Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Orlando Confirmed?

Awhile back I wrote an article about the rumors that were swirling that the Back to the Future ride at Universal Studios theme park in Orlando would be replaced by a ride based on the popular and long-running animated series The Simpsons. Since then, the Back to the Future Ride-one of the most popular attractions at the theme park for years-has been retired. Now comes word that the rumors may be much more than that.

L.A. Weekly columnist Nikki Finke, using that time-honored method of citing unnamed sources, revealed the Simpsons ride will be called "Travel with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie" and it will essentially be the same kind of ride as Back to the Future. That is, the Simpsons ride will be a motion simulated ride in which visitors board a stationary "car" that shifts in conjunction with the camera movements of an animated film projected onto a screen. The brain will process the coordinated movements so as to trick the viewer into thinking they are actually in transit.

The original title of this Imax format film was to be the "Simpsons: Sprint Through Springfield." Apparently, some of the suits at Universal Orlando must have gotten convinced that people not fervently and fanatically tied to the show wouldn't understand that Springfield is the town in which the show takes place and might think the ride was about O.J.'s search for the "real killers." As a result, the fun and alliterative original title has been changed to the utterly lackluster and uncreative "Travel with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie." Obviously, visitors are hardly going to come to the park and say, "Hey, lets start with Travel with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie." They'll probably say, "Hey, let's start with the Simpsons ride!" Even that utilitarian description is preferable to the execrable title Universal has apparently decided on. Going back to Spring Through Springfield would be even better.

There's no word yet on the actual "plot" of the film that will be used in the ride. And if you're planning on heading down to Orlando this summer to find out, your wait will be slightly longer than the usual wait at the Jaws ride (provided that ride isn't shut down for repairs, which, take my word for it, will probably be the case.) "Travel with Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie"-whew!-will not open until summer of 2008. That is, if the ride opens at all. Remember, this information is attributed to unnamed sources by Nikki Finke and could very well be quashed the way-unfortunately-the rumor was quashed that Pres. Bush blew up a few days ago.