The Simpsons Ride

The Simpsons Ride is a simulator ride featured at the Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood theme parks. The ride is based on the animated television series The Simpsons. It was first announced in 2007 and replaced Back to the Future: The Ride at both locations. The ride at Universal Studios Florida soft opened on April 23, 2008, and the official ceremonies took place on May 15. The ride at Universal Studios Hollywood opened on May 19, 2008. The Simpsons Ride was collaborated on by the producers of The Simpsons, and uses CGI animation, which was provided by Blur Studio and Reel FX. 2D animation was provided by Film Roman, with the exception of AKOM and Rough Draft Studios in South Korea and California. The ride uses state of the art technology, including new projection and hydraulics systems produced for the attraction. The ride itself is four and a half minutes long, but original footage for the ride can be seen in the queue, and there is also a pre-show video. In the ride, patrons are introduced to a cartoon theme park called Krustyland built by Krusty the Clown. Sideshow Bob, however, is loose from prison to get revenge on Krusty and the Simpson family. At least 24 regular characters from the series make an appearance, all voiced by their original actors. Along with the attraction is a gift shop modeled after the Kwik-E-Mart, which opened in late 2007. On June 1, 2013, Universal Studios began selling a real version of Duff Beer at the expanded Duff Beer Garden in the new Springfield section of the park.