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In the photo update posted to Twitter by Coaster Empire on October 13, we see that the whole hillside from the Starway over to the parking structure has been cleared and is being worked on in preparation for the construction of the upcoming Fast and Furious multi-launch coaster, Hollywood Drift. 

It was rumored back in July that Hollywood Drift will be an "Intamin spinning model, with some thinking halfway through the vehicle will begin to "drift" featuring sideways, backward, and forward motion to fit the racing/ Fast & Furious theme." There has now been confirmation that the ride vehicles will have the ability to rotate 360-degrees. Enjoy looking at the photos embedded below.

In the previous update, it looks like according to new photos posted to Twitter by Coaster Empire that massive tree clearing has happened on the hillside at Universal Studios Hollywood in preparation for the construction of the new Fast and Furious multi-launch coaster.

You can see the progress that has been made when comparing it with the photos below which were posted on August 11.

Universal officially announced that work on the Fast And Furious roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood will commence soon. Here is the full statement which was released on July 12.

"Universal City, California, July 12, 2023 – Buckle up…Universal Studios Hollywood announces construction will soon begin on its new roller coaster, themed to Universal Pictures’ blockbuster saga, Fast & Furious as the world-class entertainment destination continues to elevate the guest experience.

Renowned for creating groundbreaking and imaginative rides and attractions inspired by today’s most compelling movie, television and digital game experiences, Universal Studios Hollywood will bring innovative and technological achievements never previously employed to this all-new thrill ride.

Equipped with a state-of-the-art ride system uniquely created to engulf guests within the dynamic Fast & Furious universe, this all-new roller coaster will benefit from Universal Destinations & Experiences’ decades-long expertise in revolutionizing the development of the contemporary roller coaster across its global theme park destinations.

The Fast & Furious saga is a phenomenon. For more than twenty years, the franchise has stoked passion in an ever-expanding audience and has earned more than $7 billion at the worldwide box office, Universal Pictures’ record-smashing, homegrown Fast & Furious films have become the studio’s most-profitable and longest-running franchise. Across social media platforms, the fan following for the movies and cast has grown into the biggest of any active franchise."

There was big news at the end of June regarding the upcoming rumored Fast And Furious roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood when ParkFans.net, revealed full layout plans for this multi-launch coaster.  The precreation video to is embedded above.

This new roller coaster, codenamed Project409 is set to be a thrilling addition to Universal Studios Hollywood and is likely to include; four launches, banked turns, a steep rise, a dive drop, a banked rise, inverted stall, airtime hills, corkscrews and a jr. dive loop. The leaked layout plans can be seen in the tweet embedded below.

According to a video posted to YouTube by Theme Park Predictions in response to these leaked plans, it looks like we could see the roller coaster being 4000-5000ft long which is hugely impressive considering many predicted a big roller coaster would not be possible for Universal Studios Hollywood.

The truly ambitious element is that this roller coaster will traverse the upper and lower lots of the park with the trains supposedly going over the top of the escalators and then down underneath them.

From the plans it appears that the roller coaster will have a dual station like Revenge of the Mummy, and begins with a launch followed by a banked turn and then airtime hill before the first drop. The ground hugging banked turns will lead to the first corkscrew inversion then a ground hugging banked turn. After the brake run it is speculated that there will be a Stengel dive or Wall Stall before a drop. Following this, a second launch into a Steep Rise and then a Dive Drop. 

You can then see on the layout map that there is a long straight stretch which is predicted to have a third launch to a speed hill where we could see the fastest part of the roller coaster and more airtime. The inverted stall as seen on VelociCoaster and Pantheon is predicted to be a highlight of the ride. The final launch will head into what is being labelled as a Jr. Dive Loop followed by another corkscrew. A banked turn leads you into the final brake run.

This roller coaster's layout is dictated considerably by the terrain it will be following. You may ask, where is the reverse twisted spike which appeared on initial concept art? Well, the short answer is that it isn't included on this leaked layout.  

Although this project appears to have Intamin written all over it, apparently from the leaked plans there has been no actual confirmation as of yet that this is the case. We will have to wait for official word regarding the ride manufacturer and will update you on further developments from this exciting new roller coaster when they are announced.

 

Back at the beginning of October 2022 we heard about a permit for a new launched roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood based on the very popular IP, Fast and Furious and we saw three photos of early concept art work. This created a lot of excitement amongst Universal fans. 

Theme Park Enthusiast, Alicia Stella posted a tweet of the permit that was filed for Universal Studios Hollywood. As you can see, it is for "a load/unload building and an outdoor coaster that starts from the upper lot and will descend toward the lower lot along the hillside infront of the fire station 51 and back up and loop around the StarWay Escalator #1"

In May we saw work beginning to happen at Universal Studios Hollywood to prepare the site for the construction of this new launched roller coaster. In a video posted to YouTube by Theme Park Shark at time stamp 2:54 we can see a number of Fast X billboards which have been added to the side of The Mummy building to promote the latest Fast and Furious film.

When traveling up the Starway to the upper lot there are big changes with construction walls up around Castle Theatre and the Animal Actors stage in preparation for work to begin on demolition for the rumored Fast and Furious roller coaster. It has also been rumored that the Universal City Neon sign will be demolished but there is no confirmation on this as of yet.

Construction walls also surround the Special Effects Show with the banner being faded out and electronics having been removed from the queue sign. The Production Central store is now closed. In the video you can see construction vehicles by the Animal Actors stage getting ready for demolition.

Screamscape posted three images of early concept art for "Fast and Furious Hollywood Drift" which were sent to them showing the basic feel, look and location of the coaster which will be in the upper lot at the top of the StarWay Escalator. The whole area is set to be demolished in the near future.

Based on the results of our poll where we asked you, Would you like to see a new Fast And Furious roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood? it appears that majority of people are giving the thumbs up to this proposed new roller coaster.

Our poll saw 78% of voters saying they want to see a new roller coaster based on the Fast and Furious IP with 22% of people voting unhappy about the theming choice. We will follow the developments very closely and will keep you up to date on our news and Facebook page. Would you like to see a new Fast And Furious roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood? Let us know by voting in our poll below.

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Natalie SimView Profile

Co-founder of the site alongside her amazing Husband Nick who had the vision and inspiration to create Theme Park Tourist from scratch. Natalie has always been amazed by theme parks and thinks nothing beats walking around a Disney Park soaking up the sights, sounds and magical atmosphere hand in hand with the ones she loves.

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