Disneyland Snuck a ‘Simpsons’ Reference into One of Its Most Iconic Rides

As we’ve mentioned before, Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth for those who remembered to pack Tylenol, is chock-full of secrets, including countless hidden Mickey Mouse silhouettes, a labyrinth of creepy underground tunnels and at least one secret club for super-wealthy patrons to eat, drink and hatch schemes to steal enough Dalmatians to make a really nice coat.

Well, you can add one more notable Easter egg to the pile. A Disney guest recently noticed something interesting in the iconic Haunted Mansion attraction, which has already transitioned over to the annual Nightmare Before Christmas-themed version of the ride (despite the fact that it’s literally August and we’re all melting).

Now the ride includes a Jack in the Box with an image of a skeletal Krusty the Clown on the side! It would have been nice to get an animatronic ghost of Frank Grimes, but it’s still neat. 

While the undead Krusty may just seem like a minor detail to casual fans, it could have major implications for the future of the theme park industry. Right now, The Simpsons are heavily featured at Universal Studios parks, where you can enjoy The Simpsons Ride, grab a bite to eat at Krusty Burger and fritter your entire life away like Barney Gumble at Moe’s Tavern.

As we all know, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019, giving them the rights to the iconic yellow cartoon characters, and also a bunch of other properties that will presumably never get turned into theme park rides (it’s hard to imagine any long lines for The Cleveland Show Coaster). 

Disney is obviously keen to turn its most popular acquisitions into theme-park attractions, hence why they built a life-size Millennium Falcon and a Star Wars-themed hotel that nobody went to, despite Lucasfilm’s canonical proof that Han Solo and Princess Leia had sex there one time. 

But although Disney might want to include Homer, Bart, and Surly the dickish Duff Beer guy in their parks, Universal acquired the theme park rights prior to the Fox sale. That contract, however, will reportedly come up for renewal in 2028. And earlier this year, it was rumored that “Universal is not planning on renegotiating their contract to keep the (Simpsons) IP in their land,” thus opening the door for Disney to utilize the characters. 

This also could explain Universal Orlando’s proposed expansion, which will include several new areas including a “Dark Universe” section that sadly won’t be themed entirely around Tom Cruise’s laughably bad Mummy movie.

So Krusty the Clown showing up in The Haunted Mansion may seem inconsequential, but it could be interpreted as a corporate shot across the bow, indicating that Disney is planning on bringing the Simpsons characters to the park in the near future. 

Presumably none of the inevitable Disney-approved Simpsons attractions will feature references to beloved animator Roger Meyer Sr.’s controversial film Nazi Supermen Are Our Superiors.

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