Universal Studios Hollywood’s most anticipated new attraction is not open yet, but it is already making news. Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, the upcoming roller coaster built around the Fast & Furious franchise, is deep in its testing and construction phase and has been generating regular updates from theme park observers watching the project develop. The latest update is one that raises an eyebrow: a glass panel above the escalators near the ride has been shattered.Credit: UniversalTLEV Media confirmed the situation on X with footage: “CONFIRMED: Glass window is shattered for Fast and Furious Hollywood Drift! Vehicles are STILL running though. Hopefully an easy fix.”The video shows a shattered glass panel in one of the windows above the escalator area near the attraction. The damage is visible and notable, but importantly, the ride vehicles have continued running through testing despite the breakage. Whether the two are connected or the window damage is entirely coincidental to the ongoing testing process is not confirmed. The optimism in the TLEV Media post about it being an easy fix reflects the general read on the situation: this is a construction and testing environment, things happen, and the ride is moving forward regardless.CONFIRMED Glass window is shattered for Fast and Furious Hollywood Drift!Vehicles are STILL running thoughHopefully an easy fix #universalstudios #universalstudioshollywood pic.twitter.com/UgbWUkLv3V— TLEV Media (@TLEVmedia) June 21, 2026The bigger picture here is that Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is close. Closer than most guests realize. And the window incident, however it gets resolved, does not appear to be slowing anything down.Where Construction and Testing Stand Right NowCredit: UniversalA June 18 visit to Universal Studios Hollywood captured the current state of the attraction in significant detail. New walls have been installed around the track featuring fabric panels designed to look like trees, giving the construction zone a nature-inspired visual screen that obscures the ride infrastructure from casual view while remaining consistent with the park’s hillside environment. New tan-colored stone gravel has also been installed along the nearby hillside, smoothing and finishing the landscape around the coaster.The tree-style walls partially obscure one of the ride’s inversions, which gives park visitors a partial glimpse of the attraction’s track layout while protecting the full reveal for the official opening experience.Testing with empty ride vehicles has been ongoing, and the vehicles themselves are a significant part of the attraction’s identity. Each train is made up of four iconic vehicles from the Fast & Furious franchise, which means even the test runs of the coaster are effectively moving franchise showcases. During testing observed on June 18, the vehicles appeared to be running at reduced speed, which is standard for this phase of coaster preparation. The vehicles navigated curves and inversions before stopping mid-track, another routine element of the testing process.Full testing with human riders has already occurred, which is one of the clearest indicators that an opening is genuinely imminent. The first testing with ride vehicles took place back in March, which puts the ride well into its final development phase.What the Ride Actually IsCredit: UniversalFast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is going to be a significant addition to the Universal Studios Hollywood lineup and a legitimate landmark for coaster enthusiasts.The ride will reach a top speed of 72 miles per hour, making it the fastest coaster at any Universal theme park anywhere in the world. It runs along 4,100 feet of track with four inversions, and the combination of speed and inversion count puts it in genuinely serious coaster territory rather than the family-friendly middle ground where many theme park coasters operate.The 72 mph speed has a direct operational implication for guests. Universal Studios Hollywood will be introducing double-sided lockers specifically for this attraction, a first for the Hollywood park. At that speed, loose items are simply not manageable on the ride, and the locker system reflects that. Guests will need to account for securing belongings before boarding in a way that some Universal attractions do not require.Universal had previously published, then retracted, a June 26 opening date after acknowledging the communication was incorrect. No official opening date has been confirmed as of this writing. Given the active human rider testing, the ongoing construction finishing work, and the generally forward momentum of the project, the opening appears to be a matter of when rather than if at this point.A Second Version Is Coming to FloridaFor guests who are not visiting Universal Studios Hollywood but still want to experience the Fast & Furious coaster, the news extends beyond California.A second version of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is currently under construction at Universal Studios Florida in Orlando. That version replaces Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, which closed in August 2025. The Florida construction timeline is further behind the Hollywood build, but the existence of a parallel project at Universal Orlando means that this attraction will eventually be accessible on the East Coast as well.For Universal Orlando guests who made Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit a regular part of their Universal Studios Florida visits, the replacement process is ongoing and the new Fast & Furious coaster represents what is coming in that space.How This Affects a Theme Park VacationFor guests planning a Universal Studios Hollywood trip in the near term, the status of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is worth monitoring before you book. The attraction is in its final testing phase and the shattered window situation, whatever its cause, does not appear to be affecting the opening timeline in any obvious way.If the ride opens before your visit, it will almost certainly be one of the most in-demand attractions in the park given its speed record and franchise recognition. Building time for it into your day, potentially arriving at park open to maximize access before lines build, is the kind of planning that makes a difference with major new coaster openings.If the ride is not yet open when you visit, the rest of the Universal Studios Hollywood lineup continues to operate normally. The construction walls and testing activity visible from certain parts of the park add a layer of anticipation to any visit right now, particularly for guests who enjoy watching a new attraction develop in real time.The shattered window will be repaired. The ride is still running through testing. And Universal Studios Hollywood is getting closer every day to opening the fastest coaster in its entire global portfolio.If you have a Universal Studios Hollywood trip planned and want to know the best strategy for hitting Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift when it opens, or want help thinking through the rest of your park day, drop a question in the comments. We will help you put together the most efficient plan for what is available when you visit.The post Universal’s Newest Coaster Hit by Glass-Shattering Incident appeared first on Inside the Magic.