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Only a little more than a week after Universal Orlando first announced the Springfield expansion of The Simpsons Ride area, Fast Food Boulevard opened this morning, bringing guests into iconic locations from the classic animated TV series. It’s all enough to make any fan shout, “Woo hoo!”
Now open at Universal Studios Florida are Moe’s Tavern, Krusty Burger, Cletus’ Chicken Shack, the Frying Dutchman, Luigi’s Pizza and more, all serving up previously fictional food and drinks – including Duff Beer.
Home and Marge were on hand to mark the special “Moe-ment” as the doors to Moe’s Tavern opened for the first time just after 10:30 a.m. today.
Video: Moe’s Tavern opens for the first time at Universal Orlando
This morning’s opening of the new area brought excited crowds, eager to eat and drink their way through these familiar animated environments. The videos and photos below take you on a tour of everything’s open so far, with much more to come throughout the summer months.
Video: The Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard complete tour at Universal Orlando
Video: Moe’s Tavern at Universal Orlando
Video: Krusty Burger at Universal Orlando
Fast Food Boulevard takes the place of a former quick serve restaurant in the theme park and retains the same basic flow. Other than Moe’s Tavern, each of the named locations is not its own individual establishment, but rather part of a row of quick service counters within one big eatery inside. Krusty Burger is not a full service restaurant unto itself, but rather a seating area for all of the food served within.
Guests can freely wander between stations, ordering from each of the long-desired menus, picking out a Clogburger from Krusty Burger, Double-Battered Chicken from Cletus’ Chicken Shack, or a Flaming Moe from the bar at Moe’s Tavern. And employees are dressed with themed costumes to match each of the areas.
Moe’s Tavern
In “The Simpsons,” Moe’s Tavern is run by grouchy bartender Moe Szyslak, frequenty by Homer Simpson, Barney Gumble, and many other Springfield residents. Now at Universal Orlando, guests can step inside, sit alongside Barney at the bar, order a Duff Beer – brewed just for the park – and a Flaming Moe. Loud belching optional.
Here’s Moe’s Tavern from “The Simpsons” for comparison:
The decor matches what’s seen in “The Simpsons” exactly, from the pool table in the center of the room (which is covered with plexiglass to be used as a dining table) to the TV playing clips from “The Simpsons” next to the bar to the Love Tester, which actually works.
Duff Beer is indeed an alcoholic drink, an actual alcoholic beer intended only for adults. It tastes like… beer. Some liken it to Budweiser. It’s currently served in tall disposable plastic cups or glass bottles, which guests cannot take with them. They will soon offer aluminum bottles as souvenirs. Duff Beer is also available in Lite and Dry variations.
The Flaming Moe is not served on fire, but is an orange flavored soda, served in a special layered cup with dry ice underneath to make it bubble. It’s non-alocholic and the plastic cup can be kept as a souvenir.
It’s a perfectly reproduced environment that will have fans of “The Simpsons” wanting to spend all day in.
Update (6/7/13) – Framed artwork has been added to the walls of Moe’s Tavern featuring famous moments from “The Simpsons” show, plus some Duff ads.
Krusty Burger
Krusty the Clown’s famous fast food restaurant is now made a reality for the first time at Universal Orlando. It’s a combination of a seating area and a counter service ordering area, split from each other, so not exactly its own establishment.
Compare the new real-life location to the one seen in “The Simpsons”:
Its greasy burgers are tasty, but not exactly easy on the stomach. They’re topped with a special sauce and served with curly fries.
Fast Food Boulevard
The rest of Fast Food Boulevard features several individual counter service spots to grab food quickly from.
Cletus Spuckler now has his own restaurant, Cletus’ Chicken Shack, turning his Springfield farm house into a business, doubling as the facade for the entrance to the eatery. Here he’s offering up double-battered chicken, chicken and waffles and, well, more chicken dishes.
Flaming Moe’s offers three additional specialty fruit drinks in addition to the namesake drink and Duff Beer.
The Frying Dutchman has a variety of fried seafood flavors.
Luigi’s Pizza serves up a few different kinds of pizza.
Lisa’s Teahouse of Horrors (hah!) has grab-and-go salads and other healthier drinks and snacks.
And up by the cash registers are giant pink Lard Lad doughnuts and four flavors of cupcakes.
The Android’s Dungeon
But what of the Comic Book Guy? As it turns out, The Android’s Dungeon does not really exist at Universal Orlando. Instead, this store front is merely a facade with absolutely nothing behind it except restrooms and a pathway.
Still To Come
Still under construction are the Duff Brewery, Lard Lad, statue of Jebediah Springfield, and Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl ride, all set to open within a month or so, seen in the concept artwork and video below.
But even without these areas open, fans of “The Simpsons” can already rush out to Universal Studios Florida to sip some Duff Beer and a Flaming Moe, chow down on a Krusty Burger and some chicken ‘n’ waffles, and wander through some of the most famous animated locations ever created.
More photos from The Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard of Springfield locations at Universal Orlando: