Honestly, as I watched the news unfold on television in horror, I felt certain that if in fact, King Kong had been lost, that would be it; the end of the mighty ape's reign at Universal Studios Hollywood.

And in my head, it made perfect sense. Why spend millions on a new Kong attraction, when there are so many more Universal properties and partnerships that could be explored? On the other hand, if the Backlot was to be rebuilt, which it of course would be, why the need at all for a Kong attraction - or ANY attraction for that matter - when the space that the show building occupied could return much more investment over time to the studio as a useable shooting location?

I was certain King Kong was gone in a plume of smoke.

Flash-forward to last summer. As we rode the Studio Tour one day, a Tour Guide made an off-hand comment as part of his spiel that King Kong WOULD in fact, be returning to Universal Studios Hollywood in a brand-new attraction.

Weeks passed and the guides began talking about this more and more, openly. Details remained sketchy at best, but the common thread was the date - summer of 2010.

Naturally, I went to work trying to make sense of this and to see what solid information I could turn up. Almost immediately, one of the most popular theories/rumors was that the trams would enter Skull Island and find themselves trapped between two MASSIVE audio-animatronics figures - a towering T-rex and the mighty King Kong. Terrified Tour guests would be rocked and bounced between the two battling behemoths in a similar fashion as they are in the Earthquake attraction on the Studio Tour.

The concept sounded very interesting. It also sounded REALLY expensive. In this day and age, having a large-scale audio-animatronics figure that is both very fluid AND reliable... we're talking enormous costs; well over the $100 million mark once all is said and done; closer to $200 million for two gargantuan AA figures done correctly in a realistic, practical environment. I couldn't see Universal going for that. In this day and age, I couldn't see any company going for that, honestly.

Weeks turned into months, and as the months passed, more information surfaced in various forms. The practical experience was out, and word came that the entire Kong show would be 3-D.

This is where I became very skeptical very quickly. I am the first person to say that I am really over the whole 3-D thing, whether it's in haunted attractions or simulators or whatever. Pretty much the only place I'm okay with it these days are in some films and eventually, I suppose I will have to accept it as part of regular television viewing. But that's different - we're talking major theme park attractions in this case. With that said, yeah, I am not impressed anymore by 3-D/4-D shows. I'm not saying that I automatically hate them - I just am not wowed anymore by 3-D films; give me good old-fashioned practical rides like the Haunted Mansion or Men in Black any day over one that relies on 3-D technology and gags to work.

With some digging, I quickly confirmed that yes, the latest rumors were accurate; King Kong would be a 3-D attraction. I remained hopeful that Universal Studios Hollywood would continue to seriously engage this reboot with honest enthusiasm and devotion, but as a theme park enthusiast, I have to say that I was honestly disappointed and felt that Universal kind of took the cheap, easy way out.

Fast-forward again to March 23, 2010. Theme Park Adventure and a few other selected media organizations were invited to a secret test facility near Los Angeles International Airport to witness a mock-up of what King Kong 360 was to be. It was a very unique and interesting day for us - which we documented and presented as a feature right here on TPA four months ago.

While we were impressed by what we saw, and while we felt that this would be a very good addition to the Studio Tour, I have to admit that I couldn't help but wonder how amazing a practical experience would have been - and all of the awesome possibilities that would go along with that for a truly astounding show.

As summer approached, we watched the show building for Kong go up very quickly at Universal Studios Hollywood. The show was obviously fast-tracked to get done in time for the summer season, which is critical to Universal, as their attendance during the off-season is really low. Universal executives looked to Peter Jackson and his team at Weta Digital to deliver this massive-scale attraction. So really, while the Phoenix Project was taking place, it included two separate agendas - to rebuild the Universal Studios Hollywood Backlot to be better than ever and more functional for filmmakers, and also, to rebuild the King Kong attraction, updating it and using state-of-the-art digital technology as a vehicle to deliver the giant ape to Tour guests. Both projects moved forward in tandem toward the end of spring 2010, and from week to week, you could really see how fast the Kong show building was going up; the speed was actually very impressive and surprising, knowing how long attractions usually take to be constructed and installed at theme parks.

Obviously, having the King Kong 360 attraction mocked-up elsewhere helped tremendously. Basically, all Universal Creative had to do was transplant the hardware from the test site to the new show building at Universal Studios, and they were pretty much good to go. As the install took place, Universal was very quiet about it, although the marketing machine was in high gear, cranking out news releases, hosting amateur filmmaker contests and really setting the stage for the huge return of King Kong to the Tour.

The weekend of the 4th of July was set as the target hard open date, and Universal absolutely nailed it. Either the install went very smoothly, or any issues were completely kept under the tightest wraps possible, because we didn't hear a peep except for the fact that it was in and ready to go.

An employee preview night of the attraction took place prior to the media event - and even then, information was scarce. It was very apparent that we'd have to wait for the media event to really see how it turned out.

The following is a recount of the King Kong 360 media event/opening. If you're not interested in those details, click here to jump to the break-down of the pros and cons of King Kong 360.

A few days prior to hard-open, Universal Studios Hollywood held a large-scale media event that was packed with representatives from websites, newspapers, television production companies, and everything else you can imagine. There were a few celebrities here and there, mostly B or C-list, but there were the occasional personalities walking the red carpet that were noteworthy to the throngs of reporters and journalists, including Wayne Brady, Kevin Smith (who wanted nothing to do with the media and practically ran past everyone on the carpet - maybe he was on his way to making his next horrible film), Mark Pellegrino, and a huge surprise, Christopher Lloyd.

Betty White was supposed to be one of the main celebs present due to her dealings with wildlife and humane organizations, which were put in the spotlight along with the massive ape (it's an animal thing... just go with it). Unfortunately, and to everyone's great disappointment, there was a last-minute schedule conflict with the media event and her new television show and she had to bow out. We really wanted to meet her, simply because she's so friggin' awesome. Alas, that was not meant to be.

"Doc" Brown showing up was absolutely a surprise however, and when he was totally chill and approachable, a handful of journalists patiently took their time waiting for the right moment and did just that - and he was completely wonderful and generous with his time and attention. It's a shame all celebrities can't be that way - but I suppose it makes the easy-going, nice celebrities that much more special. And that was definitely the case with Christopher Lloyd; he was a true gentleman and everyone felt it.

Several animals were on hand at the event, including a huge snake, a stunning tiger and a monkey that was really a Mr. Cranky Pants, growling at people and thrashing a stuffed gorilla it was given to play with. When it comes to fierceness, our vote goes to the growling little monkey for most imposing creature at the Kong event! It was hilarious!

The event was attended by several hundred guests and the red carpet was fairly long, between sound stages in the Front Lot area of the studio. To set the "tone", there were "natives" lurking and interacting with guests and media while we waited for everything to get underway. The really funny thing about the natives though, was they were so not native-looking individuals! In fact, I made the comment that the only island they'd ever visited was probably Fashion Island in Newport Beach! These folks were straight out of a modeling agency in Beverly Hills somewhere - we got a good laugh out of that as they lurked and spouted "native speak" at people; it was pretty funny, actually. Fortunately, a "real" tribal-appearing band arrived, and they absolutely looked the part of Skull Island locals - they played drums loudly, danced and gyrated and basically, set the mood and tone; I think the other "natives" disappeared to Starbucks at that point or went back to their day jobs at H&M!

We moved inside the sound stage, where drinks and absolutely delicious hor d'oeuvres were being served. Many of the treats were banana-based sweets that were incredible. One thing that Universal absolutely does right for its media events is food. We've had the privilege of attending numerous Universal events here in California as well as Florida over the years, and Uni's food/catering is always top-notch. Kudos to them; no one was disappointed and the eats went fast the moment they arrived on the soundstage floor!

As the lights dimmed, the crowd of guests and media were welcomed by members of the Universal executive team and discussion regarding the fire that destroyed the Backlot and the rebuilding of King Kong. We were shown the new King Kong commercial, which was met with a loud round of applause.

The moment that had everyone curious was at hand, and as we put on our 3-D glasses, a video of Peter Jackson appeared on a large screen in front of us.

In a pre-recorded introduction, Peter Jackson hosted what is believed to be the first-ever 3-D media welcome and briefing. He explained how exciting it was for he and his team at Weta Digital to revisit Skull Island and create this massive 3-D experience for Universal Creative. The whole bit was a little on the hokey side, and a soundstage of folks wearing these glasses gawking at Peter Jackson on the screen must have been a sight to see... but it worked, as corny as it seemed. People applauded and cheered, despite the fact that Jackson was not live on the screen, nor could he interact with the crowd or hear their applause. Eventually, Jackson declared King Kong 360 open, and he fired a streamer/confetti popper at the camera; from the screen in the soundstage, confetti and streamers suddenly burst out at the audience. It was a cool gag and everyone loved it. Naturally, the huge hope was that Peter Jackson would be there along with some Weta folks to personally answer questions and open the attraction in person. Whatever the reason, that didn't happen, and the 3-D press briefing was created. I have to give props to Universal for at least thinking of a fun, interesting way to include Jackson in the day's events.

We all left the soundstage to a makeshift boarding area as several trams pulled up. The "native" band was playing outside and there was a genuine sense of excitement in the air as we all climbed aboard our trams. With cameras, microphones, scripts and a multitude of social media devices in hand, the tram full of press representatives headed out into the Backlot.

Before visiting Kong, the tram did take us through the newly-reopened Backlot, where the Tour Guide spoke extensively about the new facades and also the loss of the original King Kong attraction. Over the past several months, the Studio Tour trams have been slowly accessing more and more of the Backlot area as it reopens following completion of construction, granted there isn't any filming already taking place. On this day, we drove through a large chunk of the brand-spanking-new facade area; it looks great and everyone seemed very impressed. Props to Universal Studios Hollywood for just about completing Project Phoenix. Well done!

As we cleared the last section of facades, the tram made its way toward the enormous Kong show building, as a video of Peter Jackson began playing on the video monitors of the vehicle. The excitement grew as the tram began to enter the show building after passing another tram vehicle that was smashed and smoking. Cameras rolled and tension rose as darkness swallowed the tram whole to the sound of heavy, foreboding tribal drums.

Peter Jackson welcomed us via video to Skull Island on the tram's monitors, and then everything went black.

The attraction began, and we watched the screens as well as the other folks around us experiencing everything for the first time. As the show finished, the enthusiastic cheering and applause was very loud and continuous. The majority of the media guests really liked King Kong 360.

The trams returned us all to the loading area in the Front Lot that we left from, and those wanting more of an opportunity to ride again or take pictures near the attraction were invited to do so. We opted to ride through again, and the second time around, the cheering and enthusiasm were the same. Following our second ride, we hopped into a van and were driven up to the Kong show building for an up-close photo opportunity.

In all, the King Kong event was a very smooth, very nicely-done opening for this attraction. The event was imaginative and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves for a few hours. Major kudos to the Universal Hollywood team for a successful and very fun opening of Kong; great job, everyone!

An insider's thoughts on King Kong 360

There seem to be two extreme camps when it comes to Universal Studios Hollywood's newest attraction, King Kong 360: those who LOVE it, and those who really don't like it. We haven't heard too many luke-warm comments about the experience, but there is an abundance of love as well as hate for this new addition to the Studio Tour out there.

First things first; King Kong 360 is not a stand-alone attraction or ride. People posting and saying, "I can't wait to go on this ride when we visit!" are in for a disappointment when they actually do head to Universal, because Kong, just as it's always been, is a part of the Studio Tour. It's an experience, not a stand-alone attraction. Just like King Kong was back in the day, and just like everything else along the Tour such as the Collapsing Bridge, Fast and the Furious, Flash Flood and War of the Worlds set, Kong 360 is merely a part of the Tour as a whole.

Kong itself is a very short experience. Once the film begins, it feels like it's perhaps a minute in length or so; depending on which site you're reading, you will find the running time listed as anywhere from less than a minute to between four and five minutes, which it definitely is not. Without timing it myself (one of those things you just forget to do when snapping images, etc. for a story), I would say that Kong 360 is anywhere between 60 and 90 seconds. Longer than that, I would be amazed, because it does not feel longer. So guests prepared to experience something that would match the running time of a stand-alone attraction such as Shrek, Jurassic Park or The Simpsons - those folks will be sorely disappointed, and we have read so many comments speaking to that over the past three weeks.

Those guests visiting Universal Studios Hollywood that do understand that King Kong 360 is merely an addition to the Studio Tour will get much more out of it. And honestly, the excitement and tremendous amount of cheering once the tram leaves the show building each time indicates that most people really do like Kong very much. And that is a good thing for Universal.

King Kong 360 3-D is a massive undertaking that we have followed since the beginning, including our special behind-the-scenes feature that explains the technical aspects of the experience. It's apparent for the average theme park tourist, Universal Studios Hollywood has a winner on its hands. The crowds are huge at Universal Hollywood this summer; the largest crowds by far that we have ever seen on a standard operating day.

The queue for the Studio Tour is akin to the crowds experienced during Halloween Horror Nights, if not heavier. Switchbacks are employed both at the entrance of the Tour as well as the extended queue downstairs at the main loading area, which is fully-used. Definitely, the best time to do the Tour is first thing in the morning when the park opens, or later in the afternoon before it closes for the day. If you hit the Tour during the middle of the day, be prepared to wait upward of 90 minutes to board a tram.

3-D glasses are in bins for guests to take just prior to boarding the trams. They are the plastic glasses that we have come to know at most major theme parks; we call them "EO style". The glasses for King Kong 360 are black, as depicted in the commercial for the attraction.

Once aboard the tram, King Kong 360 happens fairly early on - after visiting the new Metropolitan sets, just prior to the Picture Car area. In the past, this would have been the Collapsing Bridge portion of the Tour; it is now Kong's spot. And before I go further about Kong, it is important to add that the Collapsing Bridge is still there, and sits dwarfed by the Kong show building. There is a route that trams theoretically can take if management wishes to employ both attractions in the Tour - but that is unlikely. Unless Kong is down for rehab, it is my guess that we've seen the last of the Collapsing Bridge in use for a long, long time; possibly forever now, if it is allowed to fall into disrepair and rot in the shadow of Kong. Only time will tell the fate of the Collapsing Bridge, but for now, it certainly has been put out to pasture.

King Kong 360 3-D has its strengths and its weaknesses, both very apparent to the experienced theme park fan. Going into the attraction, the set-up is nicely done, with a video introduction by Peter Jackson in a long, dark, partially-themed tunnel that allows your eyes to grow somewhat accustomed to the darkness before taking you in to the main building. The entrance to Kong is great (although there really is no way to hide or theme the massive show building attached to it), but the further you go into the tunnel, the theming just stops, which I feel is bad show. Theming out the tunnel all the way into the darkness would not have cost Universal much more and it would have made the transition from themed entrance to pitch black interior 100% seamless. Unfortunately, having that cohesive theming abruptly stopped just prior to entering the show building leaves the lingering thought in your mind that you're not entering Skull Island at all, but rather, an industrial-looking soundstage-sized building; the theming is completely blown at that point, which is a shame. Like I said, most won't even pick up on that - but fans with a keen eye and strong sense of thematic impact will understand; the pass-off from light to darkness should have been seamless and complete.

The soundtrack as you enter the attraction building is riveting and very nicely-done. Who doesn't love heavy, deep, driving percussion? It works, and as the tram heads into the building, you can hear the space become larger as the soundtrack becomes "bigger", echoing and booming inside the building; it's great!

As the tram comes to rest, the film comes on and instantly, the multi-sensory effects such as scent and wind take over. In fact, King Kong 360 employs numerous sensory effects throughout the show - which is one of its weaknesses. The wind is fine, and the scents are okay (except it smells like the same ol' same ol' that is widely-used in all of their Halloween mazes during Horror Nights); they do add to the show. However, the way that they are executed is really bad if you're sitting next to one of the deployment spots. The soundtrack is not loud enough, and if you happen to be sitting next to one of the scent/sensory "machines", you can hear it in action... "PSHHHH... PSHHHHH... PSHHH..."; it's not good and very, very distracting. Without completely moving the delivery points, the only way Universal is going to be able to mask this sound is by cranking the Kong soundtrack up itself, which is probably a mess of ordinances and safety regulations regarding attractions and sustained decibel levels. My gut feeling is, this is as good as it's going to get as far as this sound situation goes.

One of the main concerns I had when we saw the mock-up of Kong 360 months ago was that it is so large and there is so much happening, that guests wouldn't know where to focus their attention, and would ultimately, miss half the show. I expressed my thoughts to Kong Show Producer Valerie Johnson-Redrow during our tour of the mock-up, and was assured that in using sound cues, guests' attention would be directed at the right places at the right time. After experiencing King Kong 360 several times, I can say that I still have no idea how people are supposed to know where to look and when; there is so much going on and the screens are so long - there is just no way. There are no sound cues in place that demand guest attention, so once the show begins, it really is everyone for themselves as far as what they look at, and what their own experience is.

That said, I will say that while frustrating on one hand, it plays tremendously positive on the other. Having been through Kong 360 several times since it opened, we have noticed different things each time by looking at different areas of the screens. It's no hype when I say you can experience King Kong 360 over and over and see something new each time. That is actually a strong selling point for this attraction, in my opinion. Even though its running time is short - it offers an overload of imagery to take in; too much for just one ride. Fans riding the Studio Tour over and over will be sucked in and will truly have a different experience every time, depending on where they sit and where they focus their attention.

Where you sit on the tram plays a critical role in your King Kong 360 experience, as all seats are not created equal in this case. We have found that the best seats for Kong are in cars two or three (preferably three) and that if you sit in the middle of the row with people on either side of you, that is where you truly get the best show experience for Kong. Of course, that means that the rest of the Tour, you're stuck between people, which sucks. So, when boarding the Tour at the beginning, you need to make a decision - whether you want the edge and a slightly less immersive experience for Kong, or whether you want a cherry spot for King Kong and then suffer the rest of the 50-minute tour sandwiched between strangers. It's a tough call, honestly! Once the summer season is over and folks find they have entire rows to themselves, it won't be such an issue. However now, during the very busy summer, you have a decision to make, kids! Good luck with that!

The reason the seating plays a critical role in the King Kong experience is mainly related to your field of vision. If you're in the middle of the row, you have obstructions such as other people and the roof of the tram to block the line of sight you have to the screens on either side. If you sit on the edge, you will have a lop-sided experience. You will see the top and bottom of the screen nearest you - and that may or may not severely hamper your suspension of disbelief in this attraction. Despite the name, King Kong 360 is not 360 degrees; it cannot be, since there is an entry and exit point that the trams must use when passing through the attraction. That means if you're in the front car of the tram (where they like to load the Annual Passholders) or in the fourth car, there is only blackness in front of you and/or behind you; this is particularly bad for those stuck in the first car. Our advice to Passholders is to bypass the first car and find seats further back, even if it means waiting for an extra tram to board.

The concave design of the massive Kong screens on either side of the tram work pretty well, but there is some distortion of image - although not as horrible as Back to the Future or now, The Simpsons. Even with the most modern of digital projectors at work, the images aren't 100% clear, even though they are in high-definition; this is just the nature of 3-D, which is one of my pet peeves about this type of attraction. Again, I'm being extremely critical here - 95% of guests will not notice these things or care, for that matter.

What 100% of the guests will notice is something we really dislike about Universal attractions - water. King Kong 360 manages to get a big amount of water squirted all over the guests in the trams. If you have a camera or camcorder, put it away or hide it - because it WILL get wet; much wetter than any other gag on the Tour. Personally, I really hate water gags - it can damage photo or video equipment and if you wear glasses, I don't need to tell you what a pain in the ass it is to suddenly have water running down your lenses in the middle of an attraction or having to clean them off on your shirt afterward; it sucks, but it's something that Universal totally gets off on. Apparently, most people are cool with it - because if hordes of people complained, you can bet the water squirting would cease. There is an over-abundance of it used in Kong 360; we learned that the hard way as we wiped our dripping cameras off frantically the first time we rode it. Not cool. Again, we are in the minority on this, as most tourists love the water gags at Universal. I just felt that it needed to be said - those of you who don't like being blasted by water at every stop along the Studio Tour now have the latest and wettest attraction of them all to contend with. I'll say it one more time - keep those cameras in a safe, hidden place during Kong, or they will get wet. You've been warned.

Another element of Kong that is impossible to miss is its movement of the tram vehicles. Parked on four "platforms" within the show building, each car is moved individually and the programming of the motion is very focused and unique to each car. Despite the advanced technology used, visitors will likely notice a difference in the way they're tossed around in Kong vs. Earthquake, which uses older technology, but also tosses the trams around violently and well. I'm not sure what else Universal could have done to make the movement more "interesting" during Kong. I suppose when it boils down to it, bouncing around is bouncing around - regardless of the technology used. It all feels the same to me, honestly. On the other hand, if it was too intense or too strong, it would take away from the show itself and become a negative distraction, which it's not. In the end, the movement for Kong works well and does its job, much to the delighted, screaming guests.

Once guests have experienced King Kong 360 3-D, they have to hang on to their glasses for the remainder of the Tour, which can be easily 30 more minutes or so. That's a long time, when you have semi-delicate plastic glasses in idle hands. Already, we have heard of many broken pieces, glasses tossed overboard along the Tour route and we've seen lots of people walking around the rest of the park with their 3-D glasses still on their heads like sunglasses. There's no easy fix to this - short of making everyone throw the glasses overboard as soon as the vehicles leave the Kong show building into a manned collection area, there is little choice; Universal has to rely on people to not destroy or steal the glasses. I'd imagine the expenditure on replacing these glasses will be fairly significant over the years.

So, is King Kong 360 3-D all it's cracked up to be? Do we think that it's worth all of the hype Universal has put behind it? The answer is yes. We have some very tough criticism of the attraction, but to make it fair, we also have to look at it from Joe Average Tourist's point of view too; and the visitors to Universal Studios Hollywood are going ape for the new addition. Kong is now easily the most exciting, technologically-advanced portion of the Studio Tour, making already-weak components such as Fast and the Furious even weaker now in the chain of Tour attractions. Our technical nit-picking is absolutely overshadowed and drowned out by the screams and ultimate cheers and applause coming from tram after tram each day as they exit the Kong show building.

In the war of summertime attractions, King Kong 360 3-D has absolutely dominated the Southern California market, in my opinion. It's not a stand-alone attraction, but it's unique enough to be technically on par with Disney's World of Color - and a hell of a lot more exciting. Universal's nearest competitor, Six Flags Magic Mountain has no new offering this summer, and in Buena Park, Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular targets the younger audience. Universal Studios Hollywood pretty much owns the SoCal summer with Kong, in our opinion.

Kudos to everyone at Universal Creative, Weta Digital and Universal Studios Hollywood on getting this attraction done. We wish you many, many years of success with the big guy. Congratulations... King Kong has finally come home.