Universal Orlando Has Only Announced One New Ride, But is Quietly Working on 5 Additional Attractions

Walt Disney World recently made a flurry of announcements and shared updates on new attractions and lands, reimagined rides, and other investments as part of the 5-Year Plan during D23. Universal Orlando does not have an event that is equivalent to that fan Expo, but that does not mean nothing is happening. To the contrary, there’s a lot in the pipeline and beyond what’s been officially revealed.

Universal’s approach to announcing additions can basically be summarized as follows. We’re gonna close some stuff and demolish it, then start building things. Maybe if you’re lucky, we’ll say something somewhere along the way about whatever it is we’re doing a couple months before it opens. No promises or press releases. We’ll just tell the Orlando Business Journal, so good luck figuring out what we’re doing if you don’t subscribe to that niche newspaper.

This is an exaggeration, obviously, but there is a kernel of truth to it. Officially, Universal Orlando is currently building one new attraction at Universal Studios Florida: Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift. Unofficially, there are multiple projects rumored to be in development to replace attractions that have recently closed or will soon.

There’s demolition underway to make room for large-scale redevelopment in Islands of Adventure, and expansion pads currently under construction in Epic Universe. A lot is happening around Universal Orlando, even if they won’t tell us about it.

Here’s a rundown of the official projects along with the unofficial ones that are credibly rumored. All aerial construction photos are courtesy of friend of the site @bioreconstruct, who we highly recommend following for eye-in-the-sky updates on all of the projects, big and small, around Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World.

Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift

The only official project at this point is Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift. This high-octane outdoor roller coaster will join the Universal Orlando family sometime in 2027.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift will put guests in the driver’s seat of the high-speed thrills of Universal Pictures’ Fast & Furious universe like never before. Riders will experience the exhilarating sensation of 360-degree drifting as they speed through jaw-dropping maneuvers, including a 170-foot vertical “spike” nearly 17 stories in the air over the outskirts of Universal CityWalk.

The latest development is that Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift completed track installation in August and just started push-pull testing earlier this week. These are two major milestones in roughly one month, further reinforcing that Universal has the pedal to the metal on this new roller coaster!

Crews are now pulling Dominic Toretto’s 1970 Dodge Charger through the length of the track, with a wire frame radiating out from the vehicle. This is a basic ride envelope safety test to confirm that nothing in the track layout will be within reach of guests.

Before you get too excited about this signaling that Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is way ahead of schedule and will open in late 2026 or early 2027, we’d warn you that we’ve been down this road before. It’s sort of like when foundation work seemingly takes forever, but then vertical progress happens fast–except in reverse.

For reference, TRON Lightcycle Run started push-pull testing with a ride envelope vehicle approximately 13 months before that attraction opened. This should go much faster than TRON because everything Universal does seems to be speedier than Disney, but our point is that you should not view track installation as the main hurdle to opening. Testing always takes longer than many fans anticipate.

To that point, Universal Studios Hollywood just debuted its own, one-of-a-kind Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift outdoor roller coaster earlier this month after several delays (pictured above). Track installation there was completed in April 2025 (not 2026), but the ride didn’t open until Fall 2026!

Thankfully, the Florida incarnation is unlikely to have issues with neighbors or sound barriers. They’re also two distinct attractions that each take advantage of the unique geography and layout of the respective parks. Even so, the point stands that Hollywood Drift is not weeks or months away from debuting at Universal Studios Florida. It’s probably a Spring 2027 soft opening at the earliest, with an official debut around Memorial Day 2027 being the odds-on favorite.

We’re really looking forward to Hollywood Drift. Universal Orlando has had a spectacular streak of success with roller coasters recently–from Stardust Racers to VelociCoaster to Hagrid’s–and there’s every reason to believe that trifecta turns into a four-peat with Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.

Lost Continent Replacement

Earlier this summer, Universal Orlando quietly announced that more of Lost Continent would permanently close in phases to make way for a new themed area. That is now happening, with the Lost Continent being demolished. The former Poseidon’s Fury and the Eighth Voyage of Sindbad theater have been reduced to rubble. Very little is still standing behind the maze of construction walls.

No announcement as to what this will be has been made by Universal, but Pokemon is what’s widely expected following the announcement earlier in 2026 that World-Class Pokemon Rides Are Coming to Universal Parks. That seems to align with what insiders and the rumor mill are suggesting, too. I’m still holding my breath for a last-minute change and the Legend of Zelda being the featured IP.

Once demolition progresses further, the replacement of Lost Continent will necessitate the permanent closure of fan-favorite Mythos Restaurant in 2027.

Our original expectation was that this restaurant venue would be rethemed as opposed to replaced, but servers have been informing recent guests that it’ll be demolished (they’re also saying it’ll close in March 2027). I’m still somewhat skeptical of this. I always just assumed the restaurant would be reimagined, which explains why it isn’t behind walls and won’t close for another several months.

The location and footprint would suggest this will be a restaurant in the future, so I’m not sure why Universal would go to the effort of demolishing and rebuilding. Especially since it’s the best theme park restaurant in the world. Just think of the history being lost in these hallowed halls!

Wizarding World of Harry Potter Expansion

The first of two major simultaneously-permitted projects for Epic Universe expansion pads is a massive new attraction coming to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. Late last year, permits were filed that outlined 150,000 square feet of construction, placing this in the vicinity of the expansion pad for the previously-planned third attraction for Ministry of Magic.

There have been several permits over the course of the last year for this one, with the more recent ones pertaining to the pre-engineered metal building, which is presumably the show building for the new ride. The most recent permits have also narrowed the scope of the work to that building itself, trimming its two-story size from a massive 150,000 square feet to a more ‘modest’ 96,000 square feet.

Okay, so that’s actually still fairly massive. To put the size of this show building into perspective, existing show buildings for Le Cirque Arcanus and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry are about the same size as the square footage encompassed by this permit. Over at Walt Disney World, the show buildings for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and the Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster are (or will be) around 100,000 square feet.

Since the permits started flying, Universal has teased Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic expansion but stopped short of announcing anything. This has happened on at least three separate occasions that I’m aware of, with the most recent being earlier this summer.

Universal has indicated that there would be “exciting additions” and “more magic” coming to Epic Universe, and there’s even been an emphasis on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. The permits more or less speak for themselves, but at minimum, the teases signal that Universal might be inching towards an announcement on this one.

What’s perhaps most interesting here is the lack of visible movement on this plot since the permits were approved this spring. To my knowledge, nothing has happened at this site, which is a bit surprising and suggests to me that there might be an issue. My understanding was/is that the ride system and attraction chosen here were specifically picked as they’d be a fast build that could bring indoor capacity online quickly.

While we’re typically not as plugged-in to the Universal rumor mill, I have heard pretty credibly that this attraction will be a wish-fulfillment Harry Potter thrill ride. If this is accurate, and we believe it is, it’d certainly explain the show building on par with the Monsters, Inc. Door Coaster.

That might also be a decent substantive comparison to the Harry Potter attraction planned here. This expansion is unsurprising. It’s an open secret that Epic Universe raced to open, and phase 2 expansions to brand-new parks are incredibly common.

It’s also true that Comcast invested a ton of money into the initial build out of Epic Universe, and intended phase 2 projects often get axed when parks are underperforming or there’s a desire to first recoup costs. Nothing here was a given, so it’s nice to see Universal Orlando (hopefully) moving forward in adding two new attractions to Epic Universe. Speaking of which…

Dark Universe Expansion

Something is brewing in Dark Universe. As with Ministry of Magic before it, several permits have been filed for an expansion pad on the opposite side of the park, all but confirming that Dark Universe will get a monster new attraction.

Although these permits came after Harry Potter, site prep is actually already underway here as of last week, with a crane and pile driver appearing on-site. Similar to the Potter project, the scale and scope of this attraction has also come into focus with subsequent permits.

They now show this as a three-story show building that’s over 93,000 square feet in size, with a ride maintenance bay on the first floor. At risk of stating the obvious, a ride maintenance bay narrows this to a…ride. That puts rumors to rest about this being a stage show.

I’m not going to pretend to have the slightest inkling about what’s going on here. I’ve heard absolutely nothing credible about this attraction. Instead, I’ll defer to Universal insider Alicia Stella of Orlando Park Stop, who points to the long-standing rumor of an indoor boat ride based on the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but with a new twist.

Apparently there’s some official Dark Universe merchandise that features Gill-man from Creature from the Black Lagoon seemingly stalking the Bride of Frankenstein. Fans believe that this merchandise foreshadows the third attraction in the land, which will actually feature both Creature from the Black Lagoon and Bride of Frankenstein.

I haven’t the slightest clue about any of that. Quite honestly, I’m very surprised that Universal is moving forward with Dark Universe expansion. Harry Potter is the obvious choice, and next after that is Nintendo. Even with Pokemon coming to Islands of Adventure and, presumably, some other Nintendo property slated for Universal Studios Florida down the road, Nintendo still strikes me as the safer bet for Epic Universe.

Don’t misconstrue this as a complaint. I think it’s fantastic that Universal is going all-in on its classic monsters. Even though that’s technically the studio’s oldest franchise, that’s really not how it’s perceived by the average guest. Dark Universe is basically an original land, based on folklore and characters that are not necessarily associated with Universal.

In the lead-up to opening, I was more excited for Dark Universe than anything else. In actuality, I found it to be the least impressive land, even if it was home to the best or second-best attraction, Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment.

Building out Dark Universe with a third attraction could remedy that, and make Darkmoor feel like a more immersive and less disjointed place. Kudos to Universal for expanding the land that needs it most, even if something else might be more marketable.

While I don’t have any particularly strong opinions about the nature of the third attraction, I’d love a boat ride, and Creature from the Black Lagoon strikes me as a strong option. At the same time, boat rides typically take longer to construct and it seems like this project has become a priority, which makes me wonder if it’s actually a faster build.

Frankly, I’m just glad that Epic Universe is getting two more indoor attractions. One being a roller coaster and another being a dark ride (whether boat-based or otherwise) would be a good mix, and it seems like that’s what Universal has landed on. That will really help round out the ride roster, and make the rain-induced downtime more bearable.

Given the accelerated pace of this project, we also can’t help but wonder whether it’s leapfrogged the third Harry Potter attraction. Perhaps whatever is built here still has a shot at a 2028 opening? Hollywood Drift started around this time last year, wasn’t even on a ‘clean’ expansion pad, and yet, it’ll almost certainly debut by Summer 2027. Perhaps a third Dark Universe attraction in Summer 2028 is now the plan?!

Animal Actors Replacement

An opening day original, Animal Actors will soon (finally) close forever. Here’s the announcement from Universal Orlando: “As Universal Orlando Resort continues to evolve, Animal Actors On Location! will take its final bow on November 2, 2026, making way for a future experience. A beloved part of Universal Studios Florida since opening day, the attraction has created lasting memories for Guests and Team Members for 36 years.”

Universal is clearly full steam ahead on investing in all three of its Orlando parks, as evidenced by other entries here. At the same time, their recent quarterly results have left a lot to be desired, creating a “something’s gotta give” dynamic. Our expectation is that Universal will continue to bet big with major capital expenditure projects, but at the same time, offset those to the greatest degree with operational cutbacks.

Despite the vague statement about Animal Actors “making way for a future experience”, I fear that this is the latter, not the former. The “future” is a long time horizon, and the statement is purposefully vague.

Even so, this parcel needs redeveloping. There’s been a lot of chatter about what’s possible here, and my take is that it would benefit from being absorbed into Hollywood or the adjacent Springfield area, or whatever is planned to eventually replace that.

DreamWorks Land is incredibly underwhelming, so we hope that there are more comprehensive plans for this whole corner of the park (minus E.T. Adventure, which is perfect as-is). One family-friendly attraction that would fit the bill is the Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash, which is one of our favorite dark rides anywhere. And despite a COVID-caused delay in debuting, the underlying attraction was actually built fast.

As a fan of classic Universal content, I’m also intrigued by anything Back to the Future. There have been rumors that the iconic film franchise will make its triumphant return to Universal Studios Florida, eventually replacing the Springfield Simpsons area. While I cannot independently assess the veracity of those rumors, it would be a fitting full-circle moment.

I’d also add that it’s strongly suspected Back to the Future will have a presence in Universal United Kingdom, which is currently under construction. Cloning the coaster being built there seems unlikely, but reusing assets does not. Either way, that’s several years down the road. In the interim, I would bet against this venue being reused for anything. It’s at the end of its usable life, and is likely to be razed and replaced.

Fast & Furious Supercharged Replacement

Our long national nightmare is over. Universal Orlando accelerated the end of Fast & Furious Supercharged, which has now been permanently closed for over one full month (since August 17, 2026). The attraction was originally scheduled to close in 2027, and our assumption was in the post-summer off-season, moving its extinction forward by roughly a full year.

Universal Orlando has framed the sunsetting of Supercharged as happening “to make way for the new experience” of Hollywood Drift. That’s a bit nonsensical, as the two attractions are nowhere near one another and it’s not like there’s some sacred Fast & Furious timeline that prevents them from coexisting. Universal has a half-dozen Harry Potter attractions spread out across all three parks.

As we’ve been saying for years, since literally before it even opened in Orlando, Fast & Furious – Supercharged is one of the worst theme park experiences anywhere, ever. In all of recorded human history. Given that, we’re fine with it closing early. It cannot hurt any more unsuspecting first-timers who accidentally enter its queue.

At the same time, we suspect this was a cost-cutting measure and there are no immediate plans for this attraction space. Here’s hoping we’re wrong about that, because this park could really use some help. At least whatever replaces Supercharged doesn’t have big shoes to fill. It has the world’s stinkiest, ugliest, small shoes to fill. A fish could fill its shoes. Or better yet, a Slimer. Hmmm.

Ultimately, there’s a lot in the works at Universal Orlando and the future is bright for Epic Universe, as well as Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. And this really just scratches the surface; there’s a lot more that falls somewhere between rumor, semi-informed speculation, and wishful thinking.

Several other attractions are due for replacement, and entire areas are ripe for redevelopment. Universal also has several other hot properties that they’ll want to feature in the Florida parks that aren’t listed here.

At the same time, it feels like there will be some near-term growing pains for Universal Orlando. As touched upon in the post, the most recent quarterly results were not so hot, and just earlier this week, Comcast’s CFO warned that attendance softness is continuing. On top of that, the company plans to spin-off NBCUniversal, which could have adverse implications for expansion funding.

Even though Universal builds at a much faster pace than Walt Disney World, it seems to me that there’s probably a gap here between Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift in 2027 and the next big addition in (most likely) 2029. Around this time last year, I would’ve said the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic would slot into 2028, but with no work having started, that seems doubtful at this point.

It is also probably fair to say that Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure need even more help than they’re currently getting, as several areas in both are past their expiration dates. Given that, perhaps Universal will pull a page from Walt Disney World’s recent playbook and slot in some smaller-scale, ‘singles & doubles’ projects for 2028. That would be savvy. Suffice to say, the late 2020s and early 2030s should be an exciting time to be a theme park fan, with both Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World having a lot in the project pipeline!

Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Universal Orlando Planning Guide for everything about Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. Also check out our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more.

Your Thoughts

Which land(s) do you think will be the first to expand at Epic Universe? Should the next attraction(s) be family-friendly and indoors? Would you prefer more coasters or dark rides? Looking forward to Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift debuting in 2027? Excited that Universal seems to be full steam ahead on plans for Epic Universe, Islands of Adventure, and Universal Studios Florida? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!