This past week we were able to take a sneak peek at the new Fast and Furious Supercharged attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. This new finale to the tram tour, in the former spot of the Mummy’s Tomb/Avalanche Tunnel, is the most ambitious addition to the tour since Earthquake in 1988. Universal employs nearly every trick they have in their arsenal to thrill park guests; Practical sets, pepper’s ghost effects, wind, water, smells, digital 3D, and mind-shattering, multi-channel sound, finally attempting to give the Studio Tour a doozie of an ending.
When word first broke of this new addition to the Studio Tour, the concept sounded like an interesting one. Fast and Furious cars would be encountered along the tram route lending a running storyline to the tram tour which would then culminate in the big ending finale just before guests disembarked. Press was given the full experience, including taking the entire tour, just as visiting guests would experience. However, we saw nothing new or additional until the final 15 minutes of the tour.
Passing Wisteria lane we catch a glimpse of a car and the tour guide calls it in to security.
The tram is carrying a witness against a very powerful and dangerous man named Shaw. Hobbs invites the tram tour to take refuge in an abandoned warehouse in which the gang is also having a dance party. Okay?
Pulling into the first scene we get a look at a few of the cars from the films. From the other room we can hear the pulsating beat of dance music. Tyrese Gibson pops onto the screens and invites us all in to the party in the next room but we are warned to turn off our cell phones so as not to allow Shaw to trace our location.
The tram pulls forward into the next scene. This is a practical warehouse set with people dancing to the music via a clever Pepper’s Ghost effect.
The FBI quickly breaks up the party and, of course, Roman Pearce tries to explain that there is a far greater danger than that of Dominic Toretto. Shaw is after someone on the tram and the Fast and Furious Team needs to get them to safety.
Soon Vin Deisel, aka Dominic Toretto, chases the nosey FBI agent off and we are told to put on our protective glasses and pull into the parking garage in the next room.
As we pull into the 3D portion of the attraction, we can vaguely make out flickering overhead lighting. The lights come on and we are surrounded by a 3D parking garage. Soon the bad guys find us and the chase is on. From this point on, the specifics are literally a blur. The bad guys give chase and the good guys are fighting for your safety. The tram is surrounded by 3D projections and you are blasted with wind, giving a truly convincing sense of motion that is exhilarating. For some odd reason there is far more water spray than one would expect, but it was hardly a soaker.
After an absurdly huge launch off of the freeway and a ‘soft as a cloud’ landing, the tram pulls out of the final show building and into the daylight again. The four main characters from the film pop back onto the screens aboard the tram. They tell the riders that everything came out OK and the witness is safe. The end.
It almost doesn’t seem fair to review something that isn’t officially open yet, so we will just say the following. It is helpful to start off by dispelling a misconception. This is not a “ride” in the commonly understood sense. This is a big new element added to the world famous Studio Tour. The marketing would have you believe that you board an independent ride system that will hurl you into the world of Fast and Furious. This is not the case. You will be hurled, you will be surrounded by the likes of Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, and the rest of the crew from the wildly successful franchise, you will even be sprayed repeatedly with water. But this is a finale to the Studio Tour.
Park guests will love it as long as they understand not to keep looking for that Fast and Furoius ride that they’ve seen the commercial for.
As we saw it, the Fast and Furious tidbits on the tram route were minor. We were all listening to our Tour Guide and listening to the Jimmy Fallon jokes and suddenly there’s a 1970’s charger on the route. This makes it also very jarring when Jimmy returns to sing his Tramtastic song to end the tour. We had totally forgotten about him after begin chased by the bad guys.
We would certainly like to see the attraction a little more polished than it currently is. It’s obvious that Universal put a gigantic amount of effort into bringing The Fast and the Furious to life. They are to be commended for attempting to give the Studio Tour a proper finale too. The technology is impressive, but the cheese ball factor of the acting and the conceit that the tram is carrying an witness against a big crime lord is almost too much. Lower your expectations a bit and just enjoy the wild action and you’ll find this new addition to the tour to be highly entertaining.