A blog by Cameron and Shannon

Cameron says to tell you all that he is very sorry he’s not yet enlighted all of you regarding Quicksilver, and that he will return to do so next week. He got a new film scanner, so that is currently occupying his free time.

I’m working on finishing the countdown, mostly because I am really excited about revealing the #1 attraction that never should have closed, and also because I have 2 more blog topics I’m excited to write about, one being a recent disappointment, the second invloving an assignment that is cinematic in nature.

On with the rides!

Theme Parks #3 - Kongfrontation, Universal Studios, Orlando

Opened: 1990. Closed: 2002.

I’ve noticed more than a few of the attractions I’ve mentioned in this countdown were located at Universal Studios Orlando. Come to think of it, Universal has rotated out pretty much all the inventory I really cared about, with the exception of Jaws. (If they ever close that, I am never going back, and I mean never. Not only is it great, it is an integral part of the Scariest Thing I Can Think Of, which is a topic for another time.)

This is the last time Universal will appear on the countdown, and is definitely the largest dissapointment in the park.

Kongfrontation…where do I begin?

Kongfrontation was inexplicably housed in what appeared to be the Smithsonian, or perhaps a building of Congress. I’m not really sure why they chose to do that*, but the styling and theming on this ride was otherwise incredible. In fact, it’s about 95% of the reason I put this ride on the countdown.

Actually, come to think of it, the ride was an odd and impossible amalgamation of New York transportation venues and queues - you enter through Penn Station (see footnote), walk through a graffiti-fied subway line (which happens to pass by several NYC storefronts and apartment buildings), then board the Roosevelt Island Tramway. I’ve never been to New York, but I am pretty sure that’s not exactly the way things work.

Anyway. While completely impossible, the theming in the line was just the beginning. As I mentioned before, there was graffiti everywhere. I always wondered where that came from. Did they let employees do it? Did a few of the ride engineers do it all? Did they hire people to come in and just graffiti the place up? Oh, the questions!

Then there were the store and building fronts, built on a strange scale: much bigger than you, yet slightly too small to actually be real. And absolutely realistic. Shadows of people in windows, neon signs, steps down to sub-level entrances to delis.

Then, despite the fact you’ve been watching the news for about half an hour about King Kong being loose in the city, you get on the tram. The awesome theming of the ride continues throughout, except the sets are actual size for the ride.

I don’t really know how else to explain the sets for this ride other than to keep saying they were awesome. Since this was a dark ride, there are practically no pictures of the inside of the thing, so I know if you never rode it you probably won’t understand. The best I can do is to say it was like going to New York…but in 1970…and way creepier.

Oh, yeah, and then there was King Kong. King Kong, you see, was an actual Kong-sized animatronic.

Some people may say this made the ride “lame.” As a person with a habitual fear of both animatronic figures and primates (more topics for another time), the sight of a 39-foot-tall animatronic ape can be summated as “holy crap in a pan.”

Apparently this ride was slightly expensive to keep up, requiring numerous repairs and all kinds of upkeep, so they decided to scrap it. Now, the building houses The Mummy ride.

* Turns out that was supposed to be a recreation of Penn Station.