Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift to Open on September 16
Universal Studios Hollywood has announced that Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will open on Wednesday, September 16, 2026. The theme park says that its first outdoor, high-speed roller coaster “will deliver an unprecedented surge of adrenaline and a new level of intensity to the destination, unlike anything experienced in the park’s decades‑long history.
With its striking visual design and state-of-the-art ride technology, this all-new roller coaster will be the fastest in the Universal Destinations & Experiences portfolio. Universal Studios Hollywood has released a new video announcing the date.
Universal Pictures’ $7 billion Fast & Furious franchise, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, serves as the driving force behind Universal Studios Hollywood’s new roller coaster. With speed, adrenaline and street racing at its core, the 11-film franchise is a natural fit for a coaster at a theme park where movie‑themed attractions already take center stage. An all-new film in the saga, Fast Forever, will race into theatres in March 2028.
The ride celebrates the Fast & Furious franchise and captures the spectacle, suspense, and meticulous choreography created for the edge-of-your-seat driving sequences the films are renowned for, offering guests a chance to experience the energy and thrill of high-speed action for themselves.
Located on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood, Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is housed in an expansive, red-brick, garage-like structure. Two stationary photo-op prop car reproductions welcome guests just outside the ride as they make their way through the entry archway towards the queue.
In a technological first, a portion of the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift ride track will race through a transparent, enclosed section of the queue, building anticipation as guests wait to ride.
A unique dual-launching, split-ride track will alternate trains from dispatch to propel guests on an epic adventure that will take them over and under portions of the multilevel Starway escalator, through four spectacular launches, an exciting inverted dive loop, twisted pretzel loop and inverted stall, among others, at speeds of up to 72 MPH and a force of up to 3.6 Gs along 4,100 feet of elaborate aerial track constructed with sound-reduction technology while drifting at 360-degrees in their individual ride vehicles.
Thrill seekers will begin their journey lap-bar harnessed into one of four iconic Fast Saga ride vehicles—the Dodge Charger, Mazda RX-7, Nissan Skyline GT-R and the Toyota Supra—each modeled after the cars driven by favorite Fast characters in the film series.
The arrival platform will be anchored by an all-original, large-scale mural created by world-renowned artist Tristan Eaton, which depicts the finale street racing action scene in the very first Fast film, 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, with a montage of the aerial-bound Dodge Charger and Toyota Supra vehicles racing against a speeding train. Another inspirational Tristan Eaton mural will be featured within the queue in tribute to the entire film franchise.
Equipped with a fully independent audio system, each ride vehicle will surround guests with true‑to‑type engine and sound effects unique to the car they are riding in. And, because each ride vehicle is fully rotational and independently programmed to drift in motion along each train, guests can enjoy four varying experiences depending on which vehicle they are seated.
With real estate at a premium at the Hollywood theme park destination, the visionaries at Universal Creative had the foresight to transform the hillside terrain into the backbone of the coaster, using its natural contours and vista as both the structural base and a defining element of the ride’s imaginative design. The end result delivers breathtaking panoramic views of the San Fernando Valley, the Universal Studios movie studio, and the theme park.
Designed to advance the storyline while keeping guests entertained, the queue guides guests through an environment filled with recreated props from the Fast Saga films. Select displays will feature QR codes that guests can scan for additional behind‑the‑scenes insights and context.
The QR code opens to Universal Studios’ fan engagement site, the “Backlot Club.” From there, guests can either create a new account or log in to their existing account to enjoy the behind-the-scenes information as it pertains to the various displays.
Due to the dynamics of the roller coaster, guests will be required to place all belongings in complimentary lockers, located within the queue area. They will also be required to pass through metal detection before entering the ride platform to ensure that all loose articles, including mobile phones, are placed securely in the lockers.
