Universal Studios has been making some of the best thrill rides in recent memory with success stories like my personal favorite, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure and the possibly even better Velocicoaster at Universal Orlando Resort, but all signs point to Universal Studios Hollywood making a roller coaster of their very own. And while the rumored Fast & Furious coaster has yet to be officially confirmed, there is now even more evidence that it is happening.
The rumor going around is that a Fast & Furious coaster is being built between the upper and lower lots and a couple of shows at the Universal Studios Hollywood have closed and the buildings are being demolished, in preparation for something. Although USH has never announced that anything new is actually coming. However, Theme Park Journalist Carly Caramanna recently posted to Instagram that she went through an area of the park where the artificial crowd and roller coaster noise was being played, which is certainly part of the upcoming attraction preparation.
Universal Studios Hollywood is a somewhat unique theme park because it’s located directly adjacent to the Universal Studios Lot. What’s more, the roller coaster’s location will be very close to an area that the iconic Backlot Tour passes through. This means that noise from the roller coaster is something that will need to be mitigated. Clearly what Universal is doing here is testing what the noise will be like in different parts of the park so that if any additional steps are needed to manage sound dampening, that can be done.
Universal Studios Hollywood only has one traditional roller coaster in the park right now, the Revenge of the Mummy ride, but it is entirely indoors, so noise isn’t an issue. The Fast & Furious coaster is expected to be entirely outdoors, and concept art has indicated it will run around the stairwell that connects the upper and lower lot. There will certainly be noise coming from this coaster, and the main park itself that’s probably not seen as an issue, roller coaster noise is just something that happens at theme and amusement parks, but there are parts of both the park and the movie studio that Universal will likely try to protect if possible.
Considering that the Velocicaoster was mostly finished before Universal Orlando Resort actually confirmed it was happening, odds are that it will be quite some time before Universal Studios Hollywood ever confirms that this new roller coaster is actually happening. At this point, the coaster itself can be all but confirmed by the work that is happening, including pumping this crowd noise around. There is barely a chance it will end up being a totally different roller coaster and not something Fast & Furious related.
