Hollywood Drift's Spike Switch Track Is Now Moving, and a Photographer Heard Its Air Hiss From the Horror Nights Walkway

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift has a moving part loud enough to hear from the Halloween Horror Nights walkway, according to the photographer who caught it on video. The switch track serving the coaster's 170-foot vertical spike is now shifting back and forth between its two positions, and each time it locks into place it lets out a hiss of air.

Aerial photographer bioreconstruct posted video of the switch in motion on Saturday, October 24, paired with audio he recorded separately from about 300 feet away. According to WDW News Today, which published his latest set of photos that evening, he could hear the switch from the Halloween Horror Nights walkway close by, with a strong whoosh of air each time the track settled into one of its two positions.

The switch track that serves the spike, with crews working at the mechanism. Photo: @bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today

What the switch actually does

bioreconstruct's own description of the clip lays out the two positions. In his words, the first movement in the video "is for cars to descend The Spike," and the second is "for cars to curve from the Mid Course Brake Run."

In other words, one piece of track serves two different paths: in one position it is set for cars descending the spike, and in the other for cars curving in from the mid-course brake run. Back on October 11, the news was a test car being winched up the spike; this time the track itself is doing the moving.

Treat this as what it is: construction footage from one photographer, not an official Universal milestone.

Brake run, containers and the station

The rest of the new photo set shows work across the site. Two aerials of the brake run leading into the station carry yellow arrows that bioreconstruct added to point out what WDW News Today describes as a device for the final alignment of the track's fins.

The brake run heading toward the station, with bioreconstruct's arrow marking the fin alignment device and shipping container walls alongside. Photo: @bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today

Under the raised brake run, weathered walls made up to look like shipping containers line the lower stretch of track. WDW News Today says those walls will keep riders from seeing the jackknifed Peterbilt truck while their cars stage for launch, the setup we covered in September when the shipping container walls started going up along the launch.

Another aerial peers under the station roof at curved track sections heading into the building. Steel framing is still exposed along the station's open side. WDW News Today floated the idea that it could end up wearing shipping container facades too, but noted that Universal has not confirmed the theming there.

Curved track leading into the station building, with its framing still exposed. Photo: @bioreconstruct, via WDW News Today

Much of the CityWalk path is paved

If you walk the CityWalk waterfront along the lagoon, much of the new pavement on the redeveloped walkway looks complete, WDW News Today reports. The path is a reddish curve between the water and the construction site, and white construction walls still keep pedestrians separated from the work. Paving closer to Hard Rock Cafe is still in progress.

Two project office trailers now sit on the old temporary walkway under the spike, the path that closed to guests earlier this month, tucked behind the construction walls close to the spike's blue supports.

Universal is building Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift in place of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, with an opening at Universal Studios Florida set for 2027. Its announced features include 360-degree drifting and the 170-foot vertical spike that this switch serves.

Heard the hiss yourself on the way into Horror Nights? We would love to know how loud it really is.

Sources

• WDW News Today, "Final Track Work and Station Construction Underway on Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift at Universal Orlando Resort" (October 24, 2026), including bioreconstruct's embedded post of October 24, 2026
• Parks Magic, Hollywood Drift's test car climbs the spike (October 11, 2026)
• Parks Magic, Hollywood Drift riders will launch under a jackknifed truck (September 17, 2026)

Image credits: @bioreconstruct on X, published by WDW News Today (all photos).