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Universal Studios Florida
Orlando, FL
NBC Universal / Comcast
---- THE LATEST BUZZ ----
(9/7/2025) Rockit Coaster Demolition Update
(8/20/2025) Hollywood RipRide Rockit Now Being Cut To Pieces
(8/19/2025) Demolition Work Begins on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
(8/17/2025) Your Last Day To Ride the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
(8/6/2025) Revenge of the Mummy Refurbishment
(7/17/2025) Bridge Construction and Men In Black
Ride Rehabs - These dates are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as refurbishments are subject to change.
Hogwarts Express - Sept. 15 through Sept. 19
**Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Closed Forever on August 18**
Wizarding World of Harry Potter - DIAGON ALLEY Review!
Screamscape Previews Diagon Alley!! We’ve Got All The Details!
Screamscape Review Part II: Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
Screamscape Review Part III: The Hogwarts Express!
Other Features & Reviews
Volcano Bay (2017)
Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s (2017)
Fast & Furious - Supercharged - Offical Review (2018)
 General Park News - (8/17/2025) Just a reminder that today is your last day to ride the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida. After today the infamous coaster will be closed forever tomorrow and demolition will likely begin before too long, based on the fact that Universal has already been tearing up the ground in the front (Citywalk) side as well as backstage side of things behind the Race Through New York attraction at the rear of the park.
In what may have been a fitting send off for some riders, apparently a train got stuck near the top of the vertical lift hill on Friday night for about 10 minutes. In a nutshell, this is just one of the many reasons that Universal has decided to retire this coaster for good and I can’t wait to see what they have in store to replace it with.
(Note: the video clip below is NOT of the incident on Friday, but is a fitting re-creation of what has happened far too often over the years.)
(8/6/2025) A quick heads up, but Universal Studios Florida has confirmed that Revenge of the Mummy will be closed from August 11 to August 13th for a brief refurbishment.
(7/17/2025) Just a heads up for anyone visiting Universal Studios Florida in the near future. The bridge shortcut over the central lagoon from runs from the Simpsons area over towards Diagon Alley (bypassing Men In Black) is currently closed and appears to be getting a full refurbishment of the wooden floor panels. So take the extra time to go the long way and give Men In Black some love along the way, you won’t regret it.
Honestly, I’ve always been surprised that none of the other Universal parks around the world have ever bothered to build a clone of it. I was told once that Universal Studios Japan had taken a long serious look at doing it back shortly after the Florida one opened but instead the park opted to build a copy of the Adventures of Spider-Man in 2004 followed by the Hollywood Dream coaster in 2007, then turned their ET attraction into Space Fantasy - The Ride for 2010. By then they has lost interest in anything Men In Black themed as the film franchise had essentially appeared to dry-up and have nothing more to offer following the first two films’ releases in 1997 and 2002 and the third film wasn’t released until 2012 and by then the Japanese theme park was in full construction mode for their Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The attraction concept was apparently looked at again for the unrealized Universal Studios Dubailand that was hoped to open in 2010. Concept art for the unbuilt park instead placed a Men In Black theme on what appeared to be a copy of Universal Orlando’s Incredible Hulk coaster, but a second attraction in the New York area of the park was rumored to potentially be themed to Ghostbusters and was thought that it would use a similar ride system as Men In Black: Alien Attack.
2025 - Nothing is expected at this time...
2027? - Remove / Replace Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rock-It - (9/7/2025) The demolition of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster continues. Check out the video below to see the latest demolition updates.
(8/20/2025) While demolition work was taking place all around the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster yesterday, we can now confirm that the crews have begun ripping and tearing apart the coaster itself as of today.
(8/19/2025) Universal Orlando didn’t waste any time, as demolition machines are already on site within the structure of the front half of the coaster, ready to tear it apart. Meanwhile a large crane has also been set up along the back-half of the ride where they will have to be a bit more careful, taking it apart in carefully cut sections due to the proximity of the nearby buildings and soundstages.
(7/5/2025) For those wondering how the clearing is going over at Universal Studios Florida as prep for the new attraction to replace the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster, enjoy a few aerial images posted by Bioreconstruct on X/Twitter this past week. As you can see the clearing of the front area has now extended out into the main Citywalk pathway, explaining the need for a new pathway to be build to allow access from the park to the Hard Rock Cafe. Meanwhile on the backside of the layout you can also see the wall now in place around the clearing starting between the final soundstage and the aerial track for the Hogwarts Express.
(6/18/2025) In addition to all the clearing take place in the front half of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit by Citywalk, clearing has also begun backside behind the rear half of the coaster, clearing out some of the empty space and a parking lot where new building structures are planned to be installed for the new attraction.
(6/15/2025) We talked a bit yesterday about construction walls that have appeared at the back end of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster, and now aerial photos from Bioreconstruct show that clearing is now take place at the front end of the layout as well. The former green space built around a winding pathway from Citywalk to the former Blue Man Group theater building is now being completely cleared out which seems to indicate that this property may be repurposed for either the replacement coaster attraction, or given the proximity to Citywalk, perhaps Universal may reclaim some of this front section possibly for something new in Citywalk instead that could fit between Hard Rock and the exit of Universal Studios Florida.
(6/14/2025) In a curious development, ahead of the planned closure and removal of the Hollywood Rip, Ride Rockit roller coaster in late August, green construction walls have been set up around the old “firehouse” building at the back end of the coaster’s layout (where it runs through the building facade itself).
It isn’t just the green walls though that caught everyone’s attention, but instead it is some interesting decor that has been added to the walls. In particular a sign from the “Historic Preservation Act Save New Yorks Treasure” that describes the location project as a “Restoration of the Historic Engine 89 Firehouse”.
Now while this may be a simple bit of fun theming added to the wall, if we want to get into the true history of this particular structure, then Universal Orlando fans may recall that this particular Engine 89 firehouse facade (see photo here) served as the entrance to an original Universal Studios Florida attraction that has been long gone. When the park opened in 1990, this was the Ghostbusters Spooktacular attraction, which featured a live performance on a unique special effects stage that brought the action of the Ghostbusters films to life.
Through some leaked advanced planning permits filed by Universal, we already know that the replacement in the works for the Hollywood Rip, Ride Rockit not only will take up the footprint of the old coaster, but appears to also take up space behind the scenes (behind the firehouse essentially) where it looked like they may build some kind of new show-building for the new attraction, as well as a two 2-story building about where the firehouse sits now. So while the new attraction is likely going to be a new roller coaster, it also appears that it will feature some kind of indoor section as well.
So of course, as the internet tends to do, everyone is starting to wonder if 2+2=4 in this case… in other words, could the replacement roller coaster actually be Ghostbusters themed? I have to admit, the concept of an Ecto-1 themed roller coaster train is an appealing one, though a wild outdoor roller coaster experience does seem like an odd-fit for a ‘spooky’ themed IP. But with a creative storyline, anything is possible, so stay tuned.
(6/3/2025) The Hollywood Rip, Ride Rockit coaster at Universal Orlando will be closing a little earlier than expected. The previously announced “Early September” closing timeline has now been updated to close the ride on August 18th.
So for any of you planning trips for the opening weekend of Halloween Horror Nights and hoping to also catch your last ride on the coaster… unfortunately you are going to be too late.
???? - Remove/ Replace former Fear Factor Live Venue - Speculation - (1/14/2024) Screamscape sources tell us to keep an eye on the former Fear Factor Live show venue at Universal Studios Florida. Over the years the venue has been closed and rumored for demolition a few times, only for plans to change and the replacement project to get dropped. Now that time has come again, and Screamscape has been told we could see demolition of the arena begin in March or April of this year to clear the site for something new.
Of course, you want to know about what is coming… but for the time being I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I may have dropped a hint however a few weeks back… but otherwise stay tuned, as once signs of activity in the park begin I should be able to share more. Just don’t expect for it to tie into the IPs of the attractions on either side of it. This will be something entirely new for Universal Orlando.
???? - Redevelop Simpsons Area - Speculation - (7/25/22) An article posted to CinemaBlend speculates that Universal may be willing to give up on their rights to use the Simpsons characters in the theme parks at the end of the current contract. IP contracts typically will be drawn up for an initial 10-year term with terms pre-set for two more 10-year extensions. The Simpsons attraction opened in 2008, so if the typical term-timelines were used, Universal would be approaching the end of the 20th year sometime between late 2027 and 2028.
At that point they would have to renew for another decade or opt to let the contract expire and release the Simpsons from the parks. It is worth mentioning that prior to this Universal Creative would be neck-deep in finishing up their new Epic Universe theme park slated to open in 2025, but this would give them enough time to come up with a new replacement idea for Simpsons at the Universal parks in Hollywood and Orlando if need be.
While the Simpsons rides still draw a crowd, I don’t think it ever drew in quite the crowd levels that the attraction building did when it was first opened as Back to the Future: The Ride. However, even if the ride itself is just a mild draw, Universal has invested heavily in offering Simpsons themed restaurant experiences and merchandise shops that probably do generate a healthy profit for the parks currently. So the final decision will likely come down to how much profit Universal is actually making compared to the money they would spend to extend the IP license for another 10 year term.
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