What are the movies about, anyway?

Fast & Furious is, without a doubt – and rightly or wrongly – a major cultural and economic force. The 17-year-old franchise has grossed over $5 billion worldwide, making it Universal Pictures’s highest earner, and with two more sequels – plus a spinoff trilogy titled Hobbs & Shaw – in the pipeline, it has no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

It’s no wonder, then, that Universal Parks and Resorts would try and jump on that train (our apologies for using a slow metaphor), first installing Fast & Furious – Supercharged as the grand finale of Universal Studios Hollywood’s Tram Tour back in June 2015 and, now, transplanting it over to the East Coast as its own, standalone, slightly-expanded attraction.

Unsurprisingly, Universal Studios Florida’s version draws even more heavily on the films’ mythology, using even more characters, locations, and vehicles to literally fill out the ride’s queue, pre-show, and additional ride scenes. Is it necessary to watch all eight movies in order to understand what’s going on? In typical theme-park fashion, that answer is no, absolutely not – but having at least some familiarity with the source material, of course, will enrich your experience even more. As such, we’ve done all the heavy lifting for you and are now happy to give you the brief-but-thorough rundown of the Fast & Furious narrative, allowing you to get the most out of the soon-to-open Supercharged.