Universal Orlando Is About to Have a Really Cool Opportunity. Let’s Hope They Don’t Blow It.

The Universal Orlando Resort is speeding FAST and FURIOUSLY into the FUTURE, but I’m hoping that in doing so, they can go BACK to their past!

Okay, blatant puns aside, it’s a time of great change at Universal Orlando. Just months after the long-awaited opening of Epic Universe, Universal officially closed Rip Ride Rockit and quickly dismantled the coaster at the front of Universal Studios Florida to begin work on a new coaster.

For months, Universal teased several potential themes for the new coaster, including Ghostbusters and Back to the Future, both of which would be making their triumphant returns to the park decades after their respective original attractions — the Ghostbusters Spooktacular and Back to the Future: The Ride.

Here’s where I’m going to pause for a moment to explain something: Like many Universal fans my age, I loved Back to the Future: The Ride. I still vividly remember the first time I rode the revolutionary simulator attraction in the summer of 1997. It blew my adolescent mind back then, and it remains one of my favorite theme park rides of all time to this day.

If you weren’t lucky enough to experience it, a quick synopsis of the ride which was located in the same building (and using the same ride system currently employed by The Simpsons Ride): Guests began by entering through the Institute of Future Technology, a fictional organization founded by series star Dr. Emmett L. Brown (portrayed by a returning Christopher Lloyd). Brown introduces his new “8 Passenger DeLorean” that will serve as their ride vehicle. However, before boarding, the original time vehicle is stolen by a time-displaced Biff Tannen (once portrayed by actor Tom Wilson, who joins Lloyd as the only actor from the film series to reprise his role). Brown has guests board the time vehicles — near exact recreations of the vehicle form the film, including all buttons and devices, just expanded to seating for 8 – and follow Biff through numerous time periods, including the then-future of 2015 as well as the Ice Age before “bumping” Biff back to the correct time frame.

The Universal Studios Florida version of the attraction closed in March of 2007 and was reopened as The Simpsons Ride the following year.

Alright, so let’s move back to the present… er, the more recent past, actually. So, suffice to say, I couldn’t help but be excited at Universal hinting that the new coaster might be Back to the Future-themed. After all, the concept art for Universal’s upcoming U.K. park seems to show a section themed on BTTF’s Hill Valley, complete with a coaster, so it didn’t seem completely out of line to think that the same coaster could come to Florida as well.

I held on to those hopes until January of 2026, when Universal officially confirmed that the new Universal Studios Florida coaster was going to be a version of the Fast & Furious Hollywood Drift coaster that’s currently under construction at the company’s California park. The Florida version is scheduled to open in 2027.

So, with the F&TF theme confirmed, that was the end of my Back to the Future hopes, right? Well… not quite. You see, in tandem with the announcement of the Hollywood Drift coaster, Universal also announced that the Fast & Furious Supercharged attraction would be closing. Call me an eternal optimist, but shifted my hopes to that attraction, as the former home of Earthquake and Disaster! seems like it could make a great home for a screen-based dark ride based on the classic time travel franchise.

Am I delusional? Maybe.

Is it more likely that the former home of Supercharged is taken over by Wicked or another modern Universal franchise? Probably.

But I’m still holding out hope until it’s confirmed. (Also, Universal, if you’re listening, if by some chance a BTTF attraction does go into this space, please rework the ride vehicles. No one wants DeLorean Time Machine-inspired party buses).

Incidentally, the Fast & The Furious Supercharged area isn’t the only site at the resort with an exciting yet still unknown future. The company has also filed construction permits for work on transforming the site of the almost-entirely-abandoned Lost Continent area of Islands of Adventure, as well as expansions coming to Epic Universe. While nothing has been confirmed for either space yet, rumors include attractions based on Nintendo’s Zelda franchise for the former and new Harry Potter attractions for the latter.

With Universal Orlando continuously expanding, I’m still hoping that somewhere, someTIME Back to the Future will return to the resort. Stay tuned to AllEars for more takes on the world’s biggest theme parks.

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Would you like to see a Back to the Future experience return to Universal in some capacity? Let us know in the comments below.

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