Wednesday, May 20, 2009

New King Kong attraction coming at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2010



Marc Graser from Variety announced that Universal Studios will host in 2010 a brand new King Kong high-tech attraction on the backlot tram tour.

So, Universal Studios is finally bringing back the famous King Kong attraction, and the new one will be inspired by Peter Jackson version, and in 3D! Here is Mark's article:

King Kong may have been a casualty of the devastating fire that destroyed part of Universal Studios' backlot in Hollywood last year, but the big ape's being resurrected in 2010 as a signature attraction for the theme park.

New version will be based on Peter Jackson's redo from 2005 and use high-tech wizardry to re-create elements from the film for riders of the park's backlot tram tour.

Guests will wear 3-D glasses as they travel through Skull Island and encounter a swarm of monstrous bats before winding up in the middle of a fight between King Kong and a 35-foot-tall dinosaur.

Kong, which will utilize what U calls "the world's largest Surround Digital projection system," will be introduced in summer 2010. Expect a major promotional push around the attraction's return to boost ticket sales.

The previous attraction, introduced in 1986, was loosely based on the 1976 pic that mostly took place in New York City. That Kong had been one of the backlot tour's biggest draws until last year's fire.

"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," said Larry Kurzweil, prexy and chief operating officer of Universal Studios Hollywood. "Not only are we reintroducing King Kong, but we've completely reimagined the experience and will incorporate this legendary icon into a truly innovative studio tour attraction."

King Kong is the latest in a series of enhancements to U's Hollywood park.

Company recently overhauled its trams with high-definition flatscreen monitors and digital playback systems that feature commentary from Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Stephen Sommers on filmmaking.

Studio tours will also resume this summer through a rebuilt Courthouse Square, Brownstone Street and an enhanced New York Street, as well as a new cityscape setting built since the blaze.

Text: copyright Marc Grazer and Variety.com

Picture: copyright Universal

3 comments:

Kevin Bruehl said...

I really can't wait to see the big ape return. This new attractions sounds really exciting. I've heard that they were rebuilding him into a straight through attraction like Earthquake and ending with the famous New York sequence with Kong in all his 30 foot tall animatronic glory. Maybe Kong and the t-rex could be animatronic figures, though its' fantastic that they'll finish with the famous New York set. This is one of the most famous sets and attractions in the world and one of my most favorite at Universal, and I can't wait to see the new Transformers attraction coming in 2011.

Gilad said...

sounds great! :)

Jason Rasmussen said...

3D glasses really are the trend with rides today. Kinda wished a new robot figure would replace it instead.