The Uncertain Future of The Simpsons Ride | Universal Studios Florida/Universal Studios Hollywood

it's 2008 and Universal Studios is at an inflection point while both Universal Studios Florida and its sister Park Islands of Adventure had a collection of great attractions in the early to late 2000s new and impressive licensed rides slowed in the Orlando parks and while this was all about to flip with the upcoming release of Islands of Adventures Wizarding World of Harry Potter the area that not only directly challenged Disney's stake in the Florida Theme Park Market but also changed the trajectory of Universal Studios forever Universal creative had one more R up their sleeve with licensing TV's biggest family ever welcome back to another episode of theme park lore where today we'll be breaking down the history and lore of Universal Studios Florida's classic motion simulator attraction The Simpsons Ride in the late 1980s Universal Studios had begun planning its Florida addition and was looking for properties to license for its attractions in speaking with director Steven Spielberg an idea was brought up to pursue bringing back to the future to life being one of the most important franchises of the late ' 80s and early '90s and being produced by Spielberg's production company amulet entertainment it made perfect sense to Begin work on translating another Spielberg property to life in a universal Park after speaking with collaborator and competitor George Lucas who had recently launched Star Tours at Disneyland in 1987 Spielberg and Universal creative decided to take their biggest science fiction franchise at the time and build it into a theme park attraction while the ride had been planned to be a roller coaster a motion simulator ride was settled on after designers realized it would be too difficult to tell a coherent story with fast-paced motion having begun work on their own motion simulator attraction around the same time with the Fantastic world of Hannah Barbara opening on June 7th 1990 Back to the Future the ride would take a page out of stator's book by combining what they learned on Hannah Barbara's Auditorium based motion simulator and implementing moving ride Vehicles production on Back to the Future the ride began in 1988 with the idea for guests boarding DeLorean vehicles and watching the ride film on 270t IMAX Dome screams being settled on in early development planned to be an opening day attraction at Universal Studios Florida the ride would be one of the most advanced theme park rides ever built costing roughly $60 million while construction issues in both Orlando and Hollywood would delay the attraction causing it to miss Florida's opening the ride would officially open on May 2nd 1991 in Universal Studios Florida and June 12th 1993 at Universal Studios Hollywood releasing to critical Acclaim back to the future of the ride was an immediate standout at both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood with a state-of-the-art ride vehicle and fantastic theming the attraction truly put guests in the of the world of Back to the Future in ways that still cannot be replicated while computer animation and Graphics were utilized heavily in the Fantastic world of Hannah Barbara back to the future of the rides film was made primarily with practical effects stop motion and miniature sets giving it a feel unlike any other attraction at that scale following the success of the attraction back to the future of the ride opened as an opening day attraction at Universal's New Japan Park on March 31st 2001 with a new Japanese voice cast well back to the future of the ride was a mainstate of universal parks around the world for decades in the early to mid 2000s Universal had begun the process of retheming many attractions to new and popular licensed IPS with rides like the Fantastic world of Hannah Barbara being replaced by Jimmy Neutron's Nick tune blast confrontation being replaced by Revenge of the Mummy the ride and Alfred Hitchcock The Art of making movies being replaced by Shrek 4D Back to the Future was next on The Chopping Block having been operating for 16 years and with no new Back to the Future films in 17 the attraction remained a cold classic but had lost some of its relevancy since its release in the '90s in searching for replacement IP Universal was interested in adapting either its relatively new franchise The Fast and the Furious or pursuing Fox's animated Titan The Simpsons however after the lackluster box office performance and poor critical reception of 2006's Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift negotiations begin to bring the world of Springfield to Universal Parks rather than building a brand new attraction from the ground up Universal creative partnered with Oceaneering International to update back to the future's motion simulator while Back to the Future the ride had been built with Cutting Edge technology in the 9s relying on 16-year-old projectors and Laser discs left room for improvement with the new attraction utilizing two brand new 85- ft IMAX Dome screens and four overlapping 4K projectors per Dome the attraction is able to display its Ride video at a quality leagues better than its predecessor with the attractions ride Vehicles being reemed to crusty land dark ride cars each of the attractions 24 ride cars feature 12 Dolby surround sound speakers in addition to each dome's 90 individual speakers partnering with show creators Mac groning in James L Brooks as well as showrunner Al Jean the ride film features many of the show's voice actors and writers while many elements of The Simpsons show are present in the interaction the ride film notably features 3D animation throughout as opposed to 2D animation a choice that retains much of the show's charm while providing a more immersive experience for Riders at launch while the cor of Back to the Future show building stayed intact both its interior and exterior received a full remodel to turn the Institute of future technology to Springfield's crusty land with concrete being dismantled and replaced in the area around the show building turning into a carnival with various games opening the attraction features a 28t tall 36t wide crusty the clown head that serves as one of the most defining features of the entire part entering through Crusty's mouth guests will walk through switchbacks passing screens playing different clips from the show's 35 seasons and posters advertising other attractions at crusty land making their way up a large Ram Riders then enter a holding room with various carnival stalls being operated by characters from the show the ride's first pre-show video then plays giving guest back background in the attractions characters and setup explaining Sideshow Bob's hatred towards the Simpsons crusty chooses the family to be the first guest aboard his brand new theme park ride then being split up into groups of eight guests are escorted into one of 12 funh house themed rooms as the second pre-show begins The Simpsons are brought into the attraction by crusty who is then attacked by Sideshow Bob being held hostage on the ride vehicle an itchy and scratchy safety video then plays explaining the dos and don'ts of the attraction as the video ends guests are then brought into the same ride vehicle room from the pre-show where where they then board the attraction themselves after the ride is hijacked by Sideshow Bob the ride is then scissor lifted 9 ft upwards into the IMAX Dome screen being lifted up the roller coaster scaffolding guest's ride car bumps into the Simpsons pushing them down the Coaster's winding drop following their car a wrecking ball then hits Homer referencing the then recently released Simpsons movie being chased backwards by the large wrecking ball both you and Homer are struck launching you into the happy little elves in pandan attraction starzing children's attractions like it's a small world Bart and Lisa company Riders on teacups before a large Panda animatronic is taken over by Sideshow Bob knocking guests through the side of the show building the ride vehicle then plunges into a parody of Pirates of the Caribbean and Jurassic Park the ride falling down a waterfall before being sprayed by water effects the attraction begins to self-destruct before everybody is sucked into Crusty's wet and Smoky stun show hooking on to a killer whale Lisa is writing guests cork screw over a ramp before landing in the stun shows bleachers being stopped by a giant-sized Maggie who had grown after entering the R's nuclear re actor guests are knocked through the ride scaffolding before being saved by Professor Frank's helicopter following Maggie guests Fly Over Springfield passing classic locals from the show like the nuclear power plant in Quicky Mart flying through the lard lad donut Maggie loses her pacifier and instead puts guests in her mouth with baby powder and water being sprayed at ryers after launching Into The Simpsons house guests encounter one of the show's iconic couch gags before it's revealed to be an elaborate disguise for a death drop attraction letting guests know all rides end in the gift shop a fact that ironically this simpsons's ride proves wrong the ride vehicle falls down the track before landing on Sideshow Bob and lowering guests down the scissorlift as the ride vehicle's go Wing doors lift up rides are able to exit the attraction and have the option to make a short walk to the gift shop a store modeled after the iconic Quicky Mark opening May 15th 2008 at Universal Studios Florida and May 19th 2008 at Universal Studios Hollywood the attraction was met with universal Acclaim with many praising the attractions theming updated ride system and comedic writing with the Simpsons being the longest running sitcom of all time it was bound to bring Universal Studios success regardless of the quality of the ride but the attraction's ability to authentically translate the tone and feel of the show into a theme park ride has led to its continued Fair andf far with the attraction success on both coasts of the US expansions to the area surrounding the ride were made to convert the land into a Springfield section of the park with restaurants from the show like crusty burger Mo's Tavern and Lord lad Donuts Universal creative was able to merchandise The Simpsons property into a true theme park land on par with areas in Parks like Islands of Adventure and immerse guests into the world of The Simpsons further embracing the IP in 2013 with King and Cotto's twirl and hurl an aerial Carousel themed to The Treehouse of Horror Halloween specials Springfield would become one of the most well themed areas in all of Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood with an attraction as big as the Simpsons Universal had succeeded again at giving New Life to a beloved ride with updated IP but it would really only be Universal's precursor to their biggest move yet with the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on June 18th 2010 and while that's a conversation for another video The Simpsons Ride and Springfield as a whole were key in revitalizing Universal Studios Orlando's original Park before the attention shifted to Islands of Adventure The Simpsons Ride has been a beloved addition to Universal Parks ever since its opening in 2008 and while it's been open for 16 years now the attraction still feels fresh and remains one of Universal's best motion simulators it's hard to imagine Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood without the Simpsons but many think the area may be reaching its end sooner than later Universal creative had negotiated a lifetime license of Marvel Comics characters when creating Marvel Superhero Island in Islands of Adventure this was not the case when licensing The Simpsons IP from Fox signing a 20-year license from 2008 to 2028 Universal Parks are able to use characters from The Simpsons for various attractions dining locations and merchandise but with Disney's purchase of fox in 2019 it's unclear if the characters will remain in the park past 2028 Universal's Ironclad deal with Marvel Comics has certainly created a headache for Disney with them not being able to use most of their Hallmark characters in their Florida parks and while The Simpsons is not the Bastion of quality it used to be in the 9s the show Remains the longest running sitcom of all time and its characters remain pop culture icons even if the Simpsons IP isn't planned to be featured in a Disney park anytime soon its association with Universal Parks Disney's biggest competitor is obviously a pain point for imagineers over the years Universal's licenses have grown and the company has created attractions with some of the biggest characters of all time from Mario to Harry Potter to to minions but the Simpsons Ride marked a turning point for the company while it has now been open for the same amount of time Back to the Future was the characters in IP remain as relevant today as it was when it opened and this Springfield area has become one of the most iconic theme park areas of all time well it would be a shame for the land to be retheme it might be time for TV's biggest family to leave Universal Parks and be replaced with an even bigger and better world with Universal's epic Universe opening next year and building lands based on IP never explored by the park it's clear that Universal creative is making some of their best work and I'm sure whatever Springfield may become will push boundaries never before seen in theme parks let me know down in the comments what you think about the Simpsons Ride and thank you so much for watching consider subscribing if you'd like to stick around for more theme park lore and I'll see you in the next video

Channel: Theme Park Lore

Views: 31,092

Keywords: Theme Park Lore, Theme Park History, The Simpsons Ride, Universal Studios Florida, Universal Studios Hollywood, The Simpsons Ride Universal Studios Florida, The Simpsons Ride Universal Studios Hollywood, The Simpsons Ride Universal Studios, Simpsons Ride Universal Studios Florida, Simpsons Ride Universal Studios Hollywood, Simpsons Ride Universal, Theme Park History The Simpsons Ride, The Simpsons Ride History, Epic Universe, Simpsons closing, Springfield Universal

Id: 8lglS7x0u6Q

Length: 11min 13sec (673 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 20 2024