[Intro sound effects]
>>NARRATOR: When looking at Universal Studios theme park icons, each has its own story to
tell, whether as the symbol of a troubled past, or the last of an enduring classic.
[sound effects]
In the case of King Kong and its many ride incarnations, it’s story goes all the way
back to Universal’s theme park beginnings, in a tale of new frontiers, devastation, and
uncertain futures.
[Intro Theme Music]
On March 15th 1915, movie producer and owner of Universal Pictures Carl Leammle, officially
opened Universal City, the second and much larger incarnation of his outdoor movie studio,
which was Advertised as the World’s Only Movie City, and for the price of 25 cents,
guests were invited to visit the studio’s sets and witness the live action filming of
many silent-era films, something no studio had done previously.
[movie scene: “Wait a minute, wait a minute.
You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”]
However, with the advent of sound and sound-stages
lacking proper soundproofing, the studio closed off the backlot to the public in the 1930’s.
But in the mid 50’s, under the control of new owners and with updated sound stages,
universal began inviting Grey Line Tour buses to drive onto the property, on the condition
they read from pre-written scripts highlighting aspects of the backlot and the studios upcoming
releases.
[sound effects]
And in 1959, a portion of the universal backlot was purchased by MCA and transformed into
Revue Studios for their television production devision, which was added as a separate Universal
tour.
And just 3 years later in 1962, with MCA’s full Acquisition of Universal Studios, and
having seen the profitability of the bus tours, the company invested 4 million dollars to
form the official Universal City Studio Tours, which officially opened to the public in July
of 1964.
[music/sound effects]
The backlot tour and universal studios as a whole continued to evolve over the 1970’s
and 80’s, transitioning into more than just a behind the scenes tour, and into a theme
park destination.
But they wanted to go one step further, and
by 1982 had begun to develop plans for an attraction around the iconic King Kong.
[sound effects]
Enter retired Disney imagineer Bob Gurr, who in 1984 was approached by Universal to potentially
bring the iconic movie monster to life.
And after a successful tech demonstration,
though the project was briefly delayed, construction on what was originally known as Kongfrontation,
began in late 1985, in which the massive 30 foot tall and 7 ton animatronic, the largest
and most advanced ever built, would be the star.
[Clip: “Welcome to Pioneer.
May I help you?”]
And in June of 1986, the studio tours newest
addition was opened to the public.
flooring guests with one of the most immersive ride experiences in theme park history, adding
fuel to the fire of a growing battle between Universal and Disney as the premiere theme
park destination.
But King Kong didn’t just impress tourists.
[clip: “Hello.
I’m Steven Spielberg, and I’d like to welcome you to the E.T.
Adventure.”]
Steven Spielberg, who had recently visited with George Lucas and seen what Disney was
doing with Star Tours, expressed interest in the possibility of an attraction based
on the Back to the Future film.
And it was this, combined with Kong’s success, that helped breathe new life into the plans
for Universal Studios Florida, a project that had been struggling to get off the ground
since Universal’s purchase of Florida land 10 miles north-west of Walt Disney world in
1979.
[movie scene: “Why don’t I own this?”]
Universal’s Orlando, Florida theme park, was officially announced in December of 1986.
However, 9 months prior, Disney CEO Michael Eisner had also announced plans for a movie
themed Disney park with working production facilities and a studio tour attraction.
[clip: “A tram tour zig zags through the backlot area where all the ingredients of
movie making are on display.”]
And while this Florida theme park race can be traced back to 1981 with Universal’s
Florida park idea pitch to Paramount, of which then studio president Michael Eisner was present,
he insisted a Disney movie park was in development prior to his arrival in 1984.
[Michael Eisner: “Most people take short cuts for either economic reasons or because
they’re lazy.
Most people take short cuts because they just don’t know how to do it right.”]
Regardless, while Universal would feature a short lived tram tour, Universal decided
to focus on creating standalone attractions, which would include new incarnations of the
three major Hollywood tour experiences.
However, Kongfrontation was one of the most ambitious, as it would include not 1 but two
nearly 40 foot tall King Kong animatronics, controlled by a combination of analog and
digital technology, with the inclusion of banana breath.
[movie scene: “Oh I see.
Because I’m a monkey, I must love bananas, right?”]
The ride would also feature a full scale helicopter,
and the most individual pyrotechnic effects on a ride, all housed in the largest attraction
soundstage ever built.
With a facade recreating Penn station, in which guests would make their way through
a subway station, eventually boarding ride vehicles based on the New York Roosevelt Island
Tramway.
And as guests were taken through the path of Kong’s destruction, they would shortly
come face to face with the mighty beast himself, in which Kong would swipe at the vehicle and
cause a helicopter to crash, with a second encounter featuring Kong seemingly lifting
and dropping the tram, narrowly escaping an unpleasant fate.
[Kong sound effects]
Unfortunately, when the park opened in June
of 1990, while Kongfrontation was a sight to behold when everything worked as intended,
much like the ill-fated Jaws ride, the attraction frequently broke down, with the large movement
of the massive animatronics and complex integration of pyrotechnic effects and a failsafe system
shut off, causing the majority of the issues.
And while Engineers made attempts to improve
the rides reliability without altering the effects, they were unsuccessful.
And with Universal having been forced to completely close down the park’s other major attraction,
they decided to simply limit Kong’s movement and tone down the background fire effects.
[sound effects]
For over 10 years, while Kongfrontation continued to draw in crowds, it also proved to be one
of the park’s most expensive rides to maintain.
And with Universal looking to make an attraction
based off the box office hit The Mummy, Kongfrontation’s showbuilding was the frontrunner.
So despite protests and petitions, in 2002,
Kongfrontation became the first ride of Universal Florida’s original attractions to be closed
and replaced, with another three to follow in less than a decade.
And while universal studios Hollywood continued
to feature the original King Kong attraction, in 2008, a massive fire broke out on the studio
backlot, destroying many sets and studio facilities, as well as the King Kong Encounter soundstage
and attraction.
Shortly after the fire, the attraction was
remade into a new 360 3-D experience based on the 2005 King Kong remake, and in a form
of the past repeating itself, the tram tour attraction would inspire a standalone ride
at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, as Skull Island: Reign of Kong.
[sound effects]
And while Kongfrontation is gone, reminders of its history remain, which include Easter
eggs and even the ride’s original track layout, which was left intact during The Mummy’s
construction.
But just as Kongfrontation became the first
of Universal Florida’s signature attractions to be replaced, we’re left to wonder whether
The E.T.
Adventure, the last remaining original ride, whose Hollywood version was ironically replaced
by the mummy in 2003, will stand the test of time, or become another addition to Yesterworld.
So what about you?
If you could bring back any one of Universal’s past attractions, which would it be?
Also, if you’d like to help support me in the making of future videos, feel free to
check out my Patreon and shop in the description.
And as always, thank you guys and gals so much for watching, and I’ll see you next
time.
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