Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit opens to Universal employees

Universal employees are the envy of coaster fans tonight. Image © 2009 Theme Park Tourist.

Universal Studios Orlando employees have been experiencing the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit rollercoaster tonight for the first time.

The park opened the ride to team members at around 6.30pm and it is still operating at the time of writing - around 10pm. Universal's opening of the ride to employees almost certainly precedes a soft opening to the public - perhaps as soon as in the next few days.

TPT editors Nick and Natalie spoke to a team member who had just exited the ride. They gave the coaster a glowing review, particularly the opening 167-foot drop. The Rockit's audio system also impressed - riders can select a song when they board from a choice of 5 genres, and the Universal employee reported that they were only able to hear their own song selection during the ride.

Employees were flocking to the park to experience the coaster, which had been testing without riders for most of the day. An eager public gathered around the ride's entrance but were told that no opening date has been set. Employees had been instructed to keep screams to a minimum to avoid drawing attention to the ride, however the the thrill of the Rockit seemed too much for most as their screams echoed around the park.

TPT will be visiting Universal Studios regularly over the next week in the hope of experiencing the Rockit. We will keep readers updated with the latest news.

Exclusive photos can be found in our gallery and our own videos of the ride in action are embedded below.

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