Skull Island: Reign of Kong from construction to opening

[Mike S]

IDK, maybe because it's a pretty BA attraction that a lot of people will love.

And you want to know the biggest thing that separates this from a "Disney" attraction? It's not the scareactors in the queue. It's not the giant state of the art AA that actually moves. It's that this attraction doesn't end in a gift shop.

You ask why Universal would do this. Because they wanted too. King Kong was one of Universal's first global hits in 1933 and it's success along with the 1931 Frankenstien set Universal's course into the horror genre. Universal Parks and Resorts would have never existed without "Kong". With the Disney Co. it all started with a mouse. At Universal, the entire idea of a Universal theme park started with the King Kong robot they built for the 1976 Kong movie. Spielberg, took one look at it and said, "That's better than anything Disney has built". And a seed was planted. 14 years later Universal Studios Florida opened with Kongfrontation as it's mega headliner attraction. Unfortunately, the ride system and AA didn't age well and was costing a fortune to operate, and it's reliability was suffering, so they had little choice to remove it.

But now, "The King has returned" and order has been restored to the realm.

I looked it up and it seems the only King Kong movie actually made by Universal was the 2005 one. The original was RKO and the remakes were Paramount.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I looked it up and it seems the only King Kong movie actually made by Universal was the 2005 one. The original was RKO and the remakes were Paramount.

After much googling I will be making some edits. I obviously got my facts confused. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[The Jazzy Man]

You people have officially annoyed me enough to write a post, and if you look at my post count, you'll probably know that's an uncommon occurrence.

So, the basic argument here is between the opinion(important) that the screens are underwhelming and the opinion(yet again, very important) that the screens are just fine.
...
WHAT!?

A new Universal Ride is opening and the only thing people are talking about are "screenz" (Thanks Mike S).

I don't mean to be rude, but an opinion is freaking opinion. Other people are allowed to have one, and by the constant bickering going on here, it seems to me that you people don't know that concept. Why must you argue so much over something that won't change! You have different opinions! Freaking deal.

Now that I have that off my chest, OPINION time.
It looks about what I expected, which is a Fantastic build up, and a meh middle, and an exhilarating ending. My main criticism is the lack of necessity between the added scenes and the pre-made scenes. The parts with the humans don't need to happen. And also, please stop making so many scenarios that need screens. I think this would've made a wonderful romp through a dangerous temple with live humans, dangerous animatronic dinosaurs, bats and insects. And then a giant Kong fighting one of the Dinosaurs would've been sweet. But oh well, I still really like what we got and I can't wait to ride it.

Side Note: I did not expect the quene to be so top-notch. I might just ride Kong for the quene!

Edit: This was not directed at any specific post, just the overall arguing that has been going on. Just wanted to clarify

 

[Mike S]

You people have officially annoyed me enough to write a post, and if you look at my post count, you'll probably know that's an uncommon occurrence.

So, the basic argument here is between the opinion(important) that the screens are underwhelming and the opinion(yet again, very important) that the screens are just fine.
...
WHAT!?

A new Universal Ride is opening and the only thing people are talking about are "screenz" (Thanks Mike S).

I don't mean to be rude, but an opinion is freaking opinion. Other people are allowed to have one, and by the constant bickering going on here, it seems to me that you people don't know that concept. Why must you argue so much over something that won't change! You have different opinions! Freaking deal.

Now that I have that off my chest, OPINION time.
It looks about what I expected, which is a Fantastic build up, and a meh middle, and an exhilarating ending. My main criticism is the lack of necessity between the added scenes and the pre-made scenes. The parts with the humans don't need to happen. And also, please stop making so many scenarios that need screens. I think this would've made a wonderful romp through a dangerous temple with live humans, dangerous animatronic dinosaurs, bats and insects. And then a giant Kong fighting one of the Dinosaurs would've been sweet. But oh well, I still really like what we got and I can't wait to ride it.

Side Note: I did not expect the quene to be so top-notch. I might just ride Kong for the quene!

Edit: This was not directed at any specific post, just the overall arguing that has been going on. Just wanted to clarify

I did try to stop it from devolving to this yesterday.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I did try to stop it from devolving to this yesterday.

Epic Fail!

 

[The Jazzy Man]

I did try to stop it from devolving to this yesterday.

Unfortunately it didn't work. It seems like it's calmed down for now, but I fully expect it to grow astronomically in the morning, but if it doesn't, color me impressed.

 

[Daveeeeed]

You people have officially annoyed me enough to write a post, and if you look at my post count, you'll probably know that's an uncommon occurrence.

So, the basic argument here is between the opinion(important) that the screens are underwhelming and the opinion(yet again, very important) that the screens are just fine.
...
WHAT!?

A new Universal Ride is opening and the only thing people are talking about are "screenz" (Thanks Mike S).

I don't mean to be rude, but an opinion is freaking opinion. Other people are allowed to have one, and by the constant bickering going on here, it seems to me that you people don't know that concept. Why must you argue so much over something that won't change! You have different opinions! Freaking deal.

Now that I have that off my chest, OPINION time.
It looks about what I expected, which is a Fantastic build up, and a meh middle, and an exhilarating ending. My main criticism is the lack of necessity between the added scenes and the pre-made scenes. The parts with the humans don't need to happen. And also, please stop making so many scenarios that need screens. I think this would've made a wonderful romp through a dangerous temple with live humans, dangerous animatronic dinosaurs, bats and insects. And then a giant Kong fighting one of the Dinosaurs would've been sweet. But oh well, I still really like what we got and I can't wait to ride it.

Side Note: I did not expect the quene to be so top-notch. I might just ride Kong for the quene!

Edit: This was not directed at any specific post, just the overall arguing that has been going on. Just wanted to clarify

It wasn't just about screens it was about the story being terrible too imho...

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Just think, we'll get to do this all again when Jimmy Fallon and Fast & Furious open. Unfortunately, I don't think Universal is going to give us supporters much ammo with those 2. Especially F&F.

 

[The Jazzy Man]

It wasn't just about screens it was about the story being terrible too imho...

I understand that, but from what I read the most arguing came from the opinions on the screens. I might be reading it wrong, it is 10:30 at night.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

It wasn't just about screens it was about the story being terrible too imho...

My biggest beef is with the story. Why Kong and "The Blonde" never meet is a real head scratcher.

 

[Daveeeeed]

Just think, we'll get to do this all again when Jimmy Fallon and Fast & Furious open. Unfortunately, I don't think Universal is going to give us supporters much ammo with those 2. Especially F&F.

Meanwhile Disney opens Avatar. It's actually a shame I was really hoping for Universal to at least be even with new openings until Star Wars Land, so people would go to both like myself but now it seems uni won't grow as fast sadly. Hopefully Nintendo will be a home run.

 

[Daveeeeed]

My biggest beef is with the story. Why Kong and "The Blonde" never meet is a real head scratcher.

Thank you, you know I think it was more lack of communication than anything. (Just wish you didn't say I was embarrassing myself)

 

[The Jazzy Man]

That moment when you get 9 alerts in you inbox within 2 minutes. I haven't even been here for an hour and I can't keep up

 

[Daveeeeed]

That moment when you get 9 alerts in you inbox within 2 minutes. I haven't even been here for an hour and I can't keep up

Lol it gets crazy sometimes that is for sure! Lot's of people love Theme parks.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Meanwhile Disney open Avatar. It's actually a shame I was really hoping for Universal to at least be even with new openings until Star Wars Land, so people would go to both like myself but now it seems Zuni won't grow as fast sadly. Hopefully Nintendo will be a home run.

WTH? This makes zero sense? This is a home run. It will be very popular. You conclusions are absurd.

Yes Avatar will be better. It is the world's first billion dollar theme park land and only has 2 attractions. A $160 million stand alone attraction up against a pair of $500 million dollar attractions, one of which is ENTIRELY screen based with limited mobility? Yeah, that seems comparable.

 

[Mike S]

Just think, we'll get to do this all again when Jimmy Fallon and Fast & Furious open. Unfortunately, I don't think Universal is going to give us supporters much ammo with those 2. Especially F&F.

One positive could come from that though. Those rides will definitely make Kong look A LOT better

It wasn't just about screens it was about the story being terrible too imho...

This very funny article that absolutely destroys the plot of Forbidden Journey despite it still being a great ride is why I'm not so bothered for Kong

Warning for language.
http://sparkthedark.blogspot.com/2012/06/theme-park-thoughts-harry-potter.html?m=1

 

[Daveeeeed]

One positive could come from that though. Those rides will definitely make Kong look A LOT better

This very funny article that absolutely destroys the plot of Forbidden Journey despite it still being a great ride is why I'm not so bothered for Kong Warning for language.
http://sparkthedark.blogspot.com/2012/06/theme-park-thoughts-harry-potter.html?m=1

Forbidden Journey sure it wasn't a great story, but it was more focused on visiting and showcasing Potter and the people surrounding him. People know who he is before they get on unlike Kong.

 

[Finn273]

You people have officially annoyed me enough to write a post, and if you look at my post count, you'll probably know that's an uncommon occurrence.

So, the basic argument here is between the opinion(important) that the screens are underwhelming and the opinion(yet again, very important) that the screens are just fine.
...
WHAT!?

A new Universal Ride is opening and the only thing people are talking about are "screenz" (Thanks Mike S).

I don't mean to be rude, but an opinion is freaking opinion. Other people are allowed to have one, and by the constant bickering going on here, it seems to me that you people don't know that concept. Why must you argue so much over something that won't change! You have different opinions! Freaking deal.

Now that I have that off my chest, OPINION time.
It looks about what I expected, which is a Fantastic build up, and a meh middle, and an exhilarating ending. My main criticism is the lack of necessity between the added scenes and the pre-made scenes. The parts with the humans don't need to happen. And also, please stop making so many scenarios that need screens. I think this would've made a wonderful romp through a dangerous temple with live humans, dangerous animatronic dinosaurs, bats and insects. And then a giant Kong fighting one of the Dinosaurs would've been sweet. But oh well, I still really like what we got and I can't wait to ride it.

Side Note: I did not expect the quene to be so top-notch. I might just ride Kong for the quene!

Edit: This was not directed at any specific post, just the overall arguing that has been going on. Just wanted to clarify

Note: This is not directed at any specific post, just my two cents on the attraction and the thread that has spawned around it.

Thank you for this. I came to this thread to read reactions to the ride itself after having watched the POV video. What I got was a bunch of childish bickering and overly defensive responses to each new opinion, quite a few of which were logical and well thought out.

Many comments seem to say that the ride is impressive on some fronts (the queue, gate and Kong AA) and underwhelming on others (

Spoiler: Kong Details

possible over-use of screens, weak story and directly lifting Kong 360 from Hollywood

).

There is a very definitive difference between watching a YouTube video and experiencing an attraction in person. Personally, I was underwhelmed with the video; the unfortunate trend of Universal relying on screen-based simulators as the basis for their ride system continues here. What I'm most disappointed with is the elements that work are absolutely fantastic, regretfully bringing up direct comparison to the screens that make up the majority of the ride experience.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man works because it combines screens with physical sets seamlessly, sometimes going so far as to have the set react in time with the projected image - like when the animated Spidey jumps on the practical fire escape ladder and it moves. Escape from Gringotts' queue video with Bill and Griphook is a blast to watch because they interact with the physical desk, and the ride itself features projected actors running around on physical sets.

Spoiler: Kong Analysis

In my humble opinion, Kong's first two screen-based scenes seem to be a missed opportunity to take this technology to the next level - have the projection-based female tour guide fall into a practical pit with animatronic animals and interact with them instead of breaking the immersion that the queue and gate give the impression of creating (again, basing this on the YouTube video). The full-on 3-D doesn't need to be a thing until the 360 portion, which wouldn't be a shock to the eye if the previous two scenes would've slowly transitioned the experience from practical to 3-D more seamlessly.

Directly comparing Kong to attractions of a different genre like Ellen's Energy Adventure and Mission: Space is unfair. Kong seems to be a multimedia sensory experience, while Ellen is an edutainment environmental attraction with a distinct 90's flair... to put it nicely. M:S is a by-the-numbers motion simulator. The World Showcase movies are advertised as just that, movies. The only truly fair comparisons are to other attractions of this kind, like Shanghai's Pirates and Forbidden Journey, both of which use screens and practical sets to a thrilling and successful degree. The issue people are taking with Kong (again, based on a POV video because the ride just soft opened days ago) is that it doesn't combine these two disparate elements as well as those other two attractions as successfully. The question of whether or not Universal Orlando is overdoing it with screen-based attractions is moot. The point is that the use of screens doesn't seem fully justified for the beginning of the narrative presented.

Skull Island: Reign of Kong isn't a step backwards, but it also doesn't seem to be the revolutionary step forwards some were touting it to be. The hype train for this attraction was incredible, leading some people to be underwhelmed when it didn't live up to the rumors they'd heard (The animatronic Kong is 30 feet tall and chases your car! The attraction is ten minutes long!). Everyone will have an opinion of a ride that others won't share - that doesn't give others the right to attack them for expressing said opinion on a forum created for that exact purpose.

I look forward to experiencing Kong on my next visit to Universal Orlando, but based on the video I don't need to make a trip expressly to see it, unlike Diagon Alley and Forbidden Journey before it. The World of Pandora seems to be a well-designed and thought-out land in a resort complex that badly needs one. Star Wars Land will be a must-see for my inner child based on the promise of personally flying the Millennium Falcon. I am excited for any new attraction at either resort, because it fosters competition and the only true winners are consumers as these parks attempt to outdo each other. Sometimes Disney has the better overall attraction lineup, but other times Universal absolutely knocks it out of the park. I'm glad Universal Orlando has had a recent string of massive successes and is finally finding its footing to compete with the mouse, and look forward to what both companies will construct for our theme park dollar in the future.

 

[Mike S]

Note: This is not directed at any specific post, just my two cents on the attraction and the thread that has spawned around it.

Thank you for this. I came to this thread to read reactions to the ride itself after having watched the POV video. What I got was a bunch of childish bickering and overly defensive responses to each new opinion, quite a few of which were logical and well thought out.

Many comments seem to say that the ride is impressive on some fronts (the queue, gate and Kong AA) and underwhelming on others (possible over-use of screens, weak story and directly lifting Kong 360 from Hollywood).

There is a very definitive difference between watching a YouTube video and experiencing an attraction in person. Personally, I was underwhelmed with the video; the unfortunate trend of Universal relying on screen-based simulators as the basis for their ride system continues here. What I'm most disappointed with is the elements that work are absolutely fantastic, regretfully bringing up direct comparison to the screens that make up the majority of the ride experience.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man works because it combines screens with physical sets seamlessly, sometimes going so far as to have the set react in time with the projected image - like when the animated Spidey jumps on the practical fire escape ladder and it moves. Escape from Gringotts' queue video with Bill and Griphook is a blast to watch because they interact with the physical desk, and the ride itself features projected actors running around on physical sets. In my humble opinion, Kong's first two screen-based scenes seem to be a missed opportunity to take this technology to the next level - have the projection-based female tour guide fall into a practical pit with animatronic animals and interact with them instead of breaking the immersion that the queue and gate give the impression of creating (again, basing this on the YouTube video). The full-on 3-D doesn't need to be a thing until the 360 portion, which wouldn't be a shock to the eye if the previous two scenes would've slowly transitioned the experience from practical to 3-D more seamlessly.

Directly comparing Kong to attractions of a different genre like Ellen's Energy Adventure and Mission: Space is unfair. Kong seems to be a multimedia sensory experience, while Ellen is an edutainment environmental attraction with a distinct 90's flair... to put it nicely. M:S is a by-the-numbers motion simulator. The World Showcase movies are advertised as just that, movies. The only truly fair comparisons are to other attractions of this kind, like Shanghai's Pirates and Forbidden Journey, both of which use screens and practical sets to a thrilling and successful degree. The issue people are taking with Kong (again, based on a POV video because the ride just soft opened days ago) is that it doesn't combine these two disparate elements as well as those other two attractions as successfully. The question of whether or not Universal Orlando is overdoing it with screen-based attractions is moot. The point is that the use of screens doesn't seem fully justified for the beginning of the narrative presented.

Skull Island: Reign of Kong isn't a step backwards, but it isn't the revolutionary step forwards that some people were touting it to be. The hype train for this attraction was incredible, leading some people to be underwhelmed when it didn't live up to the rumors they'd heard (The animatronic Kong is 30 feet tall and chases your car! The attraction is ten minutes long!). Everyone will have an opinion of a ride that others won't share - that doesn't give others the right to attack them for expressing said opinion on a forum created for that exact purpose.

I look forward to experiencing Kong on my next visit to Universal Orlando, but based on the video I don't need to make a trip expressly to see it, unlike Diagon Alley and Forbidden Journey before it. The World of Pandora seems to be a well-designed and thought-out land in a resort complex that badly needs one. Star Wars Land will be a must-see for my inner child based on the promise of personally flying the Millennium Falcon. I am excited for any new attraction at either resort, because it fosters competition and the only true winners are consumers as these parks attempt to outdo each other. Sometimes Disney has the better overall attraction lineup, but other times Universal absolutely knocks it out of the park. I'm glad Universal Orlando has had a recent string of massive successes and is finally finding its footing to compete with the mouse, and look forward to what both companies will construct for our theme park dollar in the future.

I started reading through your post but had to stop at a certain part. Please put specific details behind a spoiler tag.

 

[Finn273]

I started reading through your post but had to stop at a certain part. Please put specific details behind a spoiler tag.

Sorry about that - change made!