Screams from Universal Studios Hollywood’s Thrilling New Coaster Are Infuriating Park’s Neighbors

Charna FlamThu, July 30, 2026 at 12:38 AM UTC

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Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood.Credit: Rich Polk/Getty -

Universal Studios Hollywood’s new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster was soft-launched on Monday, July 27

But nearby Toluca Lake residents aren’t too pleased, saying they can hear all the parkgoers’ loud screams

The park is attempting to reduce noise with sound shields and pea gravel

The latest Universal Studios Hollywood ride is making a few neighbors furious — and it hasn’t even officially debuted yet.

The park’s new ride, Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, was soft-launched at the Los Angeles-based amusement park on Monday, July 27. But the nearby neighbors aren’t pleased, because the high-speed outdoor coaster overlooks the Toluca Lake neighborhood, and residents can hear the parkgoers on the thrilling ride.

One Toluca Lake resident, Colby Jensen, compared the “constant [and] very intrusive” screams to sounding like a “horror film,” telling KTLA, “It sounds like bloody murder over there.”

The roller coaster includes a unique 360-degree rotation technology made to immerse riders in the feeling of drifting cars at speeds up to 72 miles per hour, while rolling along 4,100 feet of elaborate aerial track, the equivalent of nearly 12 football fields. The track winds its way over sections of the theme park, including the multi-level Starway escalator that connects the Upper and Lower Lots.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood.Credit: Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times

Although the park installed sound shields at key points to mask the screams and also filled the track with pea gravel intended to silence noise, residents say it isn’t enough.

Resident John Heim acknowledged the park’s attempts at mitigating the noise, telling ABC7, “ Some days it’s good, some days it’s bad.”

“You do hear the screaming, and I heard it late last night with the doors closed and you’re kind of like what is that?” Heim said. “By the third time you know what it is.”

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Local resident Kevin Dees explained that throughout the park’s consistent expansion throughout the years, the noise has grown, but told KTLA, “There are much bigger problems in the world than how a roller coaster is affecting this neighborhood.”

“But what’s really disheartening is to see some of the comments online, people attacking people who live in Toluca Lake just because we live here, that somehow we deserve this to happen to our neighborhood. That’s unfortunate.”

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster at Universal Studios Hollywood.Credit: Rich Polk/Getty

Universal said it is currently in the process of ensuring that its sound levels are “in compliance.”

“The coaster is currently in technical rehearsals, which are designed to evaluate the attraction over time and under a variety of operating conditions. As part of that process, we are actively reviewing sound levels to ensure the coaster is operating in compliance,” the park said in a statement, per ABC 7.

The park also said that it installed microphones in the neighborhood to monitor sound levels and set up a hotline for complaints.

PEOPLE reached out to Universal for comment but did not immediately hear back.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”