Closed Down Roller Coaster Catches Fire At Popular Florida Theme Park

A now-defunct roller coaster caught fire at Universal Studios’ Orlando last week. It remains unclear what triggered the blaze.

What happened: According to a report by WESH, a fire broke out on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit ride on Friday morning. The Orlando Fire Department confirmed to the outlet that they were “working a small active fire on the tracks of a closed coaster.”

• Universal Studios announced plans in December 2024 to permanently shut down the coaster. Per Fox 35 Orlando, those projects went ahead, and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit officially closed on August 18, 2025. The roller coaster first opened for business in 2009.
• Workers have been tearing down the structure over the last few weeks, and the fire broke out on a portion of the ride’s lift hill.
• WESH also posted footage of the fire on YouTube. Video submitted to the outlet shows flames climbing up a vertical piece of track high off the ground. The fire department reportedly noted that no other structures were affected.

Many Details About The Fire Remain Unclear

Making way for a new ride: Authorities have not shared any details about how the fire started, considering the ride was closed. It’s also unclear if the fire injured anyone working on the coaster. According to FOX 35, Universal is removing the ride to make room for a new experience.

• Per theme park enthusiast site AllEars, Universal Studios’ Orlando actually accelerated their plans to shut the ride by several weeks. The outlet explains that rumors about what may fill the space are already rampant on social media. A planning permit allegedly surfaced in March, revealing that a two-story building may take the roller coaster’s space.

A theme park tragedy: Another Universal park made headlines last month after a rider died on a new roller coaster at Epic Universe.

• Stardust Racers at Epic Universe is a dual-track racing coaster that can achieve up to 60 MPH speeds. However, one rider, 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala, was fatally injured while the ride was in operation. He didn’t fall from the coaster and arrived at the station with other passengers.
• Many details about the incident are vague. An autopsy confirmed that Zavala’s cause of death was multiple impact injuries, although it remains a mystery how he sustained them.
• The rider’s family has since started a civil suit against the theme park. During a press conference, an attorney representing the family said, “We have to know what happened. We have to get answers.”