Robert Niles
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Robert Niles

Skull Island Reign of Kong opens officially at Universal Orlando

July 13, 2016, 8:49 AM · King Kong is officially back at the Universal Orlando Resort. In a nationally televised moment on sister network NBC's Today show this morning, Universal declared open Skull Island Reign of Kong.

The Islands of Adventure ride had been operating on a soft open basis for about a month. Set on the iconic Skull Island where Kong makes his home, the ride expands the King Kong 360: 3D experience from Universal Studios Hollywood with an immersive queue, richly detailed facade, and an additional scene before Kong's battle with the T-Rex, before concluding with a "face to face" encounter with a massive new Kong animatronic.

Universal originally had planned a big press event for Kong on June 23, but cancelled it after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. Even so, Universal hadn't declared an official public opening date for the ride, until today.

Rate and Review:

Replies (9)

cumpuperboy
Jaiden
July 13, 2016 at 8:56 AM · Good news
anonymous
66.55.12.3
July 13, 2016 at 9:07 AM · We are here now and it is not open! Universal --Please open and let the regular folks in!
anonymous
192.31.106.36
July 13, 2016 at 10:04 AM · The queue for this ride is excellent. I only wish the ride had 1-2 more rooms to complete the experience and make it a "must-do."

[SPOILER] I especially enjoy the room with the Kong chanting (summoning?). [/SPOILER].

anonymous
73.210.62.17
July 13, 2016 at 10:31 AM · I have noticed some division on this ride. Those who have seen the videos only complaining about it all screen stuff and the lame-looking Kong at the end while those who have been on it rave on it being a great ride. I'll reserve judgement until I've been on it myself but I do agree after so much hype and wait, it's not really the Harry Potter/Spider-Man jump in theme park rides most expected. Looks fun but not "greatest in the world" level.
Troynotown
TROY DAVIDSON
July 13, 2016 at 10:38 AM · I hope Universal Creative continues to create more indoor rides at IOA. There are so many rides that have to be closed due to weather.
anonymous
72.186.10.14
July 13, 2016 at 6:52 PM · I completely agree with 73.210.62.17. Watching an on-ride video is one thing, physically riding it is another. On video, you only get to experience it through sight, which only makes up one half of the ride experience, even on themed rides such as this.The other half is the physical aspect; how fast your ride vehicle can go, how it's movements react to what's going on in the surrounding environment etc. If we were able to completely judge theme park rides based on videos, than what would be the point of going to a theme park in the first place? After all, we could just simply enjoy it on our screens. And of course the 3D's gonna look bad on video. Camera's can't exactly have 3D glasses.
phobicgalvan
Daniel Galvan
July 13, 2016 at 7:34 PM · Face to face kong encounter? More like a kong peak a boo if you ask me.
SC121
Still a fan
July 14, 2016 at 9:23 AM · I'm sure it's worth riding, but this could have been so much more. They should have jettisoned the idea of plussing Kong 360/3D and gone all out to create a brand new immersive visit to Skull Island. But I suppose that would've been much more expensive.

Missed opportunity. The ride of the year is Shanghai Pirates.

P.S.: The queue may be great, but a queue does not make a ride.

anonymous
73.210.62.17
July 15, 2016 at 11:27 AM · Still a fan sums it up. The way they talked, it sounded like you were going to go through huge sets with some screens there and FX, like Potter or Spider-Man. Instead, it's pretty much just riding around screens showing the action. Again, heard the actual ride experience is great but does seem a missed opportunity to ramp it up more.

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