We spotted the Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift ride vehicles sitting outside on the track with test dummies strapped into them.
Test Dummies on Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift
Our reporter noticed this train loaded up with test dummies sitting on the track just outside the queue building. Each coaster train will consist of four cars resembling famous vehicles from the Fast & Furious series, with Dom’s Dodge Charger as the lead car.
While the vehicles appear to have some sort of zebra print pattern, we theorize that this is a black-and-white camouflage wrap, as our first glimpse of a car last month inside the loading area was an orange color.
Our reporter did not see the trains in motion, but the presence of the dummies indicates safety testing is currently taking place. The coaster track was completed in the spring.
While we didn’t notice any updates to the queue building itself, crews are still working on theming around the coaster. The most recent work in this area is taking place just outside the building near the start of the coaster track. There are dozens of structural pylons here, presumably to support future themed elements.
The framework for the safety netting around portions the track is also taking shape, as seen in this section of track that arches over the escalator plaza leading down to the Lower Lot.
The track uses the natural environment of the park to provide a more dynamic experience as it rockets guests down and around the mountainside.
In its most dramatic maneuver, the coaster track curves underneath and then over the glass-roofed escalators connecting the Upper and Lower Lots, coming quite close to guests. The 4,100-foot track was “meticulously constructed with sound reduction technology for a breathtaking experience.”
The coaster continues down the hill over service roads and along the Tram Tour route.
Other Construction Updates
Last month, the airbrushed mural on the side of the queue building was completed, and the entrance was fully revealed.
The gift shop, dubbed the 101 Exchange Store on nearby signage, also officially opened last month, although it currently doesn’t carry any Fast & Furious merchandise.
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift
Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is scheduled to open next year. It will be the first ever high-speed outdoor roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood, as well as one of Universal’s fastest coasters at 72MPH.
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