{"id":858271,"date":"2026-09-23T22:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T22:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/858271\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T22:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T22:38:11","slug":"universal-guests-get-closer-look-at-fast-furious-coaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/858271\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal guests get closer look at Fast & Furious coaster"},"content":{"rendered":"

The skyline of Universal Orlando<\/a> continues to morph as work is done on Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift,<\/a> a roller coaster expected to join the lineup of Universal Studios Florida<\/a> theme park in 2027.<\/p>\n

Enthusiasts are getting a closer look at the project from a fresh angle in Universal CityWalk<\/a>. Construction walls have been rearranged, creating a walkway that goes directly underneath the distinctive sort of dea-end segment of the thrill ride. It\u2019s a good time to recap what is known about the coming attraction.<\/p>\n

\"ScenesUniversal Orlando visitors travel beneath the rail of the Hollywood Drift coaster set to open at Universal Studios Florida in 2027. (Dewayne Bevil\/Orlando Sentinel)
\nGoing up<\/p>\n

The change in foot-traffic flow lets folks traveling between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure look up at the new ride, and it\u2019s a bit of a crane of the neck. The \u201cvertical spike\u201d over the CityWalk sidewalk travels a twisted path up 170 feet, which Universal has called \u201cnearly 17 stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Its top speed is listed as 72 mph by Roller Coaster Database<\/a>. There will be no inversions. The rail has been completely in place since last month.<\/p>\n

Testing 1<\/p>\n

There have been sightings of pull-through testing along the rail project, which was announced in January.<\/p>\n

The finished product will have automobile-inspired cars \u2013 shout-outs to the \u201cFast & Furious\u201d movie franchise \u2013 that will spin along the rail.<\/p>\n

Inside look<\/p>\n

The new coaster expands on the footprint of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit<\/a>, which closed in August 2025 and was dismantled soon thereafter.<\/p>\n

The ride is wedged between CityWalk\u2019s Hard Rock Cafe and the entrance of the theme park. Unlike Rockit\u2019s course, the loading platform will be in the back of the park \u2013 beyond the Racing Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon ride.<\/p>\n

Some construction walls near Music Plaza have been removed, giving a clearer look at the coaster path, which skirts across the top of the stage. The faux grassy area currently is filled with stanchions set up for the park\u2019s Halloween Horror Nights<\/a> event.<\/p>\n

Hollywood Drift\u2019s visual drama will be out the front, with the stretch that goes over the CityWalk sidewalk, well beyond the path that Rockit took.<\/p>\n

Western way<\/p>\n

Universal Studios Hollywood<\/a> theme park recently opened its own coaster named Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift. Although some outlets call them identical rides, it would be more accurate to say similar but different. The California ride, which officially debuted Sept. 16, has three inversions. Orlando\u2019s FFHD has none.<\/p>\n

\"ScenesConstruction of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster as seen from the far side of Universal CityWalk. (Dewayne Bevil\/Orlando Sentinel)
\nWhat else<\/p>\n

On the other side of the CityWalk lagoon is construction for Category 10<\/a>, an entertainment venue tied to country singer Luke Combs. It\u2019s multilevel waterfront property near Margaritaville Orlando<\/a> restaurant.<\/p>\n

Hollywood Drift is one of two coasters currently under construction in Central Florida. Disney\u2019s Hollywood Studios<\/a> is building an indoor coaster, themed to \u201cMonsters, Inc.\u201d<\/a> in its planned Monstropolis land.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, among the coasters expected to open in 2027 are Miner\u2019s Mountain Express at Silver Dollar City<\/a> in Missouri, Cannonball at Holiday World<\/a> in Indiana and Bakunawa at Six Flags Great Adventure<\/a> in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The skyline of Universal Orlando continues to morph as work is done on Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":858272,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[28,1310,88,2808,2558,983,206,3,6011,13677,5262,230043,271955,362384,326950,52675,2628,6808,2427,48427],"class_list":["post-858271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-business","tag-disney-world","tag-entertainment","tag-florida","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-movies","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-social","tag-social-business","tag-social-entertainment","tag-social-theme-parks","tag-social-travel","tag-theme-parks","tag-things-to-do","tag-tourism","tag-travel","tag-universal-orlando"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/858272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}