Universal Studios Hollywood Adds a $19.95 to $24.95 Ticket to Ride Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift During Halloween Horror Nights

Universal Studios Hollywood's new coaster has been open to daytime guests for a week. Riding it during Halloween Horror Nights now has its own ticket. The park is selling that ticket on top of an event admission that is already separate from daytime admission.

Theme Park Insider reported the change on Tuesday afternoon, naming the product the "Halloween Horror Nights Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Access Add-On" and reporting that the tickets "range in price from $19.95 to $24.95, depending upon the night you visit." WDW News Today, covering it the same day, listed a single price of $19.95 and did not report a range.

What the add-on actually buys

The terms are narrow, and worth reading before anyone spends on it:

• A three hour window. Both outlets report the coaster runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on event nights. WDW News Today's event guide puts Halloween Horror Nights itself at 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Theme Park Insider writes that anyone buying the add-on "will need to ride early in the evening."
• Event admission not included. WDW News Today reports that event admission for the same day has to be bought separately.
• Daytime admission not included either. The add-on does not get anyone into the park during the day.
• One time access. Theme Park Insider describes these as one-time access tickets for the coaster.

Theme Park Insider reports the sequence this way: the park had been opening the coaster during the after-hours event only to select guests, and the add-on opens it to more of them. In its September 4 release announcing the event's opening, Universal said the Day/Night Ticket, the After 2 P.M. Day/Night Ticket, the Universal Express Ticket and the R.I.P Tour would all include access to the coaster. WDW News Today's Halloween Horror Nights guide, published September 6 and last updated September 7, describes those products differently. It marks four of the event's five Universal Express products "Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift not included," lists the fifth as covering only three named experiences, and puts "Same-day limited access to Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift" under the R.I.P. Tour instead. Universal has issued no press release reconciling the two descriptions.

The ride is a week old

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift officially opened at Universal Studios Hollywood on September 16, after guests had been riding it in technical rehearsals since July 27. Universal's own announcement calls it the fastest coaster in the Universal Destinations & Experiences portfolio, and we covered the published numbers when it opened: 72 MPH, up to 3.6 Gs, four launches, 4,100 feet of track.

Neither outlet reports a reason for the change.

Why this matters in Orlando

Orlando is building its own Hollywood Drift on the former Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit site, targeted at 2027, and a ride vehicle was rigged for rope pull-through testing on part of that track as recently as last weekend. When Universal announced the Orlando coaster it said Universal Studios Hollywood would debut "its own, one-of-a-kind" version of the ride.

Nothing about the California add-on has been announced for Orlando. Orlando's own Halloween Horror Nights runs 49 select nights from August 28 through November 1 with 10 all-new haunted houses, and its own Hollywood Drift is due in 2027. Universal has not said when in 2027, so whether the Orlando coaster will be open during next year's event is unanswered. In California, Universal is now selling event access to the coaster as a separate ticket.

Sources

• Theme Park Insider, "Universal opens Hollywood Drift as pay-to-ride for Horror Nights"
• WDW News Today, "Halloween Horror Nights Guests Can Ride Fast and Furious: Hollywood Drift With New $20 Ticket Add-On"
• WDW News Today, "Full Guide to Halloween Horror Nights 2026 at Universal Studios Hollywood"
• Universal Studios Hollywood, "Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift Is Now Open"
• Universal Studios Hollywood, "Halloween Horror Nights Opens at Universal Studios Hollywood" (September 4, 2026)
• Universal Orlando Resort, "Halloween Horror Nights 2026 Overview"
• Parks Magic, on the California opening and the published ride specs
• Parks Magic, on the Orlando ride vehicle being pulled through the track

Image credits: Opening day photography by Universal Studios Hollywood, from the Universal Destinations & Experiences media site.