“Star Trek” is a franchise that has always seemed mature for exploration in a theme park. Space, extraterrestrial trips, magical technology and, perhaps the most important thing, an underlying belief in humans focused.
I find someone who saw “Star Trek: The Experience” in Las Vegas, which opened at the end of the 90s and ran for approximately a decade, and waited nostalgic reflections to run aboard the USS company and participate in transporters illusions. But since the latter closed, “Star Trek” essentially lacks a great attraction similar to a theme park in the United States
The guests on the new nights of Fans Fest of Universal Studios will explore the USS Enterprise bridge, this is a real set of “Star Trek: Picard”.
(Amanda Villegas / for times)
Until today. Universal Studios Hollywood has turned “Star Trek” into one of the attractions of the centerpiece of its new event out of time, complete with a ship bridge that was recently used as a piece established in “Star Trek: Picard” and a promise to use an intelligent decline to simulate that sensation of conveyor. Spring complement to Halloween horror nights, Fan Fest's nights focuses on the theater of theme and science fiction, games and anime instead of horror.
The separate night events have become a way of getting more dollars from theme parks, with the Disneyland Resort essentially offers them throughout the year, and now universal expanding their offers beyond the autumn season. On one night tickets begin at $ 74, and there are packages and accessories that can extend the price up to $ 373. Guests are encouraged to be disguised, and universal trips will be operational throughout the night.
Fan Fest Nights will follow the Horror Nights formula, that is, it will present original emerging attractions with the theme “Star Trek”, “Dungoons & Dragons” and “Back to the Future”, with other facilities focused on the anime “One Piece” and “Jujutsu Kaisen” and limited time experiences splashed into their lands of thematic parks. There will be interactions of characters: “Wicked's” Elphaba and Glinda, for example, but Fan Fest Nights, which is launched on April 25 and extends on nights selected until May 18, gives a premium to the immersive theater offers that present guests that follow and interact with the actors.
“One of the things that makes these experiences really special is the exploratory nature of them,” says Stephen Siercks, senior entertainment director at Universal Studios Hollywood and executive producer of Fan Fest Nights. “It's a bit of an adventure of choosing on the way.”
Stephen Siercks, a key creator of Fan Fest of Universal Studios, says the project has been in process for about three years. Here, it is in the midst of an experience with the theme “Dungoons & Dragons”.
(Amanda Villegas / for times)
“Star Trek: Red Alert” takes place in the era of the “Star Trek: Picard” series and the attraction of travel will transport the guests to the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, the story that the ship is docked in a museum. Things, of course, go wrong. “Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep” will take participants in a mini quests focused on a dragon staff and a middle group puzzle. “Back to the Future: Destination Hill Valley” will use Universal Filming locations to create a festive sensation, one that will feature a dance party and multiple actors so that the attendees follow the branching stories.
In an exit of Halloween horror nights, the “Star Trek” and “Dungoons & Dragons” areas last for about 12 minutes, each with multiple rooms where the actors will act and interact with the guests. Participants are going through small groups, which Universal describes as “pulsing” visitors from space to space. On the contrary, a harsh harsh labyrinth only a couple of minutes and presents an engraved dialogue. The idea is to create a more interactive sensation inspired by the theater that gives participants a longer time not only to live in the worlds of properties, but also allow each show to feel slightly different.
“It was important for us to be able to develop stories and really develop characters and environments,” says Siercks.
Siercks says that Fan Fest has been in development for about three years. While universal has no shortage of historical science fiction franchises: “Et el alierarestre” comes to mind, especially because once he boasted from his own trip in the theme park: the Fan Fest studio was associated with a wall and Hasbro to bring franchises that have been most active recently in the transmission or in the thinkers. Only with “Back to the Future” took advantage of Universal in his catalog to the Bank about the sentimentality of the audience.
“Hill Valley,” says Siercks, referring to the fictitious city of “Back to the Future”, will allow guests to get out of a tram and hang out in a work backlot. “They will experience Courthouse Square as it was in the movie 'Back to the Future'. That is very special for us, and one of the pillars of Fan Fest. We have created new types of characters experiences. You can follow your character chosen to allow the story to develop.”
“Star Trek” will take the guests of several rooms aboard the ship, including a Shuttle Bay equipped with a large LED screen, a sick bay and, of course, the bridge. After being cornered in an improvised ferry, one that will include some effects to rumble on the floor to simulate the sensation of movement, we will enter the bay of transfutor and witness that a mysterious spatial entity seems to take control of the ship. This will lead to panic among our tour guides and a variety of practical effects. Do not miss, for example, a food replicator in the Fritz, where holographic tea will not materialize correctly.
An experience of “Star Trek” will lead the guests through multiple locations aboard the USS Enterprise, including a sick bay.
(Amanda Villegas / for times)
Later, we will see that a warp core begins to destabilize, and our groups will seem separate. The company will continue to be interrupted by the entity, and about 10 actors will aim to keep visitors quiet while reaching the bottom of what is happening. The history climate in a bridge scene, one in which contact with the entity is made. We will not spoil the resolution, but the final scene will be a conveyor back to the earth. “We believe it will be a perfect moment,” says Siercks.
Fan Fest Nights in Universal Studios
“Dungoons & Dragons” is equally complex, and is focused on a story of a monster known as a “spectator”, a floating basin of a creature with a large central orb surrounded by smaller tentacle stems, which has stolen a very careless dragon staff. The latter here is represented through a large puppet created by Jim Henson's creatures store, and the travel experience will take us from the taverns to the alley of a market to the spectator's lair.
The actors will keep the participants from one room to another, joining the guests in their search. Siercks says that the team sought ways to inject interactivity, since certain history points can be activated, for example, a glass ball on a shelf, and the entrance to the spectator's sanctuary requires the resolution of a puzzle the size of a room. Creatures abound, as an imitation of change disguised as chest, and yes, of course, there will be a dragon, here seen as a projection.
A look at one of the rooms in an experience with the theme of “Dungoons & Dragons” as part of the universal fans fans nights.
(Amanda Villegas / for times)
Siercks has been with Universal for about 20 years, and says that Fan Fest allows him to explore his love for theater. “I have experience in theater and production design, so I came from the theater and very early I could experience thematic entertainment and I haven't looked back since then,” he says. “Being able to develop experiences on this scale and create experiences that leave our guests to the environment, is the best of both worlds. It is a very theatrical experience.”
Stephen Siercks says that Fan Fest of Universal Studios's nights allow him to explore his love for theater.
(Amanda Villegas / for times)
In another part of the fan fest, “One Piece” will be held with characters meetings, photo opportunities and some light games, while a short film of “Jujutsu Kaisen”, “Hunger of the cursed”, will be shown at the Dreamworks Theater. The latter was originally developed for Universal Studios Japan. The Park's Super Nintendo World will welcome the arrival of Yoshi as a meeting of characters, and its section “Harry Potter” will feature new creatures, be attentive to a baby dragon and a projection show in Hogwart Castle.
However, the underlying nucleus of Fan Fest will transform Universal Studios Hollywood, a park initially built on cinematographic properties around a work study, in a stage. And in the case of “Star Trek”, “Dungoons & Dragons” and “Back to the Future”, we are invited to have a leading role.
