Fast and Furious and Voodoo Doughnuts – Universal Orlando Resort

Fast and Furious – Supercharged™

So I was hanging out recently with Vin Diesel at a new attraction in Universal Orlando Resorts. There are some perks for being on the Universal “Blog Squad”.

OK, maybe this is me standing with a wax double of Vin Diesel but he really was there at the opening along with some of the other stars from the Fast and Furious movie series. Universal Studios Orlando opened its most recent ride this month which is based on Fast and Furious.

(And that man can make an entrance)

In the ride, you are on a party bus that is going to the party after a race that the crew has been in when all hell breaks loose. The FBI is trying to raid the party and in the process, they lead the villain Owen Shaw from the 6th movie in the series (played by actor Luke Evans in both the film and the ride) right to you. It turns out there is someone on your bus that Shaw is trying to find. You are led into a high-speed chase through San Francisco while members of the Fast and Furious crew are trying to protect you.

The ride vehicle is similar to the King Kong ride (Skull Island: Reign of Kong™), although, in all honesty, I would have to say I like the Kong ride a bit better. I mean dinosaurs and a giant ape are hard to compete with. The Kong ride is in 3D but Fast and Furious is high rez 2D and therefore does not require 3D glasses. Fast and Furious premiered at Universal in Hollywood as part of the tram ride there instead of as a separate attraction.

Fans of the movie series will enjoy the line of the attraction which will take you through a warehouse where you will see a number of vehicles from the movies. There are easter eggs that they have put there for fans:

• pink slips from cars won in all the street races
• electronic boxes that mention the previous attractions at the site
• the ride opened at the same time as VooDoo Doughnuts at the park, see their iconic pink box
• pictures of all the stars in the movie series in the break room, the “family room”

Like the Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon™ ride, Fast and Furious will feature a virtual queue so that you can get a timed entry using either a kiosk in front of the ride or your Universal app.

One of the challenges of running a theme park is keeping the rides updated with movies and shows that current fans know. Fast and Furious is a solid upgrade that fans will enjoy, although the ride could be a bit longer.

Voodoo Doughnuts

As I mentioned, the other recent upgrade at Universal is the opening of a Voodoo Doughnuts which is in Universal City Walk.

Have you had a voodoo doughnut? In addition to some pretty normal flavors they have things like Mexican Hot chocolate that has hot spice in it (not that hot to my taste, but good), doughnuts with your favorite sweet cereal on them and the Bacon Maple Bar (I think this was my favorite). They also have a classic voodoo doll doughnut.

The opening of the Voodoo doughnuts was accompanied by a visit from the guy on the sign, as well as the two entrepreneurs behind the quirky shop Kenneth “Cat Daddy” Pogson and Tres Shannon.

This is the first Voodoo doughnuts east of the Mississippi. It joins shops in Portland (and elsewhere in Oregon), Denver, Colorado and Austin, Texas.

When you go there may be less fan fare… but the doughnuts will be just as good!

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