Universal's newest attraction, Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Islands of Adventure is now officially open! The announcement was made during the Today Show with Al Roker and Tamron Hall earlier today. It has also been tweeted by Universal Orlando with them saying "Skull Island: #ReignOfKong is now open at #IslandsOfAdventure!" The attraction has been in soft open, or 'technical rehearsals' as Universal calls it, for a full month, but as of now will be officially listed as open in the Universal Orlando app and map, and will (hopefully) be open all day along with the rest of the park (starting tomorrow). You can see the official opening ceremony from earlier this morning below along with some more images as well. Check out our extensive coverage of the construction of Kong since the beginning here, and stay tuned for more theme park news and updates coming soon!
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Kongstruction Update: Reign of Kong Soft Opens with Full Queue Walk Through Video
It was only the second day that Skull Island: Reign of Kong had soft opened to the public when I got to ride this magnificent beast! What an incredible experience this has been, not just getting to be one of the first to ride this amazing new attraction, but also covering the story since it was just a pile of dirt and a rumor two years ago. So, Friday I decided to stick it out. As long as it took. To be one of the first to ride this baby! And after 7 and half hours in the hot sun, I got to do just that! It was totally worth it. You can see video from my experience at Friday's soft opening, plus a walk-through of the entire queue below. And there's lot of screenshots below as well with descriptions. Stay tuned for more Kong news as this thing goes from soft opening to grand opening in the coming weeks! And to those of you that have been following this project with me, thank you. I hope you stick around, as we have some amazing new things on the horizon for theme parks in Central Florida, as this time in history has become somewhat of a theme park Renaissance, and we're just getting started!
Kongstruction Update: WALLS ARE DOWN at Skull Island: Reign of Kong
The construction walls are down at Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Universal's Islands of Adventure! The wait has been long, but soon we'll be able to get our first rides on this new immersive attraction. We should hopefully expect to see soft opens within the week. It really could be any day now (or any hour even). Plus the outdoor gift shop stand, Base Camp Provisions, is open and selling Kong merchandise. Check out the video and photos below to see how the area looks now with the work walls down and some of the items you can get at the new gift shop and food stand. Stay tuned for more information as it happens. This should hopefully be our last update video before softs start and we'll post as soon as they start letting guests on the ride!
Fast & Furious Ride Coming to Universal Studios Florida – Replacing Disaster and Beetlejuice
The rumors can finally be put to rest, Fast & Furious: Supercharged has been officially announced for Universal Studios Florida. To make way for the new thrilling ride, Disaster: A Major Motion Picture Starring You! will close permanently on September 8, 2015, with Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue closing later this year. All indications are that the area will remain themed as San Francisco, which not only will save Universal a lot of money, but will retain the area's existing restaurants and sights, (which is good, considering this is where they chose to move the picture spot of Bruce the shark from Jaws.) This new attraction is slated to open sometime in 2017, the same year Universal's new water park Volcano Bay is scheduled to open.
The announcement comes just a few months after Fast & Furious: Supercharged opened as part of the tram tour at Universal Studios Hollywood (watch a ride video here). It uses a similar style of technology as Kong 360 where the tram travels through a large corridor of 3D screens while wind and motion base effects help create the illusion of high speed. Currently it is not known how the Florida version will differ, but considering the attraction's name has not changed, and the fact that they're building it on the site of the Disaster ride, it's quite possible that the ride video will remain relatively, (if not entirely) the same. The biggest difference will be the ride vehicle. Perhaps, to save time and money, a modified version of the Disaster (formerly Earthquake) subway tram will be used, as it is a similar shape as the Hollywood tram tour vehicles. Personally I'd like to see something new for the Orlando park, but it's definitely time for Disaster to go away, although I will miss Christopher Walken as Frank Kincaid, you're welcome. Read below for full details about the new attraction and stay tuned for more Universal news! ...continue reading
New Jurassic Park Ride at Universal Studios Japan to be Flying Coaster, Maybe Set in Pteranodon Aviary
As I have previously reported a new attraction is under construction at Universal Studios Japan in the Jurassic Park area. Rumors are starting to spread that this will in fact be a B&M flying coaster, similar to Manta at SeaWorld Orlando. The ride will open in 2016, but an official announcement has not yet been made. No word yet on whether or not the ride will take place within the aviary, but given the fact that pteranodons are pictured on the construction walls, there's a good chance that the ride will at least be themed after them, if not actually taking place in an aviary. Not only would a ride that creates the sensation of flying be a perfect fit for a pteranodon themed ride, but this will be a great tie-in to the smash hit film, Jurassic World. A key scene featured in the film depicts a large aviary where these flying reptiles escape and cause havoc. ...continue reading