ORLANDO — Guests at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure
are beginning to experience the new “Skull Island: Reign of Kong” attraction.
The ride, which takes visitors into King Kong’s island home
on a trackless, self-navigating 17-ton truck, has been in soft opening for
approximately two weeks, Universal representatives said during a media preview
of ride Thursday. As such, park goers have had sporadic chances to try it out,
but not on a regular schedule. Universal hasn’t revealed a date for a full
opening, saying only that it will be sometime this summer.
The ride is likely to make waves when it does open. It
starts with a brief drive outside before riders arrive on Skull Island through
a 72-foot-tall gate.
The gate is impressive enough that as I stood outside “Reign
of Kong” on Thursday afternoon I overheard a passerby make reference to it
while noting how “awesome” the entire exterior of the attraction is.
Once inside that gate, riders are treated to a
horseshoe-shaped 3D screen that is the largest at Universal Orlando.
Immediately, they are immersed into the 6-minute ride’s storyline, in which
they are on Skull Island to help with a 1931 expedition.
But this being a King Kong ride, that expedition doesn’t go
smoothly. Suddenly, prehistoric animals surround the expedition truck. Ancient
raptors, giant crustaceans, enormous bugs and, of course, dinosaurs, descend
from all sides. In brilliant 3D they reach for the vehicle. Behind them unfold
wide shots of the tropical green mountains of Skull Island.
The film’s special
effects are good enough that in a post-ride question-and-answer session between
the media and Reign of Kong producer Adam Rivest, one reporter asked if the
human characters who are part of the expedition were played by actual people.
Rivest’s answer was no.
As Reign of Kong unfolds, the truck bounces and jerks while
it drives along the road. At one point, water droplets spray into the vehicle,
making the attraction four-dimensional. Throughout, the action is immersive
enough that it’s impossible to see all that is happening. Action plays out to
the right and to the left of the vehicle, meaning that riders can go through
Skull Island several times without having the same experience.
Eventually, the misunderstood hero, King Kong himself,
appears to take on and beat back the attacking dinosaurs.
Skulls in the queue for the "Skull Island" ride. Photo Credit: Robert Silk
His job complete, the ride ends with King Kong standing near
the truck while its driver (a character rather than an actual driver) tells
passengers not to look the ape in the eye. Rivest said his team worked
diligently on the King Kong graphic to make sure its details would portray the
ape’s emotions.
Both Rivest and Mike West, designer of the Skull Island
ride, also said the Universal team put as much effort into the lengthy ride
queue as they put into the ride itself.
Among its highlights are 150,000 square feet of hand-carved
stonework, which took 70,000 man-hours to make. While waiting, guests will encounter
an aging Skull Island native speaking its local tongue, but in ominous tones.
Though most of the words aren’t recognizable, one is.
“Kong,” she intones.