It’s been a long day at work. You come home, kick up your feet, and turn on the TV. But wait… your regularly scheduled programming has been interrupted by a blaring warning from the Emergency Broadcast System. Natural disaster? Severe weather? An act of war? No, no, and no. Would you believe that a raging 40-foot tall ape is rampaging through town leaving a trail of destruction in its wake? Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, and this unimaginable scenario played out day after day in the streets of New York at Universal Studios Florida with you caught in the middle of the mayhem.
For years, you’ve been helping us build a library of in-depth stories behind the most fabled, fan-favorite closed attractions of all time. Every month, our library of Lost Legends grows as we ride through the complete stories of closed classics to preserve their tales before they’re lost forever. We’ve asked you to help us by reliving your memories, all in hopes of helping a new generation of theme park fans understand why these lost rides matter.
Hopefully, you’ve read and shared your memories in Lost Legends features on Maelstrom, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the original STAR TOURS, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Test Track, and so many more. But today, we return to a park that’s all-too-familiar for fans of closed classics: Universal Studios Florida, where an aggressive agenda of keeping the park current has seen the sacrifice of some all-time favorites.
Image: Universal
We recently chronicled the in-depth stories of two of Universal’s best rides ever in itheir own entries, Lost Legends: JAWS and Back to the Future: The Ride – both must-reads for industry fans. But today, we have an even bigger fish to fry. We’ll make our way through the ravaged remains of New York City and tackle the might of the king on KONGFRONTATION, the ride whose closure literally changed Universal Studios Florida forever. Today we’ll trace the tale that leads to that closure and ask you to share your thoughts on the “sequel” that replaced this awesome ‘90s classic.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Frequent readers know the story of any Lost Legend is shaped by events that came years or even decades earlier. Lucky for us, the story of Kongfrontation begins in a spot familiar to many of Universal Orlando’s closed classics: the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Image: Universal
The eldest of Universal’s parks worldwide officially opened in 1912, but its rededication as a “theme park” is more recent – July 15, 1962. Even since that time, it’s important to note that for most of its life, Universal Studios Hollywood has been a “theme park” only in the loosest sense.
That’s because Universal Studios Hollywood is one of the only “studio” theme parks on Earth to actually live up to its name… it’s a real studio. First and foremost, Universal’s Hollywood property is an actual, working movie studio filled with soundstages, backlots, and historic sets where actual productions were filmed and are still filmed today!
Image: Universal, via theStudioTour.com
So even when the property re-opened as a deliberate “theme park” in 1962, its bread-and-butter – the reason to visit – was the Studio Tour. This tram-tour through the working backlot and past historic sets and soundstages was the main attraction, and unlike Disney’s faked versions in Orlando and Paris, the studios and backlots of this Studio Backlot Tour are actually real.
Eventually, Universal began to add shows, demonstrations, attractions, and outright rides to the property, but even still, the Studio Tour was a revered and world-famous experience and, up until last year, was the park’s headlining ride.
Disaster-on-Demand
Image: Universal, via theStudioTour.com
As the years progressed, the Studio Tour became as well known for its staged events and special effects encounters as it was for its real sets and the chance of seeing a star in person…
In 1968, the Studio Tour added a stop in a Mexican village where the tour guide explained the movie-magic behind rain-on-demand, demonstrating the technology and an ensuing flash flood as it races downhill and through town before resetting.
In 1974, a rockslide, a close encounter with a runaway train, and a spinning, dizzying avalanche tunnel joined the lineup. In 1976, a run-in with the hideous great white from Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film JAWS left Tram riders screaming in terror.
Image: Universal
These staged disasters and close calls would become the signature elements of the Studio Tour, blurring the line between the making of movies and being in them.
But just as the Jaws encounter on the Studio Tour debuted, a new blockbuster was proving to be a rebirth for a fabled cinematic icon deserving of his own spotlight.
Kong
In 1933, the debut of King Kong took the world by storm. Released in the brief window between the 1929 advent of sound in “talking pictures” and the 1934 adoption of the Motion Picture Production Code moral guidelines, King Kong was a landmark film… unprecedented special effects, unthinkable sets, unspeakable sensuality, and astounding scale.
The story follows famed filmmaker Carl Denham and his crew as he charters a boat to the remote lost Skull Island, allegedly home to a legendary entity known only as “Kong.” When they arrive, they find a towering ancient stone wall constructed by natives, who promptly capture the beautiful Ann Darrow to sacrifice her to the massive beast.
Image: Universal
Though the entire first act takes place on Skull Island, the most fabled elements of the film occur once Kong – billed as “the Eighth Wonder of the World” – is transported back to New York City for a public showing before he escapes, ravaging Manhattan, capturing Ann, and climbing to the summit of the Empire State Building – a scene forever transfixed in American history.
The original version of King Kong was met with rave reviews. Even today, it’s celebrated as one of the greatest films ever made. But our story picks back up in 1976, when a modern Hollywood remake brought the character back to prominence and introduced the world to Jessica Lange. In fact, though it was released with only 13 days left in the year, King Kong was the seventh highest-grossing film of 1976. Then it went on to top 1977’s year-end box office charts.
Image: Universal
From that moment on, fans would write to Universal Studios Hollywood wondering why they couldn’t see Kong at the Studio. So Universal’s executives began asking around town if anyone could convincingly bring a 40-foot ape to life in a staged event for the park’s Studio Tour. You won’t believe who said yes…
Bringing Kong to Life
Of all people to bring Universal’s starring creature to life, Universal turned to Bob Gurr, living Disney Legend. Bob is a household name for Imagineering fans, instrumental in the design of Disneyland from the very earliest days. He’s often known to say, “If it moves on wheels at Disneyland, I probably designed it.” That includes Tomorrowland’s Flying Saucers, the Omnibuses on Main Street, U.S.A., the Autopia cars, the Matterhorn Bobsleds, the Monorail, and more.
But Bob retired young from Imagineering and joined with two former Disney designers to start Sequoia Creative Inc., with whom Disney often consults to this day. Universal approached Gurr and his associates with crude plans for a giant Kong figure made of gigantic gears and improbably heavy mechanics. Gurr instead began toying with a way to bring Kong to life in a simpler, smarter form.
Image: Christopher Okula, KPCC
As part of David Oneal’s astounding look at Hollywood’s Kong Encounter, an interview with Bob Gurr includes an unbelievable look at a scale model showing just how simple the final design of Hollywood’s figure is. Topping 30-feet tall and covered with 660 pounds of fur, the astounding figure even included two speakers (one for guttural growls and another for high pitched, directed screams), flashing eyes, and banana-scented breath.
On June 14, 1986, Kong was ready for his off-screen debut. And what guests found now along this new segment of the Studio Tour was enough to leave them raving!
King Kong Encounter
Image: Universal
As the tram enters into a soundstage, we’d find ourselves driving along an elevated roadway through New York City’s Lower East Side. The first indication that something’s amiss would be the 50-foot tall geyser of water streaming skyward from a fire hydrant, smoldering wrecked vehicles littering the roadway below. Glancing into the second story apartments, adjacent guests would see televisions all tuned to the local news and overhear the broadcast… Something about a “path of destruction?” “Military units rushing to the scene?”
WWOR-TV host Rolland Smith then turns the feed over to field reporter Kelly King, who’s broadcasting live from a helicopter hovering over the L-train. “The helicopter beside us is searching for – Wait! There’s a tram load of people down there! We’ve got to warn them!” She grabs the helicopter’s bullhorn. “Attention people on the tram!” Her voice is now amplified, coming from the television and from above… Wait… is she talking to us? “You’re in danger! I repeat, you’re –“ She looked ahead in shock, then screams.
Image: Robert Taylor, Flickr
Directly to the side of a tram, a helicopter comes screaming from the sky, landing in a tangled net of electrical wires and bursting into flames as the TV cuts to static.
Making a sharp left, the tram would approach a suspension bridge, but just as the tram begins to cross, a helicopter’s searchlight and a burst of fire reveal the 30-foot Kong to the right!
Image: Universal
His fingers are laced into the suspension cables, his eyes glowing like embers. As he shakes the bridge, the roadway rumbles and he roars. With a final pull, the tram slides 3 feet sideways and right toward his gaping jaws!
At the last moment, the tram accelerates away and back into daylight. But not before a final burst of banana-scented breath from the oversized ape.
You can catch a glimpse of this Hollywood original here:
Moving to Florida
1986’s King Kong Encounter was a massive hit on the Universal Studio Tour, and helped put Universal “on the map” as a destination for themed entertainment. The four-minute experience was a spectacle that left guests talking, and the larger-than-life encounter stunned the industry.
It was the push Universal needed to consider buying up some property in Central Florida. Maybe – just maybe! – their penchant for cinema, movies, and now special effects could warrant a park near Disney’s turf… In fact, Universal planned to duplicate their Studio Tour and transform Central Florida into a “Hollywood East” where production would pick up and carry on.
However, Disney had just gotten itself a new CEO, Michael Eisner, who had previously been the CEO of Paramount Pictures. Insiders say that, because Eisner was from the film industry himself, he knew of Universal’s plans to build a movie park in Florida, so one of his first major feats at Disney was to build a Disney-branded studio park first. Universal announced their Orlando park before Disney could, but Disney’s unique legal arrangement in Florida (which effectively gives them governmental control of themselves, allowing them to sign their own permits) meant that the Disney-MGM Studios opened almost a year before Universal Studios Florida could.
While it must’ve stung that Disney gained the upper hand and fast-tracked their own studio park, the most underhanded move of all was that Disney’s studio park would be focused around – you guessed it – a multi-hour tram-tour through the studio and staged events. Not only had Disney stolen Universal’s studio park concept, they’d stolen their bread-and-butter… the tram tour they’d been running since the 1960s!
Image: Universal
Ultimately, Disney’s theft benefitted Universal. Forced to abandon a lengthy Floridian studio tour, designers instead took the components of Hollywood’s tour and separated each into standalone attractions! Instead of a quick encounter with a great white shark, Universal Studios Florida would feature a full Jungle Cruise spoof, as we chronicled in the in-depth entry Lost Legends: JAWS. Earthquake, too, would get its own ride rather than just a segment of the tour!
And as for Kong? He’d have the most impressive of them all… A full, standalone experience that would be the starring attraction at the new park. Groundbreaking technology and incredible effects would take what Universal had learned from the 1986 Hollywood version and expand it to a complete ride in time for Universal Studios Florida’s 1990 opening.
Kongfrontation, located in New York (pink, above). Image: Universal
New Technologies
Florida’s from-scratch Kong ride would take place in a 62,000 square foot ride showbuilding six stories tall, concealed behind the park’s realistic and immersive New York streets. The slabs of concrete used as the building’s exterior walls were the largest ever used for construction.
Without the constraints of a tram, Universal had the freedom of a blank slate in exactly how guests would tour the perilous aftermath of Kong’s rampage. The ride system they opted for was designed by Arrow Dynamics (creators of some well-known roller coasters, including the world’s first ever modern steel coaster, Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds) who in turn subcontracted Intermountain Lift, Inc.
Image: Universal
That may sound odd until you see the vehicle they created: an aerial tram vehicle modeled after the Roosevelt Island Tramway connecting Roosevelt Island and the Upper East Side over the East River. These unique carriages would be suspended from track attached to the ceiling… and it would have some surprises in store, as well.
Image: Universal
As for Kong himself, four years had advanced technologies and design processes, and two Kongs were created for the ride, both scaled to an astounding 40-feet tall with 54-foot arm spans. And now, both analog and digital controls gave the figures unprecedented functionality. While Hollywood’s figure was a brilliantly simple one that gave the illusion of intricate movement, Florida’s two apes would be sincerely astounding in their reach. Literally.
Kongfrontation opened alongside Universal Studios Florida on June 7, 1990. And like the other groundbreaking attractions at the park, it barely worked. Plagued by downtime as engineers tweaked with the complex ride systems, software, and animatronics, Kongfrontation (like Jaws and Earthquake) were so unreliable, Universal famously offered free return-vouchers to guests all summer long. But by September, the rides were ready.
Image: Universal
And that’s where we pick up. Are you ready to witness the fury of Kongfrontation? On the next page, we’ll take a first-person ride through the carnage and see what this surprising ride has in store…
For decades Universal Studios Hollywood and its glamorous behind-the-scenes Studio Tour have been known the world over as the must-visit spot for seeing how movies are made. But at the brand new Universal Studios Florida, you’ll do so much more than see behind the scenes; you’ll “ride the movies!” Overseen by executive producer Steven Spielberg, this innovative movie park largely skips the making-of in favor of explosive, wild, one-of-a-kind encounters and special effects extravaganzas placing you into your favorite action stories.
Here at Universal Studios Florida, you can be terrorized by Jaws, get caught in an 8.3 magnitude Earthquake, race through time on Back to the Future: The Ride, and head for the stars on E.T. Adventure. But at the park’s grand opening, one attraction stood supreme.
It all starts in the park’s New York lot. See, some parks are packed with themed “lands” conjured entirely from imagination. Even when they do relate to real places or time periods, Disney’s lands are often passed through a lens of “magic.” In other words, you could take your DeLorean through time and around the world and never find a village that looked like Main Street U.S.A., an outpost like Adventureland, or a Western town like Frontierland. You can’t trace them to a particular place or time, and if you could, you’d see that their real life counterparts don’t look much like Disney’s more colorful creations.
At Universal Studios Florida, things are different. The park’s lots aren’t imaginative realms of nostalgia and wonder; they’re would-be film sets – and good ones; so convincing that, to the eye (or more importantly, the camera), you might swear you were really in San Francisco, Hollywood, Martha’s Vineyard, or, for today’s story, in New York City. Not an idealized, romantic version, mind you…
Image: Jeremy Thompson, Flickr (license)
The real New York. Or at least, how a filmmaker would want it to look.
And here in New York resides the daunting white marble exterior of the historic (and demolished) Pennsylvania Station. Though in real life Penn Station was a main intercity railroad station for New York City from 1910 – 1963, here its granite pillars are strung with era-appropriate attraction banners, almost as if it were the entrance to an exhibition hall. The images – modeled after the look and feel of 1933’s King Kong – show a gigantic ape and the promising title, KONGFRONTATION.
Image: Mike Supinski, Flickr
Inside the station, you’ll pass through a fleeting room of camera equipment and hot set lighting, signalling the “Stage Entrance.” From here on out, you’re the star in a developing catastrophe striking the Lower East Side. Right away, the outside world gives way to a graffiti-covered station (designers had, after all, been looking at a New York of the 1980s for inspiration…) lined with retro ’70s advertisements for everything from Coca-Cola to 1976’s Rocky, Alamo rental cars, and later, Universal’s 1998 big-budget action remake of The Mummy. (Alright, so the timeline’s a little fuzzy.)
Back and forth through safety-yellow switchbacks, you’ll pass through the station as overhead televisions show shocking live updates of a most unusual emergency: A giant ape is attacking New York! Indeed, via footage from Universal’s 1976 film, we’re caught up to speed… We’re in the middle of a national news story: “KONG ON THE LOOSE.” Real life news anchor Rolland Smith is on hand with WWOR-TV to deliver the grim news: Kong has escaped his Manhattan showing and has already destroyed two elevated trains. Now, he’s heading toward the East River.
Image: Mike Supinski, Flickr
Our only chance of survival is immediate evacuation via the Roosevelt Island Tramway, the elevated tram that connects Manhattan with Roosevelt Island via – you guessed it – the East River.
Even as you navigate the twisted switchbacks of the graffiti-covered underpass, ahead you’ll notice the streets of New York – an entire block! – of shops barred and boarded. A ramp leads from the musty confines of the city’s underpasses and up through the Lower East Side to the tram station. There’s a sense of urgency and nervous excitement as one tram after another arrives, fills, and departs, the Emergency Broadcast System blaring warnings and evacuation orders.
Then, it’s our turn… As the lights of the station platform begin to flickr, we rush aboard the seven-row trams and prepare to escape the city. Departing the station, our live tram driver tinkers with the radio, tuning into the police’s frequency to monitor Kong’s movement through the city as radio chatter tracks the devestation left behind as the ape moves eastward from 59th St. Glancing into the second-story apartments, television sets glow with different channels’ coverage of the disaster we’ve found ourselves near.
As the tense strings of score play, the tram makes it first turn around the corner of a glowing neon HOTEL sign. we’re looking out over an expansive city streetscape as water bursts three stories high from a fire hydrant. “It’s like a war zone down there,” our tram driver stammers, pale. Broken pipes bellow steam as police lights circle atop overturned cars. A train has been derailed and crumpled along the ground as if it were made of aluminum.
Image: Mike Supinski, Flickr
The voice over the radio calls out, “Chopper 1 to Delta Base, stop all trams. I repeat: Stop. All. Trams. Kong is now… yes, he’s heading straight for the tram route! Stop! All! Trams!”
A chopper’s search light appears as a focused beam, catching the silhouette of an electrical pole. Then, the shadow of a massive hand appears, grabbing the pole and uprooting it. Cleverly, a real electrical pole now sparks, mirroring what we just saw via silhouette… that means he’s close! But before we can worry about Kong, the sparks from the pole rain down, igniting the spilled fuel from a toppled ambulance, which in turn ignites the derailed train with plumes of red-hot fire exploding from it.
“The bridge,” the radio chatters, “he’s heading toward the bridge!”
But now, a curtain of rising steam blocks our view ahead as the tram presses forward. Squinting into the distance, we try to make sense of the next scene… but it’s impossible. Until a flash of distant sparks reveals the hazy shape of a menacing figure, hanging onto the iron supports of the Queensboro Bridge… “Oh no… there he is! It’s Kong!”
Image: Universal
“Delta to Base, Delta to Base, we’ve got a tram down here!”
A police car is hanging off the bridge, its spinning red light illuminating the horrifying figure ahead. The sparks falling from the car disappear into a fog that clings to the river below… The tram driver leans out over the head. “We’re a hundred feet up!”
“Request permission to fire!”
The helicopters arrive, their spotlights circling the figure. “No, don’t shoot,” our tram driver calls, “Do not shoot!” But it’s too late… A flurry of flashes indicate a machine gun’s fire, just as we draw closer and closer to the imposing figure. Kong howls in fury, holding his massive arm up as a shield, his fingers gripping in pain. Then, he eyes us, his dark eyes wild with fury. “He’s gonna hit the tram!” the driver screams. And Kong’s arm races forward, shaking the tram as it dramatically drops a few feet.
But we’re in luck… a helicopter crashes dramatically onto the bridge, exploding in flames and distracting the enraged Kong just long enough for the tram to escape.
Image: Universal
With another six-story city block ahead, the driver sighs. We’ve made it over the river. “Alright, folks… everything’s gonna be okay. Roosevelt station is right around this next corner.” And indeed, flashing police lights around the bend may indicate that we’ll make it safely to the rendezvous point for our shuttle out of harm’s way.
But as the tram makes the turn, the only thing ahead is a blinding white light. The piercing, unimaginable spotlight makes all of us aboard look away, shielding our eyes from the focused beam. The hum of helicopter blades slicing the air make it clear that the spotlight is from a search copter, so the tram driver uses his bullhorn to yell out, “Chopper, turn that light out! I can’t see! Turn. It. Out!”
But we’ll wish he hadn’t.
Image: Universal
The second the light stops, our attention is drawn to the right… We’re mere feet from Kong, now standing in the bent girders of a construction site. This time, Kong’s had enough. The 40-foot tall creature’s arms flail as the tram passes inches from his mouth. The smell of his banana breath permeates the tram. But this is the kicker… Now, the animatronic physically interrupts the ride’s path, his massive hands closing in on the front and rear of the vehicle.
With his hands on either side, Kong lifts the tram up, tilting it toward him. As he inspects riders inside, he apparently deems us unworthy of his time… and drops us, the tram plunging toward the ground below as flames erupt all around. Ingeniously, the ride system Arrow designed for the attraction placed the tram on a giant upside-down scissor-lift apparatus, allowing the tram to “fall!”
The tram accelerates away as the lights of Roosevelt station appear head. As we leave Kong in the dust, we hear the unmistakable sound of still more helicopters arriving behind us, ready to wage war. As for our ordeal? All worthwhile, as televisions descend from the tram’s ceiling displaying a live news feed… and we made primetime, as the news cuts to live footage of our fall.
As always, we’ll finish off with a must-see ride-through video that will bring this lost experience back to life and help you to relive the experience of Kongfrontation:
Top of the Bill
For a young movie park like Universal Studios Florida, a ride like Kongfrontation was an unprecedented star. With two of the most lifelike animatronics ever developed – even to this day! – Kongfrontation was bright, kinetic, oversized, and fun. The wild romp through the city’s destruction and our eventual encounters with the gargantuan creature were on-ride photo ready, and represented the height of Universal’s innovation in storytelling, set design, and special effects.
Image: Universal
It was also the perfect ride to give Walt Disney World a run for its money – a character, topic, and delivery that they wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Chances are that, if you’re a ’90s kid, you, too, were terrified behind comprehension by Kong (and by the one-two-three punch of the rest of Universal’s lineup of disaster rides… after all, a day at Universal is a day where things just can’t seem to stop going terribly wrong)!
But like most of Universal’s early classics, Kongfrontation was doomed.
Ahead, we’ll dissect the ride’s closure and replacement, then examine what happened when Universal decided to give the King another headlining ride… albeit, in a different park and a very different way.
New, Now, Next
In 1999, Universal made its first real push to take on Disney in an astounding all-at-once growth spurt that transformed the single park packed with PG-13 disaster rides into a multi-day, multi-park resort for families. Their second gate would prove once and for all that Universal could operate more than soundstage-packed studio parks; they could meet and even exceed Disney’s standards for storytelling and detail.
Image: Universal
The problem is, Universal’s first attempt to market their new resort fell flat. Given that no one else had expanded a single park into a resort in such a way, Universal was a student of the school of hard knocks. So suddenly, Universal Studios Florida was joined by Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios CityWalk at the new Universal Studios Escape. You can imagine how audiences barely familiar with Universal at all had no idea what was going on. Did Universal Studios Escape join Universal Studios, or did Universal Studios become Universal Studios Escape? Universal Studios Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios Escape? What exactly were these “Islands?” A ride? A show? A new “land?”
Put simply, Universal’s relaunch had been flubbed, and they would have a lot of ground to make up if they wanted their parks to rival Disney.
Beginning in 2002, Universal kicked off a wild reimagining of its original Floridian park, Universal Studios. Desperate and determined to convince audiences to visit, they set out to systematically redefine the park as a place where guests could ride the biggest blockbusters of today. They wanted their Studios park to be home to the hottest brands, the most popular stories, and the biggest box office hits.
Image: Universal
And seemingly every single year beginning in 2002, one of Universal’s classic attractions based on famed films of yesteryear shuttered to make way for whatever was “now,” often, admittedly, with little care for longevity or nostalgia.
Put another way, Universal seemed content leaving “timelessness” to Disney. If you come to Universal, however, expect to see the characters, stories, and stars you care about now, even if that means rides’ lifetimes and popularities are measured in seasons, not decades.
And by 2002, Universal had a new hit on its hands.
Buried
Image: Universal
1999’s The Mummy directed by Stephen Sommers had been, by all accounts, a loose reimagining of Boris Karloff’s iconic performance in the 1932 Universal classic (interestingly, having been released one year before King Kong). Even if critics wrote the film off as a brainless action film, $416 million in box office receipts said folks were enamored with the Egyptian exploits of Rick and Evie O’Connell.
The 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns, bested the original with $433 million. And it was then and there that Universal decided that The Mummy would be their first foray into the modernization of their parks.
Image: Universal
Kongfrontation closed on September 8, 2002, with insiders chalking the decision up to the high staffing and operation cost of the ride, plus its complex and high-maintenance ride system and animatronics. More than likely, the enormous six-story, 62,000 square foot showbuilding Kong inhabited was simply a canvas too large to pass up.
Believe it or not, Kong was the first of Universal’s storied sentinel attractions to crumble to the company’s push for popular properties, and that closure would set a new precedent. If Kong could close, then nothing was sacred.
Revenge of the Mummy
Image: Theme Park Tourist
Kong was vacated and after two years of construction and $40 million, Revenge of the Mummy opened in the park’s New York streets. The New York Penn Station exterior was recast as the Museum of Antiquities, currently showcasing a collection of Egyptian artifacts.
The plot of the ride? It’s hard to explain. The Museum of Antiquities is a ruse that quickly gives way to a “behind the scenes” look at the making of an imaginary next installment in The Mummy franchise, Revenge of the Mummy. Costumes, props, and video interviews indicate that odd things have been happening on set, perhaps related to a real curse that followed the authentic set pieces from Imhotep’s real tomb. One-two-skip-a-few and we’re in a real tomb (or is it a set?) where we board 1930s mine carts (so, it’s not a set?) and journey deeper into the tomb where a member of the crew named Reggie (okay, it’s definitely a movie set, then?) awakens the real Imhotep (so it’s not a set) and his ancient army.
Image: Universal
Okay, so it’s as contrived as Universal’s best. But see, the “studio” theme lets us ignore such anachronisms. We’re not supposed to think about it that hard. After all, there’s no logical or sensical way to bring us from New York to the haunted depths of an Egyptian tomb, so we simply excuse it, shrug, and have fun.
To be clear, Revenge of the Mummy is one of the most outright fun rides on Earth. Genuinely surprising, brilliantly themed, and wildly exciting, the coaster’s unassuming stats are more than made up for with Disney-level details and shocking twists throughout, including a figure we rank high on our must-read countdown of the best animatronics on Earth. We enjoy the ride so much, it earned its own in-depth feature in our brand new series, Modern Marvels: Revenge of the Mummy. Make the jump if you’re interested in seeing what surprises this cutting-edge ride hides…
Image: Universal
And those with a keen eye for detail will note that Universal did pay loving tribute to the building’s former resident in a few places. Graffiti from Kong’s New York queue remains in Mummy’s, and a golden statue of the great ape himself resides in Imhotep’s glistening treasure room. But most surprisingly, a lights-on tour of the ride’s twisted coaster section would reveal remains of Kong’s suspended tracks dotted across the ceiling. Many of the track sections were built into the ride’s structure, making their removal impossible.
Believe it or not, Revenge of the Mummy has now been inhabiting the Penn Station showbuilding longer than Kongfrontation did to begin with…! Of course, looking again at Universal’s track record for replacing fan favorites with what’s new, fans might feel just a little unease about that 2017 reboot of The Mummy starring Tom Cruise… While its box office returns fared far worse than the “old” 1999 movie’s did, the new reboot of The Mummy is planned as only the first entry in the expanded Dark Universe (uniting Universal’s classic horror movie monsters), which may make the Studios’ ride a tempting tie-in should it ever find its footing…
As for Kong, it seemed for a while that he and his immortal legacy would live on physically as nothing more than mere cameos and asides in Revenge of the Mummy.
But an unexpected innovation back in Hollywood would change everything…
Ape from the Ashes
Image: Universal, via theStudioTour.com
Even as Kongfrontation closed in 2002, the ride that inspired it – the original King Kong Encounter on Universal Studios Hollywood’s Studio Tour – remained. For 32 years, the original 1986 figure shook tram after tram of Universal guests (though in later years, the admittedly aging animatronic left them more literally shook than emotionally. At Christmas, he even began donning a Santa suit and hat, merrily “ho-ho-ho-ing” as snow fell in the streets of the soundstage).
It seemed that, even if Orlando’s Kong had fallen to progress, Hollywood’s would remain. Until June 1, 2008 when a massive fire broke out on the Studio backlot. For 12 hours, the raging fire burned, destroying the Courthouse Square set from Back to the Future, a streetscape used in Spider-Man 2 and Transformers, and… the showbuilding containing King Kong Encounter.
Just two days later, Universal announced their decision to not rebuild the attraction.
Image: Universal
However, what they had planned in its place was impressive in its own right. Just two years later on July 1, 2010, a brand new portion of the Studio Tour opened. King Kong: 360 3-D is stylistically based on Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake of King Kong – the second remake after the 1976 version.
For better or worse, this new 360-degree 3-D experience would be all digital, with the tram pulling into a soundstage where enormous curving, wrapped tunnel screens would surround the tram completely. Parked on a motion platform between the two screens, the world of Skull Island could come to life, simulating bursts of speed, falling, and rising with action happening on all sides (and above) the tram.
Image: Universal
King Kong: 360 3-D is impressive and technologically marvelous. Perhaps you can write it off as a 21st century “Kong Encounter” in its own right. Still, we argue that the gravitas of seeing a character face-to-face is unbeatable, even with the best digital effects.
But consider this: in 1990, Universal Studios Florida innovated and expanded upon Hollywood’s Kong Encounter from the Studio Tour. Now, more than two decades later, Universal Studios Florida would innovate and expand upon Hollywood King Kong: 360 3D from the Studio Tour, and just like the good ole days, that would mean expanding it into a full standalone attraction.
On the last page, we’ll dissect the spiritual sequel to Kongfrontation and see if the return of the King is all it was cracked up to be… Read on…
Reign of Kong
In April 2016 – more than 13 years after the closure of Kongfrontation – Universal made an ambitious and unimaginable announcement. The King would return.
Image: Universal
In Kongfrontation, guests had traveled through the park’s New York streets and boarded a Roosevelt Island tram to view the devastation caused by a lost and angry creature trapped in our world. But now, the roles would swap. Reign of Kong would instead leave us stranded in the otherworldly, prehistoric jungles of Skull Island to face the unthinkable dangers of the unknown.
And for us to step into that story, Universal would construct an eighth island at Universal’s Islands of Adventure.
Image: Universal
On July 13, 2016, Islands of Adventure became home to Skull Island, located between Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park. The small-but-mighty new island is a dense, misty jungle of alien rock formations, churning torches, and distant drumbeats, all reigned over by an ancient stone wall built to keep us out… or is it, to keep something else in?
Image: Universal
Reign of Kong is unique even among Universal’s more “mature” ride lineup for the direction it takes Kong’s tale. Its atmosphere is gritty, grisly, and downright scary.
In line, guests can pick up hints of an elaborate backstory placing us in the 1930s with the earliest explorers from the Eighth Wonder Expedition Co. as they hunt for the king of all cryptids. But this isn’t your typical queue. The line alternates between dark, daunting, massive chambers with stunning animatronics and narrow passageways populated by live “scareactors” who jump out to frighten queuing guests. You can watch a walkthrough of the ride’s queue here.
Image: Universal
Indeed, the ride’s line was designed by the masterminds behind Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, and despite the ride’s 36″ height requirement, families may think twice about riding just because of the queue.
Though Universal explicitly explained that Reign of Kong isn’t based on any specific King Kong movie, the ride reeks of Peter Jackson’s dark 2005 epic (and indeed, Jackson did collaborate with Universal to design “the look and feel of the environment”). In so doing, they exaggerated the film’s already-grim take on the tale and essentially decided to turn Reign of Kong’s queue into a startling horror experience. It’s, admittedly, an odd aspect of the character to choose to highlight, especially given the more light-hearted fun that people loved so much about Kongfrontation.
Image: Universal
Ultimately, the queue leads to one of the most technologically-advanced vehicles Universal’s ever designed (even given their penchant for groundbreaking technologies)… massive 40-foot-long off-roading expedition vehicles. What makes them so unique is that they’re entirely trackless, appearing to navigate the uneven terrain of the island under the total control of the driver – a member of the Eighth Wonder Expedition Co. physically present on-board as an animatronic! One of five guides leads you through the valley, each with a unique backstory and narration.
Image: Universal
The oversized dark ride travels indoors and out as it breaches the 80-foot wall via swinging wooden doors, entering a network of caverns and valleys that blend physical sets, animatronics, tactile effects, and digital video (though, yes, at it’s core, it’s the same screen-based, Spider-Man follow-up we’ve grown a little too accustomed to by Universal) as you navigate the darkness and despair of this alien world.
Image: Universal
The heart of the experience – and its one colorful moment – is just what you’d expect: a retooled 360-degree projection tunnel based on the one that debuted in Hollywood in 2010, now a single segment in a larger experience. And while Universal probably planned on the projection tunnel being the ride’s star (and in many ways, it is), the thing fans clammored to learn more about is what follows the tunnel: a face-to-face encounter with an animatronic Kong.
We encourage you to check-out a point-of-view ride-through of the new Skull Island: Reign of Kong to get a sense of this ride’s atmosphere and effects:
Our Thoughts
Fans rejoiced at the premise of Kong’s return. Even if the mosty-virtual experience assured another round of debates on whether Universal’s finally taken this whole “screen” thing a little too far, at least fans had been promised a long-overdue animatronic encounter. That said, reviews on Reign of Kong (including in our own Park Guides) have been decidedly mixed. Here’s our four reason takeaway on why:
1) It’s a little too grisly, gothic, and grey. As we mentioned, Universal might’ve left the ride intentionally disconnected from any specific incarnation of the character, but it’s clear that Peter Jackson’s 2005 reboot – a gritty, dark, epic telling of the tale – factored in visually and atmospherically. Reign of Kong is dark. And yes, since 1933 King Kong has fit into the “horror” category in a unique way. But to choose the “horror” aspect to emphasize is an odd choice… One might argue that the undersaturated, grey look might not be the best fit for a theme park, where a more fun, humorous, colorful romp might be more appropriate.
Image: Universal
Especially given that, just one year after the ride’s debut, yet another Kong reboot debuted (barely a decade after Peter Jackson’s version, mind you) that recast the character and atmosphere into an explosive, vibrant, saturated, colorful comic book style that feels closer to the character’s core. That 2017 film, Kong: Skull Island, populates the island with must-see stunning, unusual, fantastic creatures (bad and good) that look straight from Miyazaki’s fantasy realm (which is to say, they’re beautiful and classic and creative).
Only time will tell if the new, rebooted Kong film is actually a hit, but it does have a pleasant, playful visual style that hits at the fun of the character, and that’s something Jackson’s King Kong (and thus, Universal’s new ride) seem to lack. It’s probably the kind of colorful, adventurous look a Universal ride needs.
Image: Universal
2) Universal’s uneven storytelling hits hard. “Story” has never really been Universal’s strength. We often find ourselves half-explaining convoluted plots before simply settling for “It’s complicated.” See our discussion a page ago about Revenge of the Mummy (when do we go from a New York museum to a movie set to an actual tomb?), or Jaws (we’re going on boat tours of the real Amity to view the real spots in town where, years ago, a real shark attacked, inspiring Steven Spielberg to make the Jaws movie, and on our tour, we’re attacked by a different shark?), or even Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (which quickly descends into a mad dash past every bad guy from the series with almost no sense of time or place or plot or space… something Gringotts thankfully corrected).
Put another way, Universal’s rides often play best when you simply believe what you’re told in the pre-show video, let go, and let it happen, letting inconsistances, weak premises, and loose details roll off your back. And as with Jaws, Revenge of the Mummy, and Forbidden Journey, we’re willing and content to do that!
Image: Universal
But on Skull Island, Universal Creative seemed absolutely determined to hammer home a plot… a plot that they then never resolve. Instead, scene-by-scene, we jump unceremoniously from day to night to day to night, apparently in search of Expedition leader Kate who, scene-by-scene, is dragged off stage left, necessitating our continued journey. Only, on her third appearance, she’s dragged off and never returns. An afterthought radio transmission as you pull into the unload dock announces she’s alright, but at that point, who cares? After all the trouble of introducing a cast of characters, a time period, an elaborate viral backstory, and a detailed setting, nothing ever seems to coalesce into a worthwhile motivation or plot.
In a way, it seems that Reign of Kong is like the “evil twin” of Disneyland’s Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye, setting up the same sort of world-building without any follow-through.
3) The animatronic Kong encounter isn’t what you’re picturing. Don’t misunderstand… this new Kong ranked high on our countdown of the most amazing animatronics on Earth. It’s one of the most lifelike and hypnotic figures we’ve ever seen, clearly benefitting from the three decades of innovation since the original Kong. However, Skull Island’s animatronic Kong (or more appropriately, torso-of-Kong) is a very different Kong from the enraged ape of old. Here, Kong is our guardian. He’s just saved us from certain doom, and the calm, sniffing, protective ape is now basking in our praise and thanks.
Image: Universal
If Kongfrontation taught us anything, it’s that the enraged, wild, panicked ape is the preferred, brochure-ready way to encounter him. On Kongfrontation, the weight of your Kong encounter came from the unpredictability of the massive, frightened, cornered creature. As the director of 2008’s Cloverfield said, “there’s nothing scarier than something huge that’s spooked.” In comparison, the subdued and almost “sweet” encounter Reign of Kong offers carries a little less gravitas and feels somehow anticlimactic.
4) Reign of Kong a C-Ticket dressed in an E-Ticket’s clothes. Is Reign of Kong a worthy follow-up to Kongfrontation? That probably depends who you ask. As an “extended” take on Hollywood’s 360 3-D? A home run. As a “sequel” meant to give Kong a place in the parks again? Success. But as a full, fresh, headlining E-Ticket on its own merits, Reign of Kong feels like it’s over before it’s begun (even technically being the longest ride Universal’s ever created – a fact they eagerly marketed) with a tissue-paper thin plot that’s left unresolved and an unfortunately-expected overreliance on screens.
Image: Universal
And Reign of Kong being a healthy C-Ticket in a park of headliners would be absolutely fine! But it really, really feels like Universal wanted this ride to be their next “big” thing and expected E-Ticket returns, and in that regard, we can’t help but feel it doesn’t hold up. While an impressive experience in its own right, it seems that few would place it in their top three rides at Universal Orlando, or even at Islands of Adventure. As a fun aside, it’s a major win. But marketed as a must-ride thrill adventure? Maybe not…
What’s Next?
If Kong has proven anything in his 85-year lifetime, it’s that he is immortal; his story is evergreen; it crosses generations, presentations, and styles. From humble 1933 stop-motion beginnings, then the frenzied fun of 1976’s new classic, then the gritty, dark, grimy Peter Jackson epic adventure. And just a decade later, 2017’s KONG: Skull Island reintroduced the story in a bright, vibrant, comic book world of oversized monsters, setting Kong up for an extended cinematic universe meet-up with Godzilla and other kaiju monsters that may redefine the ape once more thanks to 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
There is truly no limit to the adaptability of the character. And given Universal’s penchant for catching up on what’s new and next, their representation of Kong may change just as often.
King Kong is a legend. Kongfrontation was the perfect theme park personification of the revered character and his cross-generational story. Skull Island: Reign of Kong succeeds at keeping the character alive within the parks, but may have missed the mark in keeping him adaptable and – most importantly – fun!
Image: Universal
Now that you’ve faced the King, don’t forget to relive the cinematic excitement of Universal Studios Florida’s co-starring disaster rides JAWS and Back to the Future: The Ride, or visit our Legend Library to choose from dozens and dozens of features.
Then, we want to hear from you. Use the comments below to tell us about your encounters on Kongfrontation. Were you one of the millions of millennials who lost sleep over your horrifying near-death ordeal? What memories did you make on this outstanding disaster ride? Is Skull Island: Reign of Kong a worthy follow-up? Or did Universal once again rely too heavily on screens and, in the process, lose what makes Kong the king?
