Skull Island: Reign of Kong from construction to opening

Timekeeper

Timekeeper

Well-Known Member
GLaDOS said:
They've been casting Natives. There will be live actors somewhere in the attraction.
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Possibly atmosphere or advertisement character actors...? And possibly something for the grand opening that isn't intended to be utilized in the long term operation of the attraction...? I just don't see an attraction of this magnitude relying on live character performers *inside* of the attraction. But feel free to bump-quote my speculation if it turns out that I'm wrong. It sounds like a fun idea, so I wouldn't mind being wrong on this one. :)
 
AliciaStella

AliciaStella

Active Member
I got some video of the new Kong merchandise and while I was there checked out the construction site and they were testing the torches by the entrance! Very cool. Everything looks amazing and it's great that they're adding more theatrical lighting throughout the area. Can't wait to see it at night with some colored lights and not just floods. Check it out below and more images, especially of all the merch, on the blog post here.



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Lights are on inside the covered queue, as well as the pathway lanterns

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That's all for now. More on the blog post!
 
OliveMcFly

OliveMcFly

Well-Known Member
AliciaStella said:
I would love that, but the only gift shop we know about will be an outdoor stand near the exit... However I have heard there is a surprise for us in the final scene, which is after unload on your way out of the building... so fingers crossed!
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Kongfrontation was my favorite thing at USF when I was little. I still can picture it when I'm in queue for Mummy. I really miss it. Hoping the new attraction evokes some of the original.
 
matt clark

matt clark

Active Member
i remember the smell inside the most.
i seriously wish i could buy it as a glade plug in.
i miss throwing pennies all over the "subway" que.
thousands and thousands of pennies.
my father and i used sharpie to put our names a few places back in the 90's in the "subway"
that and ghost busters are really missed the most.
ive always said that if i had a time machine one of my first stops would be there to re-experience these two attractions at universal.
they were such a huge part of my childhood.
another odd thing i miss is standing in the que for back to the future and hearing the doot doot doot doot doot between videos on the old school box tvs lol
 
Wikkler

Wikkler

Well-Known Member
matt clark said:
i remember the smell inside the most.
i seriously wish i could buy it as a glade plug in.
i miss throwing pennies all over the "subway" que.
thousands and thousands of pennies.
my father and i used sharpie to put our names a few places back in the 90's in the "subway"
that and ghost busters are really missed the most.
ive always said that if i had a time machine one of my first stops would be there to re-experience these two attractions at universal.
they were such a huge part of my childhood.
another odd thing i miss is standing in the que for back to the future and hearing the doot doot doot doot doot between videos on the old school box tvs lol
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I wish I could go back in time to 1993-ish and experience Classic EPCOT Center, but then I'd be retroactively funding Guardians of Terror.

Edit: EPCOT vs Epcot
 
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brb1006

brb1006

Well-Known Member
I wonder if some parents would take young children to this new attraction? I'm actually looking forward to hearing some parents complain about how scary the ride is for the child yet they didn't even read the warning for the attraction if it hasn't been added already.
 
dweezil78

dweezil78

Well-Known Member
Sorry if this was already obvious to everyone... but just hit me that the Kong ride is, more or less, the 15+ yr evolution of the Jurassic Park jeep ride that they had originally intended to make, eh? Pretty sure in that same exact plot of land as well. Obviously a lot has changed since then, but I have to imagine if you trace the Kong project way back to its earliest roots you'll find at least some remnants of that JP concept there.

J1.jpg
 
tribbleorlfl

tribbleorlfl

Well-Known Member
dweezil78 said:
Sorry if this was already obvious to everyone... but just hit me that the Kong ride is, more or less, the 15+ yr evolution of the Jurassic Park jeep ride that they had originally intended to make, eh? Pretty sure in that same exact plot of land as well. Obviously a lot has changed since then, but I have to imagine if you trace the Kong project way back to its earliest roots you'll find at least some remnants of that JP concept there.

J1.jpg
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I'm still sad they wasted the plot on Kong instead of finally building JP Jeeps.
 
J

JT3000

Well-Known Member
It's a bit premature to call this a waste. This arguably wasn't the best location for Kong, if only for it being such a tight fit and encroaching on JP, but they still have options for JP itself when the next sequel comes around, albiet smaller ones. They need to make use of the Trike Encounter space somehow.
 
Mike S

Mike S

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
JT3000 said:
It's a bit premature to call this a waste. This arguably wasn't the best location for Kong, if only for it being such a tight fit and encroaching on JP, but they still have options for JP itself when the next sequel comes around, albiet smaller ones. They need to make use of the Trike Encounter space somehow.
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Like what was just opened in Japan?
 
TyTrap

TyTrap

Well-Known Member
tribbleorlfl said:
I'm still sad they wasted the plot on Kong instead of finally building JP Jeeps.
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Wasted? King Kong has been a flagship franchise for USO since the park opened.
JT3000 said:
It's a bit premature to call this a waste. This arguably wasn't the best location for Kong, if only for it being such a tight fit and encroaching on JP, but they still have options for JP itself when the next sequel comes around, albiet smaller ones. They need to make use of the Trike Encounter space somehow.
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actually Mike West (Head of Universal Creative) wanted Skull Island to be right next to Jurassic Park because of their similarities. Both islands feature animals that are extinct but live on in these two places.
 
J

JT3000

Well-Known Member
TyTrap said:
actually Mike West (Head of Universal Creative) wanted Skull Island to be right next to Jurassic Park because of their similarities. Both islands feature animals that are extinct but live on in these two places.
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They're more dissimilar than similar on the surface, which is what you'll be able to see from the other land. JP doesn't have any temple-building natives, Skull Island isn't a theme park.

The other problem is I'm starting to think they're not bringing back the JP entry arch, or creating a proper entry of any kind for Skull Island, which would make for zero thematic separation between the two areas, which are already more on top of each other rather than next to each other. They would be two separate lands only by technicality.
 
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Wikkler

Wikkler

Well-Known Member
JT3000 said:
They're more dissimilar than similar on the surface, which is what you'll be able to see from the other land. JP doesn't have any temple-building natives, Skull Island isn't a theme park.

The other problem is I'm starting to think they're not bringing back the JP entry arch, or creating a proper entry of any kind for Skull Island, which would make for zero thematic separation between the two areas, which are already more on top of each other rather than next to each other. They would be two separate lands only by technicality.
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It's better than a dinosaur-themed park and a British town filled with wizards.
 
PinnySmart

PinnySmart

Well-Known Member
Having just experienced Kong 360 and Fast and Furious in Hollywood I really hope this is a completely different experience. IMO it just didn't work like I expected it too. It looked OK looking across the tram but on my side I could see the edges of the screen and it really took away from the experience. I'm still optimistic that UO is going to knock this out of the park though. Fingers crossed.
 

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