Universal Studios Hollywood’s new mega-attraction, The Simpsons Ride, is opening to the public on Monday, May 19, 2008!!

For all the die-hard fans out there who just can’t wait until then, here are some cool tidbits to hold you over, leaked by Krusty the Clown himself!

The Simpsons Ride will be the main attraction of Krustyland, a new fantasy theme park within a theme park.  The ride is a collaboration between Universal Parks & Resorts and “The Simpsons” creators, Executive Producer Matt Groening, Executive Producer James L. Brooks and Executive Producer Al Jean. 

The entrance to Krustyland is through the mouth of a larger-than-life 32’ x 36’ Krusty the Clown head!  Guests will be invited to walk along Krusty’s fully outstretched 25-feet-long tongue like a “red carpet” walkway!

Other new Krustyland rides include Screamatorium of Dr. Frightmarestein, Happy Little Elves in Panda Land, the highly suggestively named Madame Manjuala: The Future Looker-Atter, and more than 25 others!

The Simpsons Ride is a virtual adventure that will send guests on a quintessentially new re-interpretation of thrill rides, dark rides and “live” shows, catapulting guests on a wild ride through Krustyland, where they’ll rip roar at faster than gravity speeds! 

Guests will be fully immersed in The Simpsons Ride experience as they are rocketed along with the Simpsons family on an exhilarating adventure through a previously unexplored side of Springfield!  In the words of Executive Producer Matt Groening, “The ride is designed to duplicate the Simpsons home-viewing experience, only at high speed and with lots of screaming.”

24 instantly-recognizable Springfield characters, all voiced by the original actors, are featured in the new ride! Your favorite Simpsons friends are played by voice talents Hank Azaria, Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Kelsey Grammer, Pamela Hayden, Julie Kavner and Yeardley Smith. 

James Dooley, who composed the musical score for The Simpsons Movie and The Simpsons Game, has also created an original score for The Simpsons Ride!

The Simpsons Ride boasts a 192-person capacity, two behemoth Dome screens measuring an expansive 80-ft in diameter, and a 6.1 surround sound system comprised of 400 custom-designed speakers.  The ride offers a superior viewing experience with more than 4x the High Definition resolution seen in home theatres and 2x the HD resolution in digital movie theatres.  This marks the first time ever that an IMAX film projection system has been replaced with digital technology!

The Simpsons Ride has gone green!  Well, green-friendly, that is!  The ride’s “green” conversion includes 2,582 LED lights, the largest lighting installation of LED lamps in theme park ride history!  As a result, the ride will achieve a power savings of over 55,233 watts per hour and cumulative power savings of 662,796 a day during the busy summer months. 

The Simpsons Ride opens to the public on Monday, May 19, 2009!!