Universal Hollywood new coaster release date arrived Sept. 16, when Universal Studios Hollywood set Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift for public opening. The move ends a technical-rehearsal stretch that began in late July and turns the ride from a testing project into a scheduled attraction for park guests.
The coaster runs 4,100 feet, hits 72 mph and uses four launch points to send cars through two inverted loops and a pretzel loop, with the cars able to rotate 360 degrees. Universal said the ride is ready for daily operations after 10 years in development.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift has been described as Universal's first major outdoor thrill ride, and it sits on a steep hill between the upper and lower lots at Universal Studios Hollywood. That placement gives the coaster a different profile from the park's indoor attractions and makes the launch date a useful marker for how far Universal has pushed the property’s physical footprint.
For guests, the operational detail that matters most is simple: the ride opens as a standard queue attraction. A daily ticket starts at $109.95, and prices can reach the $150 range for a weekend date, but the coaster will not be included in express pass offerings at launch. Anyone planning a visit on or after Sept. 16 should expect the same line as every other rider.
Universal and Intamin
Universal and Intamin built the coaster over a 10-year development cycle, which helps explain why this opening date lands after an extended testing phase instead of arriving all at once. The ride's scale, launch system and rotating cars put it among the park’s most complex additions, and that complexity usually means a softer rollout before wider access rules are added.
The late-July technical rehearsals now give way to daily operations on Sept. 16, with express access expected at a later date. The only immediate planning question for visitors is whether they want to ride early, when the attraction is new and still drawing full queues, or wait for the later express option to show up.
