Universal Just Opened Their NEW Coaster, And People Have THOUGHTS!

Without any preamble or official announcement, Universal Studios Hollywood opened the long-anticipated Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster, and fans have begun FLOCKING to the park.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift

The ride soft opened a few days ago, even though it’s not set to officially open sometime in late summer 2026. The attraction has sparked noise complaints from residents who live and work around the park, but now that the ride is open for guests to experience, how are people really feeling about the new coaster? You may be surprised!

The new coaster is located on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood, and let’s just say, while it’s only been open a few days, it’s clear this ride is going to be POPULAR, and stay that way for quite some time. When we arrived at the park, there wasn’t an official wait time posted, as there was a “Technical Rehearsal” sign up instead, but Team Members we spoke to said the line was around 3 hours.

Technical Rehearsal sign

A technical rehearsal means that some elements of the ride may not be working yet, and the ride can close at any time. We do know that currently, there’s no music in each of the cars, except for the sounds the ride itself has, though it’s not clear if that’s because the sound just isn’t working yet, or if the cars won’t have music at all. We’re really crossing our fingers they will, as we feel that would add a lot to the experience, but it’s not looking likely.

Get ready for launch!

We’ve heard so many people say that this ride is like if Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in Disney World and VelociCoaster in Universal Islands of Adventure had a baby. It’s got incredible views, has powerful launches, and is overall extremely smooth. It certainly looks intense — perhaps not as much as VelociCoaster, but a step down, like if the Hulk ride was smoother.

People are really loving this ride!

While we didn’t think the ride itself is very loud, the screams from guests do echo, and we can imagine how they begin to get warped as they travel throughout the valley, hence resulting in some of the noise complaints that Universal has been dealing with. This ride is pretty short, sitting between 1 and 1.5 minutes, but people don’t seem to be bothered by that.

Look at them go!

Express and Single Rider are available for this attraction, and both were available on our visit, despite the ride not officially being open. It’s also important to note that you will go through a metal detector before riding, and you’ll need to place the majority of your belongings into lockers, similar to VelociCoaster.

Metal Detector

If you’ve got plans to come in and ride the attraction before it’s officially open, we recommend packing lots of patience and remembering that it is still possible for the ride to go down often, as it’s still in that technical rehearsal, and likely will be for a while. This ride is also currently on its way to Universal Studios Orlando, and we’ll be keeping a very close eye on construction as it continues, so stay tuned to DFB!

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Are you looking forward to riding this new coaster? Tell us in the comments!