Kongfrontation

Infobox Universal ride
name=Kongfrontation
logo=Byekong.jpg


caption=
park=Universal Studios Florida
land= New York
designer=Totally Fun Company
manufacturer=
type=Special Effects Ride
theme=King Kong
control_system=
propulsion=
soft_opened=
opened=June 7, 1990
closed=September 8, 2002
host=
music=
vehicle_type=Tram
vehicle_names=
guests_per_vehicle=
cars_per_vehicle=
guests_per_car=
duration=5
length=
attraction_height=
track_height=
speed=
height_requirement=40
site_area=
lift_count=
audio-animatronics=
custom_label_1=Replaced By
custom_value_1=

Kongfrontation was a ride at the Universal Studios Florida theme park, in Orlando, Florida, the main attraction in the park's New York section. It opened as one of the original attractions at the park in 1990 and was closed in 2002. Revenge of the Mummy opened in its place in 2004. It was based on a scene from the long running Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood, which was destroyed in 2008.

Ride

Queue

Guests entered a recreation of Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, New York City. The queue line was themed to a New York City Subway station and city block on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, intricately detailed right down to the graffiti covering the walls and the stocked storefronts. Television monitors overhead covered a special report: "Kong On The Loose". The giant ape "King Kong" has escaped and is wreaking havoc on the streets of New York City. Kong has destroyed two elevated trains and is rapidly approaching the East River with authorities seemingly powerless to stop him. Guests walked up to the Manhattan station of the Roosevelt Island Tramway.

Ride

The ride consisted of this cable car ride under the pretense of an evacuation of the city during Kong's attack. Traveling through elaborate street sets, the tram had repeated encounters with Kong, first at the 59th Street Bridge and once more as the beast cut the tram off upon arrival at Roosevelt Island. Choppers fired on Kong as he lifted the tram up and subsequently dropped it. Narrowly escaping the enraged Kong, the tram's passengers would then see themselves on a breaking news report. Riders could actually catch a whiff of "banana breath" from Kong's mouth. The ride was based on the 1976 remake of "King Kong".

Construction and Design

Two King Kong props were built for this ride and were scaled to be convert|39|ft|m tall with an arm span of convert|54|ft|m. The one used for the "street sequence" weighed approximately 13,000 pounds, while a lighter prop, that weighed approximately 8,000 pounds, was used for the "bridge sequence" of the ride.

The Kongs were built to be both analog and digital, giving them the ability to perform 62 separate functions. A smeltzer device was constructed to give the Kongs the "Banana Breath" that was emitted during roars at the riders.

The Soundstage was built to be convert|35000|sqft|m2 wide, and the slabs used to build the exterior walls are the largest of its kind ever used for construction. To make the city setting appear as realistic as possible, 50 facades were modeled after Manhattan's Lower East Side from 1976. The TV station,WWOR-TV, was integrated into the ride because MCA/Universal owned the station at the time the ride was built. The helicopters that were used in the ride were molded from actual helicopters and were true to size, which is why they look as realistic as they do.

History

Originally a scene for the Universal Studios Hollywood Studio Tram Tour, Kongfrontation has been credited as being the catalyst for the Universal Studios Florida project (which has since evolved into the Universal Orlando Resort). [citenews|url=http://www.totallyfuncompany.com/kongmedia/articles/kingkongarticle.htm|title=King Kong: The Monster Who Created Universal Studios Florida|author=Peter N. Alexander|publisher=Totally Fun Company] Universal originally envisioned the attraction as the crown jewel of the Florida park. While the attraction drew substantial crowds, it had an unreliable track record due to the complex special effects involved. [citenews|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D81130F933A0575AC0A966958260&scp=3&sq=Kongfrontation+&st=nyt|title=Travel Advisory, Jaws Clenched At Universal|publisher=New York Times|date=September 30, 1990] Universal engineers attempted several times to improve reliability, which ultimately required removing functionality of Kong by limiting his movements and some of the background effects.

Kongfrontation was as more part of Universal Studios Florida than any of the attractions that remain there today, and the idea to close such an attraction struck many visitors as being 'unreal'. Despite many protests and complaints from Fans, Kongfrontation publicly closed on September 8th 2002. There has never been a solid reason given by Universal for closure, although it has been speculated that it was due to maintenance issues and the costs of repairs. It joined a list of original and popular Universal Studios Florida attractions that have since been retired, including Ghostbusters Spooktacular, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera, and . It is one of the most beloved attractions missed by fans in Theme Park History.

Other uses

During Halloween Horror Nights II at the park, the attraction was turned into a "horrified attraction" titled "Tramway of Doom" where it was themed that Darkman was on the loose in New York, and after riding Kongfrontation, guests had to exit the tram and walk on the ground of the ride, where a haunted maze awaited. Guests were also permitted to walk on the ground during , in a Show titled "The Oozone Fright Club", where guests entered an employees only area of the queue line for the show, and then had to exit to the ground where another haunted maze awaited.

Universal Studios Hollywood version

infobox Universal ride
name=King Kong Encounter
park=Universal Studios Hollywood on the Studio Tour


caption=A scene from the attraction
land=Upper Lot
theme=King Kong
opened=June 14, 1986
closed=June 1, 2008
duration=2
custom_label_2=Replaced by
custom_value_2=King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World

The Kongfrontation attraction at Universal Studios Florida had originated from the King Kong Encounter scene (premiered 1986 - destroyed 2008) formerley part of the Studio Tour at Universal Studios Hollywood, which is located in the Upper Lot area of the theme park. The scene was destroyed by a massive fire in 2008, and will be replaced by a future attraction.

The attraction featured a brief encounter with an animatronic King Kong, who would shake the tram and attempt to destroy a chopper which was supposed to rescue tour guests. A TV monitor in a New York building facade displayed fake breaking news updates. Eventually, Kong is defeated and the tram would pass through safely, continuing on through furthur attractions.

The 7-ton 30 feet tall Kong figure in the attraction was the largest and most complex animatronic figure in existence for many years. The sophistication of the attraction broke new ground, and paved the way for the most complex of today's themed entertainments, including the Universal Studios Florida version. The Kong sequence was also featured in the film The Wizard starring Fred Savage and Christian Slater. This attraction opened on June 14th, 1986 and was completely destroyed by a fire in the early morning of June 1, 2008. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24916515/ Universal Studios reopens after fire - Movies - MSNBC.com ] ] The cause of the fire was an accident made by 3 employees who were working on set repair on New England Street with a blowtorch. As of June 3rd, 2008 Universal Studios Officials had stated that the experience would not be rebuilt, but would instead be replaced by a new contemporary attraction, which had yet to be determined. This had caused outrage among fans of the giant creature. The Earthquake tour scene is now advertised more ofthen due to the loss of the Kong attraction. The Collapsing Bridge tour scene has now been reopened after a closure, also due to the loss of Kong.

In August, 2008, Universal announced that instead of replacing the attraction with a new concept, It would instead be rebuilt as a new experience titled "King Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World", which will include a Kong animatronic from the Florida ride, and will be an homage to Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong film.

References

External links

* [http://www.orlandorocks.com/info.asp?location=usf&attraction=kong&type=overview Kongfrontation at Orlando Rocks]
* [http://www.totallyfuncompany.com/kongmedia/articles/kingkongarticle.htm King Kong: The Monster Who Created Universal Studios Florida] By Peter Alexander, Totally Fun Company
* [http://www.geocities.com/universal_kongfrontation/pictures.htm Kongfrontation Photos]
* [http://www.orlandorocks.com/info.asp?attraction=kong&location=usf&type=Overview&sub=Photos&pg=1 More Kongfrontation Photos showing the intricate detail of the ride's 1970's New York art direction]