Long live the King in new 3D ride

Long live the King in new 3D ride

The King lived up to Kong-sized hype when hundreds of media and VIPs were provided the world’s biggest 3D experience situated in a jungle between a T-Rex and cinema’s biggest ape during a preview of the new Tram Tour attraction that opens at Universal Studios Hollywood on July 1.

You can experience some of the new King Kong 360 3D ride yourself in the following 3 1/2-minute video, though you can’t possibly sense the feeling of being enveloped in the environment without being on the tram car, wearing the 3D glasses, and feeling the wind, slobber, and jolts and swaying of the car as the beasts use the tram for stepping stones.

(Story continues below the video.)

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The nearly two-minutes of digital projection at 60-frames-per-second on the 185-foot-long/40-foot tall screens puts you literally in the middle of the action like no other theme park ride. This is by far the newest must-see element of the classic tram tour that has already really improved for the summer with routing through the newly-opened reconstructed New York backlot and the on-board video monitors that feature helpful clips from movies and TV shows filmed at spots you’re driven by on the tour.

Details of the evolution and technology of the newest attraction, as well as comments by creator/filmmaker Peter Jackson can be read here, with an accompany video.

On the red carpet prior to the media presentation and preview, Universal Studios president and COO Ron Meyer said the company is just entering the 3D cinema arena with its first such release next week on July 9 with the animated family comedy “Despicable Me.” The studio, which has no specific plans yet for the home 3D Blu-ray market, will be selective about what movies it releases in 3D, working with its filmmakers to determine what productions warrant the process to enhance the story.

Even though the studio simultaneously announced the release of the “Back to the Future” trilogy on Blu-ray, Meyer said there were no plans to convert the movie or the popular BTF giant-screen ride-film attraction at Universal Studios parks to 3D. And that’s just fine with BTF star Christopher Lloyd, who told 3DHollywood.net while attending the event on Tuesday (June 29) that he felt the original movies are fine just the way they are, but then he admitted not being much of a fan of new technologies, including HiDef Blu-ray, etc.

Universal Parks and Resorts president and CEO Tom Williams says 3D has proven to be a valuable enhancement with park customers who feel it allows them to become more immersed and interactive in the experience.

— By Scott Hettrick