New Fast & Furious ROLLERCOASTER takes next step to grand opening

Universal Studios Hollywood is moving forward with the highly anticipated arrival of its fastest rollercoaster yet, following a tumultuous saga of noise complaints and a mystery grand opening. 

Fans of Universal have been highly anticipating the Hollywood park’s new coaster, Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, which is scheduled to officially open to the public by the end of the summer. 

The park initially slated its opening for this year, but fans began to speculate that noise complaints caused delays when the summer season kicked off without the coaster. 

However, Universal denied the rumors and disputed any delay, telling the Los Angeles Times earlier this month that the coaster would open by the end of the summer. 

Although an official grand opening has still not been set, the park launched ‘technical rehearsals’ on Monday, meaning some lucky parkgoers may have the opportunity to test the ride. 

The next step to an official opening comes after a series of test rides throughout the summer, which caused backlash from some of Universal’s neighbors who said the noise was unbearable. 

Residents of the neighboring Toluca Lake were rattled by the screams, especially considering that the coaster was designed to be quiet. 

One resident, Dr Christopher Zito, described the sounds as ‘disturbing’ to the outlet.

Universal Studios Hollywood has unveiled its new rollercoaster in honor of the Fast & Furious franchise 

The Hollywood park is located next to a quiet upscale neighborhood called Toluca Lake, and the noise has bothered residents 

The rollercoaster simulates the famous car chases depicted in the Fast & Furious films, which were created by Universal Studios 

‘You think something is happening. Like someone is getting murdered out there,’ resident Patrick Nazari said. 

EXCLUSIVE Rift that tore apart Emma Roberts’ family: Friends reveal painful reason dad was cut from wedding

Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift has been a long time in the making. The park first debuted a ride modeled after one of its biggest franchises in 2006, but the attraction fell flat and did not last long. 

However, Hollywood Drift is set to be the studio’s fastest ride across all Universal locations. 

The coaster can hit 72mph and rotates 360 degrees. Universal also boasted the ride’s advanced technology intended to reduce noise. 

‘It is being meticulously constructed with sound-reduction technology and additional considerations to minimize sound impacts in the community,’ Universal described Hollywood Drift on its website. 

The coaster’s track has been filled with pea gravel to reduce noise, and a sound wall borders parts of the ride.

The ride vehicle’s rotation was also designed to direct screams away from the community, and half-pipe shields were installed around the coaster’s elevated sections to block out sound. 

Residents told the outlet that when the coaster was in its testing phase, with no riders, it was surprisingly quiet. But as soon as people got on the coaster, it became unbearable. 

Universal boasted that the unique design of the coaster, including sound walls and half-pipe shields, would reduce noise, but residents have said that test rides proved otherwise 

Universal initially said the coaster would open this year, leading fans to anticipate it would be ready by the summer 

Rob Cerny, another resident of Toluca Lake, told the publication that he first heard the screams on his commute home. 

‘Every minute you hear this big scream,’ he described.  

‘When I got home, my wife was upset. It’s made our backyard unusable. It’s extremely prominent, the noise. I really don’t think this is going to be tenable.’

Cerny has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years. He acknowledged that noise is a consequence of living next to a theme park, but argued that when he first moved in, Universal gave studio tours and did not have giant thrill-seeking coasters. 

Don Yorkshire, who has also lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, echoed this sentiment during an interview with the local ABC affiliate KABC.

‘Thirty years ago, you bought a house by a motion picture studio, and there was some amusement park involved with it, but the amusement park part of it has gotten bigger and bigger over the years,’ Yorkshire explained. 

Resident John Heim agreed, telling the outlet that he has heard screaming late into the night with the doors closed. 

‘You can see that they built something in order to kind of regulate, you know, confine the noise… Some days it’s good, some days it’s bad,’ he added. 

Residents have complained that the noise from screaming is unbearable 

The coaster has been in its ‘testing and commissioning phase’ until this week, when it moved on to ‘technical rehearsals,’ meaning fans are one step closer to the highly-anticipated grand opening 

Universal said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times last week that it appreciated the community’s feedback.

‘The coaster is currently in its testing and commissioning phase, which is designed to evaluate the attraction over time and under a variety of operating conditions. As part of that process, we are actively reviewing sound levels to ensure the coaster is operating in compliance,’ the statement added. 

The park updated its statement to KABC on Tuesday to reflect that the coaster has moved from its testing phase to ‘technical rehearsals.’ 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Universal for additional comment.