Monday, March 18, 2024

Madame Tussauds Bringing King Kong and Skull Island to New York and London

Madame Tussauds have partnered with Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures to bring a larger than life KONG: Skull Island experience to the iconic wax attractions in New York and London, complete with an 18-foot high interactive animatronic head of the mythical monster.

Coinciding with the announcement of Kong’s return, ginormous rumbling crates were spotted at iconic locations in both cities. In New York, a rumbling wooden shipping container caused a sensation among Midtown’s morning commuters spotted being driven around Times Square on a flat-bed truck before making its way to Madame Tussauds on 42nd Street for delivery.

The all new, multi-sensory environment, including the breathing, blinking and roaring, made-to-scale Kong head, will open March 2017, to celebrate the launch of the soon-to-be classic reboot; KONG: Skull Island.

Visitors will embark on an adventure deep into the tropics of Skull Island. Once inside, they will be joined by a new figure of Captain James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) as they journey through the secluded bamboo jungle. Trekking along, avoiding traps of massive spiders and uncovering various artifacts, guests will ultimately come to face the dominating robotic head of Kong himself: watching, snarling, and roaring at those who dare pass.

The enormous animatronic Kong head, made from over 350 square feet of specialist faux hair, took a team of 33 artists 72 days to build. Each movement of the head uses state-of-the-art pneumatic controls, designed specifically for Kong. The system precisely controls the pressure and flow of air to recreate lifelike facial movements, grunts, snorts and roars made by the ferocious beast.

“Creating such a large and lifelike animatronic is a first for Madame Tussauds – the sheer size of this project is staggering,” said Anna Domingo, General Manager of Madame Tussauds New York. “We’re thrilled to be working closely with Legendary Pictures to ensure our animatronic head is made to the exact film-scale, so visitors really will come face-to-face and feel the power and scale of the Kong depicted on the big screen.”

The KONG: Skull Island experience will open to the public exclusively at Madame Tussauds New York and London in March 2017.

Kong: Skull Island will be in theaters starting March 10, 2017.

Joe Kleiman
Joe Kleimanhttp://wwww.themedreality.com
Raised in San Diego on theme parks, zoos, and IMAX films, InPark's Senior Correspondent Joe Kleiman would expand his childhood loves into two decades as a projectionist and theater director within the giant screen industry. In addition to his work in commercial and museum operations, Joe has volunteered his time to animal husbandry at leading facilities in California and Texas and has played a leading management role for a number of performing arts companies. Joe previously served as News Editor and has remained a contributing author to InPark Magazine since 2011. HIs writing has also appeared in Sound & Communications, LF Examiner, Jim Hill Media, The Planetarian, Behind the Thrills, and MiceChat His blog, ThemedReality.com takes an unconventional look at the attractions industry. Follow on twitter @ThemesRenewed Joe lives in Sacramento, California with his wife, dog, and a ghost.

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