NEWS: King Kong Re-Emerges in a New 4-D Attraction in 2010

[Airtime&Gravity]

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--King Kong, among the screen’s most powerful and enduring icons, will re-emerge on the famed and newly upgraded Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour in summer 2010 as a thrilling and ground-breaking 4-D multi-sensory marvel, a new signature attraction for Universal Studios Hollywood.

The new King Kong attraction, based on the Oscar®-winning 2005 Universal Pictures film, will combine thrilling visceral effects with the world’s largest Surround Digital projection system to create a next-generation theme park experience.

 

Larry Kurzweil, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Studios Hollywood, said: “King Kong has been an integral part of Universal Studios Hollywood for decades and, after last year’s fire, we knew he had to be resurrected for our Studio Tour guests. We’re very excited to announce that not only are we re-introducing King Kong, but we’ve completely re-imagined the experience and will incorporate this legendary icon into a truly innovative Studio Tour attraction.”

 

In the new attraction, guests will don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard the Studio Tour trams and will be transported — via the magic of Surround Digital 3D projection — deep into the dark heart of the world of Skull Island. They’ll survive a close encounter with a swarm of monstrous bats, only to be confronted by the terrifying presence of Kong himself. Suddenly, an enormous, ravenous 35’ tall dinosaur will challenge Kong, and guests will feel their trams jolt, roll and shudder as they find themselves caught in the middle of a ferocious showdown between the great ape and the giant lizard. The action will immerse guests in the battle between the two colossal predators.

 

A previous King Kong attraction was introduced at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1986 and remained a much-admired part of the Studio Tour until it was destroyed last year.

 

King Kong, known as “the eighth wonder of the world,” has been called “the experience for which movies were invented.” Since first appearing on the screen in the 1933 original classic, “King Kong” has been re-made twice, each time on a tremendous scale, earning a total of seven Oscar and three Golden Globe® nominations.

 

Most recently, the 2005 version took the best elements of the original “King Kong” story and adrenalized them with up-to-the-minute effects magic and the alchemic talents of a superlative group of filmmakers, cast and crew. Released to critical acclaim in late 2005, “King Kong” was a worldwide box office hit and, with DVD sales, earned well over $700 million, becoming the fourth-highest grossing movie in Universal Pictures history.

 

The arrival of the new King Kong experience will follow major enhancements to the Studio Tour. Universal Studios Hollywood will introduce an upgraded Studio Tour experience this summer, transforming its trams into “mobile movie theaters” with state-of-the-art flat-screen high-definition monitors and digital playback systems. The new high-definition monitors will feature commentary from filmmakers, including Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Stephen Sommers, along with insight from such personalities as Al Roker, Nancy O’Dell, Billy Bush and Whoopi Goldberg. Clips from numerous movie and television productions, corresponding to sites visited along the Tour route, will add a new dimension to the tour of backlot attractions, sets and facades, capturing how they were transformed for various productions.

 

Famed film locations on the Universal back lot include the “War of the Worlds” set, Western Streets, European Street, Mexican Street, the Psycho House-Bates Motel, and sets from ABC’s hit series “Desperate Housewives” on Wisteria Lane. Back lot attractions include “Earthquake,” “Jaws,” “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift” and “The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb.”

 

Also this summer, Universal Studios welcomes the “The Tonight Show Starring Conan O’Brien” to a newly constructed soundstage at the studio and will celebrate the re-opening of most of the iconic sets damaged in last year’s fire. Studio tours and film production will resume at the world-famous Courthouse Square, Brownstone Street and an enhanced New York Street. Additionally, new film locations will be introduced to meet contemporary film production needs, including a modern urban cityscape, with glass and steel façade structures that will provide film and TV crews with the opportunity to replicate a modern city street scene in a controlled studio environment. The new contemporary cityscape will be the largest modern urban backlot shooting location in Los Angeles.

 

Universal Studios Hollywood (http://www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com) is a unit of Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

 

 

Link

Edited June 26, 2010 by jedimaster1227

[ghost007jas]

So is this a brand new attraction? Or just another stop on the tram route? I'm leaning towards the latter, but I'm just not positive.

 

Either way, this sounds fantastic! I'm looking forward to the kind of awesome animatronics they'll have going for a ride like this.

[gotdane]

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

In the new attraction, guests will don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard the Studio Tour trams and will be transported — via the magic of Surround Digital 3D projection — deep into the dark heart of the world of Skull Island.

 

So...It's a new part of the Tram Tour. Sounds pretty awesome, though.

[rpdonald]

This sounds like alot of fun! It broke my heart when I heard that the fire destroyed all that cinematic history.

[UberBeavis]

There's no animatronics in this - it's 3d video.

[ghost007jas]

...My bad.

 

I was never good at reading press releases.

[brandon]

There's no animatronics in this - it's 3d video.

Please say that isn't true. That would suck so bad!

[robbalvey]

^ 100% true. It uses the same technology used in Universal Orlando's Disaster pre-show.

 

--Robb

[brandon]

Man that sucks, I've always liked animatronics more than 4D shows, but whatever I'm sure it won't be too bad.

[coasterguy4]

They are making it sound like they are redoing the actual trams as well. Can anyone confirm this?

[scotchTAPE]

im curious, they said "In the new attraction, guests will don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard the Studio Tour trams and. . ."

 

does this mean they will stop the studio tram and hand each person 3/4-D glasses? or does this mean glasses will be provided before hand before guests board the tram. makes me worried and curious because due to the fact that some portions of the tour are rather boring and i guarantee people will be messing around with the glasses and probably drop them or something.

[aj2009]

^ 100% true. It uses the same technology used in Universal Orlando's Disaster pre-show.

 

--Robb

 

I've lurked here for a long time but wanted to reply to this comment, so I finally actually registered.

 

Robb, you are completely incorrect on your assumption that the King Kong tram tour stop uses the same technology used in Disaster's preshow. Kong is not musion at all. Kong is all 3D - no different than T23D/Shrek/Spider-Man/etc.

 

This will actually require every rider on the tram to put on 3D glasses for that scene. Awkward, but true. I worked on this project during it's development. It's uh, interesting.

[aj2009]

They are making it sound like they are redoing the actual trams as well. Can anyone confirm this?

 

 

Not at all. Just nice fancy flat screen HD monitors and such in the existing trams.

[Top Thrill Dragster]

Disappointing.

 

Oh well, better than dancing cars.

[coasterguy4]

im curious, they said "In the new attraction, guests will don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard the Studio Tour trams and. . ."

 

does this mean they will stop the studio tram and hand each person 3/4-D glasses? or does this mean glasses will be provided before hand before guests board the tram. makes me worried and curious because due to the fact that some portions of the tour are rather boring and i guarantee people will be messing around with the glasses and probably drop them or something.

 

I think it all depends on how soon the 3-D glasses are needed, because there is no way some people will be able to hold onto the glasses with dropping, throwing, or play catch with them for 40 minutes.

[JT3000]

Sounds really lame. I'm tired of this screen-based crap replacing good old robotics. It's not going to have the same impact at all.

[musicmand]

This sounds like alot of fun! It broke my heart when I heard that the fire destroyed all that cinematic history.

 

My wife and I went on the tram tour at around 4pm. Park closed at 6. At 10, it was ablaze. I figure after tens of thousands of people saw King Kong at USH, we were within the last couple hundred people to ever experience it.

[ghost007jas]

^ I rode at around the same time that you did on the same day. It's really eerie to think that I was one of the last few hundred people to ever see him :/. I'm glad that I was able to catch it on video though!

 

Edit: Here's my video. I didn't want to further go off topic with another post .

 

[JT3000]

At least you didn't know it was "the end" while you were experiencing it. I remember my last ride on Kongfrontation at USF. I looked back at the bridge Kong with his arm waving back and forth. It was like the ape was saying goodbye.

[musicmand]

Here are the only two pictures I have of Kong on his final fateful day. You can imagine how shocked we were when we woke up at my cousin's place in San Diego the next morning and saw the news. Crazy.

[DBJ]

That sounds interesting. Curious how they are going to handle the sight line issues for people sitting in the middle of the tram. The tram seating doesn't seem to lend itself to an unrestricted view of the filmed segments.

[**McFly**]

Hmm might be kinda of cool to see. Can't be worse than stage 55 can it?

[coolcalicoaster]

^ 100% true. It uses the same technology used in Universal Orlando's Disaster pre-show.

 

--Robb

 

I've lurked here for a long time but wanted to reply to this comment, so I finally actually registered.

 

Robb, you are completely incorrect on your assumption that the King Kong tram tour stop uses the same technology used in Disaster's preshow. Kong is not musion at all. Kong is all 3D - no different than T23D/Shrek/Spider-Man/etc.

 

This will actually require every rider on the tram to put on 3D glasses for that scene. Awkward, but true. I worked on this project during it's development. It's uh, interesting.

 

That is pretty cool you had a part in this! What were you actually a part of during the development?

[xxmat2]

Maybe they should change there minds and not do it on screens, keep the theme there planning but with animatronics, why give 3d glasses for a studio that might last maybe 2-3 mins, I say build a couple more stages for the glasses if there going to do this. perhaps make the Mummy stage 3d as well and or earthquake...

[King_K.]

Little promo pic...?