Universal Hollywood Promises New Sound Barrier and Morning Quiet Hour for Fast & Furious Coaster

Universal Studios Hollywood will build another sound barrier around Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift and keep the coaster closed between 8AM and 9AM for the rest of the year, after residents in nearby Toluca Lake complained about rider screams. The Verge The pledge was made at a community meeting attended by at least 350 people.

The complaints focus on screams. The coaster opened on September 16th this year and reaches 72 mph. One sound barrier is already in place, and the ride cars are programmed to turn away from homes at the points where riders are most likely to scream. One neighbor who complained is Roy P. Disney, Walt Disney's great-nephew.

The park sits in Los Angeles, California. Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios opened as a movie studio in 1912 and became a theme park in 1964.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift was described as Universal Studios Hollywood's first high-speed outdoor roller coaster and was designed with sound reduction technology. NBCUniversal Each car carries its own independent audio system that plays engine sounds and effects matched to that car. NBCUniversal The hollow track is filled with pea gravel to dampen vibration and reverberation, the echoing of sound through the structure. Los Angeles Times

The dispute started before the September opening. The park had earlier pushed back against reports of noise complaints. KTLA City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian later stated Universal Studios will install two additional sound barriers to reduce rider screams. Los Angeles Times The latest pledge for another barrier and the morning closure supersedes those earlier positions.

The broader context here is familiar to engineers. Noise control for an outdoor coaster is a systems problem, not a single-device fix. Barriers block direct sound paths, much like a fence blocks sight. Turning the cars changes which way the loudest sound points. Gravel fill quiets vibration traveling through the track. Onboard speakers add to the show but also add sound to manage. Limiting hours cuts total exposure. No single step silences the ride. Each step cuts a different piece.

In my view, the morning closure matters as much as the barrier. A wall takes ordering and building. A schedule change is immediate. Together they give the park a quick cut in disturbance while construction continues, and they give residents something they can check. Human screams are on-and-off and harder to ignore than a steady machine hum at the same average level. That is why turning the cars away at scream moments counts. It tackles the noise where it starts.

Looking at what this means for themed entertainment operations, the likely result is coexistence, not removal. High-energy outdoor rides near housing will need sound design treated as a core system, along with throughput, safety and show control. If the new barrier and the morning quiet hour lower the worst peaks, the park keeps a headline attraction running and neighbors get predictable relief. That is a modest, workable outcome, and often that is what progress looks like.