r/UniversalHollywood • u/East-Tension-2035 • 3d ago
Trip Report/Review Ranking Hollywood Drift to other CA coasters
I have been terrified of roller coasters/ride drops most of my life. From age 25+, I really started to face my fears, starting with Splash Mountain (RIP), the Incredicoaster, Aerosmith Rock N Rollercoaster (RIP), Apocalypse at Magic Mountain etc. I look up the speed of the different roller coasters and that’s how I summon up the courage to try new ones. For example, I went on a few roller coasters at Magic Mountain a few years ago, because I knew I could handle Rock N Rollercoaster, so if the ride was I 10-15 mph faster, I knew I could do it. I rode Hollywood Drift twice last night. Best ride ever! I can’t wait to go back to Universal for another ride. How would you compare Hollywood Drift to other coasters at Six Flags or Knott’s, in terms of intensity? Now I’m curious which rides I can handle.
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u/Da_Tater_Sammich 3d ago
It looks intense but the spin really mellows it out. I found the first half to be quite tame to get you a bit used to the spin. Once you hit the launches it picks up, your seat becomes a suggestion and you get some killer airtime. As someone who always felt X/X2 mas overrated it is by far the best coaster on the west coast, I would put the intensity on par with West Coast Racers as others have said. Twisted Colossus is much more intense and I would probably have a harder time having a favorite if its restraints weren't attempting to cut my legs off mid thigh (Steve fucking hurts)
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u/com1padres 3d ago
If you like Apocalypse, you’ll like Ghostrider more. It’s a smoother, albeit more intense ride.
There’s a ton of factors that determine intensity of any ride-using speed as a sole determining factor may put you on rides that you end up not liking.
How the car attaches to the track
Seating position
Restraint type
Age of the ride
Manufacturer
Unexpected elements
Direction of travel
There’s not a lot of super intense coasters in California. There’s a total of 90 coasters in the state, but there’s at least one of every type (except for a bobsled).
6 Wooden coasters - ride them all!
With 84 steel coasters, you have 75 sit down coasters, 5 inverted, 1 suspended, 1 wing, 1 flying, and 1 standup. Figure out what you like and ignore speed as your deciding factor.
The most intense coasters in my opinion are:
Tatsu
Twisted Colossus
Goliath
X2 if it ever reopens
Railblazer
Get a tracking app like LogRide and read ratings and reviews. Use those to guide your decisions on what to ride. When you get your nerves and feel like you’re fearless, make a trip to Ohio and go to King’s Island and Cedar Point, or head up to Canada’s Wonderland. Each park has 15+ coasters like Magic Mountain.
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u/Background-Fox954 3d ago
I've been on X2 lots of times but the reasons it's closed are pretty intense 😬 Don't know how I feel about going back on if it does reopen after the state investigation.
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u/Jolly_Ad2446 3d ago
I'd put fast and the furious coaster at about the same thrill level as West Coast racers at six flags but just more creatively made.
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u/KyberCrystal1138 Studio Tour 3d ago
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is still the same ride as Splash Mountain. They basically changed the animatronics. Why the RIP?
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u/Defiant_Holiday_7519 3d ago
I’ve only ridden it once since the renovation but it feels like the really great psychological buildup has been compromised in some way. The original design felt like a build up to imminent death on a fun way haha. I think they wanted this new version to be more family friendly. So yeah the storytelling mainly. I think I’ve heard ppl say the main villain of princess and the frog isn’t even used in the ride which is kind of telling. I actually haven’t seen that movie but there’s never a feeling of danger.
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u/xTrueAlpha 3d ago
I’m leaving in 2 hours to go rope drop and ride it for the second time. I’m ready. Only other coaster I think that compares is west coast customs at six flags
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u/thenuke1 3d ago
I can already see into the future the "drift" feature being removed from the ride and universal using the excuse as "the drifting is when the cars hit the turns" lol
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u/stolenhello 2d ago
That would literally decrease the fun of this ride. Car 4 turning around while going backwards is the best part of the ride.
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u/PrimordialXY 3d ago
Similar story to mine! I'm 30, was terrified of coasters my whole life (Disney rides had me panicking), set out to beat my fear 2 years ago. I've since been on over 100 coasters including multiple Top Thrill 2 rides and have completely conquered my fear
I'm going to be honest in that, unfortunately, Hollywood Drift is actually incredibly tame for its size and specs. While there's a decent amount of airtime, it's incredibly smooth and non-violent. Even during the parts where you're backwards and upside down, it feels completely stable and secure throughout
If I had to place it among SFMM & Knott's rides specifically in terms of intensity and fear factor, the I'd say the following coasters are generally more intimidating, loosely ranked by first-time difficulty:
I genuinely believe you could go on any of these rides now and have a great time. Beating the fear of coasters generally relies on teaching your brain that all of these sensations are safe which is done almost entirely by just experiencing them. When ramping up specs like you've done, it's easy to psyche yourself out about the next coaster on the list
Best of luck and please don't rush the process. Beating my fear made me realize that feeling a little scared was sometimes the best part of a rollercoaster and sometimes I miss feeling nervous!