Disney's Guest Survey Hints at Future Simpsons-Themed Lands and Park Experiences

2 days ago in "Disney's Hollywood Studios"

Posted: Monday December 30, 2024 12:40pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has recently been surveying guests about their interest in various franchises and potential new experiences tied to its expansive portfolio of brands, including The Simpsons.

The questionnaire asked guests what offerings they would like to hear more about from Disney's franchises, specifically focusing on The Simpsons and other properties. Among the multiple-choice options, two standouts suggest Disney is gauging interest in theme park developments:

Character Meet & Greets at Disney Theme Parks: This option implies Disney is considering ways to bring Simpsons characters like Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa into the parks.
New Lands or Attractions at Disney Theme Parks: This raises speculation that Disney may be exploring ideas for a Simpsons-themed land or attraction.

The Simpsons and Theme Park Rights: Disney vs. Universal

While Disney owns the rights to The Simpsons franchise following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, the theme park rights for The Simpsons remain a unique situation. Universal Parks & Resorts retains exclusive rights to use The Simpsons intellectual property in its theme parks under a long-term licensing agreement established prior to Disney’s acquisition.

Universal Studios currently features The Simpsons in its parks with attractions like The Simpsons Ride, immersive Springfield-themed areas, and character meet-and-greets. However, it is speculated that the agreement will end in the coming years, leaving Disney with the option to bring The Simpsons to its theme parks.

Other Franchises Surveyed

The Simpsons was not the only focus of the survey. Other Disney properties, such as Pixar, Cars, and Disney Villains, were included in similar questionnaires. Each survey asked guests about their interest in offerings like animated TV, social media content, immersive experiences outside the parks, and merchandise. Notably, "New lands or attractions at Disney theme parks" and "Character meet & greets" appeared as common options.

Disney is already moving forward with plans for Cars and Villains-themed expansions at Magic Kingdom as part of a broader push to bring fresh experiences to the park. The Cars-themed area is set to replace Rivers of America, while a Villains-themed land is in the works to transform a currently undeveloped part of the western side of Magic Kingdom.

Wide view of the new Frontierland, with two Cars-themed attractions replacing Tom Sawyer Island

What This Could Mean

Disney often uses guest surveys to measure interest before greenlighting projects. While the survey results don't guarantee new developments, the inclusion of theme park-focused options points to potential expansion ideas under consideration. With The Simpsons already a popular franchise and now part of Disney's portfolio following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, a deeper integration into Disney parks is a real possibility.

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MrPromey34 minutes ago

I'd have called GMR timeless and I'd argue it was designed and constructed to be the POC or HM of that park. Can't help it that under Iger's watch, the company decided they didn't want to pay to maintain it. Remember Ghostbusters Spooktacular or Murder She Wrote or Hercules and Xena: Wizards of the Screen or The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera or Kongfrontation or An American Tail Theatre or Animal Actors Stage or Animal Planet Live or The Production Studios Tour? That's not a complete list. Some of those were majorly reworked, closed or replaced twice before 2003 and that's keeping in mind that the park had only been open since 1990. I never said that Disney never closes anything or that Universal always closes everything. I'm just pointing out that while Disney is often incredibly slow to change/replace (for better and for worse), Universal doesn't seem to have that same mindset. They seem to both react more quickly to add things that could be considered popular in the moment as well as removing and/or seriously altering without a huge concern for nostalgia. They just haven't historically seemed to plan attractions around longevity. Never said MIB should go. I'd argue they've got much bigger fish to fry in that park over the next half decade than this one unless, as someone mentioned, such a change has to do with the use of space around that area of the park which seems like it would be a valid issue since this park simply doesn't have a lot of land to work with and they've already had to get creative and use more expensive options (Transformers) to fit full-sized attractions into limited spaces.

celluloid10 hours ago

Except for DHS, which every opening day attraction has been demoed/rethemed(Star Tours) or chaged from.its opening year(s) Uni rapidly and drastically changing things really began in 2002. Before that, minor redesigns and actual additions were more common. Even Uni still has a few opening day Venues. MIB still performs well for guests. Sony is good to Uni. Other than Will Smith bad taste the ride is always appreciated. No better theme park interactive shooter to date. There are other priotities.

MrPromey16 hours ago

It's a double-edged sword. Disney has traditionally gone the more timeless route while Universal's attractions have always lived more so in the "now". In the case of Universal, that has often meant attractions with less detail and theme which often also feel a little more hip than genuine although their approach with Wizzarding World and some of their other efforts since suggest a change to that strategy. In the case of Disney, it's why we still have POTC and Haunted Mansion... but it's also why the flying carpets and Chester and Hester's parking lot fun spot* have lasted as long as they have, too. *Which was fine as a short-term placeholder to add capacity ahead of a more ambitious Dinoland expansion but of course, we all know how that ended up.

JoeCamel18 hours ago

Not for a good one

Blobbles18 hours ago

God, MIB is 25 years old and Spiderman / IOA is 26? Time is a doozy Also, isn’t 25 years old pretty old for a USF ride?

MrPromey18 hours ago

It's almost a year younger than the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, if you can believe it.

Blobbles22 hours ago

Sorry for the double posting, I moved the original message to the correct thread.

Gringrinngghost1 day ago

There is a chance that Ghostbusters can be in that project scope with one of the new buildings they have planned at the dead-end of New York at the public library mural, beyond that however, if they are to use the entire footprint, the leading contender appears to be a Intimin Vertical Launch coaster. https://www.intamin.com/product/vertical-launch-coaster/

Moth1 day ago

Wait I thought Ghostbusters was what RRR was gonna be replaced with?

Gringrinngghost1 day ago

While this going to 100% venture off topic from the main nature of the post, The understanding I have for that area would be that it would allow them to finally remove the fear factor arena (something that's been off and on that they want to do that has gone as far as having permits filed.) So taking out that entire corner of the park would be more akin to a two birds, one stone situation. That being said, as of the last that I have heard, Pokémon is the front runner for Simpson's area, and Ghostbusters for MIB, but as always and 100% in the case of Fear Factor, plans can and likely will change.

Blobbles1 day ago

Why MIB now? And would they replace MIB with? Pokémon? Or something else?

Gringrinngghost1 day ago

Just to throw into the topic here, contracts are fast approaching their conclusion for the Simpsons. To just reiterate as I stated on this site in May: Moving forward to Universal Orlando, by 2027, Universal Studios Florida should look like the middle of Epcot with the amount of walls. The attractions on the short list of being removed soon are Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It, Fast and the Furious: Supercharged, The Simpsons Ride (and all of Springfield), and Men in Black: Alien Attack. Simpson’s contract is rapidly approaching its close by 2027, and the Ride system is original to the park as it hasn’t changed in 30+ years. It’s expected that when The Simpsons closes, Springfield/Fast Food Blvd to the arena that they now use for Nightmare Fuel at Halloween Horror Nights will be finally redone, including Men in Black. Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It is expected to close as early as Q1 of 2025 due to many factors, including the sheer cost of money they've sunk into the ride. To add; as I also stated in April, for The Simpsons with their two theaters, they only have enough equipment that has kept in the entire building, only half the ride system operational.

MrPromey1 day ago

Think of it as a lifetime achievement award and a monument of sorts. Unlike Universal, Disney will build whatever they're going to for this and then if it's anything that required real construction, likely leave it there just as it is for 30 or more years well past the life expectancy of most of the cast.

britain1 day ago

The weird thing about the Simpsons is that unlike The Muppets or Star Wars, they have limped along with the same creative executives (though, obviously, not the same writers) over the past 35+ years. While they have been declared "irrelevant," the show hasn't ended. They were never hard nor soft rebooted. While some of the voice talent has either passed away or left the show, the core voice actors are still there. There is no obvious "jumped the shark" moment (despite them doing an episode on that very subject) or bad creative decision for them to retcon or clean up. There's no clear eras, other than SD or widescreen HD. You could look at the feature film or the Disney+ shorts, but I see those as ancillary. Its fans are still fans. Slinging classic Simpsons quotes back and forth. But we do so with a shrug toward the IP in general. It's the INVERSE of the saying that "Nobody hates Star Wars as much as Star Wars fans." We have supreme reverence for The Simpsons in the Comedy Hall of Fame, but we don't much care about what happens next. Maybe it's something inherent with comedy? Is the "If you don't care for that joke, it doesn't matter, try the next one" ethos as opposed to Star Wars' implicit promise to tell a "grand, unified morality tale"? Is it the cynicism in its DNA? Notwithstanding every episode ending with some sort of affirmation that the family cares for each other, The Simpsons is essentially about skewering hypocrisy and vices of society, as opposed to the "We're all nutty misfits, but putting on a great show can bring out the best in anyone" message from the Muppets. I don't know. Somethings die with a whimper. Somethings don't die, they just become part of the background. Not great fodder for a theme park, but I don't know.