Scooby Doo meets the Universal Monsters at Fan Fest

Ruh-Roh! There’s a mystery to be solved at Universal Studios.

After last year’s largely popular Back to the Future attraction, Universal Studios Fan Fest Nights has brought fans back to the backlot, this time dropping them off in Little Europe.

This year’s offering features the cast of Scooby Doo and the classic Universal Monsters. The Mystery Inc. gang is trying to solve the case of the Phantom Director, who has unleashed Frankenstein’s Monster, Frankenstein’s Bride, Dracula, and the Wolfman on the streets of Little Europe with the goal of derailing the backlot’s latest filming.

Each member of the Mystery Inc. gang is split up at separate stations, which are visited by the Universal Monsters throughout the night. Each monster also gets a solo moment across several stages and scenes.

Guests are encouraged to grab a Mystery Inc. manual to help collect and decipher clues that are scattered across each location. Clues are simple, albeit can be somewhat tedious.

Once the mystery is solved, then its off to the “Big Reveal,” which is a roughly 10-minute skit that runs every 10-15 minutes.

There are three food items offered at the Scooby Doo experience, including a 22 inch Universal Monster Hot Dog with pulled pork kale cabbage slaw, spicy pickles, fried garlic chips and white BBQ sauce ($39.99), A super Shaggy Sandwich with ham, turkey, beef, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and Ruffles potato chips ($19.99), and, of course Scooby Snacks ($9.99).

There is also a secret fifth monster on the backlot that is reserved for guests taking a VIP tour.

Overall, the experience is fun; a little corny, but perfectly in line with what you would expect from Scooby Doo.

There is also something to be said for horror fans of the amazing opportunity to walk around Little Europe, and feel the dust, dirt, and cobblestone that Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Elsa Lanchester once brought their characters to life on underneath their feet.

What I enjoyed most, however, was the pacing.

As much as I liked Back to the Future last year, I always felt like I was chasing it around Courthouse Square. And while, yes, you could talk and interact with each character, it was obvious they were rushed to hit each story beat within the roughly hour timeframe.

Scooby Doo + Universal Monsters never felt that way. Yes, the monsters all needed to be in certain places at certain times, but they still felt widley accessible. Scooby and the gang were always in their spots too, save for a few minutes to swap casts every 45 minutes.

Frankenstein, Bride, and Dracula all felt similar to their usual day operations portrayals (albeit potentially a bit more reserved), while Wolfman felt more akin to a Halloween Horror Nights scareactor. They all have had neon light fixtures added to their costumes (green, pink, red, and blue, respectively). While the coloring is tied into the plot of the experience, it also helped in locating each monster as the area they were currently in would be lit up accordingly.

Fans planning on visiting Fan Fest and – specifically – Scooby Doo + Universal Monsters should take into consideration that it takes a fair bit of time to get between the backlot experience and the main theme park. Also, the Big Reveal – while not mandatory - is treated as an exit, so guests should only go watch it when they are ready to move on to the other attractions.

Universal Studios Fan Fest Nights is running select nights through May 16. Tickets start at $74.