Universal Studios Hollywood has announced that Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift opens to the public on September 16th. The park’s first high-speed outdoor roller coaster has been running soft openings since late July. Limited groups of guests have gotten early rides while testing continued behind the scenes. Universal Studios Florida is also building a Fast & Furious coaster, but that version remains under construction and is a separate project on a different timeline. Here’s the latest!
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Opening September 16th
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift opens to the public on September 16th
- The coaster spins riders through 360-degree rotations at speeds up to 72 mph
- Universal Studios Florida’s separate version of the ride remains under construction
Hollywood Drift Gets Its Opening Date
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift opens to the public at Universal Studios Hollywood on September 16th. The coaster is the park’s first high-speed outdoor roller coaster. Each ride vehicle rotates a full 360 degrees, creating the sensation of drifting cars in motion. Riders reach speeds up to 72 mph across the layout.
The announcement follows weeks of soft openings that began July 27th, as we reported when Hollywood Drift started its soft opening period.
What Riders Can Expect
Hollywood Drift’s track runs 4,100 feet. It winds through sections of the Upper and Lower Lots, passing near the Starway escalator that connects the two levels of the park. Four ride vehicles carry guests through the layout, each modeled after a car from the Fast & Furious film franchise. The lineup includes Dominic Toretto’s black 1970 Dodge Charger, Han Seoul-oh’s Mazda RX-7, Brian O’Conner’s blue Nissan Skyline GT-R, and Brian O’Conner’s orange Toyota Supra. Each vehicle carries custom detailing tied to its film counterpart, down to interior styling and onboard audio.
A red brick, garage-style structure on the Upper Lot houses the attraction. Universal Creative revealed the full ride vehicle lineup in March, as we reported when Hollywood Drift’s four vehicle designs were unveiled ahead of the coaster’s summer debut.
Construction Zooms Along in Florida
Universal Studios Florida is also building a Fast & Furious coaster. Universal first confirmed the Florida coaster in January, as we reported when Universal announced the Florida attraction and the closure of Fast & Furious: Supercharged. The Florida version is targeting a 2027 opening. It will include a 170-foot spike near the CityWalk lagoon, a feature unique to the Florida layout.
Track installation on the Florida coaster wrapped up earlier this month. Universal has not announced a specific 2027 date for the Universal Studios Florida version of the ride. While both attractions share a name and general concept, they are not identical rides.
Story So Far
- Universal confirmed the Florida version of Hollywood Drift and the closure of Fast & Furious: Supercharged, as we reported in January’s announcement.
- Universal Creative revealed the coaster’s four ride vehicle designs ahead of the Hollywood version’s summer debut, as detailed in March’s vehicle reveal coverage.
- Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift began soft openings at Universal Studios Hollywood on July 27th, as we reported at the time in our soft opening coverage.
- Track installation on the separate Florida version of the coaster was completed earlier this month, as we reported in our track installation update.
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