When we walked through the gates at Universal Studios this weekend, the wait time for “The Simpsons Ride” was listed at 5 minutes. Having come from Islands of Adventure and rides on Spider-man, Dueling Dragons, Jurassic Park and Poseidon’s Fury in under three hours, we figured a trip over to The Mummy (where the wait time was also 5 minutes) would be a good detour on our walk through the park. Short lines seemed to be the theme of the day.

Our first view of Krustyland was from across the water, just past the midway games and in view of my favorite ride at UO - Men in Black Alien Attack. From the bridge, the wait didn’t seem all that bad. The entrance through Krusty the Clown’s mouth was wide open. Nearly an hour later, we made our way into the air-conditioned waiting rooms and the newly re-branded simulation-ride through the cartoon world featuring Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart and Maggie.

Overall, I’d give the ride a B-minus. It’s a definite upgrade from Back to the Future, but it’s not different enough to bring me back for more. My favorite parts were the simulated drops and the “4-D” effects that have been added in (think smells). The queue line “best of the Simpsons” clips weren’t bad, either. It seems that everyone laughs at the same stuff.

It’s also worth mentioning that the level of service at Universal Studios has improved noticeably over the past year. I’ve always though that Universal lagged way behind Disney and SeaWorld in guest service, but our experience on Saturday was enjoyable on all fronts. Whether we were just in the right place at the right time is hard to tell, but I didn’t have a single “I’m writing a letter” moment for the first time in a long time.

Finally, the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” is far from complete, but the steel structure that is erected predicts a very impressive new addition to the park when it opens in 2009.

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