King Kong

*This article is about the character. For the film franchise of the same name, see King Kong (franchise).*

**King Kong**, or simply **Kong**, is the title character from the film franchise of the same name. At Universal Orlando Resort, he originally appeared in *Kongfrontation*, a dark ride at Universal Studios Florida in which guests are attempting to evacuate New York City during his rampage, but are found and attacked by him. This ride was later closed in 2002 and replaced by *Revenge of the Mummy* in 2003. Kong later returned to the resort nearly fifteen years later at sister park Islands of Adventure in *Skull Island: Reign of Kong*, which opened in 2016.

## Background

*The background of this character differs between the many films he is featured in. This bio focuses on the 2005 film incarnation of the character, due to being the current version featured at Universal Orlando Resort.*

### Reign of Kong

King Kong is the name given to a giant gorilla that lives on the previously unknown Skull Island. The island is home to several bizarre creatures, such as dinosaurs and giant bats, bugs, and leeches. The island is also home to a group of natives, who worshiped Kong, and provide sacrifices for him.

In 1931, King Kong encountered jeeps of the *Eighth Wonder Expedition Company* being attacked by the local wildlife. King Kong protected the jeeps and had close encounters with them, one of which included Will Denham.

### New York City

In 1933, a group of filmmakers led by Will's filmmaker uncle Carl Denham arrived, and happen to be the most recent victims of these natives. Actress Ann Darrow was taken by the large ape. However, Kong begins to view Ann as a friend, rather than food, and tries to protect her from the harsh environment, including the other survivors.

Eventually, Kong was subdued, but Ann was not happy with the other survivors' treatment of Kong. He was then shipped back to New York, for Carl to make money on him as the Eighth Wonder of the World, and a prop for a Broadway play based on the encounter. Unfortunately, the restraints were not strong enough to contain the ape, and he escaped, hoping to reunite with Ann once more. But with attackers from all over, Kong was forced to climb up the Empire State Building, while still holding Ann. Several planes began to attack, and they eventually succeeded in killing Kong, who fell to his death. When asked about the event during its aftermath, Carl remarked that the airplanes were not the cause of his death, and that "it was Beauty killed the Beast."

## Park Appearances

### New York

#### Kongfrontation

Kong formerly appeared at Universal Studios Florida in *Kongfrontation*. This ride was located in the New York section where *Revenge of the Mummy* is currently operating. This ride was similar to the current aforementioned ride featuring the character in which riders encounter Kong, but it was instead set in New York City, with riders attempting to evacuate the city during Kong's rampage in the final act of the film. In addition, this attraction was based on the 1977 film, the first remake.

#### Mardi Gras Tribute Store

The 2023 Mardi Gras tribute store had an image of Kong from Kongfrontation getting a Mardi Gras mask and beads.

#### Revenge of the Mummy

The aforementioned replacement, *Revenge of the Mummy*, features a golden gorilla statue as an homage to the former attraction that was hosted there. 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, *Sahara Traders*, has more references to King Kong. Amongst the props in the shop are an advertisement for, "Carl Denhman's Giant Monster", being shown in the Broadway Theater on the November 13th of 1933. There is a newspaper article by Jack Driscoll (a character from King Kong) titled, "WAKING NIGHTMARE AS MONSTROUS "KONG" WREAKS HAVOC IN THE CITY Thanks in part to one mans ego and ignorance" which covers the events of King Kong's rampage. Carl Denham is mentioned as curating various exhibits in the Museum of Antiquities (the setting of Revenge of the Mummy) one, and an old flyer promoting the display of King Kong has reference to King Kong related artifacts being put on display in the museum. In letters between Evelyn O'Connell and Denham, it is revealed he asked her for, "A Kong sized pile of treasure" and other "Mummy stuff". Amongst the props, is an old tram sign for Roosevelt island, referencing the story of *Kongfrontation*.

During the Holidays, an ornament of King Kong is hung outside of Sahara Traders.

### Skull Island: Reign of Kong

King Kong currently appears in the Islands of Adventure attraction *Skull Island: Reign of Kong*. This ride is an expanded version of *King Kong 360 3D* at Universal Studios Hollywood's Studio Tour. Like the Hollywood ride, it is based on the 2005 remake directed by Peter Jackson, but set in an alternate timeline where Kong was not taken from Skull Island, and the island instead became a tourist destination. Here, he comes to the rescue of the riders and tour guides under attack by the various creatures of his home. It is not made clear if he doing this out of care for the riders, or to establish his dominance over the other creatures on the island. Nevertheless, he succeeds in saving the guests and crew, and towards the end of the ride, a large animatronic of the ape can be seen.

### Studio Tour

King Kong appears, fighting some dinosaurs.

### Tribute Store

The 2023 Holiday Tribute Store featured a flyer promoting King Kong being put on display in the Broadway Theater behind the map of Universal Shipping Routes. This flyer seemed to have been taken from Sahara Traders.

## Trivia

*For additional and more detailed information about the character of King Kong from the film franchise of the same name, please refer to the King Kong Wiki Article*.

* Andy Serkis, who previously worked with director Peter Jackson for *The Lord of the Rings* films as the motion capture actor for Gollum, provided the motion capture effects for Kong in the 2005 film.
	+ It is not known if he returned to perform the motion capture for the character in *Skull Island: Reign of Kong*.
* Although the character is owned by Universal, the company has licensed the character to Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment to be used in the Monster-Verse, a shared universe of monster films, mainly those based on Japanese production company Toho. This franchise began with the 2014 American remake of *Godzilla*. The film that introduced this version of Kong was titled *Kong: Skull Island*, and was released in 2017.
	+ This version of Kong is set to return in 2020 for *Godzilla VS Kong*, marking the second time since 1962 that the characters have faced off against each other.
		- This is not the first time King Kong has met Godzilla. In a previous crossover film, the character was given lightning powers in an attempt to allow fair competition with his rival.
	+ Currently, there are no plans to adapt this specific version of King Kong for Universal's parks, but a *Godzilla* attraction was briefly featured at Universal Studios Japan.
* A photo-op mural of King Kong in the Tribute Store had buildings from the backdrop of Universal's New York.

## References

1. ↑ Years/dates on crates, and backstory from Myth Explorers web series
2. ↑ https://touringplans.com/blog/s6\_2022-mardi-gras-tribute-store/
3. ↑ https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2022/08/01/sahara-traders-hiding-details-about-the-soon-to-reopen-revenge-of-the-mummy-at-universal-studios-florida/
4. ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2022/07/sahara-traders-gets-a-new-look-with-tons-of-amazing-details-and-easter-eggs-ahead-of-revenge-of-the-mummy-reopening-at-universal-studios-florida/
5. ↑ https://orlandoparkstop.com/feature/easter-eggs/12-holiday-easter-eggs-at-universal-studios-florida/
6. ↑ https://wdwnt.com/2023/11/holiday-tribute-store-2023-usf-full-tour/