Niles: Universal Studios spreads the love with Fan Fest Nights

Every once in a while, a theme park announces something so unexpected and so enticing that it makes this jaded theme park fan turn into the Futurama meme and exclaim, “shut up and take my money.”

This month, Universal Studios Hollywood did that with its announcement of Universal Fan Fest Nights, a new series of after-hours parties coming to the theme park next spring. They will offer three different themed nights: Back to the Future, Dungeons & Dragons and Star Trek.

Universal previously featured Back to the Future and Star Trek attractions, but it’s been years since those closed. This will be the first appearance at Universal that I can remember for Dungeons & Dragons, a franchise that has yet to get a permanent attraction in any major theme park.

Universal name-checked Halloween Horror Nights in its Universal Fan Fest Nights announcement, but provided no information about specific attractions or shows that it might offer during the events. Will we get HHN-style walk-through houses themed to these franchises? Could Universal stage a revival of the Star Trek audience participation show? Or maybe Universal could play the old Back to the Future ride film in The Simpsons Ride theaters?

Fans have speculated all those possibilities, plus more. I love the enthusiasm that Universal has unlocked by promising to deliver attention to beloved franchises that have been without a theme park home for a generation or more.

The multi-million-dollar expense of building permanent rides and shows limits the number of opportunities that theme parks have to develop experiences to serve the ever-expanding numbers of fandoms out there. Limited-time, after-hours events — including Universal Halloween Horror Nights and Disneyland After Dark — offer another way for fans to experience their favorite franchises in the parks.

Ultimately, as with Comic-Con, D23 and other fan conventions, it will be the crowd that provides as much an attraction for these events as whatever experiences Universal’s designers will create. Fans want the opportunity for cosplay and camaraderie during these events. Painted flat backdrops for lazy photo-ops will not be enough to entice fans at the prices that we all expect Universal to charge. But with locations such as Courthouse Square, where the original Back to the Future movie was filmed, Universal has unique assets to stage a fan event like no one else.

As a fan, I want new opportunities to celebrate my old favorites. Universal comes through for fans of horror, suspense and the supernatural with its annual Halloween Horror Nights. Disneyland After Dark has created throwback events for fans of the Disney Channel and the old Disney Afternoon block of animated TV series. Now, it’s time to spread the love to fans of more genres.

With its Universal Fan Fest Nights announcement, Universal specified fans of “Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Gaming and Anime.” Universal puts on a huge anime fan event at its park in Japan each year. I would love to see that come to Hollywood, too. Let’s hope that Universal finds a model with Fan Fest Nights that encourages even more parks to provide representation for additional genres and franchises in the future.