‘Fast & Furious’ coaster is officially open. Fans are happy, neighbors are not

Sept. 16, 2026 5:29 PM PT

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Universal Studios Hollywood’s landscape-changing, park-altering new thrill ride, Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, is officially open. The coaster boasting spinning, drifting cars along 4,100 feet of track had been in a soft launch phase since late July. But as of Wednesday morning, the theme park has declared the ride fit for daily operation.

Riders lined up for opening day of Universal Studios’ highly anticipated thrill ride. Meanwhile, neighbors in Toluca Lake are still hoping for change.

Universal has scheduled a community meeting with residents for Sept. 30. The park also last month pledged to build additional sound barriers to further dampen rider screams.

Entertainment & Arts Newsletter

Todd Martens

Todd Martens is a features columnist at the Los Angeles Times who writes about theme parks and West Coast Experiences, among other topics. His weekly newsletter, Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride, covers the ever-changing world of theme parks from SoCal. Martens joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007 and has covered a mix of interactive entertainment as its game critic and pop music as a reporter and editor. Previously, he reported on the music business for Billboard Magazine.

Brenda Elizondo

Brenda Elizondo is a former video journalist at the Los Angeles Times. She covered diverse beats across the paper including De Los, Entertainment and reported breaking news on immigrant communities during the peak of the ICE raids. The Santa Ana native received her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Cal State Fullerton and previously field produced at NBCLA and Telemundo52.