While the world waits for the ninth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, or even that spinoff based around The Rock and Jason Statham, Orlando tourists can take a spin on a brand new ride that has set up shop at Universal Studios Florida theme park. Fast & Furious: Supercharged is an interactive ride that utilizes multiple movie screens to immerse patrons in a quick Fast & Furious adventure. But before you board the ride, you get to spend a lot of time in the unique Fast universe, and appreciate a tribute to founding franchise member Paul Walker.
CinemaBlend traveled to Orlando and attended the opening of the new ride Fast & Furious: Supercharged. Series stars Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson were in attendance, and all attendees got to ride the ride. As you make your way to the boarding area, there are multiple rooms that you walk through, including garages filled with cars and one very familiar picnic table -- a family table from one of the earlier Fast & Furious movies. Stephanie Green, Project Director -- Universal Creative, confirmed that this picnic area was included as a nod to Walker, and his contributions to the series, saying:
Yeah. You know, in our family room, we absolutely wanted to make sure we made a nod to [Paul] Walker. That was very important to us on the project team, and to Universal. So that's the main place where you will see that we made that nod to him.
The table's a nod to this early scene from The Fast and the Furious -- though the idea of breaking bread as a family has come up numerous times over the course of the saga.
And it's one of five rooms that fans can walk through, absorbing all of the details, as they wait to board the ride. There are, as I said, garages filled with classic cars from the series.
There's a tech room modeled after Tej's high-tech cyber headquarters.
And there's the picnic area, complete with condiments, plates and Corona bottles. With lime. Naturally. #Family
Look for the Paul Walker nod when you head to Universal Studios Orlando to ride Fast & Furious: Supercharged, a new ride that uses screen tech and a fast-moving party bus to immerse you in Dom Toretto's fight against Shaw (Luke Evans). It's a wild ride, though the attention to detail in the queue make this an attraction Fast & Furious fans will want to revisit time and again, for years to come.
