On a recent visit to Universal Orlando Resort, I was just checking in on all the machines to see if anything had changed or if any where missing. Plus I had received a tip about a possible new machine at one of the attractions.

For most of my trip around the park everything appears normal and as it had been on previous visit. Then I entered the San Francisco area of the park and decided to jump on a ride that has become almost a joke within the park. It replaced a guest favorite attraction called Disaster and there were high hopes for this new attraction based on the movie fanchise it was to be based on.

Fast & Furious Supercharged is not one of my favorite attractions, but it does have a few things going for it. The queue is almost entirely inside with plenty of nice crisp air conditioning.

While you are waiting in the queue which usually is not very long (another plus) has plenty of interesting props from the Fast and Furious movie franchise including plenty of cars.

Eventually you get to the actual attraction where you start out by boarding a large “party bus”. Then things get a bit disappointing. Basically your bus drives into a large room where it is surrounded by a large movie screen dome that completely surrounds your vehicle. This is to try and give the illusion that you are in the middle of the movie. But the effects are pretty bad, the story is strange and I know that the F&F movies are a bit out there when it comes to the stunts but it’s taken to a whole new level of weird in this one. After a few minutes of the attraction your party bus heads back into the loading station where you exit and then walk into a themed gift shop. Unfortunately Universal doesn’t allow any video or photos to be taken on their attractions including this one, but if you want to see more of it I’m sure you can google a few secretly filmed videos on Youtube.

The gift shop is called Custom Gear and you can access it without having to endure this attraction. Just outside the store are a few more cars on display and is also where I found the new pressed penny machine.

The design of the machine cabinet is pretty cool. I like the diamond plate trim around the edge kind of like a large mechanic’s toolbox. The red and black colors are pretty inline with the Fast and Furious franchise colors. You may also notice that this machine was released at the now standard $1 price point, and the machine will supply the penny to be pressed. You no long need to bring your own pennies.

The set of designs includes images of the Fast & Furious Supercharged logo, the F&F Family Forever shield logo, F&F Lightning Bolt and Wrench log, and lastly a cool looking exotic car.

So first off lets just revisit the attraction for a moment. I have plenty of friends ask if they should ride it and I always say they should at least ride once and make their own decision. I don’t completely hate it, as I mentioned it’s a nice way to get a break from the hot Florida sun. The movie you experience is pretty far fetched but to be honest that pretty much the same as the Fast & Furious movies. If you like the movies I’m sure you will enjoy this ride at least a little bit. Some friends I know do get a bit of motion sickness from the attraction since your “party bus” is sitting still, but the movie around you makes it seem like you are moving so your equilibrium can be thrown off a bit. If you are subject to this from time to time you may want to just skip the ride.

Now for those new pressed pennies. I do think this is a great new set and I’m happy that we finally got some for this attraction. It opened quite a few years ago and I was surprised back then when no new machine was released but this situation seems to be pretty common for Universal. Look how long it took for us to finally get some Harry Potter pressed coins. Better late than never I always say.

Have a fantastic week and be sure to visit back with us again soon. Thanks for visiting and as always make sure to Keep on Pressing!

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