REVIEW: Fast & Furious - Supercharged Soft-Opens at Universal Studios Florida

Over the past few days, select Guests visiting Universal Studios Florida have had the chance to preview the new Fast & Furious - Supercharged attraction before it officially opens later this spring. While we are still waiting for a grand opening date, all the components of the attraction (including the pre-shows and special effects) seem to be operating, meaning that very little may change by the time Fast & Furious - Supercharged officially joins the attraction roster of the park.

We had the chance to experience this attraction just a few hours ago. Being theme park fans, it would have been nearly impossible for us not to come across other reviews of this new ride (most of which have been overwhelmingly negative); that being said, we didn't let those influence our opinion regarding this new addition. We wanted to experience it in person to be able to formulate our own thoughts about it.

Sadly, we found ourselves to be completely underwhelmed by Fast & Furious - Supercharged. We never thought we would miss so much the attraction it replaced. We would prefer to wait in line to experience Disaster! rather than having to ride this... disaster.

Let's examine the reasons why we believe this attraction will not be such a hit with most park Guests. Before we do so, though, we would like to remind you that the following statements reflect our personal opinion regarding this attraction. This means that you might completely disagree with our view once you visit the attraction in person. We hope you will keep in mind as you continue reading this article.

QUEUE:
Some of those that have had the chance to preview the ride believe that the queue of Fast & Furious - Supercharged is easily the best part, and we would partially agree with that. While it is far from being exceptional, it is a little more than just a huge warehouse filled with cars. There are a lot of hidden details to be found in every corner of the indoor and outdoor portions of the queue. Fans of the Fast & Furious movies will also have a great time checking out the vehicles on display.

Unfortunately, the queue simply does not appeal to us. Sure, this portion of the attraction is themed very well, but we don't particularly love cars and we have never seen a single Fast & Furious movie, so we were a little unimpressed, especially since Universal Orlando has created plenty of breathtaking queues in the past few years. That being said, this attraction is a real people-eater, so most Guests won't be spending a long time in the queue and won't have time to get bored... yet.

PRE-SHOWS:
We always try to be positive and avoid being too harsh when it comes to new attractions. Unfortunately, we have absolutely NOTHING positive to say about the two absolutely boring and forgettable pre-shows that Guests go through before boarding the ride vehicle.

These two rooms filled with props feature two live performers that simply say a couple of awkward lines in response to some of the ride's characters that appear to "interact" with them on the screen. The pre-shows of Flight of Passage would be considered masterpieces when compared to these (yes, they are that bad). At least, they won't take up too much of your time, as you'll likely spend less than two minutes in these two rooms... thankfully.

RIDE:
After the two pre-show rooms, Guests follow a series of ramps and hallways that take them to the loading dock. There, Guests board one of two "party buses" that feature bright lights and are "driven" by puppets that don't move and that have absolutely no purpose other than filling the driver's seat.

The ride system is very similar to what's found at Reign of Kong at Universal's Islands of Adventure, meaning that it features trackless vehicles that move from scene to scene and stop on a motion base that adds some thrills to an otherwise very tame ride system. We actually love trackless dark-rides, so we are glad more theme parks are adding them.

Surprisingly, we enjoyed the first two show scenes. The first one is a completely empty, dark room that features a very clever special effect that makes Guests feel like they are driving 60 miles per hour. While it is a very simple effect, it works very well.

In our opinion, the second show scene is actually the best of the entire ride, as it looks like one of the alleys that you would find in a large city like San Francisco. It features some great physical effects and provides a much-needed break from the screen-heavy scenes that we have been accustomed to in other attractions at Universal Orlando. From that point on, things start going downhill again.

Following the alley scene, the two party buses get separated by gates and Guests experience an exact clone of the Fast & Furious - Supercharged portion of the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood. The Orlando version of the ride has it all: the same cringe-worthy dialogue, bad CGI effects, and a terrible storyline that's incredibly hard to follow (it's even harder to follow that the storyline of Transformers - The Ride: 3D).

The only difference? Orlando's version of the ride features an amazing amount of fog in the final scene (which is dominated by the 360-degree screen). While we love artificial fog in theme park attractions, even we found ourselves wondering why Universal went so overboard with it.

THE VERDICT:
All in all, Fast & Furious - Supercharged was a very disappointing experience. We are sad to say this because we love Universal Orlando and all that's being done to expand this amazing resort, but we cannot hide the fact that this new attraction is definitely not one of their best creations.

The following list shows how we would rate some of the elements of the ride described above:

• QUEUE: 7
• ATMOSPHERE: 6
• PRE-SHOWS: 3
• RIDE PORTION: 5
• RIDE SYSTEM: 6
• SPECIAL EFFECTS: 5
• STORYLINE: 2
• OVERALL: 5

And that is all for now. Before concluding, remember to like us on our official Facebook page and follow us on Twitter for live updates from the parks. We would also love to know what you think about this new attraction. Make sure to share your thoughts in the comments section.