Ride enthusiasts will have to wait much longer than expected to climb aboard the new Fast & Furious roller coaster now that Universal Studios Hollywood has announced the state-of-the-art attraction won’t debut until 2026.
The Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster will feature 360-degree rotating coaster vehicles designed to look like drifting race cars from the street racing film franchise that has earned $7 billion at the worldwide box office.
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Why will it take so long for Universal to build the new coaster? Here are four possible reasons.
The latest from the new Fast & Furious coaster #UniversalStudiosHollywood pic.twitter.com/VPuXRiaeQ8
— Parks And Cons (@ParksAndCons) February 12, 2024
1) Complex construction
Hollywood Drift is not an ordinary coaster project.
Universal Creative is building the Fast & Furious coaster on a steep hillside between the Upper and Lower Lots.
Earth excavators have been carving terraces into the hillside so pilings can be driven deep into the ground and footers can be installed to support the coaster structure.
The pace of the Fast & Furious coaster construction has moved slowly, according to Screamscape.
“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,” according to Screamscape.
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2) Nintendo boost
Demand remains strong for Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood and doesn’t show any signs of leveling off just yet.
The video game themed land opened in early 2023 following the success of Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan in 2021. A third Nintendo land is planned for Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park in 2025.
Universal Studios Hollywood continues to see healthy attendance and spending driven by the success of Super Nintendo World, according to company executives.
There’s no need to rush the Fast & Furious coaster if the crowds and revenues are still at all-time highs thanks to Super Nintendo World.
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3) Counter programming
Universal takes its rivalry with Disney very seriously — even if Mickey Mouse sometimes acts like he is unworried and untouchable.
But make no mistake — Universal and Disney are both watching the other’s moves and planning accordingly.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure — a “Princess and the Frog” retheme of Splash Mountain – is set to open in late 2024 at Disneyland.
Beyond that, Disneyland does not have a shovel in the ground in Anaheim — which means a major new attraction in 2025 is growing increasingly unlikely.
The recently approved DisneylandForward plan has floated a number of potential projects based on Avatar, Frozen and Black Panther — with a Pandora themed land the likely frontrunner.
Universal’s Fast & Furious coaster serves as counter programming for anything Disneyland has planned for 2026 or 2027.
4) Movie tie-In
The 11th and final installment in the Fast & Furious film franchise is set to hit theaters in 2026 — which would serve as a perfect tie-in for the new roller coaster.
“Fast X” Director Louis Leterrier told Collider that filming on “Fast X: Part 2” will begin in 2025.
“It’s filming early next year, and it’s coming out in 2026, which will be exactly to the day, 25 years since the first one came out,” Leterrier told Collider.
The original “Fast & Furious” film came out in June 2001 — suggesting “Fast XI” could be pegged for a summer 2026 release.
Could the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster be ready by spring 2026? That would be perfect timing for a movie tie-in with the final “Fast” film.
Universal Studios Hollywood followed a similar playbook with the opening of Super Nintendo World. The video game themed land opened in February 2023 — just a few months before the “Super Mario Bros.” movie hit theaters in April 2023.
