By Step right up, men, women and children of all ages, and be among the first to experience the newest attraction in Krustyland: the Thrilltacular, Upsy Downsy, Spins Aroundy, Teen-Operated Thrill Ride.
That’s right, America’s favorite money-hungry clown has opened his own theme park, and you’re invited to be the very first guests to ride its brand new roller coaster, along with television’s most-popular yellow family: The Simpsons.
Well not really, but that’s the premise for the brand-new “The Simpsons Ride” attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood that had its grand opening on Saturday with clowns, jugglers, face painting and more celebrity families walking down a yellow carpet then could be counted.
“It’s a very dream-like experience,” “The Simpsons” creator and animator Matt Groening said in an interview exclusive to the Daily Forty-Niner. “Being a cartoonist and working in animation is very dream-like to see still drawings come to life and move around and say things, but this ride is an immersion into The Simpsons universe that throws you around, puts you upside down, and gets you wet, and that I’ve never experienced before.”
Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Lisa Kudrow, Kelsey Grammar (the voice of villain Sideshow Bob), Fred Willard and James L. Brooks all joined Groening for the ride’s grand opening ceremony where they shot a stunt man out of a cannon and unveiled a two-story Krustyhead (its outstretched tongue is the “red carpet” leading to the ride). The new attraction is in the building formerly occupied by “Back To The Future: The Ride,” which was recently retired.
Once in the line, guests are treated to several short clips from the show on flat-screen televisions throughout the queue. They continue all the way up until you board the roller coaster-looking cars, including a hilarious safety video starring Itchy and Scratchy.
The ride is a motion-simulator ride, like “Star Tours” at Disneyland. There are three levels of motion-simulator cars that move along with the video projected on an 80-foot screen. Instead of electing to do the ride in the show’s traditional 2-D, the video is done in 3-D animation.
“We chose to do it that way to make it feel like you’re immersed in that world,” Groening explained. “If we did 2-D animation it would be entertaining, but it would really similar to watching a movie and being taken around. This actually puts you inside their world.”
What The Simpsons don’t know is that maniacal serial killer Sideshow Bob has escaped (yet again) from the Springfield penitentiary and seeks revenge on The Simpsons as well as his former boss, Krusty. He hijacks the coaster as the ride starts, and this leads to plenty of twists, turns, jolts and crazy action that leaves riders holding onto their seats.
The ride’s script was written by the show’s creators, not anybody at Universal, and is full of humorous references to Disney, Universal and even Sea World. After crashing through a pirate ride that looks very similar to Disney’s “Pirates of the Carribean,” you fly into “Happy Little Elves in Panda Land,” which has a bunch of happy elves singing like “It’s A Small World.” At one point you even fly past a billboard in Springfield that candidly says “Send Money To Universal Studios.”
“If you’re a fan of the show and the characters this just delivers them in its own medium that’s really different and it works,” Groening said, “and if you’re just a theme park fan this ride is a send-up of other theme parks ride. What “The Simpsons” is to television is what this is to theme park rides.”
Without ruining all the surprises on the ride, just know that the ride is a lot of fun and definitely worth the hour plus wait it will sure have over summer. As for the show, the animators are working on its twentieth season which will kick off in the fall.
“We could do another 35 seasons,” Groening said laughing. “I don’t know. I made that up. I have no idea. I hope it goes for a long time.”
