King Kong is set to appear in 4D form on the newly upgraded Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tour, starting summer 2010.
Based on King Kong in the Oscar-winning 2005 film, the new attraction is expected to become a signature feature of the park and will combine thrilling visceral effects with the world’s largest surround digital projection system to create a “next-generation theme park experience.”
“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,” says Larry Kurzweil, the park’s president and chief operating officer.
In the new attraction, guests will don special glasses as they enter a darkened soundstage aboard Studio Tour trams to be transported via projection technology deep into the heart of 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 35ft-tall dinosaur will challenge Kong, and guests will feel their trams jolt, roll and shudder as they are caught in the middle of a ferocious showdown between the great ape and the giant lizard.
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 by the fire last year. Recently Huss Park Attractions and Heimo Animated Attractions teamed up to introduce a King Kong ride at two parks in Europe, but Universal Studios’ multimedia attraction is likely to offer a particular highlight.
Since first appearing on the silver screen in 1933, King Kong has been re-made twice, each time on a tremendous scale, earning a total of seven Oscar and three Golden Globe nominations. The 2005 production was the fourth-highest grossing movie in Universal Pictures’ history.
