Skull Island: Reign of Kong

macraven said:

With the other rides I went on once they first open, express is not open
Until later

This way all have the same wait for the ride which is fair for everyone

Express could open a week (or two) after the ride officially opens
Shrek started the ep lines in less than a week when I was there

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Yup totally agreeing with you there..was just responding to comments regarding people wondering if it would when it first opened as well as those seeing it showing up on the app with EP available (doesn't mean it isn't as I'm not there to have 1st hand knowledge but their website doesn't show it and the news story linked up doesn't mention EP at all).

https://www.universalorlando.com/Ri...ource=A000070503.000001312&IndivKey=128038034

it is OPEN officially now!

So what are people's thoughts on the ride itself? I haven't seen much regarding actual reviews. Is it a great ride, so-so, fantastic, terrible? I don't need details (no spoilers!) but I'm curious if people are enjoying it.

I've only got to see videos so far, but it looks fun to me. But I'm a big Kong fan. I loved the original ride. While they won't be able to replicate it, this will do....even if most of the ride is just a 3-D video with movement. At least we get a big Kong AA at the end (spoiler alert maybe? I mean they posted a video saying there would be an AA of it so......)

Took a trip to the parks June 12th and was able to jump onto one of the technical rehearsals for kong.
they put a generic time up of 90 minutes.
we made it through the cool que in about 45 minutes.
right when we were grabbing our goggles they shut down the ride for about 20 minutes.
The first time we rode I got to sit in the middle... DEFINITELY SIT IN THE MIDDLE!
in the middle you see absolutely no tops or bottoms to the screens.
There is some artificial motion at one point in the ride and it feels so much more realistic from the middle seat.
In the que the two scare actors did a good job of scaring both of my little ones.
The bat aa's are really pointless and meh.
The fogged out windows that dont allow you to see much of the AA on the vehicle is a let down.
The fact that the voices are different for every driver is really cool.
During my first ride the movie shut down oddly and the kong aa shut down halfway through.
when we got off the ride people were just being very moody and didnt hear the man say that we could ride again if we'd like.
they put is in what will eventually be the fast past que.

We boarded the second time and i was on the far right outside.
dont do this.... you can see the top and bottoms of the screens and its just not as good.
I BELIEVE we made it through the full middle movie. We also saw most of the AA for kong and then we just kind of got stuck in the AA room before we exited.

The pro's.. the middle 360 movie is just AWESOME! its the best part!
you can turn your head from side to side and the action goes from side to side.
the second time i rode i looked at different parts and saw different things.

the beginning room and a half is sort of pointless... BUT its nice to see a little bit of PG-13 action.

The OUTSIDE of the ride is just amazing... the gate... the rocks... just insane!

the audio is just top notch... even in the QUE.. the witch room is just spectacular.

the negatives... the ride is so SHORT!!! it may be minute-wise long.. but you basically stop in 3 rooms for a few minutes. it seems WAY shorter than it is. It feels as short as Gringotts IMO.

Because its only a few rooms... its like a tiny circle... you really dont deviate from riding in the truck in a little circle. They dont do much to make you FEEL like it isnt a tiny circle either.

The AA kong room is so disappointing and pointless. I just wish they didnt do it at all.
if youve gone on kongfrontation it just makes you miss that ride so much.
The AA has 0 interaction with the vehicle... lift me... anything.. just do anything!
Its very unimpressive and just an add in to make it a little different.
The detail in the AA is top notch... as in facial movement, quality of materials, etc... BUT.. theres something about it that leaves you unimpressed overall. Mostly the fact that it just moves its head around and nothing else.


The middle of the ride is just so impressive that it really just makes all the extra surrounding it seem like extras they threw together to make it a bigger attraction. Everything INSIDE the ride house is very underwhelming that surrounds the 360 experience.

with that said... this ride has cracked my top 10 all around.
both harry potter rides are better.
spiderman and transformers are better.
jurrasic park and the water rides are much more fun.
the roller coasters are more thrilling.
BUT.. this is a good addition to universal.
Just dont over-hype it.
Go in with low expectations and enjoy the ride for what it is.
the 360 room is AWESOME.
everything else is just pointless extra to make it different than hollywood.

WARNING!!! this WAS a tech rehearsal. We rode a total of 3 times and the 2nd time SEEMED to go off without issue. I could have missed some motion etc.
BUT.. after riding it three times i think i got the whole experience.
I believe they only let us board a third time because we got stuck in the AA room for 5-10 minutes.

It was very good, just need a few rides to take it all in.

Now that is officially open is there an Express line ?

nope. its going to be one of the rides with no express for a long while.

What do you experienced riders rate as the scariness factor for kids? Thanks!

Nobody352 said:

Took a trip to the parks June 12th and was able to jump onto one of the technical rehearsals for kong.
...

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Thank you! Great review, much appreciated!

OOMHS said:

Thank you! Great review, much appreciated!

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I tried not to spoil too much.
It may sound like im bashing it a bit... im really not.. its a great ride.
Just dont expect it to be a PREMIERE ride.

Pesky said:

What do you experienced riders rate as the scariness factor for kids? Thanks!

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my son rode the ride and he is 4.
my daughter who is 10 was afraid of the scare actors in the que.
It all depends on the kid.
The witch room is loud and scary.
The scare actors are really good.
The first room has a PG-13 type of event on screen.
So take that as you will.

Pesky said:

What do you experienced riders rate as the scariness factor for kids? Thanks!

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If you're taking smaller kids on, you're better off sitting on the end in the front - it's less intense there.