Will Universal Remove The Simpsons Ride?

It has been a few years now since The Walt Disney Company acquired the rights to 21^st Century Fox, and many of its assets. Some of these include 20^th Century Studios, FX Networks, National Geographic, Family Guy, and The Simpsons. As you may know, Universal Studios in Orlando has a whole area of their park dedicated to The Simpsons. Once the contract comes to an end for The Simpsons Ride at Universal, there is only one question. Will they renew it now that Disney owns it?

Contract Renewal?

Universal’s contract with FOX is supposed to expire in 2025. So far, Universal has made no steps toward renewing it. The Simpsons Ride replaced the Back to the Future ride in 2008, and the rest of “Simpsons Land” was finished very shortly thereafter. Many have had speculations since Disney acquired the rights to 21^st Century Fox in the middle of Universal’s contract with them. One speculation is that Disney will make room for a Simpsons area or ride in either Walt Disney World or Disneyland in California.

The Simpsons

All of the episodes of The Simpsons are available on Disney+, and they have even made some fun, new Disney/Simpson crossover shorts. If Disney plans to capitalize on their new ownership of The Simpsons, it is likely that this may be the reason that Universal has not yet made any steps to renew their contract. Many guests of Universal Studios in Orlando have also noticed that the queue and the ride have not been updated in years. There is a movie poster in the queue for the ride that is advertising an “all-new” Maggie short cartoon from 2012. The poster has not been changed in over 10 years.

Images by Universal Orlando

Overall

While The Simpsons ride hasn’t been updated in many years, it would be sad to see it leave Universal. The Simpsons Land is a fun little area of Universal Studios. Even though it needs a little TLC, I’m hoping that it stays there. Hopefully Disney and Universal can come up with some sort of agreement. This wouldn’t be the first time Disney bought some of the IP on Universal property. Disney also owns the rights to Marvel, which has its own land in Islands of Adventure. Luckily for all the Universal fans, Marvel is staying put.

Do you think Universal will renew its contract with FOX to keep The Simpsons ride? If they don’t, what do you think will replace it?

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