Skull Island: Reign of Kong - General Discussion

[Cwoolboy]

I rode w/o the 3D on 5/13. The last time I had ridden it prior was in 2017 when every single effect was working, so this was a disappointing experience. I don't think new guests would notice any thing is off but to those in the know...the current state of the attraction is a real let-down. First off: THEY KILLED THE WORM IN THE QUEUE???!!!! WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS???!!!! I don't have any real issue with the scareactors being removed, but it was still a cool touch when it was there. The outdoor scene definitely needs to return as it adds a real sense of anticipation and kinetic movement for those waiting outside and starts the attraction off with a true WOW moment. As for the attraction itself, it still works, but the 3D is desperately needed to sell some of the neat effects throughout (I also noticed the shadow effect on top was non-functional). The bat room works fine w/o the 3-D, but the bug room and the 360 scene just aren't effective without 3-D. I guess all we can do is continue to complain as loudly as we can until Universal gives in. I didn't hate my experience with the ride, but in the current state, I don't know if I'd be eager to jump back in line any time soon (whereas before it was always a must-do. At least the kick-a$$ Witch pre-show still works and the ride jeep is still impressive as hell).

 

[Clive]

I rode w/o the 3D on 5/13. The last time I had ridden it prior was in 2017 when every single effect was working, so this was a disappointing experience. I don't think new guests would notice any thing is off but to those in the know...the current state of the attraction is a real let-down. First off: THEY KILLED THE WORM IN THE QUEUE???!!!! WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS???!!!! I don't have any real issue with the scareactors being removed, but it was still a cool touch when it was there. The outdoor scene definitely needs to return as it adds a real sense of anticipation and kinetic movement for those waiting outside and starts the attraction off with a true WOW moment. As for the attraction itself, it still works, but the 3D is desperately needed to sell some of the neat effects throughout (I also noticed the shadow effect on top was non-functional). The bat room works fine w/o the 3-D, but the bug room and the 360 scene just aren't effective without 3-D. I guess all we can do is continue to complain as loudly as we can until Universal gives in. I didn't hate my experience with the ride, but in the current state, I don't know if I'd be eager to jump back in line any time soon (whereas before it was always a must-do. At least the kick-a$$ Witch pre-show still works and the ride jeep is still impressive as hell).

The worm is still there, but sometimes the queue bypasses it if it’s short. I’m with you on the rest of your criticisms, though!

 

[Cwoolboy]

I saw the worm, but it didnt seem to be moving/working. Maybe I just came during it's nap time?

 

[Alicia]

I saw the worm, but it didnt seem to be moving/working. Maybe I just came during it's nap time?

It rests for 30 seconds between motion cycles. So it may have been sleeping yea

 

[sonoma15]

Are jungle scents at start of 360 scene still on at least?

Just got off of it and the jungle scent is still going strong. Didn't notice any syncing issues in the motion platform for the 360 scene either.

 

[Alicia]

Just got off of it and the jungle scent is still going strong. Didn't notice any syncing issues in the motion platform for the 360 scene either.

Thanks for the report!

 

[SpatulaShack]

Do we know if they've begun working on fixing the issues with Scene 1 (either by flattening the bumps or repairing the chassis of the ride vehicles) yet?

 

[Lucky Planet]

I rode w/o the 3D on 5/13. The last time I had ridden it prior was in 2017 when every single effect was working, so this was a disappointing experience. I don't think new guests would notice any thing is off but to those in the know...the current state of the attraction is a real let-down. First off: THEY KILLED THE WORM IN THE QUEUE???!!!! WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE TALKING ABOUT THIS???!!!! I don't have any real issue with the scareactors being removed, but it was still a cool touch when it was there. The outdoor scene definitely needs to return as it adds a real sense of anticipation and kinetic movement for those waiting outside and starts the attraction off with a true WOW moment. As for the attraction itself, it still works, but the 3D is desperately needed to sell some of the neat effects throughout (I also noticed the shadow effect on top was non-functional). The bat room works fine w/o the 3-D, but the bug room and the 360 scene just aren't effective without 3-D. I guess all we can do is continue to complain as loudly as we can until Universal gives in. I didn't hate my experience with the ride, but in the current state, I don't know if I'd be eager to jump back in line any time soon (whereas before it was always a must-do. At least the kick-a$$ Witch pre-show still works and the ride jeep is still impressive as hell).

wow that sounds rough, sounds disappointing.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Still no outdoor portion as of today…

Also rode for the first time with no 3-D. It really wasn’t that bad. The binaural audio and water effects still make the screen portions effective. I also had never seen the Kong figure without glasses on and it’s a lot cooler without them; I never noticed that there are leaves and bits of dirt embedded in his fur to build some continuity from the previous scene which I thought was a pretty cool detail.

The worst part is really how much less limited your field of view is without the glasses on. The 360 room becomes the least effective screen scene because it’s the section of the ride where it’s most obvious where you’re just in a big black warehouse. If they could just clean up the screen edges and extend some theming in some places, the lack of glasses wouldn’t be as big of a deal.

I think a lot of people really wanted to like this ride when it opened, which is fine. But it’s just not that good…taking away the 3-D turned it from a C+ to a C. It’s fine.

 

[Steptwice]

Still no outdoor portion as of today…

Also rode for the first time with no 3-D. It really wasn’t that bad. The binaural audio and water effects still make the screen portions effective. I also had never seen the Kong figure without glasses on and it’s a lot cooler without them; I never noticed that there are leaves and bits of dirt embedded in his fur to build some continuity from the previous scene which I thought was a pretty cool detail.

The worst part is really how much less limited your field of view is without the glasses on. The 360 room becomes the least effective screen scene because it’s the section of the ride where it’s most obvious where you’re just in a big black warehouse. If they could just clean up the screen edges and extend some theming in some places, the lack of glasses wouldn’t be as big of a deal.

I think a lot of people really wanted to like this ride when it opened, which is fine. But it’s just not that good…taking away the 3-D turned it from a C+ to a C. It’s fine.

Rookie move not taking off your glasses previous runs and admiring Kong…

 

[Lucky Planet]

Still no outdoor portion as of today…

Also rode for the first time with no 3-D. It really wasn’t that bad. The binaural audio and water effects still make the screen portions effective. I also had never seen the Kong figure without glasses on and it’s a lot cooler without them; I never noticed that there are leaves and bits of dirt embedded in his fur to build some continuity from the previous scene which I thought was a pretty cool detail.

The worst part is really how much less limited your field of view is without the glasses on. The 360 room becomes the least effective screen scene because it’s the section of the ride where it’s most obvious where you’re just in a big black warehouse. If they could just clean up the screen edges and extend some theming in some places, the lack of glasses wouldn’t be as big of a deal.

I think a lot of people really wanted to like this ride when it opened, which is fine. But it’s just not that good…taking away the 3-D turned it from a C+ to a C. It’s fine.

Rookie move not taking off your glasses previous runs and admiring Kong…

I was thinking the same lol
I always did that

 

[_rnblove]

I think regarding the outdoor portion, (which I have been heavily advocating they bring back) will ultimately be fixed next year. I have a buddy of mine who works closely to Universal who's said that they haven't fixed the road yet because it's either "keep the employees" or "fix the outdoor part." It's a budgetary thing. When Epic Universe opens, the amount of money they will have for fixes will be INSANE. I think it is just a waiting game now. I am a hopeless optimist. Mike West, the actual creator of the ride, said recently he thinks they tried to axe the outdoor part for a while, but I don't think that is the case. If that was the case they should've never built the outdoor road in the first place. The exterior facade is too gorgeous and majestic not to fix the lead-up to it.

 

[IzzyB]

I think regarding the outdoor portion, (which I have been heavily advocating they bring back) will ultimately be fixed next year. I have a buddy of mine who works closely to Universal who's said that they haven't fixed the road yet because it's either "keep the employees" or "fix the outdoor part." It's a budgetary thing. When Epic Universe opens, the amount of money they will have for fixes will be INSANE. I think it is just a waiting game now. I am a hopeless optimist. Mike West, the actual creator of the ride, said recently he thinks they tried to axe the outdoor part for a while, but I don't think that is the case. If that was the case they should've never built the outdoor road in the first place. The exterior facade is too gorgeous and majestic not to fix the lead-up to it.

I hope this is not the case and they fix it this year. In reality Universal has the money, they just won't spend it now.

 

[Lucky Planet]

I hope this is not the case and they fix it this year. In reality Universal has the money, they just won't spend it now.

yeah that comment caught me by surprise. I thought that the reason that they don't fix it is because they don't want the ride to be out of service before epic universe.

 

[Mad Dog]

The way they pinch pennies, you'd think Universal still had the 5 to 6 million per park attendance from before Potter. Sheese.

 

[Brian G.]

Guys, we've been over this ad nauseam. It hasn't been fixed because it would require a lengthy downtime. It has nothing to do with "keeping employees".

 

[Mad Dog]

Guys, we've been over this ad nauseam. It hasn't been fixed because it would require a lengthy downtime. It has nothing to do with "keeping employees".

and the 3D change had nothing to do with costs? cmon.

 

[Brian G.]

and the 3D change had nothing to do with costs? cmon.

That is a different argument - which also has been discussed ad nauseam.

 

[belloq87]

I think it's all going to continue to be discussed until the situation improves, because the current status quo is not acceptable.

Even if only in fan circles, this is the kind of thing that Universal should be taking some heat for until it's rectified. We've heard reports that that may well happen yet this year, and let's hope it does.

 

[Brian G.]

I think it's all going to continue to be discussed until the situation improves, because the current status quo is not acceptable.

Even if only in fan circles, this is the kind of thing that Universal should be taking some heat for until it's rectified. We've heard reports that that may well happen yet this year, and let's hope it does.

My point is that we've already discussed the whats and whys - you all are more than welcome to discuss the whens.