Universal's 170-Foot Fast & Furious Coaster Just Roared to Life in Testing—and Disneyland Quietly Cut Holiday Hotel Prices

The biggest development of the week didn’t come from a press release at all—it came from an empty roller coaster train rolling down fresh steel track at Universal Studios Florida. Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, the 170-foot spike coaster replacing the demolished Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, has begun vehicle testing ahead of its 2027 opening. Meanwhile, Disneyland opened booking on a holiday hotel discount worth up to 20% off, and Disney Vacation Club dropped three bonus after-hours parties. Here’s what’s real, what’s new, and why it matters.

Universal’s Fast & Furious Coaster Starts Testing—17 Stories of It

Empty ride vehicles have started running on the track of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift at Universal Studios Florida this week, the first pull-through testing since construction began on the site of the former Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. Universal officially confirmed the ride in January 2026 as the Rockit’s replacement; the old coaster closed in August 2025 and has since been fully demolished.

The specs Universal has shared are eye-popping. This is an outdoor Intamin coaster anchored by a 170-foot vertical “spike”—nearly 17 stories—launched by a linear synchronous motor (LSM) system, with ride vehicles that drift and rotate 360 degrees to mimic the film franchise’s stunt driving. The related Fast & Furious – Supercharged simulator that once occupied the area closed for good on August 16, 2026.

For context on how ferocious this ride family is, the sister version—Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift at Universal Studios Hollywood—opened September 16, 2026 and hits 72 mph, which Universal’s press materials call the fastest coaster in its entire Destinations & Experiences portfolio. We’ve ridden the outgoing Rip Ride Rockit more times than we can count, and testing footage on the new layout suggests Orlando is getting a dramatically more aggressive machine. Vehicle testing is an early milestone, not an opening date—but it’s the clearest signal yet that 2027 is on track.

Disneyland Quietly Opened Booking on Up to 20% Off Holiday Hotel Stays

If you’ve been eyeing a Disneyland holiday trip, the timing just got friendlier. Booking opened September 22, 2026 on a new Disneyland Resort offer of up to 20% off select hotel stays of three or more nights, according to Disney’s official offers site. The deal covers travel between October 11 and December 18, 2026.

The discount applies across all four on-property hotels: Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Pixar Place Hotel, and The Villas at Disneyland Hotel. As with most Disney room offers, savings and availability vary by date and room type, and the best rates skew toward midweek nights, so peak weekends will be harder to snag at the full 20%.

We’ve booked the Grand Californian during past holiday seasons—when the lobby’s towering tree and Craftsman details go full Christmas—and even a 15% to 20% reduction on those room rates translates into real money over a multi-night stay. With Disneyland’s holiday overlays layered on top of the fall season, this window (mid-October through mid-December) is arguably the resort’s best value-to-atmosphere ratio all year. If the dates work, this is the kind of offer worth booking early and modifying later rather than waiting.

Disney Vacation Club Added Three Bonus Moonlight Magic Parties

Disney Vacation Club members got a late-season gift this week: three additional Moonlight Magic events, the exclusive after-hours parties where members get the parks with shorter lines and complimentary snacks. According to Disney Vacation Club’s official member-events information, the new dates are EPCOT on October 15, 2026, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom on both November 30 and December 22, 2026.

Registration follows DVC’s usual two-tier structure: early registration opened September 24, 2026, with general registration opening October 1, 2026. The events themselves are free for eligible members, including complimentary treats like Mickey Premium Ice Cream Bars and fruit bars, though members can register for only one Moonlight Magic event per season.

Why does a members-only perk matter to the broader parks conversation? Because these late-2026 additions—one at EPCOT during the fall festival stretch and two at Animal Kingdom heading into the holidays—signal Disney is still leaning on low-cost, high-goodwill events to reward its most loyal guests during a period of soft attendance chatter. A December 22 Animal Kingdom party, in particular, is a notable move so close to the peak holiday week. If you’re a DVC member, the October 1 general window is the one to circle.

The Bottom Line

From a 17-story coaster clacking through its first tests to a stackable Disneyland holiday discount, this was a week of concrete moves worth acting on—see our evergreen Universal Orlando and Disneyland planning guides for how to fold each of these into a 2026–2027 trip.