The King Kong soundstage approach on Universal's revamped backlot tram tour.
Like King Kong himself, Universal Studio Hollywood’s new addition featuring the giant legend is so big and awesome it deserves its own ride.
I went to the premiere of Peter Jackson’s “King Kong 360 3-D” pretty excited. I loved the idea that this was an alternate universe where Kong hadn’t been captured, put on display, and then murdered for being an untamed, misunderstood “beast”. So I nearly did a back flip when it was explained by Peter Jackson and the attraction’s creators that King Kong did not die in the fire that day, but rather he escaped.
The creators behind this attraction loved Kong so much, they too hated the thought he was no longer physically with us. This little touch is so sweet and lovely that the attraction itself could’ve just been King Kong sitting in a field sniffing posies and picking spurs out of his fur, and I would’ve been happy. But this is Peter Jackson, folks. Jackson is one of those rare visionaries who can make you forget the your own world during the brief time spent in his.
Is Peter Jackson’s “King Kong 360 3-D” a game changer? Yes. Does it reach it’s full potential? Yes and no. It is a remarkable experience. A true assault on the senses. An incredible 3 minute escape. And it truly is an escape worthy of another chapter in Kong lore. It’s also a taste of what’s to come in the world of 3-D/theme park entertainment.
My big problem with the attraction is that it’s just one part of a larger attraction- the tram tour. Something like “King Kong 360 3-D” deserves to stand on it’s own. It deserves it’s own attraction. I understand why it’s part of the tram tour, I just want more of a great thing.
Hopefully, down the line, they’ll give it the treatment they gave “Spider Man” at Universal Islands of Adventure. Or even, the incredible “Simpson’s Ride” just an escalator (or 4) ride up the hill from Kong. I would love to see some sort of interactive boat ride that incorporates a longer King Kong adventure that includes this 3 minute film. I’m just nit picking. Again, I loved every second of the attraction. Peter Jackson and his team have put it all up on the 16 enormous screens.
Now for the specifics of the ride itself – spoilers ahead!
As you enter an enormous soundstage resembling Skull Island, riders are asked to put their 3-D glasses on. All of a sudden, you are in the middle of a beautiful, tangled jungle with velociraptor looking creatures running alongside the tram. Next that scary as hell t-rex from Jackson’s 2005 “King Kong” shows up on the driver’s side of the tram. (I forgot the name Jackson gave this Skull Island evolved dino. Z-rex? I don’t remember.) The t-rex messes with our tram for a bit until we hear a loud roar from the passenger’s side of the tram. After some rustling of trees, KONG EMERGES!
I love it when a movie, or any experience for that matter, inspires me to cheer uncontrollably. That’s exactly what happened when our friend King Kong showed up. Kong leaps up and swings from a vine over our tram. He must use the tram as a spring board because you can hear and feel him as he passes over us. Awesome! He engages the dino in fight that takes them all over and around our tram. At one point, the dino takes the last car of the tram and pulls it off a cliff sending the whole tram into an entanglement of vines. Then our hero Kong swings in to swing us to safety. Kong defeats the dino and let’s us know who’s king of the island. The end!
My first thought after the ride was “I need to do this again. From another seat on the tram.” See, the genius of this attraction is you get a different experience depending on where you sit. The details that I noticed where I was sitting are different than what someone a few cars down saw. The action takes turns reaching each part of the tram, so there really is no bad seat. I just wonder what my next experience on the ride will be like. Can’t wait to find out.
As for this experience, the highlight was seeing King Kong make yet another grand entry. It was great to be reacquainted with my old friend and cheer him on once again…from the “King Kong seat”.
