King Kong and Universal or: Is That a Banana in Your Pocket or Are You Just Glad to See Me?
A movie masterpiece turns into a theme park masterstroke.
King Kong and Universal or: Is That a Banana in Your Pocket or Are You Just Glad to See Me? | The Lowdown on the Plus-Up
A movie masterpiece turns into a theme park masterstroke.
King Kong Encounter at Universal Hollywood | Credit: Comcast
King Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World, has lived so many lives across movies and theme parks. We follow Kong from the 1933 classic film to the attractions that helped Universal Studios evolve from a tour into a major destination… and then to the surprising story of how King Kong vs. Godzilla (1961) finally did the monster’s creator in.
Most importantly, even those who think they know everything possible about the 1933 R.K.O. classic will be amazed by Pete’s deep dive into the movie’s origins and the astonishing story of the creative force behind the story: Ruth Rose.
When Kong hits the theme parks, he hits hard: Hollywood’s King Kong Encounter brings us back to our old pals Bob Gurr and Jay Stein, and we meet classic film designer Henry Bumstead, who changes the attraction’s trajectory. Then we visit Florida’s Kongfrontation, a bigger, riskier swing with gondolas, two Kongs, timing challenges, and opening-day chaos.
Bob Gurr with a Test Kong Hand
Shaking bridges, animatronic close-ups and banana breath: what Jaws did for Universal in the ’70s, Kong did in the ’80s. Join us as we celebrate the legend of the greatest of the giant monsters, King Kong.
Available here or wherever you get your podcasts:
Spotify:
[embed]
Apple Podcasts:
Podcast Addict:
Or you can listen to us directly from here:
Join us at our our Lowdown on the Plus-Up Bluesky account or Facebook group for post-show discussion, supplementary media, and errata. (We make mistakes sometimes.)
Thanks for listening!
Please consider rating our show (This helps SO much!) and subscribing to it on your podcast platform of choice.
Be sure to follow Boardwalk Times for more coverage of The Walt Disney Company.
Support Boardwalk Times on Ko-Fi.
Support Boardwalk Times by visiting Boardwalk Store:
[embed]Boardwalk Store Boardwalk Storeboardwalktimes.store
If you like this article. Subscribe to our free newsletter Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore, a monthly dose of Disney and its businesses.
Kelly McCubbin is a columnist for Boardwalk Times
메타데이터
- post_id
- e0ff247b7e26
- slug
- king-kong-and-universal-or-is-that-a-banana-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-glad-to-see-me-e0ff247b7e26
- url
- https://medium.com/boardwalk-times/king-kong-and-universal-or-is-that-a-banana-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-glad-to-see-me-e0ff247b7e26
- canonical_url
- https://medium.com/boardwalk-times/king-kong-and-universal-or-is-that-a-banana-in-your-pocket-or-are-you-just-glad-to-see-me-e0ff247b7e26
- author_url
- https://medium.com/@MightyMicroscope
- status
- ok
- fetched_at
- 2026-06-12 22:02:08
