Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Studio Tour including
King Kong 360/3-D
What it is
Indoor-outdoor tram tour of soundstages and back lot.
Scope and scale
Headliner.
When to go
After experiencing the other rides.
Duration of tour
About 42 minutes.
Loading
speed
Fast.
DESCRIPTION AND COMMENTS
The Studio Tour is the centerpiece of Universal Studios
Hollywoodandisoneofthelongestattractions inAmerican themeparks.Thetourdeparts
from the tram boarding facility to the
right
of The Simpsons Ride and down the escalator.
(Note that there's also an escalator to the left of The Simpsons Ride, so don't get con-
fused.)
The tour circulates through the various street scenes, lagoons, special-effects venues,
and storage areas of Universal's back lot. The tram passes several soundstages where cur-
rent films and TV shows such as
CSI
are in production and actually enters three sound-
stages where action inspired by
Earthquake, The Mummy,
and
King Kong
is presented.
The Studio Tour was improved in 2006 with a robotic car chase from
The Fast and the
Furious:TokyoDrift
and the addition of sets and filmmaking demonstrations from
Warof
the Worlds.
Other famous sets visited include those from
Psycho, Jaws,
and
The Grinch
Who Stole Christmas.
A simulated flash flood, long a highlight of the tour, was enhanced
byincreasingthevolumeofwaterused.A2008firedestroyedtheNewYorkStreetsection
of the back lot, including the huge animatronic King Kong, the courthouse square from
Back to the Future,
and much of the contents of a video-archive storage vault. The back
lot was restored more or less to its original appearance, but when King Kong returned in
2010, it was in a very different form. Instead of rebuilding the classic banana-breathing
robotic monkey based on the 1976 version, the award-winning new
King Kong 360/3-D
is a virtual experience inspired by Peter Jackson's 2005 remake. Guests enter a darkened
tunnel where tram-length curved projection screens transform into the jungles of Skull Is-
land.AfamilyofhungryV-Rexesdecidetodineonyourtour,andKonghimselfswingsto
save you, with hydraulic lifts under the cars simulating the sensations of their tug-of-war.
The experience is visceral and visually stunning, especially when seen from the middle of
a row (sitting on the outside exposes the top of the screen, spoiling the illusion). At only
about 90 seconds,
King Kong
is too short to be a satisfying stand-alone attraction, but it's
a terrific addition to the overall tour.
As a great enhancement, all trams are equipped with high-definition monitors show-
ing clips from actual movies that demonstrate how the various sets and soundstages were
used in creating the films. In 2011 talk show host and former
Saturday Night Live
star
