‘King Kong’ attraction to rise from ashes at Universal Studios Hollywood

For all those fans who mourned the fiery death of the “King Kong” attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood, take heart: The big ape will rise again in 2010.

The new “King Kong” attraction will derive its storyline from the 2005 Peter Jackson blockbuster, with visitors traveling through Skull Island, dodging a swarm of giant bats and bearing witness to an ape versus dinosaur finale.

Tram riders will don 3-D glasses just before entering the new “King Kong” soundstage for a digital 4-D multisensory experience that includes rolling, jolting and shuddering special effects. The new Kong soundstage will be built near the old attraction, but not in the same location.

Destroyed in a devastating backlot fire in summer 2008, the old attraction was a key element of the movie and television theme park’s tram tour.

Built in 1986, the original $6.5-million “Kong” attraction included a 30-foot-tall, 7-ton animatronic gorilla inside a 26,000-square-foot soundstage built to look like a city block, according to the Studio Tour fansite.

Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland. Follow Funland on Twitter.

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times staff writer

Image: Universal Studios Hollywood

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 at 2:24 pm by Brady MacDonald and is filed under California, Family & Kids, Los Angeles, Theme Parks, Universal Studios Hollywood. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.