NEED TO KNOW
Universal Studios Resort in Orlando announced the closure of the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket in June. August 17 will be the last day to ride.
The rollercoaster has been a fixture at the park for 16 years
Other popular rides that have closed at the resort over the years include Jaws and Kongfrontation
For 16 years, the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was one of the most extreme roller coasters at Universal Orlando Resort, but after August 17, the steel thrill ride will be permanently closing to make way for a new attraction.
Universal first announced “The Rip” would be closing in December 2024. Then, in early June, they announced the closing date, giving thrill seekers just 75 days to catch one last ride before it was gone forever.
When it first opened on August 19, 2009, the steel coaster, which stands at 161 feet tall and is 3,200 feet long, it was the largest X-car model coaster by the German manufacturer Maurer Sohne in existance.
One of the most unique parts of the ride? When passengers first embark, they can choose which song they want to hear from a selection of five choices. The songs have rotated over the years, but the current selections are “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance, “Waterloo” by ABBA “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain, “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar, or “Sandstorm” by Darude.
Shutterstock / Chansak Joe
The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
Passengers are held in place by a lap bar, and then the ride goes up the first stretch of track fully vertically, with riders lying on their backs. After the first drop, it reaches speeds of 65mph before doing one major loop and a series of short coils.
While Universal Orlando Resort officials haven’t revealed what will go in its place, fans are speculating it will be another thrill ride. Universal’s second Orlando park, Island Of Adventure, boasts the VelociCoaster, the Incredible Hulk, and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure coasters to name a few.
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At Universal Studios, they also offer the thrill rides Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott’s, and The Revenge of the Mummy. And at the newly opened Epic Universe, there’s Stardust Racers, Monsters Unchained, and Battle at the Ministry, among others.
courtesy universal orlando resort
Universal has yet to share any official information about what may replace Rip Ride Rockit, but that hasn’t stopped park-watchers from gathering intel.
The theme park fan site AllEars.net reported that Universal filed a construction permit for a new two-story structure in March 2025 that might indicate a ride with an indoor element could be coming. And fans on Reddit have been sharing photos taken by guests of what is allegedly a construction site behind the coaster’s current location occupied by heavy machinery.
As for what type of ride is going in, some fans are calling for a Ghost Busters-themed attraction — a classic piece of Universal IP that has also popped up as a haunted house at the park’s annual Halloween Horror Nights festivities. Others have speculated it will be a Fast & Furious-themed coaster similar to the one being constructed at Universal’s California park. However, Orlando does already have a ride representing the franchise: the motion simulator attraction Fast & Furious – Supercharged.
Rip Ride Rockit isn’t the first roller coaster that has closed at Universal Orlando Resort since its grand opening on June 7, 1990.
In 2017, the park closed the Dragon Challenge coaster, which was actually two separate rides, to make way for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
In 2015, they closed Twister…Ride it Out to make way for Race Through New York With Jimmy Fallon. The Twister ride was meant to allow guests to experience what it was like being inside a tornado, with a sound system running at 110 decibels through 54 speakers.
And in 2012, the park shut down Jaws, a water ride where, yep, a mechanical great white came at the riders in order to make way for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley.
In 2002, they also closed Kongfrontation, which had been the park’s biggest attraction when it first opened in 1990. A giant animatronic King Kong roared at riders as they dangled on a Roosevelt Island tram car.
The Revenge of the Mummy ride is now where Kong once was, and according to Universal’s website, you can still see remnants of Kongfrontation on Revenge of The Mummy, including bananas on the wall, and in the gift shop, a golden statue of the famous ape.
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