The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios Fla. has officially closed permanently. The ride had its last day of operation on Aug. 17, 2025, marking almost 16 years since its opening in 2009.
The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was a roller coaster that allowed riders to listen to music during the ride. Riders could choose from a variety of genres such as rap, pop, rock and club music.
“Rip Ride Rockit was a pretty good ride overall. I really liked how you could listen to music on the ride,” Reece Bass, freshman who’s been on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, said.
As the coaster aged, it strayed away from its former glory, having many technical issues and malfunctions. There were often problems with loading and unloading guests onto the ride due to its constant movement in the station.
“I thought the ride was really fun and exhilarating, but I haven’t been on the ride once without it shutting down and workers having to fix it,” Cole Pansoli, junior who’s been on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, said.
The ride also broke down numerous times on the vertical lift hill coming out of the station. There have been many occasions in which riders were forced to exit the ride, usually on the lift hill. In 2023, 24 riders got stuck on the lift hill, suspended vertically for almost an hour before the Fire Department arrived.
“We were walking out of the park as it was closing time and seen a group of people taking pictures of the Rip Ride Rockit,” Dennis Malesky said in an interview with Fox News. “That seemed kind of odd until we looked up and seen the group stuck on the ride.”
The costs to maintain the coaster were also very high, making it difficult for Universal to continue running it. The constant breakdowns, the speaker systems, maintaining music rights and updating the song selection all made the ride very expensive to operate.
Universal immediately started construction on the new attraction that will be taking Rip Ride Rockit’s place after the coaster closed. Fans have already begun to speculate what could replace the iconic ride.
“ I would want Universal to replace it with another roller coaster that keeps the music theme. I really liked that about the ride,” Bass said.
Many are theorizing that a Ghostbuster’s theme attraction could replace Rip Ride Rockit, considering that a replica of the fire station from the movie is close to where the ride used to be. The coaster would interact with the station by quickly passing through it after the first break run.
“I honestly wouldn’t mind a Ghostbuster’s roller coaster as long as it’s a thrilling ride and not something with lots of screens,” Pansoli said.
Some also believe that Universal could build the Fast and Furious roller coaster that is currently being constructed in Universal Studios Hollywood. Fast and Furious: Hollywood Drift is a launched spinning roller coaster opening in 2026.
“A Fast and Furious roller coaster would be cool, but there is already a Fast and Furious ride, so it might not work,” Bass said.
The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was a key attraction at Universal Studios Orlando and thrilled millions of people over the time it was operational. Due to the ride closing, Universal Studios has fallen behind in comparison to its sibling parks, Islands of Adventure and Epic Universe. Many miss the attraction but are excited to see what’s next for the park.
“The ride has been around for so long, and it’s iconic to the park, but I can see why they took it down. I just hope they replace it with something even better,” Pansoli said.
