Universal Studios Hollywood announced the long-rumored Fast & Furious roller coaster, and construction is officially underway. This post shares details & opening timeframe revealed by USH, along predictions for soft openings & previews of the new thrill ride, our commentary, and more.
The first-ever, high-speed outdoor roller coaster at USH, “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” will join the theme park family in Summer 2026. The dynamic new thrill ride will elevate the guest experience with innovative and technological achievements never previously employed in a roller coaster.
The Fast & Furious saga will serve as the vehicle for this groundbreaking roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood. For more than twenty years, the franchise has stoked passion in an ever-expanding audience and has earned more than $7 billion at the worldwide box office, Universal Pictures’ record-smashing Fast & Furious films have become the studio’s biggest and longest-running franchise. It’s a fan favorite, and Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is expected to continue that legacy.
This innovative roller coaster will take guests on an adventure, unlike anything ever encountered before. Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will feature groundbreaking 360-degree rotation of the individual ride vehicles as they rocket guests up to 72 MPH, making it the fastest roller coaster in Universal history. The coaster will feature 4,100 feet of elaborate track, meticulously constructed with sound reduction technology for a breathtaking experience.
The fully rotational ride vehicles will create a seamless sensation of drifting cars as guests spin in motion at furiously fast speeds while being catapulted along an aerial track that winds its way over sections of the theme park, including the multi-level escalator that connects the Upper and Lower Lots.
Here are the latest updates on Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift:
In March 2026, USH unveiled the remaining three ride vehicles joining the previously announced Dodge Charger that will comprise each of the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift trains as the theme park puts on final touches for this innovative, first-ever high-speed outdoor roller coaster.
When it opens in Summer 2026, the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift ride will offer guests a chance to step into one of the four ride vehicles, modeled after the cars driven by some of their favorite Fast & Furious characters in the film series, to experience the energy and thrill of the films’ street racing for themselves.
Within the load platform, the ride vehicles will be set against an original large-scale mural created by world-renowned artist Tristan Eaton. The freehand, spray-painted mural will be splashed across an interior brick wall and will depict the finale street racing scene in the original film with a montage of the aerial-bound Dodge Charger and Toyota Supra vehicles racing against a speeding train. Included within this mural is a homage to Vin Diesel’s character Dominic Toretto.
Here’s a look at the design inspirations for the four Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift ride vehicles:
Dodge Charger. This iconic ride vehicle is inspired by Dominic Toretto’s signature car featured throughout the film franchise. With its sleek black frame, this souped-up, 900-horsepower, 1970 Dodge Charger is considered the ultimate American muscle car.
Mazda RX-7. This ride vehicle is inspired by the 1997 model car driven by Han Seoul-oh. Featuring 19-inch wheels, racing seats, upgraded suspension and custom interior detailing, the Mazda RX-7 is considered one of the most iconic cars in the Fast & Furious film franchise.
Nissan Skyline GT-R. This ride vehicle is inspired by Brian O’Conner’s 2002 blue Nissan Skyline GT-R which was enhanced with extensive performance and styling modifications and is renowned for its unique appearance.
Toyota Supra. This ride vehicle is inspired by Brian O’Conner’s orange 1994 car featuring the legendary 2JZ-GTE twin-turbo inline-six engine. O’Conner owed Toretto a “10-second car,” and this one more than delivered on that promise. It is recognized as one of the most memorable cars in the film franchise.
Universal Studios Hollywood has been doing test runs for the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift over the last several months. They started last October, and have since begun full-speed testing with drifting. Here’s a look at test photos courtesy of USH:
Universal is concealing the design of the coaster’s trains with car camo (a clever touch!), which will feature a Dodge Charger-inspired look (see below).
As noted above, Universal Studios Hollywood has announced that Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will open in Summer 2026. Our expectation is that it opens earlier in the summer season as opposed to later. Some fans on social media expect it to debut much, much sooner than that. Admittedly, we were surprised that the ride wasn’t opening in the winter or spring, it has been slow going since test & adjust started.
One thing to note here is that roller coasters tend to take longer at this stage than expected, so even though it looks like Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift could open any day now, that probably isn’t going to happen. There’s lots of ride envelope and safety testing, and that could easily take another few months from this point.
Our expectation is that Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift drafts off the precedent set by Super Nintendo World. That would mean soft openings and Annual Passholder previews in late spring, followed by an official opening by Memorial Day 2026. Having Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift open for the start of summer tourist season would be a needed attendance boost for USH.
Here are previous updates on Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift…
“Watching the progress of this incredible roller coaster come to life is truly spectacular,” said Scott Strobl, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Universal Studios Hollywood. “2026 is just around the corner and we are equally as excited as our guests to introduce such an inspiring new ride to our theme park portfolio.”
“‘Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift’ will be a powerful game changer for Universal Studios Hollywood that will not only transform the topography of our destination but will infuse an entirely new level of adrenaline to our already dynamic theme park. We look forward to riding it ourselves and to welcoming guests to experience it in the very near future.”
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will be located on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood. Guests will queue up within an expansive garage-like structure before settling into one of four ride vehicles, designed to look like the iconic cars from the films. The ride vehicle modeled after Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger is currently on display at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The groundbreaking Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will benefit from Universal Creative’s decades-long expertise in revolutionizing the development of the contemporary roller coaster across its global theme park destinations. Given what they just did with Stardust Racers at Epic Universe (my favorite roller coaster ever) and Jurassic World VelociCoaster at Universal Studios Florida, I’m really curious to see how Universal Creative tops themselves with Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift!
Below is the video trailer released by Universal showing off the ride vehicles and track for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift. It looks awesome.
The new Fast & Furious ride will join Universal Studios Hollywood’s slate of attractions, including the new Super Nintendo World, featuring the critically-acclaimed Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride. There’s also the Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash, which is on par with the best Disney dark rides from the last decade.
Other relatively-recent additions include the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, featuring Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff rides; Jurassic World—The Ride; Despicable Me Minion Mayhem; Springfield U.S.A. and The Simpsons Ride. As we’ve mentioned elsewhere, Universal Studios Hollywood has radically transformed and expanded since we first got our APs a decade ago.
That’s all in addition to Universal Studios Hollywood’s signature, behind-the-scenes Studio Tour. Since 1964, the Studio Tour has offered guests a front row seat to filmmaking magic on an authentic movie and television production studio backlot for an exclusive peek at original film sets.
A lot has slowly trickled out for the year-plus that a Fast & Furious roller coaster has been rumored for USH. Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is expected to be an Intamin spinning model, with the ride vehicles being able to “drift” with motion and rotation fitting the Fast & Furious theme and exaggerating the motion of the ride.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will be the first outdoor roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood, which is both a theme park and an active studio where film production occurs. It’s also perched on a hillside and has neighbors. All of this means that aggressive noise dampening and mitigation measures will be needed, and strategic rotation to direct screams into walls (or whatever) might be necessary.
Already, Universal Studios Hollywood has been conducting noise tests, so clearly this issue is top of mind. Because of this, it’s also likely that the drift effect will also utilize controlled movement that is necessary to minimize noise. It’s also possible that testing & adjusting of the coaster will take longer than normal, as Universal makes tweaks to muffle sound to the greatest extent possible. Speaking of which, let’s talk specific opening timeframes for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift…
To make way for Hollywood Drift, the Fast & Furious – Supercharged segment of the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood has permanently closed. As we’ve been saying for years, this is one of the worst theme park experiences anywhere, ever. We were absolutely shocked when it was cloned to Orlando, and remain convinced that the Comcast executives that greenlit that terrible decision never saw the Studio Tour version.
It does have a slight campy quality and has developed a minor cult following in the last few years, but those fans are misguided. Fast & Furious – Supercharged is not so bad it’s good. It’s just plain bad. The Fast & Furious film franchise is much better suited with a thrill ride than anything with any semblance of story or narrative. Just exhilaration, excitement, and crazy car vibes.
Universal Studios Hollywood has not yet announced what will replace it, but literally anything would be better than the Fast & Furious – Supercharged segment in the Studio Tour. That includes absolutely nothing at all, just a tunnel of darkness and sorrow. Good riddance.
In terms of commentary, the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster sounds fantastic to us. This will likely be a great thrill ride, and Universal has proven in recent years with VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure that they can do unique coasters like this really well.
Between its location and layout, this Fast & Furious roller coaster looks like it could be even better than those recent additions to Universal Orlando. It should be absolutely awesome, and offer some insane valley views–including the surrounding studios. It’ll be the best coaster addition to Southern California in a long time, at least until Knott’s Berry Farm finally gets its act together and confirms the long-rumored (but repeatedly debunked) Giga Coaster rumors.
The bottom line is that it’s tough to be disappointed by a new roller coaster coming to Universal Studios Hollywood. The park has been on a roll lately, and it appears that trend will continue with the Fast & Furious roller coaster. I’m personally really looking forward to riding it.
With that said, Universal Creative has also proven that they can do family-friendly attractions really well. Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash is an underrated masterpiece, and proof-positive that elaborate Audio Animatronics-driven rides still can resonate with today’s audiences.
Not just that, but that dark rides can be built in tight spaces, on efficient turnaround times and with relatively limited budgets (just not by Disney). Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge is hardly low-budget or underrated, but it’s another example of Universal pushing the envelope and delivering something ambitious for the whole family.
Honestly, I want to see more of that from Universal. For one thing, I think it’s what Universal Studios Hollywood truly needs. The park just added a big draw for families, but otherwise doesn’t have a ton for kids to do. It also doesn’t have much for older guests or those with motion sickness; as we’ve mentioned, Sarah can only do a handful of rides at USH, and even fewer now that she’s pregnant. While I don’t think every new addition needs to cater to my preferences, I am a bit surprised that Universal isn’t adding more for all-ages.
For another thing, great roller coasters can be done by just about any regional amusement park in the United States, but there are only a handful of theme park operators that can do dark rides well. Other than Imagineering, it’s pretty much just Universal Creative able to execute on that level and with the same polish and attention to detail. With very little on the horizon in the U.S. parks for Imagineering, I’ve been hoping that Universal Creative would fill the void, innovating and pushing the industry forward. I still think that’ll be the case to some degree, but wish they’d bet bigger on elaborate family-friendly attractions.
If you’re preparing for a Southern California vacation, check out our other planning posts, including our exhaustive Guide to Universal Studios Hollywood. Need advice for LA? Read our Ultimate Los Angeles, California Planning Guide. Visiting other SoCal theme parks? Consult our comprehensive Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide and Knott’s Berry Farm Planning Guide.
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think about the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster coming to Universal Studios Hollywood? Expecting it’ll be the West Coast’s “answer” to VelociCoaster or Stardust Racers? Excited for a thrill ride, or wish it were something more family-friendly or accessible for all ages? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!