When “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” opens on Wednesday, September 16 at Universal Studios Hollywood, the theme park’s eagerly awaited first outdoor, high‑speed roller coaster will deliver an unprecedented surge of adrenaline and a new level of intensity to the destination, unlike anything experienced in the park’s decades‑long history.
With its striking visual design and state-of-the-art ride technology, this all-new roller coaster—the fastest in the Universal Destinations & Experiences portfolio—is set to redefine the thrill ride experience and further enrich Universal Studios Hollywood, renowned for creating world-class rides and attractions inspired by today’s most iconic entertainment properties.
Universal Pictures’ $7 billion Fast & Furious franchise, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, serves as the driving force behind Universal Studios Hollywood’s new, outdoor roller coaster, “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.” With speed, adrenaline and street racing at its core, the 11-film franchise is a natural fit for a coaster at a theme park where movie‑themed attractions already take center stage. An all-new film in the saga, Fast Forever, will race into theatres in March 2028.
The ride celebrates the Fast & Furious franchise and captures the spectacle, suspense and meticulous choreography created for the edge-of-your-seat driving sequences the films are renowned for, offering guests a chance to experience the energy and thrill of high-speed action for themselves.
Located on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood, “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” is situated within an expansive red brick-garage-like structure. Two stationary, photo op prop car reproductions welcome guests just outside the ride as they make their way through the entry archway towards the queue.
In a technological first, a portion of the “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” ride track will race through a transparent encased section of the queue, building on the anticipation as guests wait to ride.
A unique dual-launching, split-ride track will alternate trains from dispatch to propel guests on an epic adventure that will take them over and under portions of the multilevel Starway escalator, through four spectacular launches, an exciting inverted dive loop, twisted pretzel loop and inverted stall, among others, at speeds of up to 72 MPH and a force of up to 3.6 Gs along 4,100 feet of elaborate aerial track constructed with sound-reduction technology while drifting at 360-degrees in their individual ride vehicles.
Thrill seekers will begin their journey lap-bar harnessed into one of four iconic Fast Saga ride vehicles—the Dodge Charger, Mazda RX-7, Nissan Skyline GT-R and the Toyota Supra—each modeled after the cars driven by favorite Fast characters in the film series. The arrival platform will be anchored by an all-original, large-scale mural created by world-renowned artist Tristan Eaton, which depicts the finale street racing action scene in the very first Fast film, 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, with a montage of the aerial-bound Dodge Charger and Toyota Supra vehicles racing against a speeding train. Another inspirational Tristan Eaton mural will be featured within the queue in tribute to the entire film franchise.
Equipped with a fully independent audio system, each ride vehicle will surround guests with true‑to‑type engine and sound effects unique to the car they are riding in. And, because each ride vehicle is fully rotational and independently programmed to drift in motion along each train, guests can enjoy four varying experiences depending on which vehicle they are seated.
With real estate at a premium at the Hollywood theme park destination, the visionaries at Universal Creative had the foresight to transform the hillside terrain into the backbone of the coaster, using its natural contours and vista as both the structural base and a defining element of the ride’s imaginative design. The end result delivers breathtaking panoramic views of the San Fernando Valley, the Universal Studio movie studio and the theme park.
Designed to advance the storyline while keeping guests entertained, the queue guides guests through an environment filled with recreated props from the Fast Saga films. Select displays will feature QR codes that guests can scan for additional behind‑the‑scenes insights and context about the displays. The QR code opens to Universal Studios’ fan engagement site, the “Backlot Club.” From there guests can either create a new account or login to their existing account to enjoy the behind-the-scenes information as it pertains to the various displays.
Highlights of the props include:
- Car Cannon, featuring the car driven by Brian O’Conner in Fast & Furious 6
- Roll Cage and Winch, featuring the 2010 Dodge Charger SRT8, driven by Dom Toretto, in Fast 5
- Vault Truck, as featured in Fast 5
- Motorcycle, as featured in F9, driven by Letty Ortiz
- NOS System and Dodge Charger Engine, a recreation of the internal NOS operating system for the modified Fast & Furious ride vehicles in the films
- Ramp Car, driven by Owen Shaw in Fast & Furious 6
- Rolling Bomb, as featured in Fast X
- Rollover Stunt Rig, a recreation of the rollover stunt rigging system used in the Fast & Furious films
Due to the dynamics of the roller coaster, guests will be required to place all belongings in complimentary lockers, located within the queue area. They will also be required to pass through metal detection before entering the ride platform to ensure all loose articles, including mobile phones, among other items, are placed securely in the lockers.This ambitious roller coaster benefits from Universal Destinations & Experiences’ decades-long expertise in revolutionizing the development of contemporary roller coasters across its global theme parks.
“Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” joins Universal Studios Hollywood’s slate of unprecedented groundbreaking attractions, including the interactive land, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD™, featuring the critically-acclaimed “Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge” ride; “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™” highly immersive land that features Hogsmeade™ village, “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™” and “Flight of the Hippogriff™ rides; “Jurassic World—The Ride”; Illumination’s award-winning “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash” and “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem”; Springfield, U.S.A. and “The Simpsons Ride™”; “TRANSFORMERS™: The Ride-3D” and “Revenge of the Mummy—The Ride,” as well as the theme park’s signature, behind-the-scenes Studio Tour attraction.
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