How Universal Studios Hollywood uses Krusty Burger to keep theme park guests from peeking at Harry Potter

Jim Hill

9 years ago

Tomorrow night, “The Simpsons” kicks off its 27th
season on Fox with an episode entitled “Every Man’s Dream.”

Coincidentally, West Coast-based fans of this animated Fox
animated comedy have been dreaming for decades now about getting the chance to
visit Springfield (i.e., that
hyper-detailed burg that Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Marge & Homer call home).
Maybe do a little shopping at the Kwik-E-Mart. Grab a Ribwich at Krusty Burger.
Or — better yet — drop by Lard Lad and treat themselves to a giant pink
donut.

Well, that dream became a reality back on April 2nd of this
year when Springfield officially
opened at Universal Studios Hollywood. Located just steps away from that theme
park’s award-winning “The Simpsons Ride,” this highly immersive
environment lovingly recreates the hometown of America’s
favorite animated family. Right down to the tin ceiling at Moe’s Tavern &
the real harlequin glass that was used to create the front window at Homer’s
favorite watering hole.

Given the overwhelmingly positive response that this recent
addition to the Upper Lot has gotten, you’d think that
the folks at USH would leave well enough alone. Concentrate their efforts on
completing Springfield’s next door
neighbor (i.e., The still-under-construction Southern Californian version of
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Which is due to open sometime next Spring).

Well, think again. Even though it’s nearly been six months
since Springfield threw open its
doors, Universal Creative continues to tweak this part of their Hollywood
theme park. Finding ever more ways to make this portion of the Upper
Lot a must-see for Simpson fans.

“We’ve continued to add a lot of highly detailed, very personal and authentic
bits to the environment of Springfield to make it seem that much more
special,” said Jon Corfino, a Senior Director and Executive Producer at
Universal Creative. “Take — for example — what we’ve done with the
upstairs dining room at Krusty Burger. This area is known as Krusty’s Commissary because it’s supposed to be where the
employees of Krustylu Studios go to have lunch. Well, we’ve continued to grow
& evolve the look of this part of that restaurant since Springfield
first opened. And if you were to visit Krusty’s Commissary today, you’d see that
this dining room is now much more decorated out. We’ve added graphics to the
walls that were actually created by many of the animators who work on ‘The
Simpsons.’ So where there just used to a lot of great props that celebrated
Krusty’s career & personal life, you’ve now got all of this additional art
that’s very reminiscent of what people see at Sardi’s. Which now makes the
upstairs dining area at Krusty Burger seem like a legitimate show business
environment.”

Jon Corfino, Senior Director & Executive Producer
at Universal Creative. Copyright Universal
Studios Hollywood. All rights reserved

Mind you, when the world’s first Simpsons-themed “land’
opened at the Universal Orlando Resort back in the Summer of 2013, Universal
Creative piled on the detail. But when it came time for Springfield
to travel west, Corfino & his team knew that they really had to step up
their game.

“What’s challenging about where we decided to build Springfield
at Universal Studios Hollywood is — if you’re spending the day at our theme park
— you’ve got to walk through this part of the Upper Lot
at least three separate times. You’ve got to walk through Springfield
if you’re looking to experience our tram tour. You’ve then got to walk through Springfield
again once you get off the tram tour and want to explore our Lower
Lot. And you’ve got to walk through Springfield
a third time if you’re looking to exit the park,” Jon explained. “So
taking that into consideration — that there’s just no alternate route for our
guests — we had to take an entirely different approach when it came to
designing & constructing this ‘land.’ Make sure that our version of Springfield
had enough extra detail to stand up to that level of scrutiny.”

So to give Universal Studios Hollywood visitors lots more to
look at during their three trips through this part of that theme park, Corfino
& Co. decided to build up. Creating 24 multi-level building facades (14 of
which are all-new & unique to USH) that are just loaded with
Springfield-specific iconography. So when Simpsons fans repeatedly wander
through this area, they then get to see buildings that they know & love
from this long-running TV show. Everything from Burns Manor to Springfield
Elementary School to the “Springfield”
sign with its 40 foot-tall letters.

And the best part of building up is that the second floor of
Springfield (which is where the dining rooms for Krusty Burger and Cletus’s
Chicken Shack are located) effectively acts as a berm for this part of the
theme park. Which means that the West Coast version of The Wizarding World of
Harry Potter (which is being built right behind these two quick service
restaurants) won’t then visually intrude in this section of Universal Studios Hollywood
& visa versus.

“And we’ve continued to work on improving Springfield’s
sightlines. So as part of our continued plussing of this side of the theme
park, we’ve just put up a brand-new city sign as well as several banners. This
means when our guests are standing in this land’s sweet spots — which are
right in front of Krusty’s and right in front of Moe’s — you can’t really see
anything but Springfield,” Jon stated.

Which clearly pleases the folks who work at Gracie Films
(i.e., that production company which makes “The Simpsons” for Fox).
“And how do I know this?,” you ask. Well, this past Thursday, where
did the writers & the animators opt to hold their premiere party for the
27th season?

You guessed it. After-hours at Universal Studios Hollywood
right inside of the Springfield
section of that theme park. Where — if they so desired — these Fox / Gracie
Films employees could wash down a Clogger with a sip of Buzz Cola. Or — better
yet — toast their co-workers with a Flaming Moe before then getting their
picture taken in front of a topiary version of the Seven Duffs.

And the best part was — from where these writers &
animators were standing in front of Edgy, Remorseful and Dizzy — they couldn’t
see Hogsmeade Village
& Hogwarts Castle
at all. As far as they were concerned, Harry Potter & his pals were far off
in the Scottish Highlands. Whereas the “Simpsons” production team was
partying right in the heart of beautiful downtown Springfield.

Insert Springfield
5.jpeg

This article was originally posted on the Huffington Post’s Entertainment page on Saturday, September 26. 2015