King Kong Speculation Thread

[natespf]

I wouldn't say that, AAs age as well (JP, Most of fantasy land, every Epcot AA)

That is true, I did not mean to say that they do not age at all. Just generally more gracefully.

If they continue to keep a balance it should stay less noticeable as things do become dated.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

AAs don't age well at all. The JPRA AAs haven't been around 20 years and they are starting to look bad. Most of the ET AAs look horrible and the ride is in desperate need of a refrub. The Imhotep AA looks like poo and doesn't work half the time. I think MIB is Universal's best feat with AAs, but even then most of them don't have much movement. I'm not saying AAs are bad, but I just think they've become incredibly overrated. I'm just tired of people ragging on these new screen based attractions while putting robots of characters that barely move on a pedestal.

 

[aheying7]

I am convinced that this is the big project for NEXT year that they have planned. It makes sense as an anniversary tribute to open next year.

 

[Cole]

I am convinced that this is the big project for NEXT year that they have planned. It makes sense as an anniversary tribute to open next year.

I'm certain this will be it too, hell construction is probably gonna start later this week

 

[aheying7]

I'm certain this will be it too, hell construction is probably gonna start later this week

Man oh man. The speed with which Universal is pumping out e-tickets is incredible.

 

[Cole]

Man oh man. The speed with which Universal is pumping out e-tickets is incredible.

It is isn't it? I predict by the end of the decade universal will have as much big boy rides as disney's entire resort

 

[Vyrus]

Actually Kongstruction has already started.

Look up TouringPlans on twitter for pics :thumbs:

Full vertical construction should be sometime in the next week or so.

 

[Cole]

Actually Kongstruction has already started.

Look up TouringPlans on twitter for pics :thumbs:

Full vertical construction should be sometime in the next week or so.

Yeah that's what I meant thanks. Man I just want to see that facade so badly, I wonder when we will look at it and just say "that's kong"

 

[UNIrd]

Another vote for AAs. It's just not an experience that can be replicated. Now it's getting to the point where we have D-Box in several theaters in the area. If you want big 3D screens with moving seats and a few effects, you don't have to go very far anymore.

 

[darkridelover]

There are giant and very scary AA's in the new Kong Ride! You won't be disappointed!!!

 

[Cole]

There are giant and very scary AA's in the new Kong Ride! You won't be disappointed!!!

Exactly, kong will be the best of both worlds and we will get both screens and big AAs. The hype level is through the roof for me

 

[AK-Jake]

Meanwhile at the Studios, we have 5 3D attractions - and counting! 7 across the resort (with Kong) just seems too high.

Expensive to maintain? Who gives a crap? That's the company's problem, not yours. I'm so sick of excusing corporate decision making because it makes monetary sense for them - demand more, not less, don't justify their cost cutting measures by being over reliant on screens. Bad AAs will never be impressive, but good AAs have proven to stand the test of time - see The Wicked Witch, Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain, SIR/Sarge, T-Rex, etc... Nothing will ever compare to a physical, tangible creature in front of you, no matter how great the 3D is or how well it's hidden in the set.

Someone recently made a great comparison between Universal's screen obsession and the CGI craziness of the late 90s, early 2000s. Suddenly we had the technology to literally make anything happen on the screen via CGI, just as we can now create virtually any environment with any special effect if we envelop you with 3D screens. But just because you can, doesn't mean you should... the mind and the rider gets a whole lot more out of a complicated series of effects executed in different ways (this is why Jurassic Park still holds up, SFX-wise, today, ditto with Haunted Mansion in the attraction medium) than a bunch of "crazy things" happening clearly under the guise of a 3D screen.

Again, I believe Spider-Man represents the peak of the format. Gringotts may prove to be the exception given its crazy new ride system - but even then, I think the praise should be lavished on the system, not the show elements, as have some here and elsewhere have lamented (though we will see).

Universal needs to be reminded to exercise restraint when designing its attractions. Just because you can show a full-on battle of Kong fighting three enormous dinosaurs in front of you in 4K 3D, doesn't mean you should. The mind numbs to that after a while and it ceases to be exciting, the mind no longer engaged in a disbelief of "how did they do that!?" You're just watching a movie with some motion to match. Sometimes a ride through a fully-realized jungle, with some brief animatronic encounters with a live T-Rex before encountering Kong in the aftermath of the fight, will be far more effective... the power of suggestion shouldn't be forgotten.

Thank God, someone who still "gets it." :smiley: Well said! And no, I don't mean that as an insult to anyone...everyone has their own opinion of what they prefer. I agree with everything Fallow said and I wish Universal would follow it once in a while. While screens are the future of theme park attractions, I certainly don't want EVERY ONE to be a screen-based 3D ride. The first couple were REALLY COOL...but they're growing increasingly "meh" to me. I'd like to see a return to the more classic sets/AAs/props for an attraction or two. Who knows, maybe we'll get this in the future?

Regarding the whole sets vs. screens debate, I wonder if some of it may be a generational thing...the folks who grew up BEFORE the time of modern screen-based attractions prefer the older way things were done (sets/AAs, etc.), whereas the younger techie/video game generation who grew up with more advanced technology prefers the new screens? I'm a child of the 80s, so while I've grown into the modern technology, I wasn't born with it all around me. As such, I prefer the older-style attractions in dark rides, because they remind me of what dazzled me during my childhood. I missed out on USF's Kongfrontation, but I saw him on the Hollywood Studio Tour. HE ROCKED...even if he WAS old and slow! Seeing him "in the flesh" so to speak was MUCH more exciting to me than seeing him on a screen. If I want to see him on a screen, I'll watch the movie!

Anyway, to each their own. I'll reserve judgement on the new Kong attraction til I ride it. Bring on the expansion, Baby!

 

[RonaldsModernLife]

Regarding the whole sets vs. screens debate, I wonder if some of it may be a generational thing...the folks who grew up BEFORE the time of modern screen-based attractions prefer the older way things were done (sets/AAs, etc.), whereas the younger techie/video game generation who grew up with more advanced technology prefers the new screens?

What's the cut off for being too young to prefer the sets? As a 23 year old (1990! woo), I would love for theme parks to hit the pause button on screen based attractions. I agree with Fallow that we should demand more and not just settle for screens because it's cheaper for the company. At the same time, I just don't see the return of attractions like Kong, Jaws, MIB and ET. I would love for screens to be used to do the impossible, like having physical trees set up in front of a screen displaying a jungle landscape, to make it appear that the world you're in is endless. What I'm really getting tired of is 3D glasses. 3D never, never feels real to me. If done well, mixing practical with screens to create a bigger space, especially if the screen is large and in 4-16K, it would create a real illusion without needing 3D.

 

[Cole]

It's definitely not a generational thing, I'm probably younger than all of you yet I prefer AAs over screens. I'm just down for a good ride screens or not. Maybe I'm the off one here but I'll take whatever tells the story better

 

[Lucky Planet]

AAs don't age well at all. The JPRA AAs haven't been around 20 years and they are starting to look bad. Most of the ET AAs look horrible and the ride is in desperate need of a refrub. The Imhotep AA looks like poo and doesn't work half the time. I think MIB is Universal's best feat with AAs, but even then most of them don't have much movement. I'm not saying AAs are bad, but I just think they've become incredibly overrated. I'm just tired of people ragging on these new screen based attractions while putting robots of characters that barely move on a pedestal.

Okay Imagine Jurassic Park being a 3D ride, then Imagine Men In Black Also being a 3D ride,

Then Imagine Pirates of the Caribbean, Dinosaur, Would 3D screens make those rides better??? Imagine if JAWS was 3D and you never saw the real shark at all......

The more I think about it the more I am starting to hate 3D rides. Universal could just build simulators like Mission Space and NOT worry about sets or tracks or anything. Just put a bunch of people inside a box and make a video for the simulation.

That would be so much cheaper than making a ride like Transformers with sets. If the Future is 3D screens then I would say just make the rides faster and forget about creating sets. Just build a bunch of simulators all over the park lol

 

[DufflesMcGee]

A balance of AA's, screens and sets would be fantastic. Personally, I think that going from AA's, to Screens, to AA kong scene, Back to Screens and finally an AA kong would be perfect

 

[Milla4Prez66]

Okay Imagine Jurassic Park being a 3D ride, then Imagine Men In Black Also being a 3D ride,

Then Imagine Pirates of the Caribbean, Dinosaur, Would 3D screens make those rides better??? Imagine if JAWS was 3D and you never saw the real shark at all......

The more I think about it the more I am starting to hate 3D rides. Universal could just build simulators like Mission Space and NOT worry about sets or tracks or anything. Just put a bunch of people inside a box and make a video for the simulation.

That would be so much cheaper than making a ride like Transformers with sets. If the Future is 3D screens then I would say just make the rides faster and forget about creating sets. Just build a bunch of simulators all over the park lol

I'm not saying every ride needs screens. There are plenty of good rides that use one or the other, or both (like this new Kong ride). I'm just tired of people ragging on screens and praising AAs as the gods of theme park attractions. Give me a break, with the exception of MiB all the Universal Orlando rides that feature AAs are some of the worst in the resort in my opinion. Some rides like POTC are classic, but that doesn't make every AA ride awesome. That Little Mermaid ride at Magic Kingdom is full of AAs and it's crap. Let's not act like Universal is just making 3D clone rides across the park either, almost every ride they do recently is pushing new boundaries. Transformers is a bit of an exception since it's almost a clone of Spider-Man, but you have to remember it wasn't designed with a Florida version in mind, it was for Hollywood and Singapore who would never see Spidey. Gringotts is going to push the limits of theme park attractions and so will this Kong ride because it WILL feature unique AAs and 3D screens. Universal is pushing the limits and creating new exciting attractions every year, we should be praising them not ragging on them for not creating a bunch of Disneyesque slow moving dark rides full of robots with very little motion.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I'm not saying every ride needs screens. There are plenty of good rides that use one or the other, or both (like this new Kong ride). I'm just tired of people ragging on screens and praising AAs as the gods of theme park attractions. Give me a break, with the exception of MiB all the Universal Orlando rides that feature AAs are some of the worst in the resort in my opinion. Some rides like POTC are classic, but that doesn't make every AA ride awesome. That Little Mermaid ride at Magic Kingdom is full of AAs and it's crap. Let's not act like Universal is just making 3D clone rides across the park either, almost every ride they do recently is pushing new boundaries. Transformers is a bit of an exception since it's almost a clone of Spider-Man, but you have to remember it wasn't designed with a Florida version in mind, it was for Hollywood and Singapore who would never see Spidey. Gringotts is going to push the limits of theme park attractions and so will this Kong ride because it WILL feature unique AAs and 3D screens. Universal is pushing the limits and creating new exciting attractions every year, we should be praising them not ragging on them for not creating a bunch of Disneyesque slow moving dark rides full of robots with very little motion.

Would the Little Mermaid ride be better with 3D Screens??? That's my question. Would it be better if it was the same ride but had a bunch of screens for you?
I don't know but for me a bad AA is better than a screen. If I wanted to look at screens all day I would go to Imax and save myself the money of the Uni ticket.

And yes, Universal is not full of 3D rides..... Yet. But how long is it going to be until they are?
how long will it be until screens start to show up at HHN instead of props or actors? why hire actors if you could just put some screens here and there

 

[Milla4Prez66]

Would the Little Mermaid ride be better with 3D Screens??? That's my question. Would it be better if it was the same ride but had a bunch of screens for you?
I don't know but for me a bad AA is better than a screen. If I wanted to look at screens all day I would go to Imax and save myself the money of the Uni ticket.

Maybe it would, since the ride in it's current state is a snoozefest and has even been crapped on by some major Disney fans. My cousin is a stereotype pixie duster and hates it. If you'd rather go to IMAX than Universal than go ahead please, help make the parks emptier for me to enjoy.

And yes, Universal is not full of 3D rides..... Yet. But how long is it going to be until they are?
how long will it be until screens start to show up at HHN instead of props or actors? why hire actors if you could just put some screens here and there

They aren't stupid and not everything they do will be 3D from now on. Kong will feature AAs so I don't get the whining, but it is almost impossible to get the experience they are looking for with solely AAs on this ride. The AAs I saw around Diagon Alley were neat too. Universal will continue adding unique and cool attractions going forward and I'm confident in that. Not everything will be screen related, but not everything will be slow moving rides to look at robots either. Universal's latest attractions (FJ, Transformers, Gringotts) have been praised worldwide as some of the best theme park attractions built but I guess we'd rather just have stuff like Little Mermaid instead.

 

[UNIrd]

I'm not saying every ride needs screens. There are plenty of good rides that use one or the other, or both (like this new Kong ride). I'm just tired of people ragging on screens and praising AAs as the gods of theme park attractions. Give me a break, with the exception of MiB all the Universal Orlando rides that feature AAs are some of the worst in the resort in my opinion. Some rides like POTC are classic, but that doesn't make every AA ride awesome. That Little Mermaid ride at Magic Kingdom is full of AAs and it's crap. Let's not act like Universal is just making 3D clone rides across the park either, almost every ride they do recently is pushing new boundaries. Transformers is a bit of an exception since it's almost a clone of Spider-Man, but you have to remember it wasn't designed with a Florida version in mind, it was for Hollywood and Singapore who would never see Spidey. Gringotts is going to push the limits of theme park attractions and so will this Kong ride because it WILL feature unique AAs and 3D screens. Universal is pushing the limits and creating new exciting attractions every year, we should be praising them not ragging on them for not creating a bunch of Disneyesque slow moving dark rides full of robots with very little motion.

I agree to an extent but you also have to consider what's good for the parks and the resort and it should be a variety of attractions. I don't think they should further cement themselves as the screen guys with newer output.