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Universal Studios Florida
Orlando, FL
NBC Universal / Comcast
---- THE LATEST BUZZ ----
(2/2/2026) Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift Construction Update
(1/25/2026) Design Thoughts About the new Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift Coaster
(1/19/2026) New Coaster Track Arrived For Universal Studios Florida Coaster Project
(1/18/2026) New Attraction Announcement Teaser and Another Incident Reported
(1/12/2026) A New Wizarding World Frozen Treat Hits Diagon Alley
(12/31/2025) Horror Make-Up Show Update
Ride Rehabs - These dates are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as refurbishments are subject to change.
Finnegan’s Bar & Grill - NOW CLOSED through to Winter 2026
Revenge of the Mummy - Jan. 27 through Feb. 2
Villain-Con Minion Blast - Feb. 5 (One Day)
Hogwarts Express - Feb. 9 through Feb. 23, 2026
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 - (1/18/2026) According to a report at MSN, a 70-year old woman was riding the Revenge of the Mummy attraction at Universal Studios Florida, but returned to the station in an unresponsive state back on November 25, 2025. According to the article, she later died at a hospital.
It’s a bit odd that this story went un-reported by the mainstream media at the time, especially since they were so focused on the death of the rider that took place at Epic Universe at Stardust Racers in September. Or perhaps that may be the reason… but regardless it seems this issue came to light as part of the quarterly reports issued by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that reports on all medical incidents that take place at the major Central Florida theme parks.
(1/12/2026) Universal Orlando has launched a new Harry Potter themed treat offering it seems. These can currently be found at the Eternelle’s Elixir of Refreshment at Universal Studios Florida’s Diagon Alley area. This was the stand where guests could commonly find Gillywater and buy the add-on flavor portions that would also turn it different colors.
Now they’ve added “Hogwarts House Ice Lollies” which are essentially a Hogwarts themed creamsicle… just with much more fancy flavors. They’ve got four different flavors, each themed to a Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw (Grape and Huckleberry), Hufflepuff (Pineapple and Milk Chocolate), Gryffindor (Peach & Strawberry) and Slytherin (Coconut & Matcha).
Late 2026/Early 2027 - Universal Horror Make-Up Show Update - Rumor - (12/31/2025) Digging a little deeper on the rumored temporary closure and update to the Horror Make-Up Show at Universal Studios Florida, Screamscape has an update on the new timeline. As we mentioned before, the January shut-down is now off the table, and instead the schedule for the refurbishment has been pushed back, leaving the show open until sometime in “late 2026” before they close to update the show.
Personally, I would like to think that the popularity of the Universal Monsters that now inhabit the Dark Universe portal over at Epic Universe may have had a little to do with this, perhaps inspiring Universal Creative to think a little bigger about what they can do to update the Horror Make-Up Show for the future. It’s also possible that perhaps they were inspired to bring in some new ideas themed to newer genre films as well, perhaps tapping into some of the creations from popular HHN partners, Blumhouse, to inhabit some of the new show as well.
Either way, I’m kind of hoping that the current Horror Make-Up may continue to run, at least through to the end of HHN 2026, before going under the knife for a potential reopening in 2027, unless they change their mind and want the new show up and running for HHN 2026… in which case we might lose the current show over the busy summer season instead. Stay tuned!
(12/29/2025) A rumor was floating around about a week ago claiming that Universal’s beloved Horror Make-Up Show would be shutting down on Jan. 5th, with the plan to launch an updated version of the show sometime later in 2026.
Nothing about a closure has been posted on the official Universal Orlando website yet and according to one source, the January closure is no longer on the schedule. They believe that while an update to the show is still being planned, it may instead happen sometime later in 2026. We’ll post an update when we find out more.
2027 - Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift - (2/2/2026) A huge assortment of construction images of the new Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster project at Universal Orlando have been assembled and posted to OTPZ this week showing off some detailed images of this massive project zone that stretches from CityWalk all the way to the backlot behind the soundstages. We’ve even got a look at the new building that is rising up next to the Hogwarts Express track that will house an enclosed portion of the ride experience.
(1/25/2026) As Screamscape confirmed on social media earlier this week, the official announcement from Universal Orlando was that the new coaster coming in 2027 would share the same name and theme as the one opening in Hollywood in a few months… Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift.
That said, this is NOT going to be the same roller coaster. It sounds like it will feature the same awesome looking Fast & Furious style souped-up car themed vehicles, able to spin 360º while they roll along the tracks to provide the riders with crazy new drift-like sensations. While Universal didn’t have very much at all to say about what the final experience will be like in Orlando, they did drop one very juicy tidbit… confirming that the Orlando version of Hollywood Drift would feature a 170-foot tall SPIKE track.
This small inclusion does add a lot of new dimensions to this ride, as the use of a spike track on a continuously moving layout means that this version will feature a switch-track or two to allow for it, and this also seems to imply that this version will likely use some kind of multi-launch / swing-launch system at some point in the ride. Since Universal already has put used a simple version of this concept on Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, I would only expect to see Universal up their game for something much bigger and more spectacular on Fast & Furious.
In fact… if readers may recall, back when Screamscape first leaked that the Hollywood park was first intending to build the first Hollywood Drift in California, we also had an exclusive piece of early concept artwork of the Hollywood ride. In this early concept of the attraction, the Hollywood version did in fact feature a rather unique and curved spike track of it’s own that showed the cars spinning as they soared up into that zero-g moment of weightlessness at the top. While this concept was dropped for the final layout that was built in Hollywood, I’m fully expecting that the new Orlando version is going to try and bring this concept to life for their own version, with Universal also climbing that the spike will be placed in the section of the ride that pops out over Citywalk near the Hard Rock Cafe.
I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us, but in the meantime, enjoy the old concept artwork from the Hollywood version of the attraction that was never realized, just to give you a little taste of what is to come.
Oh… one more very important thing. Universal Orlando did confirm that the current Fast & Furious Supercharged attraction will close forever in Spring 2027, likely just before the new coaster is ready to open. As the structure for Supercharged can be gutted to be damn near anything going forward, it would seem very clear that the next attraction to open at Universal Studios Florida will be a replacement for Supercharged. If they wanted to keep the same ride system, they could always offer guests a ride on the Wizarding World’s Knight Bus through London… they do have one sitting nearby right outside the Kings Cross station entrance after all. Or would you rather have something else entirely. So let those creative juices flow…
(1/19/2026) A late Christmas gift has arrived at Universal Orlando, as some pictures of track on site in a storage yard for the new roller coaster has been posted.
(1/18/2026) It looks like we might have an announcement date for the next big attraction coming to Universal Orlando. A teaser featuring a car odometer and a revving engine speeding up towards 70mph, with the date 01/20/26. Of course this just reeks of “Fast & Furious” style theming, so either they are trolling everyone, or perhaps the early rumors that suggested that the new coaster would serve as a replacement for the current Fast & Furious ride were dead on.
We’ll know more on Tuesday hopefully… and alas… it stopped short of 88mph, so no rebirth of Back To The Future in coaster form. In Orlando at least… maybe in the UK but that’s a whole other story.
In the meantime, enjoy the video below that showing off the current state of construction on the new coaster project from the air.
(11/28/2025) A new aerial video of the construction on the new roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida can be seen below, as posted by Bioreconstruct. Progress on the pouring of the new coaster footers is moving at a very rapid pace now, all the way from the front Lagoon by the Hard Rock Cafe all the way into the backstage of the park by the Hogwarts Express track.
(11/9/2025) The latest aerial view of the new roller coaster project at Universal Studios Florida set to replace the former Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster can be seen below, as posted by Bioreconstruct. Lots of footers are now in place all around the site for the new coaster which appears as if it will get very close to the Hard Rock Cafe building as well.
(10/12/2025) While the majority of the former Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster has now been demolished, the attraction made the national news on Friday when a section of the remaining section of vertical lift hill track caught fire.
While it made for some pretty video footage, it doesn’t appear that anyone was in danger as you can see workers standing at the top of the tower while the lift is on fire. The best explanation is that welders were likely on site to cutting sections of the ride apart for removal, as Universal can’t just drop the tower in one quick swoop due to the close proximity to other nearby attraction and sound stage structures. Given that the fire is mostly seen within the former channel that housed the lift chain, it is likely that a spark from the cutting progress ignited some remaining oil or grease within the chain lift channel. So nothing was really in danger here, but fire crews arrived with a water cannon to extinguish the flames.
(10/5/2025) A fantastic areial video showing off the current state of “Rockit” demolition and future-prep work for the new replacement roller coaster at the park can be seen below, posted by Bioreconstruct. An assortment of new concrete pads are already in place for the new attraction’s footers out front near Citywalk and the Hard Rock Cafe where demolition of the old ride is now complete. The old station and queue canopy is still standing along with the vertical lift hill, as the last parts of the old ride still needing to come down. Further back however, everything seems to be removed and in the process of being cleared as new footers are being prepared to be poured along the back end and into the new locations between the sound stages and Hogwarts Express track.
(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 F&F Supercharged Attraction Space - (1/25/2026) With Fast & Furious: Supercharged already confirmed to be closing in early 2027 to make way for the opening of the new Hollywood Drift roller coaster, the large site currently take up by the old attraction will surely be repurposed for something new. The question is, will they demolish it compeltely to build something new from scratch, or try to repurpose the old building or even the current ride system to create something new more quickly? There were once rumors about converting the old Fast & Furious Party Buses into a Wizarding World themed tour of London on the Knight Bus once upon a time.
???? - 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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