Stardust Racers Reopening at Epic Universe
After an over two-week closure, Stardust Racers is slated to reopen at Epic Universe this weekend. The ride’s return comes amidst ongoing litigation following the death of a guest, but after Universal Orlando’s internal investigation revealed the roller coaster functioned as designed during that fatality. Here’s the latest on the Stardust Racers saga.
The guest who passed away was 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala. On the evening of Wednesday, September 17, 2025, Zavala became unresponsive after riding Stardust Racers. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was quickly pronounced dead.
Chief Medical Examiner Joshua Stephany, M.D. with Orange and Osceola counties stated that an autopsy was performed on Thursday morning and that Zavala’s cause of death was “multiple blunt impact injuries.” The cause of death was determined to be accidental.
Stardust Racers has been closed every single day since the death on September 17th. It is once again listed as “Closed Today” in the Universal Orlando app on Friday, Oct. 3rd.
The latest development is that Universal Orlando has announced that Stardust Racers will reopen on October 4, 2025. The attraction is slated to have a delayed opening, with a scheduled start on Saturday afternoon.
Karen Irwin, Universal Orlando Resort President & COO, said the following in an email to Team Members at Epic Universe:
As one Universal Orlando family, we continue to extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to Mr. Rodriguez Zavala’s family and loved ones for their loss. I am very grateful for the professionalism, compassion, and care our team has shown during and since this tragic event took place.
As I previously indicated, our comprehensive technical and operational review confirmed the ride systems functioned properly throughout the boarding process, the duration of the ride, and upon the ride vehicle’s return to the station, and our Team Members followed procedures throughout.
Our extensive review was conducted working closely with local officials, and the State of Florida observed the testing and reviewed the results. In addition, the ride system manufacturer of record and an independent, third-party roller coaster engineering expert conducted their own on-site testing and validated our findings. I am thankful for their participation throughout this important process.
Safety, as always, is our top priority. To further assist guests in determining whether they can or cannot ride an attraction, we are updating operational procedures and attraction signage to reinforce existing ride warnings and physical eligibility requirements at Stardust Racers and other rides.
Our Commentary
Universal would not be reopening Stardust Racers unless they were confident in both the safety of the attraction and their exposure to legal liability. I want to start with this point because it’s a significant one.
“Safety is our top priority” might seem like an obligatory platitude, but it’s also accurate. Universal and parent company Comcast would not be allowing this ride to reopen unless they were certain that doing so would not leave them exposed in the event of future incidents to successful litigation. Meaning that their own internal investigation must be conclusive; they must likewise feel their confident in their legal position.
Nevertheless, I’m shocked at the speed with which Stardust Racers is returning. Given the number of incidents and the ongoing lawsuit, I figured this was going to be a long road to reopening–and one that entailed substantive changes (not just signage) to the roller coaster. Honestly, my gut was that early 2026 was entirely plausible for the ride’s return.
I’m happy to be wrong about this. It means Stardust Racers is viewed as safe by Universal; its warnings, policies & protocol, and rider requirements are all sufficient in providing reasonable notice to guests about who is eligible and the risk being assumed. This does not mean there won’t be future incidents or further litigation. But rather, that it’s an acceptable level of risk and Comcast feels reasonably confident that they can prevail on the merits. We shall see about all of that.
Stardust Racers being down has been a big blow to the operating capacity of Epic Universe. Its return will likewise provide much-needed capacity and reliability to the ride roster, just before fall break starts kicking into high gear.
Stardust Racers is also one of the more reliable and high-capacity attractions in Epic Universe, owing in large part to it essentially being two roller coasters on one load platform. The theoretical hourly capacity of Stardust Racers is estimated to be over 2,750 guests, which is a big reason why it frequently has the shortest waits in the park. Like Monsters Unchained, the roller coaster is/was a people eater.
This is a sharp contrast to Donkey Kong Mine-Cart Madness, for example, which has an estimated hourly capacity of 700-800 guests. That is, of course, assuming it’s operational in the first place. Another roller coaster, Curse of the Werewolf, is similarly low; in the 1,000 riders ballpark, which also explains its high wait times despite the consensus view that Stardust Racers is the #1 roller coaster at Epic Universe.
Stardust Racers having the capacity of ~3 other rides combined and being more reliable made it an asset to Epic Universe, which is still finding its operational footing. Moreover, Stardust Racers being a great roller coaster that is viewed as “worth it” in terms of reward relative to the wait is also huge. (I would hazard a guess that Stardust Racers has some of the highest GSATs in Epic Universe; I wouldn’t be surprised if those other two coasters have some of the lowest.)
All of this is to say that Stardust Racers being closed for multiple months–especially into the Christmas season–would’ve been a massive blow to park operations. Its return is a huge win for Epic Universe; hopefully it’s soon accompanied by better weather (meaning less downtime) and efficiency gains on guest throughput. It’s been a rough ride for Epic Universe thus far, but the park has great bones and we really hope early 2026 marks a turning point!
Stardust Racers Incident Recap
According to an incident report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Zavala’s longtime girlfriend was with him when riding Stardust Racers and informed deputies that he had a pre-existing spinal condition and was taking medication. Zavala’s family has confirmed that he had a spinal disability from birth and used a wheelchair, but claimed that did not cause his death.
Like other intense thrill rides, Stardust Racers has a laundry list of safety rules and guidelines. Among other warnings, the attraction lists the following requirements for riding: “You should be able to independently: (1) maintain an upright position, (2) support your torso, neck, and head while absorbing sudden and dramatic movements, and (3) brace your body with at least one natural upper extremity. You must be able to take a small step into the ride vehicle compartment, either independently or with assistance from your companion.”
The Zavala family has since retained renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump. The family is seeking full transparency from Universal Orlando, including the release of maintenance logs, inspection records, ride data, and video footage, to understand the circumstances surrounding Kevin’s death.
Crump’s legal team has heard from additional witnesses and other riders who reported suffering injuries on Stardust Racers. The family believes these accounts show that warning signs were missed and that Kevin’s death was entirely preventable. At a recent news conference, Crump and the family detailed the accounts of other injured riders who have reached out to them.
People who’ve contacted the family and law office include a woman who says she lost consciousness and suffered neck and spine injuries soon after the ride opened, Crump said during the news conference. He indicated that several of the guests who have reported injuries were not disabled, yet they have nevertheless had problems with the ride. The stories shared with the attorney suggest a pattern of problems with the ride’s restraints, causing riders to be thrown forward and hit the the bar in front of them.
In addition to this ongoing lawsuit over the Stardust Racers fatality, Universal Orlando settled a lawsuit filed by a woman who asserted that she was injured on Stardust Racers during previews of the park three weeks before its official opening. She alleged that the roller coaster caused her head to shake violently and slam against her seat’s headrest. She claimed that she suffered permanent injuries because Stardust Racers lacked proper head restraints. Universal settled that suit within a few days of filing.
In a facilities report of the state’s theme parks for the second quarter (April through June), the Florida Department of Agriculture revealed that Universal Orlando had a total of seven reported incident, with two of them being on Stardust Racers. Per the report:
- 6/22/25 Stardust Racers, 63 yom, dizziness/altered state of consciousness (pre-existing condition)
- 6/24/25 Stardust Racers, 47 yof, visual disturbance/numbness (pre-existing condition)
Crump has stated that there were numerous “warning signs that there was something wrong with the design” of Stardust Racers, and that instead of remedying the problems, Universal has tried to “blame the victims.”
Stardust Racers is a dual-launch racing coaster that sends guests rocketing through the skies aboard comets in a race to see who’s the fastest of them all. Reaching speeds up to 62 mph and heights up to 133 feet along 5,000 feet of track, Stardust Racers is Epic Universe’s most thrilling coaster experience with unique maneuvers such as the “Celestial Spin,” in which the two coaster vehicles perform an inverted crisscross while speeding through the air, creating an otherworldly adrenaline rush.
In our Epic Universe Ride Reviews & Ratings, we gave Stardust Racers a perfect 10/10, with the following praise: “These playful coasters are full of surprises, with high-speed thrills offset by moments of levity and amazing interplay between the two tracks. There’s a ridiculous amount of airtime, and even though it’s intense, it’s never punishing.”
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Your Thoughts
Have you experienced Stardust Racers at Epic Universe? Surprised that Universal Orlando is reopening the ride so quickly, or did you expect it to return once the internal investigation indicated that it functioned as intended? Thoughts on what the ride adds to the ride roster and park capacity at Epic Universe? Any questions we can help you answer? Please keep the conversation civil and be respectful of the deceased and his family, friends and loved ones. Any comments that cross the line will be deleted.
My son and I were fortunate to be at Epic on the reopening date and I can tell you that the atmosphere and interaction between the guests and the ride crew was electric. It was clear that the employees needed to feel valued and the riders did not let them down. There was a lot of clapping, cheering, high-fiving, etc and clearly none of it seemed dismissive or disrespectful of the victim but rather a joyous celebration of a great ride. The park had a lot of management types out and did a great job controlling the crowd surge as the ride opened and the crowd themselves respected the boundaries. I saw not a single incident of running or pushing; which was wonderful and of course I am sure Universal badly needed this to go well. To the park’s credit they did not close the line early and probably did not clear all the riders until close to midnight.
I’m in my 60s and rode this twice on the same day as this incident. (Obviously before it closed). I’m on Universal’s side w/this. If you watch the ride in motion, read the warnings, and think – HHmmm, wonder if I should do this .. – then you probably shouldn’t. Sorry for what happened to this gentleman, but so many things in life come with a risk. After given all the available information you still decide – I’m going for it – then the results for same are on you.
I rode this several times on the Friday before the incident, even in the same seat as the individual, and thought it was a roller coaster that was better than it had any right to be as just a bare-themed track. It was remarkably smooth and extremely enjoyable, like it had a personality on it’s own the way the two cars played together. Plus, it was so long! I usually expect dueling coasters to be a little shorter of an experience due to building the track twice, but it was long enough for me to have a conversation with the other single rider who joined me on my first trip in the front row. It was really nice that we could put up our hands freely, given the fact that we were being pelted with raindrops at 60+ mph. But beyond moving our arms, there’s not a lot of movement you can do on this ride. I could see how someone who passed out might flop around a bit, but the restraints were pretty firm over my torso and didn’t leave a ton of room for this.
Given the confidence of Universal, who has access to a range of information about the incident and specialist consultants, only changing signage to more specifically indicate what they’d already generally covered with their warnings before? The guest’s pre-existing condition seems like it must have made their body susceptible to a greater range of flopping than someone without it. This is the only thing that makes sense to me, given that otherwise there is that major hole in Universal’s defense (of people passing out on the ride potentially being at risk of death.) I can’t imagine they would open the ride unless they knew this was not the case.
I don’t know…
I completely agree that Universal wouldn’t reopen the ride unless they were sure it was safe, and that they won’t lose in court.
Reopening the ride without making any changes would be consistent with their position that there was nothing wrong with the ride, they did nothing wrong, and this was not their fault.
…but then, why change the signs at all? It feels like an admission there was something Universal could have done differently, even if only to limit their own exposure.
(I was probably never going on this one, anyway. I’ll stick to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, thank you very much.)
Re: your preference for BTMRR. I was at Disneyland on a day in 2003 that might change your mind.
They changed the signs because the manufacturing company changed their policies on riders after this happened. They made the ride. They told Universal to update the signage. Easy as that.
I am really curious as to what emerges from the litigation, as it would appear on current information there is an inherent risk of death in the lap belt design used on ‘intense’ rides. For example, my brother nearly ‘greyed out’ riding Hulk a few years ago. He was in great physical shape, had no underlying health conditions, had normal blood pressure, AND had ridden Hulk several times previously without incident. Every ride was on the front row. Yet for whatever reason, on this day his blood pressure was low and he nearly lost consciousness. Therefore it was not only unforeseeable but no amount of warning signs would have made any difference to his decision to ride. Had it occurred the shoulder harness would have kept him upright and restricted movement of his head and upper body. Yet on a lap belt no such restriction is available, and it seems really odd that there is no apparent ‘back up’ safety system for a human who unexpectedly loses consciousness.
(Also I think Mission Space was considered to be operating properly back in back in 2006 after 2 people died, yet I understand their deaths led to the ‘Green’ option and cast members handing out warning cards to anyone entering the original ‘Orange’ option for years afterwards.)
I have been on close to 500 coasters. Greying out or even blacking out due to low blood pressure from g-force is not that unusual and literally lasts a few seconds. Whatever happened to him was something different in my opinion having recently ridden SR, there is speed but not the type of force that usually causes a grey out. As far as over the shoulder restraints they are mostly security theater and actually give you more to hit your head on, which is why they are not only unpopular but rapidly going out of style. There was literally nothing to hit your head or upper body on other than the seatback itself and shoulder harnesses would have done nothing to counter that.
It’s a very rare and tragic thing when someone dies on a ride. Having said that, there is no way I’m ever getting on it.
Yeah, the fact that they are basically like- if u pass out , u can die- does not dit well with me. Wont ever be riding this one
I was there last weekend and it was lit up like a crime scene. All service lights on and temp flood lights around the track. It created a lot of light pollution in other areas. It was my first and likely only trip to Epic this decade, so was a bit disappointed to not experience the ambiance that was intended. Obviously thoughts are with this man’s family.
So let’s see if I got all this right. First: riders must be able to “(1) maintain an upright position, (2) support your torso, neck, and head while absorbing sudden and dramatic movements, and (3) brace your body with at least one natural upper extremity,” — my thought: how do you know you can – or cannot – meet this requirement unless you try it out?
Then we have: riders must be able to “(1) maintain an upright position, (2) support your torso, neck, and head while absorbing sudden and dramatic movements, and (3) brace your body with at least one natural upper extremity,”
And: internal investigation revealed the roller coaster functioned as designed during that fatality
So basically, if I understand this correctly, is that the ride was designed to submit the riders to extreme impact, that said impact will occasionally kill the rider, and that it is the rider’s responsibility to know ahead of ever riding the ride, that he or she is not capable of surviving such impact! Sort of like knowing that you should not use a crosswalk if cannot survive being hit by a car! Or did I miss something here?
I can ride & enjoy Rock’n’Roller Coaster, but one time I was getting bumped around a bit, but that was because I wasn’t sitting fully back against the seat as I should’ve been. I like another indoor coaster, Revenge of the Mummy, too. However, since I can’t predict the drops on Space Mountain from the utter darkness, I find this ride too unpleasant for stomach lurching sensations even if it supposedly so tame & slow.
For more intense coasters, I’ve found Hulk not as scary as it looks, but I’ve always been afraid to try Rip Ride Rock It & Velocicoaster because I heard they had no shoulder restraints & I was afraid of feeling like I would fall out, even if that would be just an illusion & I was perfectly safe. I can’t stand that type of feeling. It’s what makes a simple Dumbo spinner ride like Astro Orbiters the scariest ride I’ve ever ridden (scary in a non-fun way) because I kept feeling I was going to be hurtled into the sky. At least on Hulk I felt secure with the shoulder restraints.
I have my own dark theory about the Stardust Racers death, but if it ended up being unfounded, it would be unfair of me to have even spoken it, so I won’t detail it. I do hope I’m wrong.
I have a dark one, too. I wonder if we share it? When I told my family, they quickly said there was no way. I guess we’ll never know.
I am very happy to see this news. People need to take accountability for their own decisions. Millions of people ride intense roller coasters every year with no issues. Lap restraints are actually more comfortable for many riders because they can better accommodate people of various heights and weights than shoulder restraints. Velocicoaster is my favorite roller coaster in Central Florida (I have not ridden Stardust Racers yet, but I am looking forward to trying it), and I am not in my 20s, 30s or even 40s. Velocicoaster is intense, but it’s easier on me than Rock’n Roll Roller Coaster and Space Mountain. My husband does not go on any of these rides because he gets vertigo and is prone to motion sickness. Everyone should know their own limits. I am sorry this young man died, but he chose to go on Stardust Racers. He had pre-existing physical disabilities and should have known the risk.
He died of multiple blunt force trauma. That means his body was literally slammed against the mechanism. That’ is NOT on him.
I’m very sorry this happened to this gentleman.
The idea that losing consciousness (fainting) during a ride could be dangerous does unsettle me a little bit, as someone who has experienced syncope in my life.
If you look at the warning language saying riders must be able to “(1) maintain an upright position, (2) support your torso, neck, and head while absorbing sudden and dramatic movements, and (3) brace your body with at least one natural upper extremity,” I’m not sure I’d be able to do any of those things while passed out.
On the flip side, if someone passes out while driving a car (which does happen sometimes) that’s at least as dangerous to themselves (and more dangerous to others), and yet cars are still on the road. So my guess is that legally there’s some exemption of liability for loss of consciousness? Otherwise they’d be refitting the coaster with much more restrictive restraints
Heart attacks, strokes, aneurisms, etc., can cause someone to lose consciousness. Theme parks should not be expected to be responsible for these occurrences. All you have to do is look at this ride and you know it is filled with sudden speed, turns, height, etc. Universal prominently displays the warning signs. Guests who cannot control their body should not go on this ride. The ADA prevents theme parks from denying anyone with visible disabilities access to a ride. Therefore, it’s up to the rider to determine whether a ride is safe for them to experience. Stardust Racers functioned as intended. This situation can easily be distinguished from the incident that occurred at Icon Park a few years ago where the rider died because the ride operator overrode the restraint system to allow the rider to “fit” in the seat.
I don’t ride them, but I’ve watched my husband and daughter board many. She came off of Disney’s Rockin’ roller coaster with a major headache because her head banged on the head rest area. I think those should always have appropriate padding. But your article mentions a head restraint. Exactly what would that look like? The literal mental picture looks like a head strap across the forehead.
Stardust Racers uses a lap restraint as opposed to a shoulder restraint (like Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster).
The logic of the lawsuits is that, in the event of a rider losing consciousness, the shoulder restraint would still keep them upright and (theoretically) okay.
Your head can still rattle around even with shoulder restraints. I’ve had terrible headaches after Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris, for example, because of the track roughness. I’ve never had any problems with Universal’s coasters that use lap restraints. My experiences have been worse on Hulk and Rip Ride Rockit.
I can get a stiff neck on coasters that are too rough (space mountain, rip ride rocket) but I didn’t have any issues with stardust. It was intense enough that I found myself taking some deep calming breaths. But I found the coaster to be very smooth.
We rode it about 6 times in one day and found it amazing. Other coasters are faster pull more G and have more airtime. Obviously it’s horrendous what’s happened but doubt it’s the fault of the ride. Keeping it closed could be taken as an admission of “something”. Opening after a brief period to show respect seems a sensible choice from a Comcast perspective.
It’s of course a tragedy that a young man perished on the ride, but it DOES give every appearance of being unrelated to the design of the coaster.
Despite the 10/10 rating here, I found the coaster to be so rough that it was at the limit of my enjoyment. I probably won’t try it again, as it simply wasn’t enjoyable. This ride is designed for individuals in good physical condition who enjoy the most challenging coasters. It makes everything at Disney seem like kiddy rides.
If this were the first roller coaster with lap restraints, I think we might see more scrutiny over such an approach. But obviously it isn’t, and incidents like this are exceedingly rare.
I’ve heard others mention Stardust Racers being rough, but that hasn’t been my experience–at all. And I’ve ridden it easily a dozen-plus times between April and late August. I’d say that maybe I have a higher tolerance for punishing coasters, but I complain about Matterhorn all the time…so probably not? Don’t really know how to explain that one–I feel like I’m barely even in my seat because the coaster has so much air time.
Different people find different things painful. While I didn’t ride it this year so who knows after the low maintenance mode, I never had the problems with Rip Ride Rocket that everyone else had. On the other hand, it’s been years since I’ve enjoyed either track at Space Mountain (over a decade for what used to be the rough one), and my short “seating height” means that the Hulk bats my skull around like a melon while my wife gets to enjoy it.
I’m not surprised the ride is reopening, Disney world has had 97 deaths on property and no one cares. Some were even disneys fault like on big thunder mountain derailment in 2003, and the two different monorail collisions in 2001 and 2009.
Those seem like bad examples since both resulted in major operational changes. BTMRR in particular was a turning point for Disneyland, and is often cited as the darkest point in the resort’s history and the start of a huge comeback culminating in the 50th.
I need a link to your sources before I take your word about the number of deaths. And since you got an incident at Disneyland mixed up for one at Walt Disney World, I’m not sure how you define “Disney world”. Just the Magic Kingdom, all of the Walt Disney World resort including hotels & Disney Springs, or all the Disney parks on both coasts of this country? Maybe even all Disney parks worldwide? And keep in mind not every death would be due to lack of ride safety. In the 1970’s, my father helped investigate a murder that had taken place in the treehouse villas (I think those are now a part of Saratoga Springs). That wasn’t due to ride safety issues. Then a few years ago, an old man passed away peacefully on the People Mover, but his time had just come & it wasn’t an accident–it was natural causes. They said he died “in his happy place”. Which is how I want to go, but as the Tiki Room show is ending & the bird hosts are saying, “We hope you will always remember the things you saw in the Tiki Room…” Story of my life spent at the parks.