August 17, 2025, 3:21 PM ·
Today is the final day to ride Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at Universal Studios Florida.Universal Orlando has already started working clearing land around the coaster in preparation for building its replacement. Now, what that replacement will be, Universal has not announced. However, plenty of fans have decided that it will be something themed to the Ghostbusters franchise, which used to have a show in the building underneath the coaster – which is now home to the The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon attraction.As for HRRR, the Maurer Rides X-Car coaster opened in 2009, back when people used “rip” as a verb for recording music. The initial concept of the ride was that you were filming a music video, so you could choose from a provided list of songs when you boarded the coaster train. Universal then sold CDs with your ride video and chosen on-board music as you exited.However, Universal also hid a long list of “Easter egg” songs that you could choose, as well. If you chose one of those, you could not get the “music video” at the end, as Universal had the rights to play those songs on the ride, but not to sell CDs that included them.We published that list of Easter egg songs on our discussion forum, which brought many readers to Theme Park Insider for the first time, back in the day.Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit featured a distinctive vertical lift and unique track elements that kept the trains from ever inverting, while teasing inversions throughout. But the coaster was most known for living up to its musical theme by making riders feel like they has just (barely) survived a mosh pit.With high-rated beauties such as Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Stardust Racers at the resort, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit has been the blemish in Universal Orlando’s coaster portfolio. Here’s hoping that Universal brings Universal Studios Florida fans a new outdoor coaster that lives up to the high standard that the company has set at its other Orlando theme parks. Planning a Universal Orlando visit?To learn more about Universal Orlando’s theme parks, please click over to our one-page visitors guides, which include our reader rankings as well as on-ride videos and links to reviews:For tickets, including those for the new Epic Universe, please visit our ticket partner’s Universal Orlando tickets page.For assistance in planning a complete Universal Orlando vacation, including discounts on bundled Epic Universe tickets and on-site hotel stays, please contact our travel agent for a free, no-obligation vacation quote.Remember that whenever you buy tickets or book vacations through our partners, a small portion of that goes to support Theme Park Insider. So you can support independent media while getting a great deal at the same time.Finally, to keep up with more theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider’s weekly newsletter.
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