Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is entering a new phase of construction, with ride vehicles now being pulled along portions of the track at Universal Studios Florida.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Pull-Through Testing
Aerial photographer bioreconstruct shared the latest views of the roller coaster, which is scheduled to open in 2027.
A black ride vehicle styled as Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger has been positioned in the attraction’s first launch. A rope attached to the front of the vehicle allows crews to pull it along the track without activating the coaster’s launch system.
Arched metal frames known as rider reach envelopes are attached to the vehicle. These frames represent the maximum distance a rider could potentially reach beyond the car, allowing crews to confirm that riders will pass safely through the surrounding structures and scenery.
The latest work is pull-through testing rather than powered track testing. It is an important step toward ensuring that the coaster’s cars can safely navigate the completed track and its closely positioned themed elements.
Another aerial view highlights four parts of the developing test setup:
- A rig holding the rope used for pull-through testing
- The black Dodge Charger-themed vehicle attached to the rope
- An overbanked hill that will be largely hidden from approaching guests by a themed jackknifed trailer
- A second winch-and-rope rig positioned on the return hill
Crews have also anchored a spool at the top of the return-to-station hill behind Music Plaza. Bioreconstruct notes that the setup appears designed to pull a car through this section in the opposite direction from the coaster’s normal route.
A ride vehicle is already staged in the station area, while another car with Mazda-inspired bodywork is covered by a tarp nearby. The covered vehicle is expected to be used for additional pull-through testing.
The station’s industrial scenery has also continued to take shape. Corrugated panels of various colors have been painted and weathered to resemble stacks of old, rusty shipping containers.
We recently shared aerial views of the shipping container scenery, entrance façade, and other themed elements under construction.
The containers surround the launch area alongside large truck props. During the ride, cars will launch beneath the trailer of a jackknifed truck, which also helps conceal the nearby overbanked hill. This should allow the track element to appear unexpectedly as riders accelerate through the scene.
From this angle, you can see the Halloween Horror Nights walkways snaking through the construction site under the hill where the pull-testing spool is currently located.
Another perspective shows how the coaster tracks arch over the band shell of Universal Music Plaza.
Our reporter also got some shots of the pull-testing equipment from the ground inside the park. A green spool-like apparatus has been anchored to the track at the crest of the coaster’s return hill above the Universal Music Plaza stage. The equipment is secured to the track with an orange mounting assembly, while a warning flag stands nearby.
Rope from the spool will be used to pull a coaster vehicle through this portion of the layout. The vehicle is expected to travel in the opposite direction from the attraction’s normal ride route during the test, with a car already staged in the station area.
Pull-through testing allows crews to move a vehicle slowly and deliberately along the track while evaluating clearances and other aspects of the completed coaster system. The presence of this equipment suggests Universal is preparing for an early phase of testing, though it is distinct from full-speed powered testing.
Elsewhere in the construction zone, large steel framework continues to rise near the site of the attraction’s future façade in the New York area.
The structure now stands several stories tall, with vertical columns and horizontal beams forming a series of rectangular bays. A mobile crane was positioned beside the construction site during our visit, lifting another horizontal steel truss above the framework.
Workers used boom lifts to access the upper levels of the structure and guide the steel into place. Several beams still extend beyond the completed sections, leaving connection points for additional framing.
The building remains largely skeletal, with no exterior walls or roof installed. The steel frame directly adjoins the existing themed façade, which retains its brick exterior, stone detailing, and large arched opening.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is scheduled to open at Universal Studios Florida in 2027, replacing Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. The resort’s previous franchise attraction, Fast & Furious – Supercharged, permanently closed on August 16, 2026. The coaster will feature vehicles capable of rotating 360 degrees to simulate drifting, as well as a 170-foot vertical spike extending near Universal CityWalk.
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