John Handiboe, Hey John! What's Going On
When you get to the new attraction at Universal Studios Florida, a familiar face will welcome you -- Krusty the Clown, one of the stars of "The Simpsons."
"Hey, hey theme park ride lovers, excited children, dragged-along parents and foreign tourists who have no idea what I'm saying. Welcome to Krusty's all new thrilltacular, upsy-downsy, spins-aroundsy, teen-operated thrill ride," Krusty says.
Hold onto your hotdog -- from Springfield to Universal Orlando, the Simpson's are getting animated about a new thrill ride at the studios.
Krusty has officially opened Krustyland. With his name in lights, it's a theme park within a theme park. The cartoon carnival creation is a project two years in the making.
"This is a very authentic Simpsons' experience. When you come here, you are really visiting the Simpsons," said Mike West, an executive producer for Universal Studios.
Universal Orlando teamed up with the show's executive producer James Brooks and Creator Matt Groening to bring the characters to life. The whole family is here, along with a lot of the citizens of Springfield.
West can't resist getting into character while describing the new Simpsons ride.
"I love Krusty. Krusty is one of my favorites and, actually, Professor Frank is also wonderful. Groundskeeper Willie, you know we got him. Apu, you know we can do Apu. Yeah, you kind of get into it working with them for two years," West admitted. "You get to know them real well, real personally."
"For once, you can be part of a TV show and I felt like I was right there. It was simply amazing," Handiboe said.
The TV show feeling begins, well, at the beginning.
The entrance to the ride is a 32-foot-tall Krusty the Clown. The spinning eyes foreshadow what is to come.
The queue line is where riders first meet the Simpsons. Then it is on to the carnival to drink up at Apu's Krusty Snack Shop. You can also grab some cotton candy, flannel candy, linen -- Ay caramba! Well it's better than what Homer got.
"Woah, Dad. What is that?" Bart asked Homer.
"This is deep-fried cotton candy dipped in caramel and re-cotton-candied, re-fried again, then fried again, again," Homer said.
If you lose your appetite, you can find it at Patty and Selma's Finders Keepers Lost and Found -- it is right across from the Itchy and Scratchy Wheel of Pain and Groundkeeper Willie's Ball Toss.
If you have made it this far, congratulations! The line is almost over, just 45 more minutes. Just kidding. It is time for Krustyland, where the crazy coaster kickstarts, but maniacal Sideshow Bob is also lurking.
The Simpsons and their crew were a hit with early visitors.
"The rollercoaster, it was absolutely fantastic," said one person. "It throws you around enough and makes it feel like a real roller coaster."
"It just gave you a shock. You didn't know what was coming next," said another visitor.
"You feel as if you are on a coaster going down, and when you start going down, you really want to be sick," said a coaster rider.
"It was awesome. It was a mixture of all the theme park rides out there into one ride. It was great," said a fan.
The Simpsons ride is now open at Universal Orlando Resort.
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