Our World is Rocked by ‘King Kong 360 3-D' Premiere at Universal Studios
This morning FEARnet's Lawrence Raffel and I headed out to Universal Studios to be among the lucky first group of folks to experience King Kong 360 3-D, the new fully immersive 3-D attraction at the Hollywood theme park. Designed by Peter Jackson himself (director of the 2005 King Kong), King Kong 360 3-D is sure to be THE most talked about ride at any American theme park in the summer of 2010, as it plunges the parkgoer into the jungle of Kong's Skull Island, where we found ourselves chased by raptors, attacked by a giant T-Rex, and menaced by the very big and very pissed-off Eighth Wonder of the World; our tram car ripped in half, thrown down a ravine, and bounced back and forth between 25-foot tall ape and 35-foot tall dino.
It was, needless to say, an intensely thrilling experience, one we won't soon forget. And all of it took place on a soundstage larger than a football field, in a tram car enveloped by the equivalent of sixteen movie screens, on which was projected Surround Digital 3D, completely creating the sweaty, deadly world from which Kong hails.
As a longtime fan of King Kong (the 1935 original as well as Jackson's film), I was thrilled to be immersed in the movie's most exciting scenes in a way that decades of movie fans could only dream of. Hit the jump for our photo account of the day, beginning with a most unusual kick-off party at Universal Studios.
Before we hopped on a tram car to begin our ride we were treated to a lavish premiere party at Universal, with celebrities like the cast of The Office and beloved genre star Christopher Lloyd in attendance.
Also in attendance was a monkey, a Bengal tiger, and a 14-foot python...
Entertainment was provided by various folks, including a band of percussion musicians, made up to resemble Skull Island natives.
Next we watched a special 3-D introduction to the ride from Peter Jackson, shot in a theater in Jackson's hometown of Wellington, New Zealand.
Then we boarded a tram to begin our journey into the jungle...
But trouble soon started when we saw another tram car lying demolished by the side of the road.
As our ride pulled closer to our ill-fated companions, we noticed their tram appeared to have been literally stomped on. But by what or... whom?
Since it was too late to turn back, we continued onward...into the mouth of an enormous cave.
What we saw inside defied description (and -- due to the 3D nature of the images -- our camera's capabilities). But we can show you an artist's renderings of the fantastic life-or-death struggles we witnessed...
Suffice it to say, visitors to Universal Studios this summer will NOT be disappointed by King Kong 360 3-D. In my opinion, it ties with The Simpsons as the best ride in the park.
