Springfield Expansion

[Hatetofly]

As in just another place to eat. Not a place you go out of your way to eat at.

I disagree, the overwhelming amount of people who look at the menu and say I'm going to get a Krustyburger or a Duff Beer is far beyond what many thought. The popularity and staying power of this franchise and food items will make this a must eat place of tourists for years to come.

 

[shiekra38]

I hate the mentality that a property cannot be nostalgic unless it has the name Disney attached...sorry but Potter, Simpsons, and even Jurrassic Park have made too big of a dent in pop culture to be forgotten because their show/movies have stopped being made..

This expansion is proof that the Simpsons has staying power and will be remembered by the next generation

 

[sierrak5]

Being the longest running sitcom on TV, I don't think staying power is a problem for The Simpson.

 

[Nick]

I don't think anyone was questioning staying power based on popularity. No one is questioning that it's a nice area or will continue to be popular, but the food quality still isn't anything too special. Take the atmosphere away and it's just kind of a mediocre mix of different foods.

 

[Jon84]

I disagree, the overwhelming amount of people who look at the menu and say I'm going to get a Krustyburger or a Duff Beer is far beyond what many thought. The popularity and staying power of this franchise and food items will make this a must eat place of tourists for years to come.

Agreed, as a tourist who won't be visiting the park regularly, I've already planned to go try the cromulent delights in Springfield!

 

[rhino4evr]

Agreed, as a tourist who won't be visiting the park regularly, I've already planned to go try the cromulent delights in Springfield!

That's great and all, but you have a Bart Simpson icon, for the families and people that don't really care about the Simpsons, I don't really see this as big as a draw. If I eat something in Springfield and don't like it, then why would I eat in the area again?

My point was that in order for a place to maintain popularity they will need to make the food worth standing in line for, eventually the food will be more important then the brand. The Simpsons won't be on TV forever.

In 4 or 5 years I bet the popularity of this area cools down quite a bit...just my overly cynical opinion.

 

[Jon84]

That's great and all, but you have a Bart Simpson icon, for the families and people that don't really care about the Simpsons, I don't really see this as big as a draw. If I eat something in Springfield and don't like it, then why would I eat in the area again?

My point was that in order for a place to maintain popularity they will need to make the food worth standing in line for, eventually the food will be more important then the brand. The Simpsons won't be on TV forever.

In 4 or 5 years I bet the popularity of this area cools down quite a bit...just my overly cynical opinion.

Granted, I do!

I think my point was, that the maintaince of popularity is not needed.

I don't know what the official data would look like. But I would assume that most visitors are not repeat customers. They are out of town(/country) visitors who will likely go there (Springfield) wether they are a fan or not, and if they have a bad experience, it really doesn't matter to UOR, because the guest isn't going to be coming back next month or even in the next year to avoid eating there.

 

[Jakemeister]

What everyone continues to ignore is that South Americans LOVE The Simpsons. It might not be as hot in America as it once was, but the merchandise sells like crazy to Brazillians and Argentinans.

 

[UNIrd]

Take away the novelty of the theming and I think Fast Food Blvd is still a great theme park eatery. From the grab-and-go to the more unique food options, this place is a win regardless.

 

[JungleSkip]

Just another place to eat?

The two meals I had there were the best quick service theme park meals I've ever had in Orlando by far. Way better than "just another place to eat".

 

[coreyt]

Just my two cents, I wasn't allowed to watch the Simpsons when I was young. So I have never really watched the Simpsons, saw the movie but didn't like it very much and the characters outside of the actual Simpsons family mean nothing to me. I don't even like the Simpsons ride that much. BUT FFB is fantastic. I had to have a Duff, I mean it's Duff, right? The stuff that doesn't actually exist? I had to have a chicken and waffle sandwich. Delicious. I think the FFB is the type of thing EVERY theme park needs. So much better than crappy standard theme park quick service food. A+

 

[TylerDurden]

So much better than crappy standard theme park quick service food. A+

It's essentially the same food though, there's just more variety. You can get waffles in the park, you can get chicken in the park, FFB just put em together. I think the point rhino4ever is making is that while huge Simpson's fans will enjoy the novelty of eating a KrustyBurger, more casual fans and the general public at Universal will see it as just another eatery just with more theming. Personally, I like the pizza at Louie's a lot more, disliked the chicken, and found the burgers tasting pretty average (aside from the thousand-island sauce). It's a step up in theming and variety, but the food is the same park-wide.

 

[GAcoaster]

What everyone continues to ignore is that South Americans LOVE The Simpsons. It might not be as hot in America as it once was, but the merchandise sells like crazy to Brazillians and Argentinans.

And the Brits as well. I just got back from Universal and I can tell you that people REALLY seem to be enjoying all of the Simpsons area including FFB, the games and the ride. This was one of the smartest moves they could have made. Few things now days are "evergreens" but the Simpsons has had staying power and will continue to have that staying power as long as those reruns keep playing. It's very much like the Looney Tunes used to be years ago, where kids all grew up watching the reruns and it appealed to parents as well as kids. Of course now those classic Looney Tunes are rarely on TV the popularity has died off a lot, but that's because Warner Brothers really has no outlet for showcasing them, but Fox has a vested interest in running Simpsons reruns on their stations forever because it keeps selling merchandise and drawing viewers. And Fox has outlets around the world that keep playing the Simpsons so it will continue to be popular for the foreseeable future.

 

[Kevin38]

So what's everyone's favorite Springfield food so far? Tacos are #1 followed by the Krusty Burger.

Look at my picture (I have a severe sweet-tooth)

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

It's essentially the same food though, there's just more variety. You can get waffles in the park, you can get chicken in the park, FFB just put em together. I think the point rhino4ever is making is that while huge Simpson's fans will enjoy the novelty of eating a KrustyBurger, more casual fans and the general public at Universal will see it as just another eatery just with more theming. Personally, I like the pizza at Louie's a lot more, disliked the chicken, and found the burgers tasting pretty average (aside from the thousand-island sauce). It's a step up in theming and variety, but the food is the same park-wide.

Yeah, I remember Penn and Teller did this test where they fed people a chicken pot pie from KFC in two groups. One groupw as told it was KFC, the other group was told it was from a restaurant. I recommend you watch this (strong language FYI):

http://youtu.be/Cr0e8D2Td3g

 

[ralphoutloud]

Universal needs more variety and stat. It's been a problem for years.

The problem is, they can't make their variety GOOD...they've tried Latin and Asian flavors and they have been very poor. But enough of the Burgers and Pizza...the Taco Truck is the only thing relatively a step forward in terms of food service in general for Universal property. There's a lot of redundancy throughout the two parks and Citywalk.

 

[Jakemeister]

It's essentially the same food though, there's just more variety. You can get waffles in the park, you can get chicken in the park, FFB just put em together. I think the point rhino4ever is making is that while huge Simpson's fans will enjoy the novelty of eating a KrustyBurger, more casual fans and the general public at Universal will see it as just another eatery just with more theming. Personally, I like the pizza at Louie's a lot more, disliked the chicken, and found the burgers tasting pretty average (aside from the thousand-island sauce). It's a step up in theming and variety, but the food is the same park-wide.

It's a better burger. You can't get that cheese sauce anywhere else, and the same thing with the secret sauce. It flat out is a better burger. Burgers in the parks aren't all the same either. I seriously don't think Richter's, Captain America Diner or Circus has the same quality as Mel's or Burger Dig's, and FFB even excels pass them. Sure the meat is all coming from the same distributor but it has a lot to do with kitchen equipment as well.

I'd love to know where waffles are served. I've never seen them served anywhere, but who would go out of their way to put the two together anyways.

 

[JungleSkip]

The burger is far better. Sauces and a bun that is clearly fresh baked every day make a difference.

 

[TylerDurden]

Yeah, I remember Penn and Teller did this test where they fed people a chicken pot pie from KFC in two groups. One groupw as told it was KFC, the other group was told it was from a restaurant. I recommend you watch this (strong language FYI):

http://youtu.be/Cr0e8D2Td3g

love stuff like this. In blind taste tests, Pepsi always beats Coke, yet people still buy Coke. Kinda what I was going for. Thanks for the link!

 

[natespf]

love stuff like this. In blind taste tests, Pepsi always beats Coke, yet people still buy Coke. Kinda what I was going for. Thanks for the link!

Yep, and New Coke beats Pepsi in blind taste tests. When comparing sips of "sugar water" the sweetest always wins, that does not mean they would drink something that sweet on a regular basis.

(I'll note that I am an exception because I always pick Coke over Pepsi in blind taste tests).