Skull Island: Reign of Kong - General Discussion

[Brian G.]

I always assumed it was the overuse of screens in general and not enough physical prop rides. I don't think 3D or 2D makes a difference when it comes to heavy use of screens. And really it was mainly studios park and no other park.

It seems there is a good mix of either hating both, or hating strictly 3D.

I get the 3D hate, especially for those with vision issues. I know a friend who hates putting on the 3D stuff because that means he has to either put it over his regular eyewear, or take them off and have messed up 3D vision... lol. So when you have to do that for a lot of rides... I get the frustration.

The Yeti and outdoor portion are equal because both broke and both are not fixed. Now I would say that Yeti didn't take out a section of the ride, so it still not comparable. But the cost and time to fix both seem high. Maybe that not even knowing how to fix it may factor in. But the Yeti isn't equal at all to 3D since it broke and this is pure just wanting to save money. Where the outdoor and Yeti is allocating new money vs removing 3D cutting costs.

I think Yeti is in C-mode now, where it doesn't even move - it just strobes.

 

[MrRoamer]

Everest has been the biggest example, so far. The belief for a while was "Well, it's the park's marquee attraction. They need to open more stuff before closing". It's been 6 years since Pandora so I don't think that was the case. lol

Other examples... GMR - they wouldn't have the cowboy scene during slower seasons. Space Mt would only load one side. Never finished the SSE finale. Old Test Track had lots of issues that weren't fixed until they Tronified it. Way back when - The Living Seas cut the cabs before it eventually came back as Nemo. Those are off the top of my head - I'd really have to sit and think.

I believe RNRC's problems now are due to a cheap refurb instead of a proper refurb.

EDIT: Stitch's Great Escape was just shuttered because of poor GSATs. Been closed since 2018.

Great points you brought up here, I think Everest falls into a special category though where they just straight up made a major mistake that they didn't realize and it compromises safety. I kind of lump these kinds of things together, but it brings up another interesting discussion around times when there are just safety or design misses.

Everest - Yeti bringing down the house
Pteradon Flyers - big whoops on load and capacity (still one of the scariest rides at the parks)
DL People Mover -> Rocket Racer upgrade - that dang foundation again
Cat in the Hat - too much spin but was oh so much better
Mission Space - too intense
Dudley - This ride used to be incredibly dangerous before they fixed the rafts

I know there are a bunch of other ones in here but I think the point I'm making is sometimes things need to be changed because of safety concerns vs cost cutting

 

[SeventyOne]

Who exactly are the people who hate 3D but don’t mind screens, and why were both Universal and Disney unaware of them for the last two decades?

Soarin' fans.

Half joking, but also I think the inexplicable cult following for that ride skews surveys.

 

[Clive]

Came across this tweet -



I have to assume something like this is not behind the Kong "test?"

 

[Alicia]

Came across this tweet -



I have to assume something like this is not behind the Kong "test?"

I wish that was what was happening at Kong.

 

[Cwoolboy]

I stopped riding Cat in the Hat after they toned down the spinning, I’ll stop riding Kong if the 3-D removal is permanent. This is very upsetting and shows a lack of care and respect for their world-class attractions on Universal’s part. They really should just raze Kong to the ground at this point.

 

[biggerboat16]

I stopped riding Cat in the Hat after they toned down the spinning, I’ll stop riding Kong if the 3-D removal is permanent. This is very upsetting and shows a lack of care and respect for their world-class attractions on Universal’s part. They really should just raze Kong to the ground at this point.

Build the jeep safari but with inspiration from the Beijing Jurassic world ride in its place!

 

[Wesker69]

If they killed off the big ape for more Jurassic... I have TWO dino requests (demands).

Carnotaurus & IndoRaptor

but that's discussion better suited for the JP thread(s). Back to Skull Island's Enchanted Tiki Banana Bar & the Temple of Forbidden 3D

 

[Alicia]

I stopped riding Cat in the Hat after they toned down the spinning, I’ll stop riding Kong if the 3-D removal is permanent. This is very upsetting and shows a lack of care and respect for their world-class attractions on Universal’s part. They really should just raze Kong to the ground at this point.

They toned down the spinning so smaller children could enjoy the ride, so thats a change I agree with.

MiB still has the full speed spins.

 

[Wesker69]

They toned down the spinning so smaller children could enjoy the ride, so thats a change I agree with.

Wasn't it also because of nausea too or was that just exaggeration? Either way, glad I got to experience the spinzzz

MiB still has the full speed spins.

I'll admit it, I've shot my own vehicle target. No shame lol

 

[ultimateforce]

Cat in the Hat has the perfect amount of spinning now. I'm sorry to any who disagrees and is wrong.

 

[Michael S]

Let’s get back to discussing Kong, folks

 

[SkiBum]

Let’s get back to discussing Kong, folks

Alright Shark Bait ooh-ha-ha.

I've always enjoyed Kong and fall in the camp of "I could lose the outdoor section to retain 3-D". The outdoor section was nice with the reveal of the entrance to the cavern but the 3-D gave the scenes, such as where the one lady is taken away by the scorpion things, depth (as mentioned above). A flat 2-D would definitely not have the same impact.

 

[MrRoamer]

Alright Shark Bait ooh-ha-ha.

I've always enjoyed Kong and fall in the camp of "I could lose the outdoor section to retain 3-D". The outdoor section was nice with the reveal of the entrance to the cavern but the 3-D gave the scenes, such as where the one lady is taken away by the scorpion things, depth (as mentioned above). A flat 2-D would definitely not have the same impact.

Even though Kongwatch was an amazing day and was a great time, I'm totally fine with the entire Kong area going away. It makes JP feel disjointed and the ride was an overwhelming let down. maybe its just because I am so used to and remember what it was before, it just isn't worth the amount of area it takes.

 

[Freak]

Even though Kongwatch was an amazing day and was a great time, I'm totally fine with the entire Kong area going away. It makes JP feel disjointed and the ride was an overwhelming let down. maybe its just because I am so used to and remember what it was before, it just isn't worth the amount of area it takes.

What's crazy is that the ride will be ten years old in just two years. I think when that time comes, we can have somewhat serious discussion on what can replace it.

I also remember when discussions were going on for the ride and how much hype there was for this. Before it opened, I remember how much of a letdown it was for me. I didn't get to ride it un til about a year after it opened, but man it was so overhyped. Wouldn't be mad about it leaving. It's a shame because they really could've done a lot of more cool stuff with the Skull Island theme that wasn't 3D.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

While impressive, the façade creates a massive opportunity for people to be letdown. Arguably a top 5 façade in theme park history, but falls flat when it comes to the actual ride experience.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Kong has turned into a "I'll ride it if the wait is short" ride and isn't a must do on my trips anymore. It lacks long term re-rideability for me but serves its purpose of diversifying IOA's attraction lineup.

Does anyone know what the ride's GSATs are these days?

 

[SeventyOne]

While impressive, the façade creates a massive opportunity for people to be letdown. Arguably a top 5 façade in theme park history, but falls flat when it comes to the actual ride experience.

A product of its era. If you're at all a fan of F&F, that garage queue is a love letter to the films, filled with Easter eggs--only to lead to the worst ride in Orlando. Much of the Fallon hype was for the queues/Ragtime Gals rather than the pedestrian 3-D movie. You could arguably group Soarin' Over Pandora and Smuggler's Run here as well.

I'll wait for the inevitable Poseidon Entertainment video to explain why this school of design took over when it did (though my initial guess would be an over-reaction to Potter 1.0 and its world building).

 

[Speed]

I remember 8 years ago when we all saw the facades and trucks testing and thought this was going to amazing, even as optimistic to say that the trucks might have live actors spieling like Jaws. Man how time has changed lol

 

[illumination]

I always assumed it was the overuse of screens in general and not enough physical prop rides. I don't think 3D or 2D makes a difference when it comes to heavy use of screens. And really it was mainly studios park and no other park.

I will be honest I had forgotten that DM was in 3D before when I rode it. My kids loved the ride and I didn't miss the 3D. But I had not been on it in years. So I am that person you are talking about and it clearly didn't make a difference to me.


The Yeti and outdoor portion are equal because both broke and both are not fixed. Now I would say that Yeti didn't take out a section of the ride, so it still not comparable. But the cost and time to fix both seem high. Maybe that not even knowing how to fix it may factor in. But the Yeti isn't equal at all to 3D since it broke and this is pure just wanting to save money. Where the outdoor and Yeti is allocating new money vs removing 3D cutting costs.

I never understood why they couldn't do anything else with the Yeti, such as just a small arm movement only, or a burst of compressed air to move the fur at least?

Also I believe FJ had way more 3D motion sickness because of the horizontal movement of the screen carousels not matching the animated graphics at all. I have heard many times that they eliminated 3D to reduce the motion sickness that was extra frequent on FJ specifically.