Skull Island: Reign of Kong - Reviews, Photos, and Videos
- Thread starter Parkscope Joe
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They were open today, but had lots of down time between 5 and 7.
Went through the singles line and ended up getting evac'd on the first truck with people on it after about ~20 minutes of it being down.
For what it's worth ( I'm not sure if anyone has said definitively ) it seems like they have at least 4 trucks now. There was the one I was evac'd off of, one at loading, one half way into unload, and one docked in what looked like a maintenance station behind unload.
Went through the singles line and ended up getting evac'd on the first truck with people on it after about ~20 minutes of it being down.
For what it's worth ( I'm not sure if anyone has said definitively ) it seems like they have at least 4 trucks now. There was the one I was evac'd off of, one at loading, one half way into unload, and one docked in what looked like a maintenance station behind unload.
I used my GAP for soft opening of transformers, however I had the higher level one that they don't give out often. I am not sure if the return time one works during softs. It is worth a shot to ask. Make sure they know it is GA. Because the guy at first said no express, but when I said is was the GAP express he let me in the express line.
Wheelchairs do not get you a GA pass. Many people have wheelchairs and get zero special treatment. You have to have a real reason to get a GA pass. Like for my son he could not be in the heat long periods of time and had a vent and feeding tube. So we couldn't be in lines too long because he would need a feeding or meds that would be difficult in lines. But when my mom hurt her knee and had a wheelchair or my friend broke her foot, no GA pass was given since we can physically wait in any line.
- Feb 8, 2010
- 12
- 5
Rode it tonight, we ended up waiting 2 1/2 hours with most of that being downtime it seems. The ride is very well done, and the queue (witch room) is amazingly fun.. We didn't bother with the GA pass question because it said 30 mins when we got there.
So I was at the park yesterday and ended up riding it twice.
I have to say, Universal really knocked this one out of the park. The queue was clever and entertaining in itself. The witch room was really exciting, and boosted excitement levels for the ride to come. Scareactor in the line was fantastic, though I was shouting at people for keeping their damn lights off as they went by him.
I found it's much better to sit in the middle to back of the vehicle, in the middle of the row. Universal really outdid themselves on their animatronics. I was expecting the drivers to have minimal movement, but they were really expressive. Driving towards those gates completely amps up the excitement (it's especially good if you do this at night). I know people have been complaining about the use of the 3D screens, however it was on point. Utilizing additional special effects, such as bug guts and spit flying at you helped sell the realism. Every scene brought the intensity and excitement I was expecting, especially the 360 segment. Kong himself was brilliant...expressive, smooth and incredibly lifelike.
I only have 2 complaints. I would love for them to reduce lighting in the queue further as I feel it was too bright for the atmosphere they were aiming for, and I wish they had taken 3D screens all the way to the floor, as sitting at the outside of the vehicle it kinda detracts from the experience.
Awesome job Universal!
I have to say, Universal really knocked this one out of the park. The queue was clever and entertaining in itself. The witch room was really exciting, and boosted excitement levels for the ride to come. Scareactor in the line was fantastic, though I was shouting at people for keeping their damn lights off as they went by him.
I found it's much better to sit in the middle to back of the vehicle, in the middle of the row. Universal really outdid themselves on their animatronics. I was expecting the drivers to have minimal movement, but they were really expressive. Driving towards those gates completely amps up the excitement (it's especially good if you do this at night). I know people have been complaining about the use of the 3D screens, however it was on point. Utilizing additional special effects, such as bug guts and spit flying at you helped sell the realism. Every scene brought the intensity and excitement I was expecting, especially the 360 segment. Kong himself was brilliant...expressive, smooth and incredibly lifelike.
I only have 2 complaints. I would love for them to reduce lighting in the queue further as I feel it was too bright for the atmosphere they were aiming for, and I wish they had taken 3D screens all the way to the floor, as sitting at the outside of the vehicle it kinda detracts from the experience.
Awesome job Universal!
Where would you rate this in relation to the other Universal Orlando attractions? Thanks for a nice concise review.:thumbsup:
Concise being the key word. Boy do I have something to say... but being a nice Christian boy, I just can't say it.
- Mar 30, 2015
- 3,663
- 6,366
I'm neither nice nor Christian. Whisper it in my ear and I'll say it for you.Concise being the key word. Boy do I have something to say... but being a nice Christian boy, I just can't say it.
- Jul 18, 2008
- 6,745
- 5,465
I agree with this. I was at the part of the queue right next to where you see the trucks drive by as they come out from loading. I got one glimpse of the AA driver in motion and I couldn't help but say, "Oh wow." It was moving so realistically and they way they dirtied up the windows so you don't see too much of it was exactly as I expected.
Let me preface this by saying I'm unable to experience either major Harry Potter attraction. Honestly, this is now my favorite ride at UO. My favorite attractions encompass full ride experience, from entrance to queue to ride experience.
1. Kong
2. Spiderman
3. Jurassic Park
4. MIB
5. Mummy (Though I haven't ridden in a long while)
Always like a poster that rates an attraction as the entire experience, entrance (facade), queue, ride. That's my thoughts on rankings also. A poor bare bones or basic rope queue takes away from the total experience.
Sorry if it is a little late, but I got to experience the ride last Thursday, and so I thought I'd put in my two cents. This will be quite long, but the TL;DR version is that I will echo what most reviewers have already said, in basically all cases.
First, a little background about me as a reviewer. I grew up attending Six Flags Over Texas, so with the exception of Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure, I grew up not really knowing what a dark ride was (those of you who know the ride know that there isn't much special about it, although it has its charms). My first visit to WDW was not until I was 21 years old, and I was absolutely blown away. I ran around and danced and sang like a 6 year old child. I just didn't know that theming like that, that amount of detail and loving care was possible. Now, with last weekend being my first visit to UOR, I was blown away yet again. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't drunk a little of the Disney Kool-Aid, and was under the impression that Universal was not as devoted, not as detailed or as amazing. I am happy to say how wrong I was. I'm still a Disney guy, but I love Universal now too!
So, Reign of Kong. My traveling companions and I had dedicated our first day entirely to the Wizarding World, but I had hyped up this attraction to them so much that we decided to break our immersion just for a little while and experience Kong. We got in line before the technical rehearsal began (at about 5:45), and to make a long story short, we ended up waiting close to three hours, I think, thanks to the length of the queue and the extended delay that occurred. My party is all of the consensus that it was worth the wait.
Everything in the queue was functional for us, although there were no scare actors. That was a little sad for me, but even without them that hallways is extremely foreboding - so cramped and uncomfortable, in the best way! I almost could have been convinced that the witch was a scare actor, she is amazingly real. I do feel that the story presented through the queue is engaging, despite being disjointed. Why are we outside the temple, apparently at a base-camp, then encountering the natives on their own turf, and then getting to another base camp inside their temple? Still, this didn't bother me enough to break my immersion at the time. The only queues I would rate higher are Forbidden Journey and Gringotts.
Finally, the ride itself. We sat all on the right side of row 12, which was mostly fantastic, although you can see some edges of screens and experience other breaks in immersion from this far back. Everything in the ride was functioning except for the transition screen from the 360 room to the big man himself. We found all of the 4D effects to be extremely, well, "effective"! The smells in particular were almost too real. One of my favorite effects, actually, was the illusion that the truck was speeding through the jungle when it was actually only going like 2 MPH through the 360 room, LOL! The motion all synced up beautifully and I couldn't have asked for a more real experience. Our driver was the native girl (whose name I have forgotten), who was fine, but nothing special to me. A bit cliche and perhaps even offensive, although I wouldn't know. I'd be most interested in hearing Will Denham, but I was not displeased with the native girl.
Story wise, the only thing I did not like, as many others have pointed out, is the dropping of Kate's involvement. She absolutely needed to be in the 360 scene, and I can't understand why they would not have placed her in it. Again, as many have said, that Kong and the blonde girl do not meet is almost criminal. But with the exception of that, I did not have any problem with the rapid-fire changes in location, that more or less worked for me, although it does make the pacing of the ride feel much faster than it actually is, as many have pointed out.
Kong himself is by far the most advanced AA I have ever seen (although remember I have only been to SFOT, WDW, and now UOR), and even though I had watched the Inside the Magic video before hand, there was nothing like experiencing him in person. He is so incredibly lifelike, and actually very scary in my opinion. Many reviewers seem to feel that there was only a "friend" aspect to his appearance, and no "foe", but I absolutely felt that we were creeping past him for a reason! I felt he wanted us to back away slowly before he did to us what he did to those dinosaurs!
And now, a ranking of my favorite ride-based attractions. This is in no way objective, and is a ranking of rides only based mostly on the level of immersion, the overall experience (queue and other elements included) that I felt the most impressive to me. I did get to experience all but a few smaller rides at the resort during my time there.
1. Forbidden Journey (if this could take all five places, it would!)
2. Gringotts
3. Kong
4. Spiderman
5. Transformers
If anyone happens to have any questions or comments about my experience, please feel free to let me know!
First, a little background about me as a reviewer. I grew up attending Six Flags Over Texas, so with the exception of Yosemite Sam and the Gold River Adventure, I grew up not really knowing what a dark ride was (those of you who know the ride know that there isn't much special about it, although it has its charms). My first visit to WDW was not until I was 21 years old, and I was absolutely blown away. I ran around and danced and sang like a 6 year old child. I just didn't know that theming like that, that amount of detail and loving care was possible. Now, with last weekend being my first visit to UOR, I was blown away yet again. I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't drunk a little of the Disney Kool-Aid, and was under the impression that Universal was not as devoted, not as detailed or as amazing. I am happy to say how wrong I was. I'm still a Disney guy, but I love Universal now too!
So, Reign of Kong. My traveling companions and I had dedicated our first day entirely to the Wizarding World, but I had hyped up this attraction to them so much that we decided to break our immersion just for a little while and experience Kong. We got in line before the technical rehearsal began (at about 5:45), and to make a long story short, we ended up waiting close to three hours, I think, thanks to the length of the queue and the extended delay that occurred. My party is all of the consensus that it was worth the wait.
Everything in the queue was functional for us, although there were no scare actors. That was a little sad for me, but even without them that hallways is extremely foreboding - so cramped and uncomfortable, in the best way! I almost could have been convinced that the witch was a scare actor, she is amazingly real. I do feel that the story presented through the queue is engaging, despite being disjointed. Why are we outside the temple, apparently at a base-camp, then encountering the natives on their own turf, and then getting to another base camp inside their temple? Still, this didn't bother me enough to break my immersion at the time. The only queues I would rate higher are Forbidden Journey and Gringotts.
Finally, the ride itself. We sat all on the right side of row 12, which was mostly fantastic, although you can see some edges of screens and experience other breaks in immersion from this far back. Everything in the ride was functioning except for the transition screen from the 360 room to the big man himself. We found all of the 4D effects to be extremely, well, "effective"! The smells in particular were almost too real. One of my favorite effects, actually, was the illusion that the truck was speeding through the jungle when it was actually only going like 2 MPH through the 360 room, LOL! The motion all synced up beautifully and I couldn't have asked for a more real experience. Our driver was the native girl (whose name I have forgotten), who was fine, but nothing special to me. A bit cliche and perhaps even offensive, although I wouldn't know. I'd be most interested in hearing Will Denham, but I was not displeased with the native girl.
Story wise, the only thing I did not like, as many others have pointed out, is the dropping of Kate's involvement. She absolutely needed to be in the 360 scene, and I can't understand why they would not have placed her in it. Again, as many have said, that Kong and the blonde girl do not meet is almost criminal. But with the exception of that, I did not have any problem with the rapid-fire changes in location, that more or less worked for me, although it does make the pacing of the ride feel much faster than it actually is, as many have pointed out.
Kong himself is by far the most advanced AA I have ever seen (although remember I have only been to SFOT, WDW, and now UOR), and even though I had watched the Inside the Magic video before hand, there was nothing like experiencing him in person. He is so incredibly lifelike, and actually very scary in my opinion. Many reviewers seem to feel that there was only a "friend" aspect to his appearance, and no "foe", but I absolutely felt that we were creeping past him for a reason! I felt he wanted us to back away slowly before he did to us what he did to those dinosaurs!
And now, a ranking of my favorite ride-based attractions. This is in no way objective, and is a ranking of rides only based mostly on the level of immersion, the overall experience (queue and other elements included) that I felt the most impressive to me. I did get to experience all but a few smaller rides at the resort during my time there.
1. Forbidden Journey (if this could take all five places, it would!)
2. Gringotts
3. Kong
4. Spiderman
5. Transformers
If anyone happens to have any questions or comments about my experience, please feel free to let me know!
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Nice, thoughtful review.:thumbsup: You may have been the first to comment on the vehicle feeling like it's speeding through the jungle. I'm looking forward to that sensation. Might be a good sign for F&F. Did you get to experience the outside portion, with the grand gate entrance? That seems to be an important aspect of the ride, as it is with Jurassic Park River Adventure. Really nice to see a big Disney fan give Universal it's rightful due.
Orlando just has so much to offer. Like you, I grew up with the Regional Coaster parks. True theme parks like Universal & Disney are far far above them.
I'm all about being honest, and Universal is honestly breathtaking. Sure, it has some things here and there that could use a touch-up, but only one of those brainwashed Disney fans would think that there wasn't some work to be done there too!Nice, thoughtful review.:thumbsup: You may have been the first to comment on the vehicle feeling like it's speeding through the jungle. I'm looking forward to that sensation. Might be a good sign for F&F. Did you get to experience the outside portion, with the grand gate entrance? That seems to be an important aspect of the ride, as it is with Jurassic Park River Adventure. Really nice to see a big Disney fan give Universal it's rightful due.
I did get to experience the outside portion. It really does quite a bit toward world-building, adding to the foreboding. The overall experience would still be amazing, it wouldn't be ruined without it, but even if it was your first ride you'd feel that something was missing. Comparing it to Jurassic Park River Adventure, I think if there were some sort of bypass where you skipped the arch, or really any amount of the outdoor portion, the experience would be a failure. Kong does not suffer from this, in my opinion. The outdoor portion is fantastic and useful but not necessarily integral.
Just one comment on what you posted. The scareactor was there but was hiding due to the amount of people shoving cameras and lit phones through the windows. If your crowd stops that they will appear, very dark in there so you barely see them in the window but they are there. I suspect this will be dropped if the self lighting by the crowd continues as it has no purpose if you can see behind the curtain as it were.
Oh, I see. There were many people around me shouting into the holes and shoving their lighted devices in, I suppose if I were the actor I would hide too! What a shame that people have to ruin things... I don't suppose they'd make people put their phones in a locker even though this isn't a coaster? lol
