Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is officially open at Universal Studios Hollywood, putting guests aboard the California park’s first outdoor, high-speed roller coaster. But on the same day, Universal Beijing Resort confirmed a very different future for the same movie franchise: Asia’s first Fast & Furious-themed indoor thrill ride.
That contrast is the real story. Hollywood gets a 72-mph outdoor coaster built around drifting and the park’s hillside terrain; Beijing is promising a fully indoor attraction built around immersive environments, storytelling, chase sequences, and action scenes. What Universal has not said is equally important: Beijing is not getting an indoor version of Hollywood Drift, and there is no disclosed budget proving Hollywood received a cheaper or lesser investment.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Is Now Open in Hollywood
Universal officially opened Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift on September 16, 2026, at Universal Studios Hollywood in Universal City, California. According to Universal Studios Hollywood’s official opening announcement, the attraction reaches speeds of up to 72 mph on 4,100 feet of track, includes four launches, and uses ride vehicles capable of independently rotating 360 degrees to create a drifting sensation.
The coaster dives over and under portions of the Starway escalator, using the Hollywood park’s unusual hillside geography as part of the experience. Universal says the track incorporates sound-reduction technology, while the ride vehicles are modeled after four cars from the Fast Saga: the Dodge Charger, Mazda RX-7, Nissan Skyline GT-R, and Toyota Supra.
Inside the Magic previously covered Hollywood Drift’s confirmed September opening and technical details that make it a major departure from the park’s older Fast & Furious offering. Pass Members also received dedicated preview dates before the official debut.
Universal Beijing Is Taking Fast & Furious Indoors
On the same date Hollywood Drift opened, Universal Beijing Resort announced plans for Asia’s first Fast & Furious-themed indoor thrill ride. Universal says the attraction is being designed specifically for the Beijing resort.
The company’s description emphasizes a fully indoor ride combining immersive environments, storytelling, chase sequences, and action scenes. That language makes the Beijing project sound fundamentally different from Hollywood Drift’s exposed steel track and coaster-first approach.
Still, calling the Beijing attraction a traditional “dark ride” goes beyond what Universal has confirmed. The official Universal Beijing Resort announcement uses the terminology “indoor thrill ride,” and Universal has not yet revealed the ride system, vehicles, track configuration, manufacturer, opening date, or construction budget.
The announcement establishes that Beijing is getting a more enclosed, story-forward Fast & Furious concept, but it does not establish that Universal transplanted Hollywood Drift overseas and upgraded it.
Does Beijing Really Mean Hollywood Got the Cheaper Ride?
The side-by-side timing creates an obvious question for U.S. fans: why does Beijing get a fully indoor, immersive attraction while Hollywood gets a roller coaster?
There is not enough public information to conclude that Universal “spent less” on Hollywood. Universal has not released comparable project budgets, and Hollywood Drift itself uses rotating vehicles, multiple launches, onboard audio, sound-reduction technology, and a layout threaded through a constrained hillside theme park.
Universal has specifically pointed to real estate being at a premium in Hollywood and said designers used the natural terrain as the coaster’s structural and creative backbone. The outdoor format may reflect what Universal wanted in California rather than evidence of a domestic downgrade.
The comparison is still fair editorial territory. Beijing’s concept appears more focused on controlled environments and cinematic storytelling, while Hollywood’s attraction prioritizes physical speed, elevation, inversions, and the sensation of drifting. Until Universal reveals Beijing’s ride system and scope, however, declaring one attraction the bigger investment would be speculation.
Fast & Furious Is Being Rebuilt Across Universal Parks
The Beijing announcement arrives during a broader reset for Fast & Furious inside Universal theme parks. Hollywood’s former Fast & Furious—Supercharged segment on the Studio Tour closed in March 2025 ahead of Hollywood Drift, ending a decade-long run for that version of the attraction. Inside the Magic covered the confirmed Hollywood Supercharged closure.
Florida followed. Fast & Furious—Supercharged at Universal Studios Florida permanently closed in August 2026, while another Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster is already under construction at the Orlando park for a 2027 opening. Inside the Magic has tracked Universal’s first confirmed reuse of part of the former Supercharged property.
The Orlando coaster will not simply copy California’s layout. Universal has confirmed that the Florida version will use 360-degree drifting vehicles and feature a 170-foot vertical spike on the former Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit site, a project Inside the Magic detailed following Universal’s announcement.
That leaves Universal developing the same franchise in three different ways: Hollywood’s hillside coaster, Orlando’s distinct coaster layout, and Beijing’s fully indoor thrill ride.
What Universal Fans Should Watch Next
For guests in California, the immediate news is simple: Hollywood Drift is open now, and Universal Studios Hollywood finally has its first outdoor, high-speed coaster. For Beijing, the key details are still missing.
Universal has not announced when the Beijing attraction will open or exactly how it will move riders through its indoor environments. Those disclosures will determine whether comparisons with Hollywood Drift become more meaningful—or whether the two projects ultimately prove too different for a direct one-to-one judgment.
What is clear is that Universal is no longer treating Fast & Furious as a single attraction template. After the retirement of Supercharged in the United States, the company is splitting the franchise into high-speed coaster experiences domestically and a new indoor format in Beijing. The next reveal—especially Beijing’s ride system, scale, and opening timeline—will show just how far that strategy is going.
