Upper Lot · Universal Studios Hollywood
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift
About this ride
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is Universal Studios Hollywood's first outdoor high-speed roller coaster, built by Intamin across the hillside separating the Upper and Lower Lots. The layout spans roughly 4,100 feet of track -- including a stretch that arcs over the Starway escalators -- and hits a top speed of 72 mph, the fastest coaster in the entire Universal Destinations & Experiences portfolio. Ride vehicles are styled after franchise cars (Dom's 1970 Dodge Charger, Han's Mazda RX-7, Brian's Nissan Skyline GT-R, Brian's Toyota Supra) and rotate independently through a full 360 degrees to simulate drifting while the train launches through multiple LSM boosts. The ride soft-opened July 27, 2026, and is currently running with intermittent operations ahead of its official Summer 2026 grand opening. Minimum height is 51 inches -- the highest requirement of any ride at the park.
Best time to ride
Rope drop this if it is running — new coasters suck up the entire park's morning capacity and waits will spike past 90 minutes by late morning on any busy day. During the soft-open / technical rehearsal window, check the Universal app the second you clear the gates; if the ride is down or not listed, pivot to Mario Kart or Mummy and loop back. Mid-afternoon showtimes (WaterWorld, etc.) can pull some pressure off the line, but do not count on that alone. Express Pass is the sane play on weekends.
Insider tips
- 51 inches is the strictest height requirement in the park — taller than Forbidden Journey and Revenge of the Mummy. Check kids at the measuring station before you burn a rope-drop slot walking over.
- Secure phones, glasses, and anything loose. Outdoor launches at 72 mph plus spinning cars are not forgiving of pockets left unzipped.
- Ride early, then re-ride later with Express if you have it — the first pass is for orientation, the second is when you actually feel what the spinning cars are doing.
- Watch the Starway angle from the queue or nearby overlooks if the coaster is cycling — the overhead pass is half the spectacle of being on it.
- Until the official grand opening is announced, treat availability as provisional. Technical rehearsals can mean late opens, early closes, or full-day downtime with no warning.
- If you are motion-sensitive but still want the coaster, know that the independent car rotation adds a second axis of movement on top of the inversions — this is more intense than a standard launched coaster of the same speed.
What to know before you ride
- High speed
- Spinning motion
- Outdoor launch coaster
- Multiple inversions
Motion Sickness Warning
Hollywood Drift combines multi-launch forces, inversions, and independently spinning cars. Guests who struggle with spinning coasters, free-spin rides, or aggressive launches should treat this as a high motion-sickness risk — more so than Revenge of the Mummy.
Good for
Sarah's Take
I don't do hype for hype's sake, so believe me when I say the spinning-vehicle-at-72-mph detail is the part that actually has my attention. Launch coasters are common. Launch coasters where the car also spins independently while you're at speed are not -- I can count the ones I've ridden anywhere in North America on one hand. It's currently running in soft-open, so operations are still a little inconsistent day to day, and Universal hasn't locked in the official grand-opening date yet. But the spec sheet is real and it's already running guests: 72 mph, full 360-degree spin, and a 51-inch cutoff that's the strictest in the park. If you clear the height and it's operating the day you're there, this is why you bought the ticket.
— Sarah "Screamscape" Jenkins, Universal & Coaster Specialist
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