Hollywood Ride Guide Independent & unofficial

Universal Studios Hollywood

Springfield

A built-out corner of the Simpsons town, with one ride and a genuinely funny run of themed food windows.

  • Opened2015
  • Attractions1
  • Places to eat6
  • HeadlinerThe Simpsons Ride

Springfield opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2015, some seven years after The Simpsons Ride itself, and it works as a piece of set dressing better than it works as an attraction area. Krusty Burger, Cletus' Chicken Shack, Moe's Tavern, the Duff bar and Lard Lad's giant donut are all here, built to full scale, with the jokes carried through to the menu boards and the litter bins.

There is exactly one ride. The Simpsons Ride is a large-format screen simulator from 2008 that replaced Back to the Future: The Ride in the same building, and it has aged in the way screen simulators from 2008 age. The gags still land. The motion base is rougher and more nauseating than anything else in the park.

Treat this as an eating and photographs stop rather than a ride stop and it earns its place. Moe's Tavern serves the park's most entertaining drink, Lard Lad sells the park's most photographed food item, and the whole area is one of the few places at Universal Studios Hollywood where the theming exists for its own sake rather than to hold a queue.

Do not miss

  • Moe's Tavern and the Flaming Moe
  • Lard Lad's Big Pink Donut, the park's most photographed food
  • Krusty Burger and Cletus' Chicken Shack
  • Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck
  • The Simpsons Ride, if screen simulators agree with you

Springfield tips

  • Eat here rather than riding here. The food windows are the reason this area exists and the ride is the weakest simulator in the park.
  • The Flaming Moe at Moe's Tavern is served in a souvenir glass with a dry-ice effect, and it is worth the money once. Ask for it without alcohol if you want the effect for a child.
  • The Big Pink Donut at Lard Lad is the size of a dinner plate and feeds three people. Buying one each is a mistake people make daily.
  • Skip The Simpsons Ride entirely if anyone in your group is prone to motion sickness. It is the most reliable way to end a day early at this park.

Attractions in Springfield

The Simpsons Ride

40"102cm

Simulator · 6 min · Express

A 2008 dome-screen simulator through a Springfield theme park, funny in writing and rough in motion.

The Simpsons Ride opened in 2008 in the building that housed Back to the Future: The Ride, reusing the same style of attraction: a simulator vehicle facing an enormous domed screen, with a motion base doing the work. The premise sends the family through Krustyland, a theme park run by Krusty the Clown, while Sideshow Bob tries to kill them.

Tips for The Simpsons Ride
  • Do not ride this back to back with Minion Mayhem, Transformers or Forbidden Journey. Four screen simulators in a row is how people end up sitting on a bench for an hour.
  • Sit in the back row if you have a choice. The motion is slightly less severe and the screen distortion at the edges is less pronounced.
  • Watch the queue video properly. It is the best-written part of the attraction and most people walk past it looking at a phone.
  • There is no stationary seating option here, unlike Minion Mayhem. A child who cannot handle the motion cannot ride at all.
  • Ride it in the evening. The queue drops sharply after dark and Springfield is worth walking with the lights on anyway.

Full guide to The Simpsons Ride →

Eating in Springfield

Quick service · Springfield

Krusty Burger

The Simpsons' fast food chain built at full scale, serving a deliberately absurd burger under a giant Krusty head.

$$Mobile order

  • CuisineBurgers and American fast food
  • ReservationsNo reservations

Quick service · Springfield

Cletus' Chicken Shack

Fried chicken from the show's least hygienic character, and unexpectedly the best savory food in Springfield.

$$Mobile order

  • CuisineFried chicken
  • ReservationsNo reservations

Bakery · Springfield

Lard Lad Donuts

A donut stand under a giant statue, selling the Big Pink Donut that is the most photographed food item in the park.

$

  • CuisineDonuts and sweet snacks
  • ReservationsNo reservations

Lounge · Springfield

Moe's Tavern

A faithful recreation of the bar from the show, serving the Flaming Moe, and the best adult stop inside this park.

$$

  • CuisineBar — beer, cocktails and the Flaming Moe
  • ReservationsNo reservations

Lounge · Springfield

Duff Brewery

An outdoor Duff-branded bar in Springfield with the Seven Duffs statues, quicker than Moe's and less atmospheric.

$$

  • CuisineOutdoor beer garden
  • ReservationsNo reservations

Food truck · Springfield

Bumblebee Man's Taco Truck

A taco truck parked in Springfield, and the closest thing to a light meal in an area otherwise built entirely from fried food.

$

  • CuisineTacos
  • ReservationsNo reservations

Snacks worth stopping for

The Big Pink Donut

Lard Lad Donuts

$12.99

A plain cake donut roughly the size of a dinner plate, covered in pink frosting and sprinkles, sold under a statue of the mascot holding the same thing.

Our take: The most photographed food in the park and a mediocre donut. Buy one for the group, take the picture under the statue, and buy a standard glazed one if you actually want to eat a donut.

Near the top of the list Sweet Vegetarian Walkable

Glazed Donut

Lard Lad Donuts

$4.99

The standard-size donut sold alongside the enormous pink one, in glazed and a rotating set of other finishes.

Our take: Better than the Big Pink Donut and a third of the price, which is why almost nobody buys one. If you want a donut rather than a prop, this is the correct order.

Sweet Vegetarian Walkable

Flaming Moe

Moe's Tavern

$15.99

A sweet orange-forward drink served in a tall souvenir glass over dry ice, so the whole thing smokes over the rim while you carry it. Available with or without alcohol.

Our take: You are buying an effect, not a cocktail, and it is worth it once. The non-alcoholic version is identical in every way that matters, which makes it the single most entertaining thing you can hand a child at this park.

Do not leave without it Drink Vegetarian Walkable

Duff Beer

Moe's Tavern

$12.99

A real branded lager brewed for Universal rather than a prop, served at Moe's Tavern, the Duff Brewery bar outside and at Krusty Burger.

Our take: An ordinary lager with an extraordinary label. Drink it at Moe's, in the air conditioning, rather than standing in the sun at the outdoor bar paying the same money.

Drink Walkable

The Clogger

Krusty Burger

$19.99

A deliberately excessive stacked burger built as a visual joke about American fast food, sold in a restaurant that is itself a joke about American fast food.

Our take: Order it if the absurdity is the point of your visit. Order a normal burger if you want lunch. It is not good, and it is not trying to be, and that is a defensible position for a menu item to take.

Savory

Krusty Burger

Krusty Burger

$16.49

The standard burger on the menu: a single patty with cheese, lettuce, tomato and sauce, served with fries in themed packaging.

Our take: An entirely ordinary theme park burger in an entirely extraordinary room. Sixteen dollars is a lot for it, and you are partly paying for the air conditioning and the Krusty head outside.

Savory

Nearby

Universal Studios Hollywood map See where this land sits All attractions Every ride in Universal Studios Hollywood Upper Lot The park's original level: the entrance, the Studio Tour boarding area, every show, and most of the walking. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hogsmeade village and Hogwarts Castle, built into the hillside on the Upper Lot and better than the Orlando original at ground level.