My Experience at Universal Fan Fest Night

 


So, as you may or may not know, I’ve been getting into One Piece A LOT, recently. So when I found out Universal Studios was featuring One Piece as part of their fan fest nights, I KNEW I had to go check it out.

So me, my mom, my sister, their partners, Grandma, and our friend Carie, purchased tickets for May 2nd, and now that it’s over, I wanted to talk about it, and whether or not I recommend it for fellow One Piece Fans.



Immersion, Presentation, & Decoration

Right off the bat, Universal did a great job with decorating the One Piece area. It really did feel like I stepped into the One Piece world. The bounty posters, the Thousand Sunny water fountain, Sanji’s cafe, the podium where you could meet the Straw Hats, Universal actually put in the work to make a great experience for One Piece fans, and it was so great to witness.



The One Piece Grand Pirate Show

The main attraction was a live stunt show dressed up as a regular One Piece episode, and it was fantastic. It was action-packed, intense, and every character present got something to do. Luffy did some Gum-Gum attacks, Zoro broke out his three-sword style, Sanji put his leg on fire, Usopp shot a couple of stars. Even Chopper got his moments throughout the performance. The only other thing I wanted was to see Nami use the Clima Tact to bring some unexpected weather changes, but using it to beat up Marines is good enough for me. If you wanna go to Universal just to see this show alone, I cannot recommend it enough.



Characters

The other main reason I was so interested in going to this event was that the Straw Hats were actual meet and greet characters that you could stand in line to see, so naturally, I was gonna stand in line and tell my heroes how much their story has impacted my life. 

Truthfully, while I did want to see all of them, I was most interested in seeing Nami, because since I watched the show, I knew the quickest way to her heart. (I took $30 out of my bank account to give to her.)

When I got to stand in line to meet the Straw Hats, I was actually able to catch Nami before she left for the show she had to do. When I gave her the $30, she said she couldn’t take it because it wasn’t berries. That made sense (And is probably something I should’ve realized going into this), but she was still appreciative, and she gave me a hug, so I still count it as a win. And while we were standing in line, we got to talk to other fellow fans who were really nice, so while it did do a number on our feet, I say it was worth it.

Now, I don’t have video of that interaction, because Mom didn’t get it when she thought she did, but she did get a video about a few hours later, where I finally got to talk to Nami, Luffy, & Zoro, show them my swag, and give Luffy some of my food.





While I don’t really feel like I articulated myself the best, I wish I had talked to Zoro a bit more, and I should’ve gotten Chopper in the picture with us, it was still a fantastic experience, and these characters really have had a HUGE positive impact on my life.



Food

Now, if you watch the show, you know that Sanji makes the best food on the seven seas, but did that translate to reality? Honestly, I’d say yes.

The three entrees I got were Luffy’s meat on the bone, Luffy’s straw hat, and the Chopper Cupcake, and they were all very delicious in their own way.

  • Luffy’s Meat on the Bone: Very flavorful meat and rice. Was able to fill my belly instantly. (9/10)
  • Luffy’s Straw Hat: This was the dish I liked the least, but that doesn’t mean it was bad. The caramel part was probably my favorite. (8/10)
  • Chopper Cupcake: I’ve had a lot of delicious cupcakes in my time, but this one was probably one of the best. Not only did it taste great, but it actually looked like our favorite pirate doctor, and props for making the flavor of the frosting Chopper’s favorite food. (10/10)
  • One Piece Food Overall Score: 9/10, would order again.

Conclusion

All in all, while I may have had to deal with a few inconveniences, this was definitely worth the wait and the price. It has the characters we all fell in love with, the vibes we’ve come to expect, the food was delicious, and a clear attempt was made to honor the source material in the best way.

As a new One Piece fan, I had such a great time. I’ll definitely try to go back again at some point, and I recommend anyone interested to check it out. 

Well, I think that’ll do it for this blog post. I just wanted to make this to share this new experience with you guys, and give my recommendation. If this article made you want to check this place out for yourself, please let me know. With that said, thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next time. Bye!



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