franchise.
Unlike Horror Nights, visitors won’t need to worry about scareactors jumping out of the shadows.
“There’s a great amount of character interaction to further the storytelling,” Siercks said. “These experiences are about the immersion into the storytelling in the worlds of these genres.”
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Courtesy of Universal)
Set dressing and props have been designed in a way to bring the spaces to life for both curious newbies and serious fans looking for a deep dive.
“As a casual fan of Dungeons & Dragons, you’ll still understand what’s happening and be able to participate in the action,” Siercks said. “For those fans of Dungeons & Dragons, you’ll really pick up on the characters, the environments and the Easter eggs.”
The story is set in motion after visitors have had a few moments to explore the preshow room.
“The lights go down and a voice that sounds a lot like a dungeon master comes overhead and starts talking about who you are, what you’re doing and why you’re there,” Siercks said.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/SCNG/Orange County Register)
2) Tavern
The second scene takes visitors inside the Curious Past Shop tavern where many Dungeons & Dragons campaigns often start.
“It now feels like you’re inside the world of Dungeons & Dragons,” Siercks said. “It’s that moment that every D&D fan wants. I’m no longer playing the game, I’m in the game.”
Visitors meet Lanalay — the first character in the experience — who explains that the group are members of the Harper’s Guild from the town of Waterdeep on the Sword Coast.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Courtesy of Universal)
Lanalay lays out the quest: Xanathar the Beholder has stolen the Dragon Staff and the guild must recover it.
“At its core, it’s a quest,” Siercks said. “Something has been stolen and we’ve been recruited to help find it.”
Two adventurers — Throckary and Evalina — burst into the tavern to lead the quest and serve as guides during the rest of the experience.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/SCNG/Orange County Register)
3) Marketplace
Throckary and Evalina lead the guild into the back alley of a marketplace to search for clues about where Xanathar has taken the Dragon Staff.
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Each of the scenes is set up differently. Sometimes there’s a stage dividing the room in half while other times visitors watch the scene play out in the round. The larger group is often broken in two only to reconvene in the next scene.
A dragon projection effect circling overhead descends closer and closer as the energy in he room mounts.
“Ultimately, the dragon starts wreaking havoc, blowing fire and causing chaos,” Siercks said. “We need to find a way out.”
Visitors are invited to participate in the action and instructed to find a magical relic in the room that might aid in their escape.
Eventually, the adventurers find a pair of secret doors and propel the visitors onto the next scene to keep the pulsed experience flowing.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/SCNG/Orange County Register)
4) Rune Rumble
Harper’s Guild finds themselves just outside the locked doors to Xanathar’s Lair where the beholder has hidden the Dragon Staff.
The adventurers stumble upon a puzzle called Rune Rumble that must be solved to unlock the doors. Visitors are encouraged to cast spells to help solve the puzzle.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Courtesy of Universal)
One of the spells activates an animatronic treasure chest known as a mimic — an inanimate object that comes to life. The animated chest bares its teeth and begins chomping its “mouth.”
A dozen rune markers around the perimeter of the scene light up one by one as each piece of the puzzle is solved until the doors to Xanathar’s Lair creak open.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/SCNG/Orange County Register)
5) Xanathar’s Lair
The adventurers immediately spot the Dragon Staff amid the gold treasures from Xanathar’s previous conquests, but the quest isn’t over yet.
Suddenly, a loud cackle erupts from behind the visitors who turn around to discover Xanathar the Beholder as a towering 10-foot-tall puppet.
Created in partnership with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, the Xanathar puppet has a wide range of movements that bring to life the giant floating head with numerous eye stalks and a central, powerful eye.
“Xanathar is a fully puppeted character,” Siercks said. “He’s got a full range of motion. His eye blinks and moves. His mouth moves. He can shift from side to side. He truly comes to life as part of this scene.”
The crime lord’s pet goldfish, Sylgar, plays a key role in the visitors being able to escape Xanathar’s Lair with the Dragon Staff.
The Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep experience coming to Fan Fest Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. (Photo by Brady MacDonald/SCNG/Orange County Register)
6) Emerging Victorious
Lanalay is waiting in the forest after the visitors escape Xanathar’s Lair, bringing the story full circle.
But like every good Dungeons & Dragons campaign there’s one final plot twist — which I won’t spoil.
Eventually, Harper’s Guild saves the day and emerges victorious with the help of the adventurers Throckary and Evalina.
“Our adventurers and Lanalay finally regain the Dragon Staff and return it to the town of Waterdeep,” Siercks said.
