Universal Studios Florida to close Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster in 2025

 Time is running out to take a ride on one of the most popular steel roller coasters at Universal Studios Florida.

After months of speculation from theme park enthusiasts online, WESH 2 Investigates has learned that the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit will be closing next year.

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit will close in early September 2025 to make way for a new experience. More details will be available at a later date,” Universal Orlando Resort’s VP of Public Relations Alyson Sologaistoa said in an email.

Before Universal confirmed this, WESH 2 Investigates reviewed documents the theme park filed with the Southwest Florida Water Management District on Dec. 23 regarding a project located on the Rip Ride Rockit’s footprint.

Universal’s permit application describes the project as “Remove existing attraction and replace with proposed attraction.”

“Whenever you're deconstructing a ride, it has to be public knowledge, in a sense,” Daniel Leavelle said. “So they file these plans in the water division, I guess, got it first, and it was public, and that's why it's out there.”

Leavelle is the owner of the Midway Mayhem blog about roller coasters all over the world, and he has helped build amusement park rides here in Orlando and elsewhere in the United States.