Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Update -- Check Out the Current Coaster Construction on the Final Day of Fast & Furious: Supercharged

Just like any good Fast & Furious film, the franchise is moving to new heights at Universal Studios Hollywood. On the last day of Fast and Furious: Supercharged, let’s take a look at the current work on the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift construction has progressed significantly since our last update. The new Intamin multi-launch coaster coming to Universal Studios Hollywood is the park’s first major outdoor roller coaster, continuing an impressive string of additions to the studio park. Any thrill seeker that has visited USH has dreamed about a hillside coaster, and it’s amazing to see Universal enter a new era with this world class attraction. Set to feature rotating cars, similar to those found on EPCOT’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Hollywood Drift will take the high speed action of the film series to a whole new level.

Today is also the last day to experience Fast & Furious Supercharged aboard their world famous Studio Tour. The 3D, motion-based pitstop aboard the tour opened back in 2015. The attraction has received mostly neutral to negative reviews, with the park being criticized for its heavy use of screen based offerings. However, the park has since moved on to add some of the most exciting set based attractions in the industry, with Jurassic World: The Ride, Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash, and Mariokart: Bowser’s Challenge. When Hollywood Drift was first announced, park surveys asked guests about their opinions regarding Supercharged. So it came as no surprise when the park announced the closure last month. Now, if you happen to be a Supercharged superfan, Universal Studios Florida’s standalone version of the attraction is still open. With that being said, let’s take a look at the current progress on Hollywood Drift.

Walking straight towards the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Hollywood Drift’s warehouse themed station dominates the space formerly inhabited by the park’s SFX and Animal Actors shows.

While currently covered in black scrim, the brick themed finish can still be seen through the covering. Scaffolding still heavily decorates the large station, queue, and maintenance buildings on the park facing side. You are also able to see a lot of wiring work being done on the final turn into the station.

While hopping aboard the Studio Tour to say goodbye to Supercharged, we got a spectacular look at the attraction's current track work progress from the timeline. Hollywood Drift’s first and last third are essentially complete. The large stall towards the end of the ride was installed last week, marking the completion of one of the ride’s most thrilling points. Of course, the tour also offered gorgeous views of the coaster’s dive underneath the Starway, the first twisted corkscrew and hillside turns, and the current construction work on the attraction’s dive loop and lower lot launches.

A large soundwall is also being constructed near the coaster to help dampen noise pollution for filming on the active studio lot.

The Studio Tour also provided us with an amazing look at the attraction’s scale from the backlot. It’ll be incredible seeing muscle cars racing and rotating around the park’s scenic hillside come 2026. You’ll also get a better look at the finished themed brickwork on the backside of the show building.

Afterwards, we checked out construction from the Starway, which gave us closer views of the coaster’s twisted layout. I can’t help but imagine how incredible the views of both Hollywood Drift and the San Fernando Valley will be from the queue’s observation deck.

Hollywood Drift absolutely dominates the hillside now.

With the coaster starting on top of the hill, it’s impressive how little of it is seen from the Parisian Courtyard. The exposed brick can also be seen from this area.

While we still have to wait until 2026 to step aboard Fast and Furious: Hollywood Drift, we are in the homestretch of track installation. That means we will hopefully see testing begin on the attraction sometime later this summer or fall. Universal Studios Hollywood is expected to be next up to receive major additions after Epic Universe opens in May. With at least one resort hotel planned and numerous rumored new attractions and expansions on the horizon, Universal Studios Hollywood will be a park to watch over the next few years.

In 2028, Los Angeles is hosting the Summer Olympics. With NBCUniversal hosting coverage of the worldwide sports in the US, the backlot is set to be used as a base for coverage during the event. I’m sure the company will want the theme park in tip top shape with the inevitable influx of global exposure and tourism. I, for one, cannot wait for Hollywood Drift and what lies beyond.

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