Fast & Furious Roller Coaster Finally Revs Up for September Opening at Universal Studios

Southern California’s newest rollercoaster Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is set to open at Universal Studios Hollywood — finally — on Sept. 16. “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,” according to Universal’s official description. Originally scheduled to open this summer, the technologically ambitious coaster has been beset by technical hurdles (with the attraction going down after testing had begun) and local controversy, as homeowners in the neighboring, affluent Toluca Lake have complained about the noise from the coaster impacting their lives. In response to the hubbub, Universal pledged to put up even more sound-blocking barriers, even after it went to great lengths to make the coaster as quiet as possible. They also said that the coaster would cease operation earlier in the day, even during the Halloween Horror Nights after-hours events, which can stretch on until 1 a.m. The attraction opens as the “Fast & Furious” franchise celebrates its 25th anniversary, which included a recent re-release of the first film (and a commemorative home video release). A new film in the long-running saga, “Fast Forever,” has been dated for March 2028. And an East Coast version of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is scheduled to open at Universal Orlando Resort sometime in 2027. What makes the attraction so stunning in Hollywood is the way that it snakes around the side of the mountain, going up and over (and then under) the world-famous escalator that gets you around Universal Studios Hollywood. Universal describes it as “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.” Early reviews of the coaster put it at the top of the heap amongst Southern California coasters, with other standouts being Knotts Berry Farm’s Ghost Rider and Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Twisted Colossus. Ready to buckle up and ride Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift?