2025 has been, and will continue to be, a big year for Universal Destinations & Experiences. We’ve already had the incredible opening of Epic Universe, and later this summer, we’ll see the opening of Universal Horror Unleashed. 2026 is going to be nearly as big, with the opening of Universal Kids Resort and the new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Yesterday, we got a lot of cool new information about the upcoming Fast & Furious coaster, including a short video giving us an idea of what the ride will be like, as well as the unveiling of the Hollywood Drift ride vehicle. As a theme park writer and theme park fan, I thought it looked amazing, but I wasn’t the only one. Former Walt Disney Imagineer Jim Shull, who helped design another roller coaster “car,” was equally impressed.
I was the Creative Director for #RocknRollerCoaster designing and overseeing my super stretched limo. I pass my baton to the team who delivered #FastFuriousCoaster #Universalfanfestnights #HollywoodDrift pic.twitter.com/a3tCwHrzJJJune 12, 2025
The Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith features a roller coaster train that is designed to be a “super stretch” limousine. The idea is that guests are getting in the limo to head to an Aerosmith concert, and then really hit the gas to fly through the city.
Jim Shull has a tendency to take any idea to task if he isn’t impressed by it. So the fact that he’s so complimentary of the Hollywood Drift ride vehicle actually says quite a bit. He’s not just being nice.
As a roller coaster vehicle goes, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster was pretty impressive for its time, but that time was over a quarter of a century ago. The new design of Hollywood Drift will see four individual “cars” that guests ride in, with each one independently “drifting” around the track. Design has certainly come a long way.
2026 will actually be a big year for both roller coasters. In addition to the Hollywood Drift opening, Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster is getting a massive facelift. The ride will close early in 2026 an reopen before the end of the year with a new theme, replacing Aerosmith with the Muppets who recently lost their other attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, following the closure of Muppet* Vision 3D.
With the fact that the closure is expected to be less than 12 months, we shouldn’t expect any major changes to the ride infrastructure itself. The super stretch limos may get a new paint job, or might even be replaced with brand-new versions of the same train design, but it’s unlikely we’ll see a leap forward with some sort of new design. Jim Shull’s work will live on.