The Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood recently hit a major milestone: welcoming its first riders on board.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Hits Ridership Milestone
While Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift has been seen testing since October 2025 (including with test dummies), this is the first time it has officially held riders. Ridership is a major milestone for coaster construction, as it means the attraction is entering the final stages of adjustments and polish. That’s why the first riders are made up of Universal Creative Team Members, specifically project Team Members, Ride Engineers, and Programmers, as shared in an Instagram post from Universal Creative.
The ride vehicles in the post are still concealed in dazzle camouflage, but we’ve seen unwrapped trains racing along the tracks since March. We also get another look at the loading area, which features bold graffiti murals of — what else? — muscle cars, specifically the vehicles that make up each coaster train, including Dom’s Dodge Charger as the lead car.
“Ridership is a key part of project commissioning that allows us to run the ride with people on it. We start with a limited group of project Team Members, Ride Engineers, and Programmers to make final adjustments to the ride system,” says Jennifer Bruce, Manager of Ride & Show Engineering.
The video, which has no sound, features the train rolling out of the station while keeping the camera fixed on a Team Members Only door. More of the colorful mural work covers the brick walls.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift at Universal Studios Hollywood will open later this year. It has 4,100 feet of track, sound reduction technology, and 360-degree rotation to create the sensation of drifting. Another version of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is currently under construction in Universal Studios Florida. It replaces Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, which closed in August 2025.
Watch the official teaser video:
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