Universal’s longest running and highest grossing franchise is getting its own roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood - finally. Although the Fast & Furious franchise has grossed over $7 Billion at the world-wide box office for the studio, the theme parks have had a rocky relationship with the property. Starting off originally with dancing cars in the backlot tour, then evolving to a 360 tunnel experience, and then somehow finding its way over to Universal Studios Florida despite overwhelming negative reactions, the experiences that Universal has delivered to us from the franchise has never been fast - but they definitely make you furious. (I guess Universal got it half right)

But finally, after over a decade of Slow & Disappointing attractions, Universal Studios Hollywood has finally announced a proper Fast attraction for the Furious franchise. Introducing Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift. Although details are scarce, not even the name of the coaster was officially announced, we do have a few official announcements and a plethora of fairly credible rumors and leaked concept art.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is a state-of-the-art coaster rumored to be manufactured by Intamin that will deliver VelociCoaster level thrills as it races along the hillside of the California based park. This roller coaster will sit in the space that was formerly occupied by the classic and long-standing animal actors theater and the Special Effects Show. Although Universal hasn’t given many official details other than guaranteeing that it will be state-of-the-art, there are several rumors that we know about. 

Firstly, as most modern coasters are, we believe that this will be a launched coaster. With a small plot of land available, a lift hill would be problematic and limiting, whereas launches provide near limitless possibilities for speed within a short distance and space. Furthered by the rumor that this will be fabricated by Intamin, the popular manufacturer known by the Universal fan community for VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure has been on a high for their very successful launched coaster designs. If they indeed are the manufacturers, that only furthers the validity of the launched coaster rumors.

Secondly, this coaster will have a controlled drift feature. Similar to rides like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, this coaster will have a motorized and controllable feature that will allow the ride vehicles to individually spin which will simulate the sensation of drifting in a car - hence the name Hollywood Drift. Although there have also been recent rumors saying that this feature will be cut out of the final coaster, we believe that this feature will most likely make it to final design considering the concept of this coaster hinges on this unique aspect.

And lastly, its ride path. The new Fast and Furious coaster is rumored to start its course on the upper lot of the park, travel alongside the hills down to the lower lot before being launched back up to the upper lot. We know this information from project permits that have been filed from Project 409, which is the internal code for this coaster project. The permits state “The project includes the load/unload building and an outdoor coaster that starts from upper lot and will descend toward the lower lot along the hillside in front of the fire station 51 and back up and loop around the Starway Escalator #1.”

AmusementInsider created this ride animation POV and approximation of the layout in NoLimits2.  

We want to remind everyone to take all of this information with a grain of salt. The only information that Universal has officially confirmed is that a Fast and Furious roller coaster will be coming to the park and that it will feature state-of-the-art ride technology. All other details are not set in stone and have not been confirmed by any official source. The concept art that we have has already been outdated as the project continues its development. With that being said, these rumors are a great way to get an idea of what the final realized attraction could look like. Take these rumors as a way to get excited for the attraction and to further your appetite for more announcements from Universal Studios Hollywood on the project. With that being said, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you can best stay up-to-date on the development of this project and others like it! 

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