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The guys over at Orlando Attractions Magazine were lucky enough to experience The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios during one of its soft openings.

The ride doesn’t open officially until May 15 but you can visit their blog for some sneak peek photos - it looks like this new attraction fits comfortably into the space vacated by Back to the Future, and I can’t wait to experience it for myself next year!

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This article is the first in a series to help you beat the queues at each of the Walt Disney World themeparks - I’m going to start with the Magic Kingdom. The tips are based on our experiences visiting this park over several years and I hope they help you and your family spend less time in lines and more time enjoying the magic!

Tip 1 - arrive early

This isn’t often the easiest thing to do when you are on vacation - but it is the most important tip - you need to be at the gate with tickets in had about 20-30 minutes ahead of the scheduled opening time. This is even more important in peak season.

If you are staying off site towards the West end of the 192 then you need to know about the secret back door onto Walt Disney World property - Sherberth Road.

The guidebooks will tell you to drive to the parks using the I4 - but if you drive East along the 192 and take a left onto Sherberth Road you can access the parks much more quickly.

The map above shows you the location - once you’ve turned onto Sherberth Road follow the road until you reach a set of traffic lights. Turning left will take you to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Turning right will take you onto the Osceola Parkway.

Disney themeparks are packed full of rides and attractions and you’ll struggle to see everything in a day. To help you maximise your time in the parks it helps to make a list of the attractions and shows you want to see - and work out a plan of attack for each park.

Disney.com has a great feature where you can customise your own park maps - to get started simply head on over to the website and log in or register.

The new Simpsons ride over at Universal Studios is scheduled to open in Spring 2008 - replacing the much-loved Back to the Future attraction.

This new ride will be housed in the same building - and will also be a motion simulator ride that “tilts, pitches, dips and twists in sync with the action that is projected onto a towering 80 foot dome”.

The ride was designed with the help of the creators of the long-running tv show and features the voices of the original actors.