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UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD
Hollywood, CA (Abbreviation: USH)
NBC Universal / Comcast
---- THE LATEST NEWS ----
(4/27/2025) Universal Studios Hollywood Fan Fest Nights Reactions and New CityWalk Restaurant
(4/25/2025) The Xanathar Dungeons & Dragons Figure Looks Fantastic!
(4/13/2025) So what is Going On With CityWalk?
(4/11/2025) The Hollywood Drift Track Is Now Complete
(4/6/2025) Woman Files Lawsuit Against Universal Studios Hollywood After Falling When Scared
Ride Rehabs - These dates are not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as refurbishments are subject to change.
Transformers: The Ride - NOW CLOSED through TBD
Read the Official Review of Halloween Horror Nights 2017 - CLICK HERE
Read the Official Review of Halloween Horror Nights 2016 - CLICK HERE
Read the Official Review of Halloween Horror Nights 2015 - CLICK HERE
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem - THE GRAND OPENING
 General Park News - (4/27/2025) There has been some activity inside Citywalk outside Universal Studios Hollywood. I’m told that the former Dongpo Kitchen restaurant across the pathway from the theater, now has signage up confirming that a Raising Cane’s chicken restaurant will soon be arriving at the location. You can see a picture of it below, as posted by Inside Universal.
(4/13/2025) An article posted by SFGate this week looks over a lot of the big changes that have been taking place at CityWalk outside Universal Studios Hollywood. In short, we’ve been seeing a lot of closures lately, with some claiming that their leases simply were not up for renew by Universal, preventing them from staying, even if they wanted to.
So what’s going on at CityWalk? The answer may be more apparent if you look at all the changes that have taken place at CityWalk in Orlando over the past decade. The original slate of venues in Orlando’s CityWalk has changed quite a bit, with Universal themselves taking over a large number of sites that were previously leased out to other retailers. Instead we’ve seen Universal take more charge to bring a new vision to that CityWalk, adding more restaurants of every size and shape, as well as bringing in more of their own Universal branded retail experiences, along with a unique Universal branded Escape Room attraction and two Mini-Golf courses.
The changes have been very successful for the Orlando CityWalk, but that location also caters as evening destination for the many on-site Universal hotel guests as well all guests departing the theme parks at night. Hollywood has no on-site hotel, and there is only the one park to cater to. Unfortunately, a huge road-block that prevents the locals from enjoying the CityWalk location out west comes in the form of a huge parking fee. If only they would take a lesson from Orlando’s CityWalk and offer free parking after 6pm in order to allow the local market to come in and enjoy the venue but for unknown reasons, they just haven’t gone that route yet.
There are plans in the works to finally build a Universal branded resort hotel that would be attached to CityWalk that can only help things, but in the meantime, I’d keep an eye on just what is coming and going, as I do think there is some kind of vision in place that will slowly transform and update Hollywood’s CityWalk for the future.
(4/6/2025) This isn’t an April Fools post unfortunately, but it seems a 56-year old woman is now trying to sue Universal Studios Hollywood because she got so frightening while attending Halloween Horror Nights in 2023 that she fell and ended up with a torn ACL when a scareactor jumped out at her.
You know…like they all do, virtually every few seconds, all night long, when you pay for the after-hour special event ticket to visit “Halloween Horror Nights”. You know… the one where the typical promotion you see on TV goes to great lengths to tell you that you are not safe anywhere in the park from the things that lurk in the dark.
So according to the lawsuit claim, “The park had an obligation to adequately train, monitor and supervise employees performing for guests during Halloween Horror Nights events so that they do not jump or step directly into the paths of visitors”.
Though I’m pretty sure that is essentially the gist of becoming a scareactor at Halloween Horror Nights, being trained jump out in front of unsuspecting guests in order to scare the heck out of them.
I get it though… it never a good thing if a guest falls and hurts themselves for any reason, but guests also have to take some personal responsibility for the actions of their own body movements while visiting a park, especially when going to Halloween Horror Nights. This isn’t like a regular daytime visit in the daytime or with brightly lit open pathways to follow, this a dark event with very low lighting conditions, many pathways are engulfed in special effects fog just so you never know what’s lurking nearby, preparing to scare you.
So I hate to sound like a jerk, but trying to sue Universal because you fell when you got scared at Halloween Horror Nights is akin to someone trying to file a lawsuit against a ski resort when they fall on a run and break their leg or tear their ACL going down a ski run.
(3/29/2025) Universal Studios Hollywood is offering a great ticket deal right now. Buy a ticket to visit the park sometime between now and August 13th, and Universal will give you a ticket for free to come back and visit again anytime between then and Dec. 17, 2025.
There are some blackout dates when you can’t use the free tickets, but to be honest, those are dates you probably wont want to visit in the first place due to high crowd levels. Visit the official website for all the details and to look over those official blackout dates.
(3/15/2025) Apparently the Fast & Furious Supercharged attraction isn’t the only thing closing at Universal Studios Hollywood. Posts on social media have confirmed that the Old West themed set from “NOPE” which you pass on the tour just before arriving at Fast & Furious has also been taken down, despite being a fairly new addition to the backlot tour. This could mean that the two sites could be combined for whatever future addition Universal may have planned for the backlot tour in this area.
It has also been noted that the old western themed buildings that the tram would typically pass by after exiting the Earthquake soundstage building have also been completely demolished and walled off by a construction fence, so clearly some other upgrades and renovations are planned for the backlot, though this could also be to build something new for a future production as well.
 (3/2/2025) The official “Butterbeer Season” event returned to Universal Studios Hollywood this weekend for the second year. The event marked the premier of a special new limited-time offered treat called the Butterbeer Cream Puff, now available at the Three Broomsticks restaurant. When the celebration of all things “Butterbeer” flavored comes to an end on May 31st, the Butterbeer Cream Puffs will vanish from the park as well.
(2/27/2025) A 74-year old women was just awarded $7.25 million in a lawsuit against Universal Studios, after she fell while moving from the moving walkway to the regular pathway on the Harry Potters and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. She was trying to get into the ride, but was unable to lock down the restraint properly and asked to get out. Her lawyer argued that the ride ops should have stopped the entire ride, while the park argued that she was paying attention to her grandson and not where she was walking when she fell.
I know the ride system was designed with this problem in mind, with a path to be used by riders who do not fit to exit the moving walkway. So it should be interesting to see if Universal makes any changes to the loading procedures or station itself following this ruling about the California attraction.
(2/24/2025) Would you believe that yet another major attraction is closing for good this year? In a bit of a surprise update, Universal Studios Hollywood has announced that Fast & Furious - Supercharged will take its last riders on March 10, 2025, as the park prepares to focus all their Fast & Furious theming efforts onto the new Hollywood Drift roller coaster opening in 2026.
While they don’t say what is coming, the release does confirm that “An Exciting All-New Studio Tour Attraction” will be announced soon, and likely be replacing the Supercharged attraction on the tour. It is interesting to note that F&F-Supercharged first opened on the backlot tour back in 2015, so it will be closing just shy of the 10 year anniversary. Meanwhile the Orlando version opened in 2018… where many have been wondering just how much longer it will remain open.
In the meantime, Universal also sent out a great little video montage of the new Hollywood drift coaster under construction, so check it out below!
(2/9/2025) Theme Park Insider reports that CityWalk at Universal Studios Hollywood appears to be starting a transformation to update the retail and dining complex outside of the theme park. A number of stores and small restaurants have all closed down and construction walls are going up everywhere you look for the update. Universal has not announced exactly the extent of the changes to come, but it was reported that one of the changes will be to move the security check-in for the complex so that CityWalk will be WITHIN the secure zone, much like how it is at Universal Orlando. Permits have been filed to build a new security screening area behind the NBC Sports Grill & Brew location, which will also clear out needed space closer to the entrance for that newly planned on-site resort hotel project.
According to the report, the following locations have already closed down: Popcornopolis, Fossil, Crepe Cafe, Mini Monster, Sparky’s, Abercrombie & Fitch, Dongpo Kitchen, Samba and the iFly enclosed skydiving attraction.
(1/2/2025) According to a post on X, the Sparky’s Donut shop in Citywalk at Universal Studios Hollywood will be closing for good on Jan. 19th. There seems to be an ongoing trend of various venues closing at the Hollywood CityWalk location ever since the COVID pandemic, and many have placed the blame on how guests who want to visit Citywalk after dark are being charged $10 parking fees in the evening. A direct comparison has often been made to Citywalk Orlando, where parking is free after 6pm nightly, with the exception being when Universal Orlando is hosting Halloween Horror Nights. I also believe that Universal Orlando offers free parking during the daytime as well for visitors who have purchased two movie tickets. At best, I believe there may be a $5 discount offered in Hollywood to those wanting to visit the theater there.
(12/22/2024) One of the strangest things I’ve witnessed over the years is how a theme park attraction can be hugely successful in one location, only for a clone of it to struggle or even fail miserably to find popularity at another location within the same chain. While this is less common with actual “rides”, the phenomenon is far more common when it comes to live entertainment. For example, over the years you may have noticed that a number of Disney and Universal live shows or even parades in the case of the Disney parks, end up having a much longer lifespan at the Florida parks than their California counterparts do.
A great example of this would be Universal’s “Beetlejuice’s Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue”, which was performed in Orlando from 1992 through to 2016, and even went through four major show revisions over those years. By comparison, the version of the show that also opened in the Hollywood park in 1992 was shut down forever in 1999, despite being moved from an initial outdoor stage area into the park’s air conditioned Castle Theater about half-way through the run.
Now we are hearing that Universal has a somewhat similar culinary puzzle on their hands regarding the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen restaurants built on the two coasts. The first Toothsome location opened in Orlando back in 2016 and was a hit right off the bat, especially the sweets shop and ice-cream parlor. With a hit on their hands, Universal management began to make plans to create more Toothsome locations, starting in China, where a second location opened with the resort in 2021.
However, faced with struggling business in California in 2020 due to the start of the pandemic, Universal opted to close down the Hard Rock Cafe in CityWalk and made plans to replace it with a California version of Toothsome. Faced with construction delays, the west coast Toothsome actually did not open to guests until early 2023, but as we approach the 2 year anniversary, the reports seem to indicate that the Hollywood version is nowhere near as popular as the Orlando location continues to be.
As a result, it sounds like some cost-cutting has been taking place in Hollywood. This may have started in the fall, when I’m told that apparently management opted to shut down the candy area entirely. Now as we approach the end of the year, it has been made known that the restaurant’s walk-around mascot characters, Penelope and Jacque, will be retired from making appearances at the Hollywood location as well. Reviews online for the two locations are also fairly night and day, with the Orlando location featuring mostly a lot of love compared to the more critical reviews for the California location.
(12/7/2024) Universal Studios Hollywood posted an image of their 2025 planed special events schedule that has people talking. It lists Sept. 4 through Nov. 2, 2025 as the timeline for Halloween Horror Nights next year, and select nights between Apr. 25 and May 18 will be home to the new Universal Fan Fest Nights event. There are a couple of interesting events planned for the Harry Potter fans next year, including “Butterbeer Season” from May 1 to May 31st, and “Back To Hogwarts” taking place from August to Sept. 1st, just as all the muggles head back to the classroom. There is also an unknown “New Summer Event” planned for June 14 to Aug. 10, 2025… so let your imaginations run wild as to what this could end up being.
(9/10/2024) Universal will be adding all new experiences, retail and dining opportunities to Universal Studios Hollywood and the Universal Orlando Resort themed to the new two-part “Wicked” films hitting theaters in November 2024 and 2025.
“The engaging Wicked experiences will differ at each of the destinations but are both designed to capture the imagination and spirit of the breathtaking world of Wicked, allowing guests to express their fandom through fashion and accessories, while stepping into the story for the first time ever.”
Beginning in late October, Universal Studios Hollywood will transform its popular Feature Presentation store within the theme park, and UNIVRS store at Universal CityWalk Hollywood into memorable Wicked experiences. Feature Presentation will showcase props from the film, an exciting photo op will debut within the theme park and, later in tandem with the film opening, costumes will be displayed within the Universal Cinema, an AMC Theatre, at Universal CityWalk.
Fantabulous-themed dining will complement these exciting Wicked experiences at both theme park locations, as well as Voodoo Doughnuts and The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen at both Universal CityWalk locations will share the joy with the debut of a limited time treats inspired by the world of Wicked.
At the core of these experiences will be redefining new retail opportunities and exclusive products, inviting guests to rejoicify as they peek behind the Emerald City gates. An exciting variety of merchandise including elevated apparel, home goods, accessories, toys and more along with exclusive products will be available at Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Studios Hollywood and at both Universal Citywalk locations including:
The Shiz University collection is inspired by the iconic school where Glinda and Elphaba first cross paths featuring back-to-school must-haves featuring a Spirit Jersey, duffle bag, tumbler, hat, journal and more.
More Wicked themed surprises are also coming to the Universal Studios Singapore and Japan theme parks between late 2024 and early 2025.
Spring 2025 - Universal Fan Fest Nights - (4/27/2025) Tons of video clips have surfaced around the ‘net over the weekend showing off various scenes from the opening of Universal Studios Hollywood’s first ever Fan Fest Nights event. From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like they’ve done bang-up job with it, especially with the living “Back To The Future” events you get to experience in person while standing on the Hill Valley set where the movie was films. Footage of Dungeons and Dragons also looks spectacular, and the overall look of Star Trek: Red Alert is pretty cool looking, though it does look like the story and effects there could use a little work. Overall though, the general feeling I’m seeing seems to be very positive for the event in general, which is fantastic. Time will tell if Fan Fest Nights will turn into another giant success on the level of Halloween Horror Nights for the park though, but it looks like they are definitely onto something.
(4/25/2025) You can catch a great look at the Xanathar animated puppet character that plays a key role as part of the Dungeons & Dragons attraction at Universal Studios Fan Fest Nights in the video clip below. The floating “Beholder” creature is just incredible to watch as it comes to life!
(3/21/2025) Guests visiting the first ever Universal Fan Fest Nights will find a crazy assortment of themed food to enjoy. Like, far more food options than any one person could possibly eat in a single evening, all themed to the various special IPs being highlighted by the themes of the night.
For example, Star Trek fans may want to try Klingon Targ Legs (Charsui Honey Pork Wings), Vulcan Fritters, an Andorian Red Bat Sandiwch (merinated chicken breast on a bao bun), an Orion Spice Funnel Cake, or maybe a a Cardassian Dog (Hot Cheeto covered Korean-style Corn Dog). That’s just some of the Star Trek food to be found at Quark’s… meanwhile a whole slew of Trek themed alcoholic beverages will also be available at the 10 Forward Bar.
Also on the huge list of options are Back to the Future themed dishes (Outatime Cookie? Flux Capacity Patty-Melt?), Dungeons & Dragons meals fit for your entire party (like the Eldritch Blast, Beholder’s Brew Fondue, or simple Traveler’s Rations) or maybe eat like a pirate with One Piece themed dishes (like the Straw Hat Crew Nachos, Liffy’s Meat on a Bone, Franky’s Cola Barbacoa). Tempt your sweet tooth with special Cursed items from Jujutsu Kaisen, or there are the already themed meals available at the Hogwart’s Three Broomsticks and Super Nintendo World’s Toadstool Cafe.
 
(3/1/2025) Would you believe that a last second addition has been made to the upcoming Universal Fan Fest Nights in Hollywood? Fans of Wicked will be delighted to know that there will be a photo op to pose and grab a picture with Elphaba and Glinda in the official Meet & Greet debut of the Wicked characters at Universal Fan Fest Nights!
Oh, and due to popular demand, Universal has added another night to the event, with tickets now available for May 15th.
 (1/31/2025) Universal Studios Hollywood has released more details about the upcoming Fan Fest Nights special events coming on select dates between April 25 and May 18th, 2025.
Fans of Back to the Future will enjoy getting the chance to enter and walk through the Courthouse Square set on the backlot where Back To The Future was actually filmed back in the 80’s as part of “Destination Hill Valley”. Guests will see some characters, props and vehicles from the films as the square is transformed “back in time” to 1955, where a live version of the film’s epic finale will take place before your eyes.
Star Trek fans will enjoy something they are calling “Star Trek: Red Alert”, a story based action experience that will lead groups from a tour that starts at the Starfleet Museum where they will eventually take a tour of the bridge of the Enterprise-D. From here, a threat from an unknown force will kick off an adventure and escape, ending with a finale experience via Transporter back to Earth.
Dungeons & Dragons fans will get to experience the “Secrets of Waterdeep”, where they will join the Harpers on a quest to recover a stolen item and end with a large battle with a life-size Xanathar (Beholder).
These are just some of the new themed experiences coming to the event, as well as others themed to One Piece, Jututsu Kaisen, a chance to dine in Quark’s, a Nintendo themed drone sky-show, a projection show in the Wizarding World, and more themed food items than you’ll be able to eat in one night.
(10/5/2024) Universal Studios Hollywood has announced two more additions coming to their first Universal Fan Fest Nights special event taking place in Spring 2025. As Screamscape previous mentioned ahead of the launch of the event, Universal’s US parks were eyeballing a way to bring the popularity and fan-service of the Universal Cool Japan event from that theme park to the US, and indeed they did with the announcement of the first Universal Fan Fest Nights in Hollywood in 2025.
While we don’t know all the details, the event wa first announced as featuring special experiences themed to Back To The Future, Star Trek and Dungeons & Dragons. That list was expanded in late September with the addition of some Wizarding World of Harry Potter / Fantastic Beasts experiences, such as an encounter with a Niffler, something also offered in the Japanese park, BTW…
The latest announcement includes another inspired lift from Japan with the inclusion of two hit Japanese Anime productions: One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen. While I’m not familiar with Jujutsu Kaisen, I do know that the popularity of One Piece has only grown in the US with the launch of the live action version on Netflix.
Universal has also confirmed that the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D from Star Trek that was created for the 3rd and final season of Star Trek: Picard is being set up as a major part of the experience as well.
While we don’t know exactly what kind of form we may see Universal use to create an Dungeon & Dragons experience, one rumor old rumor does suggest that Universal just might find a way to create the former Back To The Future: The Ride experience inside the former attraction space, which still features the same style simulator vehicles that have since been rethemed to serve as The Simpsons ride.
Tickets are not yet on sale, but will be soon for Universal Fan Fest Night events scheduled to take place April 25-27, May 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18.
(9/29/2024) A new detail about the upcoming Universal FanFest event coming to Universal Studios Hollywood in 2025 has been confirmed. As part of the extra-ticket night-event’s coverage of the fan favorite Harry Potter franchise, it was recently confirmed that some kind of guest encounter with a ‘Niffler’ creature would be part of the experience.
It is quite possible that the Hollywood park may be borrowing the Niffler experience creature that has been in use at Universal Studios Japan to put on some street performances in Hollywood. In fact, this could just be one aspect of the experience, as the Wizarding World in Universal Studios Japan has several such “magical beast” style creature experiences that can take place.
 (8/24/2024) Universal Studios Hollywood has announced a new special event is coming to the park in Spring 2025 called Universal Fanfest Nights. This is the evolution of a concept we first heard was pitched for the Orlando resort, but since they are busy ramping up for the opening of the new Epic Universe theme park in 2025, Hollywood now gets to premier this brand new special event that celebrates the best of fan favorite Sci-Fi-, Fantasy, Gaming and Anime like never before.
If you missed our reports on the rumored Orlando event, the inspiration for this new concept was the popular “Universal Cool Japan” fan events held at the Osaka theme park where charcters, themed food, displays, and even custom temporary themed attractions are created for the Japanese theme park based on popular Japanese IPs from video games, music and popular anime. Over the years this has evolved from more simply display areas into complete attraction overlays and the creation of new unique, yet temporary, experiences that can take-over existing attractions completely.
According to the announcement, Universal Fanfest Nights will be a special after-hours event that will bring guests into the worlds of Star Trek, Back to the Future, Dungeons & Dragons and much more “with immersive experiences, celebratory moments, themed food, and exclusive merchandise that takes fandom to a whole new level.” While adding experienced based on Universal IP like Back to the Furure is expected, bringing in popular IPs like Star Trek and Dungeon and Dragons to the mix is an exciting new realm of possibility. Especially the return of Star Trek to Universal Hollywood, just in case you forgot about the former guest-interactive Star Trek Advventure show that was added to the park in the early 90s.
Keep your eyes open for more future announcements and details as it gets closer and you can also sign up on the official website to be notified first of all the latest developments.
2026 - Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift - (4/11/2025) According to various reports the final pieces of track for the Hollywood Drift coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood have now been installed. You can catch a video showing off some of the latest view of the project below.
(4/2/2025) A reader has sent in some great new photos of the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift construction progress over at Universal Studios Hollywood.
(2/20/2025) The latest construction update for the Hollywood Drift coaster comes from an unexpected source… franchise star Ludacris. Some very up close and cool shots of the coaster to be sure… check it out below.
(2/17/2025) Rob, who has frequently sent in updates for Screamscape in the past, decided to head out and get some great new photos of the construction on the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster, as seen from angles OUTSIDE of the park grounds, giving us an entirely new perspective on the project. Enjoy!
(2/5/2025) You know, the best way to really see the construction progress on the new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood is to wait for one of the local news choppers to fly over and post some amazing footage. Just like in the video below…
(2/2/2025) For those curious about how things are going over at the Fast & Furious construction site at Universal Studios Hollywood, the track has now been installed as the coaster travels up and over the park’s giant escalator that travels down to the lower lot. Check it out in the video below… it is going to be an impressive photo site going forward once the ride opens.
Speaking of which, it’s almost crazy that there is still at least a year’s left of work to do before this coaster will be ready for guests to ride!
(11/28/2024) A fantastic aerial view of the Hollywood Drift coaster construction site was shot by helicopter and posted by a local news station, giving us an epic view of the attraction from an angle we haven’t seen before. The camera lingers for quite some time along the station building which features a complicated mix of switch tracks to allow train access to the maintenance barn tracks as well as the dual-sided loading station.
(11/16/2024) Looks like Intamin is set to show off one of the ride vehicales for the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster at IAAPA next week based on a tease they posted to instagram that says, “Welcome to the Family”.
(10/6/2024) A new construction update video for the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster coming to Universal Studios Hollywood can be found below.
(9/29/2024) Lots of progress is starting to take place on the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida. Check out the video below to see the latest changes and additions.
(8/25/2024) A new construction update from Universal Hollywood shows off the latest progress on the Hollywood Drift coaster. There are slime interesting pieces of track and supports now in place, new progress on the station, and now they’re installing track that runs below the park’s big escalator down to the lower level.
(6/13/2024) New construction pictures from Universal Studios Hollywood show that the track for the dual-loading station for Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is now in place. Meanwhile in another update you an see just how far down the hillside construction is take place for the coaster, with the installation of some massive footers just past the giant parking structure, next to the new NBC/Universal office complex. Meanwhile there is a lot of activity taking place to pour more footers all around the “Starway” bridge/escalator area as well.
(6/5/2024) New track has been installed on the Fast & Furious coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood, as well as the creation of lots of new footers. Check out the video below shot by ACN.
(5/4/2024) Universal issued a small press release along with the new 2026 opening date for the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift roller coaster that also confirms that the attraction will feature cars that are able to rotate 360º.
“The state-of-the-art ride system is being uniquely designed to immerse guests within the high-speed Fast & Furious universe. Highlights will include groundbreaking 360-degree rotation of the individual ride vehicles as they rocket along an elaborate track meticulously constructed with sound reduction technology for a breathtaking, superior experience. These attributions will create a seamless sensation of drifting cars as guests spin in motion at furiously fast speeds.”
““Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” will be located on the Upper Lot of Universal Studios Hollywood. Guests will queue up within a large, red brick, garage-style structure before settling into the ride vehicles, modeled after several authentic cars featured in the films, and catapulting along an aerial track that winds its way over parts of the theme park.”
(5/3/2024) Given the slow construction pace that we’ve been seeing as of late, new signs posted on the construction walls at Universal Studios Hollywood now state that Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift roller coaster won’t open until 2026. I’m not surprised, as the site prep work alone just to set up all the footers along the hillside has been far more involved than I think we expected.
While we’ve been talking about Hollywood Drift since May of 2022, Universal itself did not confirm the project until July of 2023. However, while we’ve all been assuming that it would be ready in 2025, to my knowledge, Universal has not officially set any kind of date expectation until now.
(4/12/2024) You can check out the latest construction photos of the Hollywood Drift coaster construction site over at Twitter by clicking here. (Sorry, embedding is blocked).
Lots of work has been taking place to install footers for the new coaster along the hillside, while retaining walls are being put into place to hold everything in place while they work to reshape the hillside for the new attraction. Meanwhile a couple of taller track supports have been installed along the upper levels near where the station is going.
(3/23/2024) New pictures posted at InsideUniversal show that the first sections of track on the upcoming Fast & Furious themed roller coaster have been installed. From the look of things, this appears to be a switch track up near the station area, but no word on if this is for a dual-side station or a switch to come and go into the maintenance bay. Meanwhile the surrounding hillside of crawling with workers making preparations to pour the various footers for future roller coaster track supports.
(1/29/2024) A new construction video showing off the progress on the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood can be seen below, align with other updates taking place in the park and CityWalk areas.
(1/17/2024) It isn’t much, but the local news pointed out that there are some new long distance rendering of how the Universal skyline will look once the new Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster is installed. These are posted to a Universal Community website, and are meant to appease the local neighbors around the park with realistic views of how things will look with the ride in place.
As you might expect, there isn’t much to see, as Universal is taking care to keep the coaster as out of sight as possible, running along the hillside terrain in order to keep it from view. One interesting thing can be seen however, as it looks like there will be some kind of inversion that wraps around the Starway escalators near the top, where the track will be enclosed inside some kind of structure that should contain the noise of the ride.
(12/29/2023) A tower crane has now been set up at the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift construction site, which means that construction on this new attraction should be kicking into high gear very soon. Check out the video of this massive crane below.
(11/25/2023) A couple of looks like the site for the new Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster can be seen below from Coaster Empire. While an official opening date for the new attraction has not been set, it is believed that it will be ready to open in the first half of 2025, though there is always a chance if things move quickly it could be ready by the very end of 2024.
(11/14/2023) In a separate story I mentioned a new preview video from Intamin showing off a number of unique new themed trick elements and coaster car types they are offering for themed and dark roller coaster attractions.
At one point in the animation they show off a motorized spinning 12-seater car called the “MDC 12 Seater” which is shown running through a series of themed environments and trick elements, but I have to point out that around the the 2:35 point in the video where the car is shown running on an outdoor track while spinning the riders around and then cuts to the same car appearing to be launched into an Immelman style inversion, while the car spins the riders 360º around. At this point I’m fairly confident that this is an example of an element we will see actually built for the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster Intamin is making for Universal Studios Hollywood right now.
(10/29/2023) While Screamscape has already reported that the new Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster will feature more than one launch and vehicles that can spin, we’re now starting to hear just a little more about the ride vehicles themselves. As this is a Fast & Furious themed ride, the theming of the coaster trains themselves as F&F style cars is said to be of the utmost importance to the project. As such, look for these car themed trains to look unlike anything you’ve ever seen before on a roller coaster.
(10/18/2023) It’s kind of funny how all the news stories this week about the upcoming Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster are suddenly all excited about the fact that the cars will be able to rotate. Sorry, I’ve got to say something here about that, because Screamscape posted that the cars will rotate way back on 5/17/2022 (scroll down) when we first broke the story revealing the coaster and the early concept artwork.
As we posted back then… “The Gringotts comparison is apt, because just like we saw built for Gringotts, these cars will utilize a controlled spinning system.” At the time, back when the early layout included that crazy C-shaped spike track, the cars could clearly be seen rotating on the spike in the concept art.
Ok… just saying.
(10/13/2023) Some images of the Hollywood Drift construction taking place at Universal Studios Hollywood can be seen below, where the entire hillside from the Starway over to the parking structure is being completely reworked to accommodate the new roller coaster.
(9/22/2023) A batch of new construction photos from Universal Studios Hollywood show off the state of construction for the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster project. Much of the hillside between the parking structure and the Simpsons ride building has now been cleared out to make way for where the various footers for the coaster will need to be poured.
(9/1/2023) New construction pictures showing off the clearing for the new Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood can be seen below, posted by Coaster Empire.
(8/14/2023) According to photos posted to Twitter, clearing of the hillside at Universal Studios Hollywood to make way for the new Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift roller coaster project has begun.
(7/14/2023) While I’ve been talking about the Fast & Furious coaster project for months now, it is important to know that Universal has not confirmed the existence of this project... until now. With a single tweet, the park has now confirmed that the project is now officially under construction!
(7/5/2023) ParksFans has posted some drawings of what appears to be the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster project in the works for Universal Studios Hollywood. As we indicated on Screamscape when we posted the early concept art, the layout was said to have changed, including the removal of that giant “C” shaped spike track on the one end in favor or something more traditional.
They’ve even posted a rough animation of what the ride experience might be like, with the trains taking advantage of the hillside terrain in this area of the park. This is all early speculation of course, but it does look like they are trying to create a terrain style ride that can offer something along the thrill levels of the VelociCoaster in Florida.
(5/25/2023) A new video update from Universal Studios Hollywood has some footage showing off the start of demolition prep work as crews prepare to make way for the rumored Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster project. There is already a bulldozer tearing up the Animal Actors show venue as well. Later on they spot some early work taking place to prepare for Halloween Horror Nights as well, so check it out.
(5/17/2023) According to an update at Inside Universal, construction walls have now been set up around the Animal Actors Soundstage as well as some around parts of the Castle Theater. These areas were previously rumored to be on the way out to make way for the proposed Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift roller coaster project. It is expected that both show venues will be demolished over the summer, as both have simply been sitting dormant since the start of 2023.
(3/29/23) An interesting reel post to IG on Tuesday shows off an interesting scene taking place at Universal Studios Hollywood, next to the top of the StarWay. A large speaker was placed on top of a nearby structure that was playing a recorded audio track of roller coaster noise and screaming riders in exactly the area where the park is planning to build the Hollywood Drift roller coaster.
If you know anything about the history of the park and studio itself, you’ll know that Universal Studios Hollywood has had a long history of dealing with noise complaints from the nearby neighbors who’s homes on the hillside overlook the studio backlot. There have been complaints about the park’s various stunt shows over the years like Waterworld, complaints about noise from loud sequences and explosions taking place on the studio backlot during filming, and in general a lot of complaints about various noises generated by the theme park and its guests.
It’s a major reason that the majority of theme park attractions at Universal Studios Hollywood have been built indoors and why the park has never tried to build a traditional large scale outdoor roller coaster before. They’ve talked about it in the past many times, with some wild ideas for indoor/outdoor concepts for coasters themed to Terminator 2 or Twister, but in the end the park has never been ready to pull the trigger on those concepts. So it is interesting that they are attempting to simulate the noise of a coaster now, which more than likely was being tested at various locations outside the park to generate real-world data on just how large or small the noise impact would be.
(10/9/22) Just before Summer Screamscape revealed the details about a launched roller coaster in development for Universal’s Hollywood park called Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift. At the time this was the big concept the park was looking at as their next big attraction to come after the opening of Super Nintendo World.
The word going around is that some early building permits have been filed for this project, which would seem to indicate that it has gone from concept to being greenlit. While I’ve been told that the overall concept has changed just a little bit, the same basic idea of having a launched roller coaster with with sports-car themed vehicles able to spin to create a “drift” sensation is still very much alive and well. Like most coasters we’ve seen Universal build as of late in North America, Intamin is said to be providing the hardware once again.
So since this project seems to be moving forward, I thought it was about time to share with everyone some early concept artwork for the Hollywood Drift attraction that was shared with me. Remember, this is early concept artwork, so the final product shown once Universal is ready to announce it will be a little bit different, but this will give you the basic look and feel of the concept, as well as the location just to the left of the top-side of the Starway.
(5/17/22) There has been some early talk about building a new Fast & Furious ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. Screamscape dug a bit deeper into these rumors and apparently it is true that something Fast & Furious themed is indeed planned. The interesting thing is that the new ride planned will be a roller coaster unlike anything we’ve really seen before. And no, this won’t be the drifting dark ride/coaster system developed from Dynamic Attractions.
Now before I get too far into the details on this thing, know that this is simply an attraction concept. No construction has started, so the concept can be changed, the concept can be canceled entirely and replaced with something entirely different. I make no promises that this will be built… but dang if it doesn’t look interesting.
That said, this particular concept is being called Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift, and on the land side of things we are looking at the removal of both the Animal Actors show and the Special Effects Show on the upper deck to make way for this new coaster concept from Intamin. I believe the overall track layout to still be somewhat fluid at this point, but the idea would be to use a dual-sided loading station, not unlike Gringotts at Universal Orlando, with the roller coaster trains made to look like a set of four Fast & Furious style cars.
The Gringotts comparison is apt, because just like we saw built for Gringotts, these cars will utilize a controlled spinning system. From what I understand the trains will pull out of the station and onto a multi-launch track area where they will spin to launch up into a rather bizarre looking half-loop shaped spike track. The best I can describe it is that the trains will enter the element as if going up into a loop but by the time they reach the vertical moment, the track will have rotated 90º sidewards for the remainder of the element which will look more like a giant letter “C”. During this rise, stall and eventually fall back down the individual cars will spin and rotate to be facing the opposite direction by the time they enter the launch track and are boosted out at a higher speed to soar up and over the pathway leading to the Starway to the lower level, and then drop down into an unknown roller coaster section that I’m assuming will go around to the hillside behind the Simpsons ride building before turning around and heading back for a return run towards the station again.
Again, this is just a concept, but one that should prove to be nearly as fun to watch from the ground as it would be to ride if Universal were to go ahead with it. I’ve no idea what this means for the longevity of the current Fast & Furious - Supercharged attraction on the Backlot Tour. They could keep it as is for those not into roller coasters who still enjoy the “Fast” films, or perhaps they could turn it into something new further down the line as well.
2026/2027?? - Donkey Kong Country / Super Nintendo World Expansion - (10/7/2023) So with the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster now well under construction, you may be wondering what’s next for Universal Studios Hollywood. Well… there have been those rumors about replacing The Simpsons attraction with something new, but I think that may be a bit further out, especially as that would likely involved a similar timed replacement in Orlando, and the Orlando resort is a little busy at the moment building their new Epic Universe theme park.
Still… it does sound like Hollywood’s future may be to take inspiration from other Universal parks for their next attraction. So what does Orlando have that Hollywood might want? Volcano Bay maybe? Yeah… but that just is not going to happen. While this is a tale for another time, would you believe that a California version of Volcano Bay was once under consideration in the most unusual way? Apparently a true story, but again… another day.
What is instead rumored to be the next big project for Universal Hollywood is to expand Super Nintendo World to add on the same Donkey Kong themed area and themed family coaster that is currently under construction in Orlando and Japan right now. If you have not seen this yet, imagine a roller coaster themed like a ride in a mine cart, but the tracks you see under the car are actually false, and the real track runs off to the side on a unique looking set of vertically stacked rails. The concept allows for the ride to create the illusion that your mine carts is tilting to the side and running on one rail, or even leaping over entire broken gaps in the track. Follow this link to read more about it over on our Epic Universe page where I broke down the ride’s technology and layout last August.
From what I’m told, since Universal Studios Hollywood is already working to build state-of-the-art new soundstages on East end of the backlot, eventually most (if not eventually all) of the old soundstages on the West side of the property will be removed for other projects, including theme park expansion, as far away as possible from the residents along the hills East of the park. I’ve been told to keep an eye on this area in 2024 for the first signs of any future demolition to the existing Standstages, including the one where they have shot “The Voice” located next to the Jurassic World attraction.
All said and done, look for a lot of activity to begin at Universal over the next few years as they ramp up the park experience ahead of the planned 2028 Summer Olympic Games being held in Los Angeles in July. In fact, I’d look for most of SoCal’s big attractions to be making plans to up their game ahead of this major event.
???? - The Borne Stuntacular - (11/13/2022) There has been some quiet speculation that the Hollywood park had been looking into the possibility of adding their own version of The Bourne Stuntacular show that first opened in Universal Orlando in 2020. The indoor stunt show mixes live stunt actors with amazing high resolution video wall backdrop and an extensive list of in theater effects. It is quite an amazing production that would fit right in at the Hollywood park if they opt to build their own version. The main difference is that the Orlando version was built as a replacement for that park’s former Terminator 2:3-D attraction, while a custom theater would have to be construction from scratch if they opted to go that route.
???? - Resort Hotel - (11/30/2024) Apparently Universal Studios Hollywood is FINALLY developing plans to build their very own resort hotel just outside the entrance of the theme park, taking over a small flat parking lot area that was used for premium parking, handicapped permit parking and I believe valet parking along with some longer slots possibly used by tourist busses, along with the site previously used by the Saddle Ranch Chop House before it closed in 2018. I guess this explains why the Hilton Universal City suddenly relaunched their own expansion plans once again that would add an new 18-story tower, after letting them fall into limbo for much of the past decade.
???? - Hilton Universal City Expansion - (1/26/2025) According to the local news the City Council of Los Angeles approved the expansion plans for the Universal Studios Hollywood Hilton to build a new 18-story tall hotel tower, adding almost 400 new rooms to the resort. For those counting, this new tower will actually be a little shorter than the existing 24-story tall tower.
(9/23/2024) Keep your eyes peeled for a new construction project to take place just outside of Universal Studios Hollywood. Proposed for years, the 24-story tall Hilton Universal City resort hotel located the street from the entrance of Universal Studios Hollywood has been given an approval recommendation to build a new 18-story / 395-room tower. The existing hotel is said to have an average occupancy rate of 92% over the past year, and if the local city council gives their final approval on the project, the expansion could be up and running in about 30 months. The goal would be to have it all ready in time to take advantage of the 2028 Summer Olympic Games that will take place across Los Angeles.
(10/6/20) While not owned by Universal Studios at all, it is worth mentioning that the nearby Hilton Universal City hotel now has a timeline to begin construction on a new expansion tower in 2023 that will add an additional 395 rooms and a parking structure to the property by the time they finish in 2025.
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