Universal Accelerates Fast & Furious Ride Closing Date

Maliboomer. Primeval Whirl. Beauty and the Beast Sing-Along. Goofy’s Sky School. There’s a list of Disney and Universal attractions so bad that their continued existence is an affront to guests, and their removal was or will be addition by subtraction.

The upcoming Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift at Universal Studios Florida is accomplishing an especially rare trifecta. It’s adding what should be a fantastic roller coaster while putting two abominations out of their misery. The first of these is Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, which closed last fall and was quickly demolished.

The second is Fast & Furious – Supercharged. In announcing Hollywood Drift, Universal Orlando previously shared that Fast & Furious – Supercharged would permanently close in 2027. At that time, they indicated that more information would be shared in the months ahead, including the official closing date for Fast & Furious Supercharged. Well, they’ve now “in the months ahead” and they’ve shared the official closing date. It’s been accelerated by months, if not a full year.

Universal Orlando has now announced that Fast & Furious – Supercharged will permanently close on August 17, 2026. The last day to experience the ride before it’s gone for good is August 16, 2026.

This update is not yet reflected on any operating calendars, but Universal shared this update with Annual Passholders. Making the conservative assumption that Fast & Furious – Supercharged was originally scheduled to close after the holiday season, this moves forward the closure by a little under 5 months.

Assuming it was closing in the 2027 post-summer off-season, the closure is a full year ahead of the previous schedule. Universal Orlando has framed the sunsetting of Supercharged as happening “to make way for the new experience” of Hollywood Drift.

However, we’d note that they’re nowhere near one another in Universal Studios Florida. Much like how Disney has multiple Toy Story and Finding Nemo attractions of varying degrees of quality, USF could’ve had two Fast & Furious attractions. It’s not as if Hollywood Drift is ahead of schedule and its progress is necessitating this accelerated closure. Universal is making a choice. Whether the underlying motivation is operational cost-cutting or fast-tracking an actual replacement is unknown.

Ultimately, it does not matter. No tears will be shed for Fast & Furious – Supercharged. It will not be the subject of tributes or fond farewells. This attraction racing towards its own extinction is fitting. Although I’ll have ample opportunities for one last ride with the family, I’ve already taken my final spin on Supercharged (like 5-6 years ago). Its demise is another very obvious instance of addition by subtraction.

As we’ve been saying for years–since literally before it even opened in Orlando–Fast & Furious – Supercharged is one of the worst theme park experiences anywhere, ever. In all of recorded human history.

We were absolutely shocked when it was cloned to Orlando, and remain convinced that the Comcast executives that greenlit that terrible decision lost a bet with Bob Iger or something. Post-Potter, it was the clearest indication that Universal Creative wasn’t beating Walt Disney Imagineering.

Whereas my hot take that Zootopia: Better Zoogether is an abomination is (unfortunately) unsupported by guest satisfaction surveys, this is not even a remotely unpopular opinion. Fast & Furious: Supercharged has survived seasonal status and has been rumored to permanently close for as long as it’s been open. It was an immediate flop with guests, which would’ve been unsurprising to anyone who experienced the Universal Studios Hollywood version.

Fast & Furious – Supercharged does have a slight campy quality and has developed a minor cult following in the last few years, but the first rule of theme parks is that anything that exists for a decade develops a fan following. Much like the Walt Disney World diehards who insisted that Dino-Rama was great because of its backstory, those fans are, ahem, misguided.

Fast & Furious – Supercharged is not so bad it’s good. It’s just plain bad. In short, Supercharged sucks. The Fast & Furious film franchise is much better suited with a thrill ride than anything with any semblance of story or narrative. Just exhilaration, excitement, and crazy car vibes.

Universal Orlando has not yet announced what will replace it, but literally anything would be better, including absolutely nothing at all. This is addition by subtraction at its finest, and Universal should be lauded for pulling the plug on it ahead of schedule. The fewer unsuspecting guests subjected to Supercharged, the better. This is really a public service, so kudos to Universal.

(I’m not even being remotely sarcastic–there have been rumors for years that guests who experienced Supercharged reported lower overall satisfaction with their days than those who did not–much like Stitch’s Great Escape at Walt Disney World. It takes an aggressively awful experience to have that kind of drag on GSAT scores.)

As for what’ll replace Fast & Furious – Supercharged, my vote would be to bring back “Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride…Starring You!” This was the attraction that previously occupied this space, and was a campy cult classic featuring Christopher Walken. I loved Disaster, but can recognize that it never reached the same iconic status as Universal Studios Florida’s true legacy attractions. There’s a reason Frank Kincaid isn’t featured on the throwback merchandise.

Other possibilities include something Wicked, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and more. Without insider info, any of these franchises strike me as plausible, especially because Universal is increasingly recognizing the value of nostalgia. Universal has a vast library of classics, and any one of those could stand the test of time and round out guest days.

Whatever the plan, I hope it is similarly being fast-tracked. One thing that is under-discussed in the fan community is just what sorry shape much of Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure are in. It’s almost comical to hear disgruntled Disney fans talk about how Universal is “beating” Walt Disney World, while ignoring large swaths of the two older parks. (Along with Epic Universe operations.)

But we’re trying to be positive here, and closing Fast & Furious – Supercharged five months to one year ahead of schedule without a replacement is fantastic news!

We would add that this continues a great run of closures of this nature. As mentioned above, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit closed last year. That ride was rough, jarring and bumpy. Prior to closure, it seemed like it was down for maintenance more often, and never truly “fixed.” It was like the Matterhorn in terms of discomfort, except minus the charm and any redeeming qualities. Beyond that, HRRR just looked ugly and stuck out like a sore thumb.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit had big amusement park energy. It still wasn’t nearly as bad as Fast & Furious – Supercharged, but both were first-ballot members of the Theme Park Hall of Shame. For those keeping score at home, Dino-Rama and Animation Courtyard would’ve been right there alongside of them. And just like that, all are going or have gone extinct. What a time to be alive for theme park fans with decent taste!

Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift Opens in 2027

Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift is joining the thrill ride roster at Universal Studios Florida! This high-octane outdoor roller coaster will join the Universal Orlando family in 2027.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will put guests in the driver’s seat of the high-speed thrills of Universal Pictures’ Fast & Furious universe like never before. Riders will experience the exhilarating sensation of 360-degree drifting as they speed through jaw-dropping maneuvers – including a 170-foot vertical “spike” nearly 17 stories in the air over the outskirts of Universal CityWalk.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will join an award-winning collection of coaster experiences at Universal Orlando Resort. Universal Studios Hollywood will also debut its own, one-of-a-kind Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift outdoor roller coaster later this year.

We’re really looking forward to Hollywood Drift. Universal Orlando has had a spectacular streak of success with roller coasters recently–from Stardust Racers to VelociCoaster to Hagrid’s–and there’s every reason to believe that trifecta turns into a four-peat with Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.

Stardust Racers is my favorite roller coaster anywhere, and VelociCoaster isn’t far behind. Given the overall quality of those rides, I’m inclined to give Universal Creative the benefit of the doubt. They’ve earned deference when it comes to thrill rides.

I’m less optimistic about whatever replaces Fast & Furious – Supercharged. Universal Creative has plenty of recent hits with dark rides and shows, but their batting average isn’t nearly as good. At least whatever replaces Supercharged doesn’t have big shoes to fill. It has the world’s stinkiest, ugliest, small shoes to fill. A fish could fill its shoes. Or better yet, a Slimer.

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Your Thoughts

What do you think of Fast & Furious – Supercharged closing ahead of schedule at Universal Studios Florida? Will you miss it, or are you happy to say good riddance? Thoughts on possible themes for the replacement? Agree or disagree with anything here? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!