Universal Orlando Resort’s newest attraction, Skull Island: Reign of Kong, brings the iconic King Kong back to the Florida theme park in a very impressive manner. Incorporating 3D movie elements, along with a few key animatronics, the attraction -- which officially opened this past month at Universal's Islands of Adventures -- brings the guests onto a 1930s expedition into Skull Island, where they encounter a ton of dangerous creatures, leading up to the King himself.
The basic look of Kong is inspired by the Peter Jackson 2005 film – made for Universal – though the overall storyline is an original one for the attraction, that includes some nods to the Kong mythology and characters.
Along with checking out the attraction, I spoke to Universal Creative's Executive Producer, Mike West, about the creation of Skull Island: Reign of Kong and giving this famous movie character a fitting presentation.
There is a King Kong attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood and the Universal Orlando attraction uses the footage from that earlier attraction, though in a reworked manner. But West said that expanding beyond that was, “Massively important. We knew the attraction there was a big hit but we had the opportunity here to make a big hit but also push it way beyond that and create Skull Island. So it wasn't driving into a building, you’re arriving on Skull Island. To extend the story to the walking portion of the story, it’s really important to create that build up so it’s not just a line. You’re in the middle of the story at that point. That’s very important. We wanted to create something unique and new and raise the bar. Every time we do something we have to raise the bar. We’ve been challenged since [Harry Potter and the] Forbidden Journey. Every queue has to match that. I love this queue."
As West mentioned, the experience of Skull Island begins immediately, starting with the exterior as you walk up to the attraction – and one of the most impressive entrances I’ve seen at a theme park, including a Kong-shaped archway to enter the queue, and the start of the actual ride (visible from outside) which includes the huge Kong temple doors that open for the ride vehicles.
A night time shot of the exterior doors for Skull Island: Reign of Kong. (Photo via Universal Orlando Resort).
Said West, “We didn’t want them to see a building. We wanted them to see Skull Island, which is why we made it eighty feet tall. There are a lot of reveals to it. If you’re approaching from the east side [of the park], you don’t see it until you come around that corner and then it’s like “Whoa, there it is” and when you’re in the queue you see the expedition truck go by. There’s this constant “Wow” so there’s this building of anticipation that you don’t know what’s coming around the corner. And I think that starts at the end of the queue and the little things like the radio broadcast. There’s a great, early NBC radio broadcast and you hear classic characters and sound bites and it sets up the drama of it all with a really classic radio broadcast. Then when you get in there and the broadcast gets in here, you hear what’s really going on in the island. You hear the dinosaurs roaring and people fighting and the guns going off. You get on the ride and you’ve got a little trepidation and then this vehicle, being what it is, it takes off quickly. People are usually like "Wow! This thing really moves when you take off." I like that we created one moment after the next and it pays off when you get to be that up close with Kong.”
The front sign and entrance (through the Kong head seen to the left) to Skull Island: Reign of Kong. (Photo via Trish Troesh)
The Universal Studios Hollywood Kong attraction is part of the larger backlot studio tour, not a standalone attraction, so it doesn’t need to be an especially long experience, impressive though it is. For Orlando, a good deal of new footage was shot, which involve you encountering an explorer and her crew and then some other very dangerous creatures in the lead-up to Kong himself.
Noted West, “In Hollywood, it’s really about the filmmaking process. So we had a different story about it. You weren’t just going into a sound stage. You’re on Skull Island and something has happened and we had to set something up before you get there. Why are these dinosaurs around me and why is Kong showing up? Bringing in the Team Two truck and the big scene at the end coming to try and help us, that’s different. In Hollywood we have the [tour] tram but obviously we don’t have the tram so we had to think storywise, what would happen."
Another interesting adaptation is the ride vehicle. As West noted, it would make no sense, storywise, to be on the Universal Studios tour trams, so a new era-appropriate tour vehicle was created that could still fit into the pre-existing conditions for the attraction.
West remarked, “That was one of the big challenges, because it’s a big scene when [the other driver] gets pulled over the cliff. But we couldn’t do the tram so we had to figure out, storywise, why would this happen to us? It always has to be story driven and we thought we had this scene and these characters and a truck that looks just like our truck in the last scene. We see them disappear which is on purpose, so we can bring them in later on.”
Waiting in the queue there is a ton to see, but perhaps the biggest impression is made by all the skulls you are absolutely surrounded by, ominously decorating the entrance and the entire line. You also encounter several native warriors and a shawoman priestess (who are mostly animatronic) who seem to be none too happy with your presence.
So many skulls! (Photo via Trish Troesh)
“I think there are 576 skulls throughout the attraction,” said West. “They do a great job creating those for us. Again it’s that blending. You see them in that first appearance with the native, in that little hole there. Then you come into that shrine and get a real sense. You don’t know what she’s saying but you get the idea she’s not real happy you’re here. Then you go into the cave area and you get a real, up close and personal experience with a native who is right there. Then by the time you get through all that and you’re at base camp and you’re ready to go on the adventure.”
Behind the walls... of skulls... (Photo via Universal Studios Orlando)
West continued, “We wanted to build the anticipation with the drums and the chanting and the fire flares up and her eyes roll back into her head and you know she’s really getting into this and the last thing is Kong and it all goes back to its other level again.”
As mentioned above, the natives you encounter are mostly animatronic. There is a live performer as well though, who is able to reach out from the wall at a well-timed moment and provide a nice big scare for those waiting in line.
As West revealed, “This a first. We’ve never included a live actor in the queue before on any attraction. And we have three different areas so you’re never sure where he’s going to appear or if he’s going to appear. You might come through and he’s not there and the next time he’s there. And it’s great. The native actors do a great job.”
King Kong’s history with Universal Studios as both a movie production company and a theme park go back decades – the first Kong theme park element was introduced in the 1980s via a large animatronic Kong that used to be part of Universal Studios Hollywood’s tour prior to the current incarnation.
The King himself. (via Universal Orlando Resort)
I asked West if it felt important to Universal Orlando to bring Kong back (there had been a previous attraction for the character in the 1990s there) and he replied, “Absolutely. We pay attention to our guests and there’s always been this undercurrent of ‘When is Kong coming back?’ because he’s been an iconic figure not just in entertainment but for us. He’s really associated with Universal. So we pay attention to that. We saw online things with people talking about him. So we thought it was a good time to bring him back.”
The end of the attraction includes another eye-catching new element – a massive Kong animatronic that you encounter after the movie footage portion. This Kong both evokes the previous animatronic theme park versions of the character and improves upon what was done before.
West explained, “It was important to have that payoff at the end because he is the star of the show. It was really important that the finale ended with you having a personal experience with Kong and the most physical experience anyone has had to date, with that character.”
Skull Island: Reign of Kong is open now at Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort.
Check out our photo gallery below for an expanded look at the elaborate entrance and queue for the attraction.
Eric Goldman is Executive Editor of IGN TV. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheEricGoldman, IGN at ericgoldman-ign and Facebook at http://ift.tt/LQFqjj.
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire