Kongfrontation

The entrance to this attraction.

## Overview

**Kongfrontation** is a former ride attraction at Universal Studios Florida that opened on June 7, 1990, based on the 1976 King Kong film.
It then permanently closed on September 8, 2002 and got replaced by *Revenge of the Mummy*.

There's now a new King Kong attraction in operation today in Universal's Islands of Adventure next door, *Skull Island: Reign of Kong*.

## Plot

### Queue

Guests entered the attraction through a facade recreating Pennsylvania Station
 as it appeared in New York City at the beginning of the 20th century.
Within the six-story walls of the massive show building, guests would
find themselves in an elaborate production set simulating a New York City Subway station, Manhattan's Roosevelt Island Tramway
 station and a surrounding city block (intricately detailed from garbage
 cans and graffiti covering the walls, to fully stocked storefronts).
However, the queue line would frequently be updated to include
modern-day movie posters and advertisements. Overhead television
monitors displayed a special WWOR-TV news report of King Kong's attack, entitled "Kong on the Loose". Real-life news anchor Rolland Smith reported that the giant ape King Kong
 had escaped its confines and was wreaking havoc on the streets of New
York. Kong had already destroyed two elevated trains and was rapidly
approaching the East River with authorities seemingly powerless to stop him. Clips from the 1976 film version of *King Kong*, portraying the beast's rampage, played during these newscasts, as did alerts from the Emergency Broadcast System
 telling everyone in the city to remain indoors due to what was lurking
outside. After the TV Monitors Displayed breaking news that New York
City was being attacked by a giant ape, This updating did not extend to
the news reports playing on the queue line's TVs, which would show
commercials for shows that were current as of the ride's 1990 opening,
like Out of This World and The New Lassie. As the guests proceeded
through the line queue, they would continually hear about King Kong's
location along with his path of destruction. By the end of
Kongfrontation's run guests were bombarded with three decades at once.
The queue made its way up a long ramp and ended at the elevated
Manhattan station of the Roosevelt Island Tramway.

### Ride

Upon arriving at the station, guests boarded a large, open-air aerial tram vehicle. There, a live guide aboard the tram informed them that they were being evacuated off of Manhattan Island and over to Roosevelt Island
 during Kong's attack. The tram's radio was tuned to the police
emergency frequency so that guests could be informed of Kong's location
in the city. The giant ape was destroying the city, he destroyed two
elevated trains, buildings, houses and he was knocking down anything in
his path. Authorities could do nothing to stop him, The tram traveled
above the streets of downtown New York City where guests could view
Kong's path of destruction. There was a water geyser from a broken fire
hydrant, broken steam pipes, crashed and overturned cars, and a subway
train partly derailed from its elevated track. A police chopper
described the scene around the tram over the radio, alerting that Kong
was approaching the tramway and that he was grabbing a power pole.
Kong's silhouette could briefly be seen as a spotlight shone on a
building ahead of the tram. As the tram passed the power pole, it tipped
 over and its electrical transformer exploded, unleashing a shower of
sparks and fire, which ignited the derailed elevated subway train.

Rounding a bend and nearing the East River, the tram encountered Kong hanging from the Queensboro Bridge.
 A police helicopter hovering nearby opened fire on Kong to protect the
approaching tram. Kong retaliated, pounding the roof of tram and sending
 the chopper crashing and exploding into the bridge. Narrowly escaping
the attack, the tram finally crossed over the river to Roosevelt Island,
 the sound of giant footsteps seeming to follow. A second helicopter
hovering nearby shone a bright searchlight directly at the tram,
inhibiting the view of what lay ahead. The tram operator urged the
chopper to turn off the light, and in doing so, revealed that Kong had
cut the tram off. He proceeded to grab, lift and subsequently drop the
tram after being fired upon by the circling police helicopter. After
narrowly escaping the enraged beast for a second time, small television
monitors lowered from the tram's ceiling and guests watched themselves
on the ride as part of a breaking news report as the tram safely made
its way into the Roosevelt Island station. Although Kong was never
actually defeated, the news report indicated that he was making his way
away from New York City, thereby alleviating the threat.

### Photograph

Guests exited the attraction and traveled down a series of ramps into a
King Kong themed gift shop called Safari Outfitters Ltd. There, a Kodak
 photo opportunity booth was located where guests could pose with King
Kong, who appeared to grip them in front of a Queensboro Bridge
backdrop.

## Tributes

* **Revenge of the Mummy**: There are multiple King Kong tributes in this ride which replaced Kongfrontation. A golden statue of a gorilla can be found in the scene where Imhotep bribes the riders to give up their souls in exchange for endless treasure. Also, if one were to get a special "Behind the Scenes" look of the ride with the lights on, when walking through the fast-paced section that's usually covered in darkness; if one was to take a look up at the ceiling, they would see the actual cable car tracks from *Kongfrontation* still attached up above. Another tribute is hieroglyphics where Egyptians are holding bananas, referencing the trope that apes like bananas and how King Kong had banana scented breath in Kongfrontation. The scarab logo found in the queue has a hidden King Kong face in it. A skeleton is wearing a hat that says, "KONG RULES".
	+ **Sahara Traders**: Revenge of the Mummy's gift-shop has multiple story references to King Kong, explaining that Revenge of the Mummy's setting the Museum of Antiquities frequently collaborated with Carl Denham and has an exhibit of Skull Island artifacts which they showed off during his presentation of King Kong. Also present is a Roosevelt Island sign, referencing Kongfrontation's ride system.
* **Skull Island: Reign of Kong**: This attraction is a spiritual successor to Kongfrontation, being a King Kong dark ride based on one of the King Kong remakes which has a scene going close to a giant audio-animatronic Kong.

## Gallery

King Kong attacking the Roosevelt Island Tram.The Tram Station.Kongfrontation Poster.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/OrlandoFun/comments/cxbmz9/revenge\_of\_the\_mummy\_universal\_studios/