 Springfield sign at Universal Studios Florida | |
| Theme | The Simpsons |
|---|---|
| Universal Studios Florida | |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | June 1, 2013 |
| Replaced | Back to the Future: The Ride |
| Universal Studios Hollywood | |
| Status | Operating |
| Opened | May 23, 2015 |
| Replaced | Back to the Future: The Ride |
Springfield is a chain of themed areas at Universal theme parks in Florida and Hollywood, based on the town of the same name from the long-hit American television animated sitcom, The Simpsons .
On September 7, 2006, Universal Studios Florida announced that Back to the Future: The Ride would be closed around Spring 2007, while Universal Studios Hollywood announced on July 23, 2007 for the closure of its version on September 3, 2007. [1] On March 30, 2007, Universal Studios Florida officially closed the ride for good, while Universal Studios Hollywood closed its version exactly on September 3, 2007. On April 24, 2007, Universal Parks & Resorts announced that a new replacement would be built at both Universal parks based on the long-running animated television show, The Simpsons . In October 2007, Kwik-E-Mart-themed merchandise shops opened at both Florida and Hollywood and began selling a variety of items including Squishees (which are The Simpsons' parody of 7-Eleven's Slurpees). [2] The Simpsons Ride opened at both Florida and Hollywood on May 15 and 19, 2008 respectively. [3] [4]
In 2012, Universal Studios Florida closed the International Food and Film Festival which was adjacent to The Simpsons Ride. The park later announced that they would be opening Springfield in Summer 2013. Fast Food Boulevard, which encompasses Krusty Burger, Moe's Tavern, The Frying Dutchman, Cletus' Chicken Shack, Flaming Moe's, Lisa's Teahouse Of Horror, and Luigi's Pizza, opened as the first phase of the expansion on June 1, 2013. [5] [6] A second phase consisting of Lard Lad Donuts, Duff Gardens, Phineas Q. Butterfat's, and Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck, opened on August 2, 2013, while the last item Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl attraction opened on August 11. [7] On May 13, 2015, Universal Studios Hollywood opened its similar version with a special "meltdown" of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant display behind signaling the grand opening, complete with fireworks.
Springfield was dedicated in Universal Studios Hollywood on May 13, 2015 with a special "meltdown" at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant signaling the grand opening, complete with fireworks. [8] On hand for the event were the show's executive producer Al Jean and voice actors Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson), Yeardley Smith (Lisa Simpson) and Joe Mantegna (Fat Tony). [9] Springfield replaced various eateries including Doc Brown's Chicken with new food venues, including the Kwik-E-Mart, Moe's Tavern, [10] Duff Brewery, [10] Krusty Burger, [10] Luigi's Pizza, [10] Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck, [10] Cletus' Chicken Shack, [10] Phineas Q. Butterfat's Ice Cream Parlor, [10] and Lard Lad Donuts. [10]
On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company (NBCUniversal's major theme park rival) announced it was intending to acquire 21st Century Fox, which included the film and TV studios of 20th Century Fox. At the cost of $71.3 billion in cash and stock, the deal was fully completed on March 20, 2019, and Fox became a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios. [11] Among the 21st Century Fox's assets, this gave Disney access to The Simpsons intellectual property, leaving many fans to question the future of the Springfield areas at the Universal theme parks, as Disney Parks, Experiences and Products would incorporate Fox properties in its parks. Universal issued a statement the same day the Disney/Fox deal was announced in 2017, which stated, "Today's headlines will have no impact on our ride or our guest experience." [12]
As of August 11, 2013 Springfield consists of two attractions:
The area also features fast-food outlets, including Krusty Burger outlet, Lard Lad Donuts, Duff Gardens, Moe's Tavern, The Frying Dutchman, and a Cletus' Chicken Shack that replaced the International Food Festival dining location.
At Universal Studios Hollywood's Springfield area, it opened on May 23, 2015. As with its Florida counterpart, it features The Simpsons Ride simulator attraction and fast-food outlets, including Krusty Burger outlet, Lard Lad Donuts, Duff Gardens, Moe's Tavern, The Frying Dutchman, and a Cletus' Chicken Shack. The new area replaced many classic eateries including Doc Brown's Chicken, Flintstones Bar-B-Q and several others. [16] Other Springfield locations featured include Springfield Elementary School, [10] The Kwik-E-Mart, The Android's Dungeon, [10] Aztec Theater, [10] Springfield Penitentiary, [17] Herman's Military Antiques, [17] and the Springfield Police Department. [17]
Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky, better known by his stage name Krusty the Clown, is a recurring character on the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. He is the long-time clown host of Bart and Lisa's favorite TV show, a combination of kiddie variety television hijinks and cartoons including The Itchy & Scratchy Show. Krusty is often portrayed as a cynical, burnt-out, addiction-riddled smoker who is made miserable by show business but continues on anyway. He has become one of the most frequently occurring characters outside the main Simpson family and has been the focus of many episodes, some of which also feature Sideshow Bob.
The Kwik-E-Mart is a convenience store in the animated television series The Simpsons. It is a parody of American convenience stores, such as 7-Eleven and Cumberland Farms, and depicts many of the stereotypes about them.
Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a 541-acre (219 ha) theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. Following the opening of Universal Studios Florida in 1990, NBCUniversal moved forward with plans to expand from a single park into a large resort hoping to compete with Walt Disney World. In 1999, a second theme park called Islands of Adventure opened in addition to CityWalk, a shopping promenade and nightlife district that incorporates a variety of themed hotels, restaurants, and retail outlets. A 30-acre (12 ha) themed water park, Volcano Bay, was added in 2017, and a fourth upcoming theme park, Epic Universe, is scheduled to open in Summer 2025.
Songs in the Key of Springfield is a soundtrack/novelty album from The Simpsons compiling many of the musical numbers from the series. The album was released in the United States on March 18, 1997, and in the United Kingdom in June 1997. This was the second album released in association with the Simpsons television series; however, the previous release, The Simpsons Sing the Blues, contained original recordings as opposed to songs featured in episodes of the series.
Universal Destinations & Experiences, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. They are also referred to as Universal Studios Theme Parks, Universal Theme Parks or solely Universal Studios.
Universal Islands of Adventure, originally called Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and later Universal's Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part of an expansion that converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort. The resort's slogan Vacation Like You Mean It was introduced in 2013.
Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. About 70% of the studio lies within the unincorporated county island known as Universal City while the rest lies within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketing headline is "The Entertainment Capital of LA". It was initially created to offer tours of the real Universal Studios sets and is the first of many full-fledged Universal Studios Theme Parks located across the world.
Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida, that opened on June 7, 1990. Owned and operated by NBCUniversal, it features numerous rides, attractions, and live shows that are primarily themed to movies, television, and other aspects of the entertainment industry. Universal Studios Florida was the first of three theme parks to open at Universal Orlando Resort, joined later by Islands of Adventure in 1999 and Volcano Bay in 2017. In 2019, it ranked eleventh in the world – sixth in North America – for overall attendance among amusement parks with approximately 10.9 million visitors. A fourth park, Epic Universe, is expected in summer 2025. It is expected to be the largest Universal park in the United States.
The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is an international non-profit association that represents creators, developers, designers and producers of themed entertainment. It is also noted for its THEA Awards, which were founded in 1995 and are distributed annually in a range of themed entertainment categories.
The Simpsons Ride is a motion simulator ride located in the Springfield areas of both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood. Based on the animated television series The Simpsons, the ride was announced in 2007 as a replacement for Back to the Future: The Ride at both parks. It first opened at Universal Studios Florida on May 15, 2008, and then a few days later at Universal Studios Hollywood on May 19, 2008. The producers of The Simpsons contributed to the design of the ride, which uses CGI animation, also worked on the ride's 2D animation. At the time of its opening, the ride featured state-of-the-art projection and hydraulic technology.
The Simpsons is an American animated comedy franchise whose eponymous family consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The Simpsons were created by cartoonist Matt Groening for a series of animated shorts that debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into The Simpsons, a half-hour prime time show that was an early hit for Fox, becoming the first Fox series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989–1990). The popularity of The Simpsons has made it a billion-dollar merchandising and media franchise. Alongside the television series, the characters of the show have been featured in a variety of media, including books, comic books, a magazine, musical releases, and video games.
This article details the appearance of Harry Potter theming in amusement parks. In the late 1990s, Universal Parks & Resorts began discussing the possibility of purchasing the license for Harry Potter to create and theme amusement park rides. As Time Warner owns the license, a small walkthrough attraction was constructed at Warner Bros. Movie World called the Harry Potter Movie Magic Experience in 2001. This attraction was removed two years later. In 2010, Universal Islands of Adventure park opened The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Similar attractions have also opened in Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Japan and are planned for Universal Studios Beijing.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a chain of themed areas at Universal Destinations & Experiences based on the Harry Potter media franchise, adapting elements from the Warner Bros.' film series and original novels by J. K. Rowling. The areas were designed by Universal Creative from an exclusive license with Warner Bros. Entertainment.
The Simpsons: Tapped Out (TSTO), or simply known as Tapped Out, is a freemium licensed city-building mobile game for iOS and Android, based on the American animated comedy television series The Simpsons. It allows users to create and maintain their own version of Springfield using familiar characters and buildings. The game is regularly updated with new content, often seasonal and holiday-themed, for example, during holidays like Thanksgiving, and Treehouse of Horror episodes-related content for Halloween. The game is available in several languages such as English, French, Turkish, Italian, German, Simplified Chinese, Peninsular Spanish and both European Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese. The game was developed and published by EA Mobile and launched in Europe on February 29, 2012 and in North America on March 1, 2012 for iOS and February 6, 2013 for Android. The game was released for Amazon Fire devices in several markets on June 24, 2013.
Universal Express Pass is a priority status boarding system used at various Universal Destinations & Experiences: Universal Orlando, Universal Studios Japan, Universal Studios Singapore, and Universal Studios Hollywood.
Thierry Jean-Andre Coup is the Chief Experiential Futurist at JOCOUP Creative. Coup began his career working in the film industry, performing set design and visual effects. He moved into theme park design in the early 1990s when Walt Disney Parks and Resorts offered him a position with Walt Disney Imagineering. In 1995, he transferred over to Universal Creative and led projects such as The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Transformers: The Ride, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley and Super Nintendo World.
Kang & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl is a theme park attraction at Universal Studios Florida, which opened on August 11, 2013. The ride is based on The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror specials.
