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Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Races Into Universal Studios Hollywood September 16
Universal Studios Hollywood is ready to put the pedal to the metal. Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift officially opens Wednesday, September 16, bringing the park its first outdoor high-speed roller coaster and the fastest coaster anywhere in the Universal Destinations & Experiences portfolio.
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Inspired by Universal Pictures’ Fast & Furious franchise, the new coaster will send guests racing across 4,100 feet of track at speeds up to 72 mph while pulling forces of up to 3.6 Gs. The ride features four launches along with an inverted dive loop, twisted pretzel loop, inverted stall, and other high-speed elements woven into the hillside above Universal Studios Hollywood.
One of Hollywood Drift’s biggest tricks comes directly from the franchise’s street-racing roots. Each ride vehicle can rotate independently through 360 degrees, allowing riders to drift as the train races along the track. Universal says the independently programmed vehicles can create four different ride experiences depending on where guests are seated.
Riders will climb aboard vehicles modeled after four cars from the Fast Saga: the Dodge Charger, Mazda RX-7, Nissan Skyline GT-R, and Toyota Supra. Each vehicle also includes its own independent audio system with engine sounds and effects designed specifically for that car, adding another layer to the high-speed experience.
Even the queue is getting in on the action. The attraction is housed inside a massive red-brick garage-inspired structure on the Upper Lot, with two Fast & Furious prop car reproductions greeting guests outside. In a first for Universal, part of the coaster track will actually race through a transparent enclosed section of the queue, giving waiting guests a close-up look at the action before it is their turn to ride.
The queue will also feature recreated props from throughout the Fast Saga, including the Car Cannon from Fast & Furious 6, Dom Toretto’s 2010 Dodge Charger SRT8 roll cage and winch from Fast Five, the Fast Five vault truck, Letty Ortiz’s motorcycle from F9, a NOS system and Dodge Charger engine, Owen Shaw’s ramp car, the rolling bomb from Fast X, and a recreation of the rollover stunt rig used in the movies. Select displays will feature QR codes linking to Universal’s Backlot Club for additional behind-the-scenes details.
Artwork from Tristan Eaton will also celebrate the franchise throughout the attraction. A massive mural at the arrival platform recreates the famous finale of 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, featuring the Dodge Charger and Toyota Supra racing alongside a speeding train. Another mural inside the queue will pay tribute to the larger Fast & Furious saga.
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Universal Creative also took advantage of the Hollywood park’s famously challenging hillside terrain. Portions of Hollywood Drift will race above and below the multilevel Starway escalators while offering sweeping views of the San Fernando Valley, Universal’s working movie studio, and the theme park below.
Guests will need to travel light before getting behind the wheel. All loose articles, including phones, will be required to go into complimentary lockers inside the queue, and riders will pass through metal detection before entering the loading platform.
Planning to head west and put Hollywood Drift through its paces? Our partners at Get Away Today can help plan your Universal Studios Hollywood getaway so the only drifting you have to worry about is happening on the coaster.
