Skull Island: Reign of Kong Ride Construction Update
KONG IS COMING! The all new immersive ride has been under construction for quite some time now, but is on schedule to debut at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure in 2016. The new attraction will take riders into the jungle island home of the gargantuan beast rather than the streets of civilization.
Universal has worked with Peter Jackson on the story and look of the new attraction, but the backstory of Skull Island: Reign of Kong won’t be based on the director’s 2005 film, or the 1933 original, or the 2017 prequel.
Mike West, executive producer of Universal Creative said “the new attraction will transport guests to King Kong’s homeland, Skull Island“. He continued that “It’s always been that model of monkey comes across the ocean, he’s in New York, look what happens, but now we’re taking you to where he is, and he’s the king. He controls everything here.”
Universal Orlando officials said the new Skull Island attraction will be more advanced and immersive than the previous Kong attractions combining massive 3D screens, larger-than-life physical sets, and huge animatronic figures.
During our recent visit to Islands of Adventure, scaffolding surrounded the towering Skull Island ride building located between Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park as crews continued to work on the new attraction. Right now, an amazing, yet unpainted, Kong face is carved into the front of the entrance of the attraction (shown in construction photos below).
Take a look at how Skull Island: Reign of Kong is coming together in the construction video and photos below:
Reign of Kong will debut as a multi-dimensional, multi-sensory and multi-experiential dark ride. The backstory of Skull Island: Reign of Kong starts in the attraction queue. Riders are enlisted to help a group of explorers on a 1930s jungle expedition searching for some legendary prehistoric creatures.
Traveling by foot through the queue, riders traverse a mysterious island jungle, pass through ancient temples and fend off hostile natives. Throughout the queue, cryptic messages hint at a monster that the visitors will soon encounter.
At an outdoor loading station, riders board a large safari type vehicle that seats approximately 25 people in a caged cargo area with a canopied roof. The six-wheeled off-road vehicles are designed to handle the rough terrain of Skull Island and protect passengers from lurking predators.
As the expedition approaches a 70-foot-tall stone wall, wooden temple doors swing open and the vehicle enters the attraction building amid burning cauldrons and spiked skulls. Inside the building, the vehicles enter a highly themed series of caves, caverns and chasms crawling with prehistoric creatures. Eventually King Kong fights off the predators, allowing the riders to barely escape.
It’s almost time for the park to officially go BANANAS!
Construction Photos 11/20/15:
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