King Kong 3D

OK, not a new film as such, but Universal have given more details on the revamped King Kong ride that will be opening this summer to replace the original ride, which was destroyed in a fire in June 2008.

Rather than rebuilding the animatronic Kong, the new attraction will use state of the art 3D technology, according to the Los Angeles times :-

Guests on the studio tour will don 3-D glasses and board a tram that will enter a 200-foot-long soundstage, where park visitors will not only see Kong in three dimensions but also smell his banana breath, feel the gust of wind as he jumps over the guests and sense the ground quake when the ape engages aTyrannosaurus rex in a life-or-death battle. The Kong attraction will be one stop on the park's back lot studio tour ride.

During a recent preview of the technology, a dirty, battle-scarred Kong stared menacingly out from two 180-foot-long by 40-foot-tall screens that wrap around the trams that will carry visitors. In another scene, a 35-foot-tall T. rexstepped over the trams, turned to the audience and bared its massive teeth.

Inside the building, the tram will stop over a "tram-mover" system, powered by massive air bags that will lift, shake and drop the tram, giving guests the feeling of being jolted during the battle between Kong and a T. rex, she said.

180-foot-long screens will curve around the tram so that the 3-D images seem to surround the passengers. A system of fans, sprayers and other devices installed in the building will spew air, water and odors at park visitors.

The attraction sounds similar to the Spiderman 3D at Universal's Islands of Adventure resort in Florida, which is one of that park's most popular attractions.