Universal Orlando Announces King Kong Attraction to be Ready by Summer 2016
Universal Orlando Resort's newest attraction will be King Kong, Universal confirmed Wednesday morning via Twitter.
Construction for the Skull Island: Reign of Kong ride, which has been going on for nearly two years, will be finished by next year. The ride, located next to Jurassic Park in Islands of Adventures, will debut in the summer of 2016.
The Universal's press release reads:
"It begins as guests are transported deep into a wild and mysterious world, where their mission is to discover creatures of unknown origin - but where they are soon fighting for their own survival. Their journey will take them through an ancient temple inhabited by hostile natives, a perilous jungle ruled by prehistoric creatures, a foreboding underworld of caves concealing unspeakable terrors - and face-to-face with the colossal Kong himself."
Rumors of a new ride have been circulating for a while. Earlier this year, Comcast's CFO mentioned a new Kong ride that would be coming to Universal Orlando. However, at the time, the news was not confirmed.
Universal is working with Peter Jackson, who directed the 2005 movie, "King Kong."
"Peter has been instrumental in helping our team develop a truly immersive experience," Mike West, executive producer, Universal Creative told FoxNews.com. "We've created an entirely new story line for this attraction, so it will be unlike anything riders have experienced."
West added, "King Kong is a Hollywood movie legend and a huge part of both our history and our future. He gives us the opportunity to tap into everything that makes our film history so special and everything that makes our theme park attractions so spectacular. We can't wait to bring him to life in such an epic way."
Here is the video announcement:
The ride, which involves a 72-seat truck, will be one of the biggest attractions at Universal Resort. The ride itself will also be "one of the longest" that Universal has ever done.
According to IMDB, Universal Studios is planning on releasing "Kong: Skull Island" on March 10, 2017.
