Skull Island: Reign of Kong - General Discussion

[Nick]

Also, keep in mind that Universal is still trying to shake the "Thrill ride only" identity people have given it..I would expect them to keep pumping out attractions that everyone in the whole family can ride for the next few years

The only attractions UOR has put out in the Comcast era that the whole family truly can do is Kang/Kodos, HE and Skull Island (as long as you're over 2.5 or 3). Of course Skull Island having a HHN level queue does little to help this and if you truly consider HE a ride is objective. It's more transportation/theming to me.

Obviously though that does represent a small step forward for them though. They truly don't have many rides with no height requirement (or even a small one).

 

[RogueAntilles]

I dare say that perhaps UC was opting for a "you decide" type ending...where you make the call on whether he is a friend or a foe to us..Maybe I'm reading too much into it..But I think it is intentional

The native woman driver calls him a "spirit guide" plus he didn't kill everyone in the vehicle. The overall story of this and Jacksons Kong is he is the balance and order of Skull island. I really don't think it's meant to be ambiguous.

Now if you shoot at him or provoke him he's a foe.

 

[Teebin]

So, is the Witch an employee of 8th Wonder Company or is she really just begging for a chocolate bar???

 

[epcyclopedia]

I dare say that perhaps UC was opting for a "you decide" type ending...where you make the call on whether he is a friend or a foe to us..Maybe I'm reading too much into it..But I think it is intentional



For sure! I wish all could co-exist together but I understand the space issue..Diagon is jaw dropping and Mummy is one of my favorite Studio rides..I just meant I wasn't a huge fan of Kongfrontation and didn't see what everyone found so jaw dropping about it (besides the AA)

The old Kongfrontation was really good at being foreboding in the queue. Many rides have very strange premises for why the guests are there if they go the realistic route. Kongfrontation had a fairly plausible one - an evacuation. Then it set the scene with a really well done cityscape and the TV monitors with the news reports and the way the queue viewed an area of the ride "just out of sight" where something was obviously going wrong but you couldn't tell what. It made you think "What the hell is out there? And what have I gotten myself into?" Plus the ride system was pretty cool. Putting people in the air always kicks things up a few points.

To me, the new Kong tries to go for many of the same things.. but instead of involuntary evacuees the guests are willing participants. That changes the tone in a way I don't think they anticipated. They still treat it like it's an inevitable dreaded fate when it's being approached by the guest as moreso an adventure.

 

[shiekra38]

The queue doesn't seem to go along with that mission. Seems like more physical movement on the ride would complement the tone of the queue.

The only attractions UOR has put out in the Comcast era that the whole family truly can do is Kang/Kodos, HE and Skull Island (as long as you're over 2.5 or 3). Of course Skull Island having a HHN level queue does little to help this and if you truly consider HE a ride is objective. It's more transportation/theming to me.

Obviously though that does represent a small step forward for them though. They truly don't have many rides with no height requirement (or even a small one).

Depends on how you classify a family ride...I consider Gringotts/Cheetah Hunt/Kong a family ride

I would have loved the scary queue when I was a little kid..

The old Kongfrontation was really good at being foreboding in the queue. Many rides have very strange premises for why the guests are there if they go the realistic route. Kongfrontation had a fairly plausible one - an evacuation. Then it set the scene with a really well done cityscape and the TV monitors with the news reports and the way the queue viewed an area of the ride "just out of sight" where something was obviously going wrong but you couldn't tell what. It made you think "What the hell is out there? And what have I gotten myself into?" Plus the ride system was pretty cool. Putting people in the air always kicks things up a few points.

To me, the new Kong tries to go for many of the same things.. but instead of involuntary evacuees the guests are willing participants. That changes the tone in a way I don't think they anticipated. They still treat it like it's an inevitable dreaded fate when it's being approached by the guest as moreso an adventure.

Good points...Once the ride started though I wasn't exactly wowed except for the AAs...

Universal has gone the "volunteer" route for a couple of attractions recently..

 

[SandiestPirate]

Im at the park and i am so excite! Wawaweewah

 

[s8film40]

Of course Skull Island having a HHN level queue does little to help this and if you truly consider HE a ride is objective.

In my opinion the queue is absolutely nowhere near HHN level.

 

[Nick]

In my opinion the queue is absolutely nowhere near HHN level.

i'm just going off what some people have said, i've yet to ride.

 

[s8film40]

i'm just going off what some people have said, i've yet to ride.

I only made it through once so it's possible I missed a few scares. All in all though it was a couple of startles and some creepy stuff but it's just not on the HHN level. To me it was more of a fun scare.

 

[SandiestPirate]

Just to fill in those on their way or waiting to hear. There has been a line of people since opening today but tms are saying no info

 

[SJN1279]

I'm looking forward to the ride, and am a bit bummed that my son is only 35 inches. Maybe next year........

 

[AlexanderMBush]

I'm looking forward to the ride, and am a bit bummed that my son is only 35 inches. Maybe next year........

I'd encourage you to not take your child into this attraction..especially if you intend on going for the entire experience from the Stand-by..

 

[Ryan]

To me, the new Kong tries to go for many of the same things.. but instead of involuntary evacuees the guests are willing participants. That changes the tone in a way I don't think they anticipated. They still treat it like it's an inevitable dreaded fate when it's being approached by the guest as moreso an adventure.

This is the aspect I think they're struggling to get across. The idea is that you're tourists sent over to Skull Island by Eighth Wonder, but go off the beaten path into the native territory that's supposed to give a foreboding vibe, only to wind up back at base camp to set off with Eighth Wonder. There doesn't seem to be anything that outright states, "Ignore that, everything is okay!" in lieu of even more foreboding radio broadcasts. It's weird because there needs to be a moment that outright tries to sell you BACK onto the adventure, but that's not present. At all.

That's almost 100% what Indiana Jones Adventure does with its newsreel. Not only does it set up the story, but it actively sells up the idea that everything you THINK is hogwash, with a little bit of "maybe not" due to the mystery of the whereabouts of Indy himself. There's no moment where we see Kate, where we outright see why we're here, and why Eighth Wonder is here. It's a lot of "listen" and look at the details, but as a story the queue does a wonky job of presenting everything. They could do a similar bit with a newsreel or hell, like Mystic Manor, a dumb slideshow even. This needs a preshow with Eighth Wonder, not just the natives.

 

[Mike S]

Major issue with the story- You're chasing this lady and then she gets taken by a gigantic bug.. then you pull into 360 3D and you never figure out what happens to her. Then after the Kong AA scene she comes on the radio and says she's ok. They should just kill her instead of having her get taken by the bug.

Spoilers.......

SDMT's biggest issue is it is a hyped Disney ride with middling capacity. If you didn't need to book a FP+ for it the very earliest it's available, it'd be a good little distraction.

Also the fact that New Fantasyland lacks a big headliner so SDMT was bumped up to fill that role. Just look at the B&tB ride going to Tokyo. Or the TDS Frozen clone DL will get.

Anyway, back to Kong.

 

[Alicia]

I can see that they have covered the LED strips in the left set of eyes in the temple gate now. LED controversy has ended. Go about your lives.

 

[SandiestPirate]

I can see that they have covered the LED strips in the left set of eyes in the temple gate now. LED controversy has ended. Go about your lives.

I noticed that today too

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

I'm looking forward to the ride, and am a bit bummed that my son is only 35 inches. Maybe next year........

What about with shoes on? He can probably hit 36 inches but I'll echo what Alex said and proceed with caution.

 

[darby427]

whew.. I was about to cancel the trip because of those eyes lol

I can see that they have covered the LED strips in the left set of eyes in the temple gate now. LED controversy has ended. Go about your lives.

 

[Scott W.]

I cracked and watched the POV. I'll be honest, I didn't really have a lot of hype for this but I'm pleasantly surprised by what I've seen.

My only concern is the animations look a little off but besides that, it looks visually stunning. In particular the jungle scene.

I don't know if we ever cleared up the discussion about the vehicles. Do they create artificial movement or is it really soft suspension? The outside segment, the bus moves about quite a bit but the roads look fairly smooth from what I could see.

 

[Bulldog45]

So what exactly is the point of this media event in a couple weeks? People are already riding and posting their pictures/videos all over the internet. Also, have they announced an actual opening date yet?