Another one of Universal's more popular attractions from when the Orlando park first opened was the “Kongfrontation” ride, based on the 1976 Paramount remake of ‘King Kong’ starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange.

The ride was located in the "New York City" section of the theme park, inside a giant 71,0000 square foot sound stage and was constructed to simulate New York’s Roosevelt Island Tram Station in the 1970’s.

Kongfrontation had one of the most impressive line queues I had ever seen as it literally felt as though you had been magically whisked away to New York City, the very moment you stepped inside.  The faux subway set was littered with graffiti murals, giant size promotional ads, maps of the city, as well as all of the dirt and grime you’d expect to find in a real life subway station. 

The ride was created by the “Totally Fun Company” which was headed by the theme park’s executive producer Peter Alexander.  Alexander was also responsible for the creation of some of Universal’s other flagship attractions, including “Back to the Future: The Ride” and the “E.T. Adventure”.  “Kongfrontation” operated a lot like an in-door version of the “Jaws Ride” in which you’re taken on a journey through the city as it’s being attacked by several animatronic versions of King Kong... each weighing between 4 and 7 tons!

At one point you find yourself caught in the middle of a shoot out, as King Kong hangs from the Queensboro Bridge and is then fired upon by a police helicopter before crashing into the bridge itself.  A few moments later, as you head back to the Tram Station, you are once again intercepted by the gigantic Kong who lifts your tram car up in the air and shakes you around before finally letting go.  As you make it back to the station, a set of TV monitor’s would then drop down and display a Channel 9 Special Report, showing footage of your actual tram car narrowly escaping Kong's wrath.

For those who are interested, here is a brief 2 minute press release video from 1990 which shows several brightly lit close-up shots of the ride, as well as a short interview with Barry Upson (Executive VP of Planning and Development) who goes into further detail about the Kong animatronics.

Like most Universal attractions, as you exited the ride they would dump you into a King Kong souvenir shop.  Here you could pick up a t-shirt, a stuffed animal, coffee mug or a slew of other Kong related merchandise.  They also offered photo ops where you could get a cheap Polaroid taken of you and your family with the colossal Kong.

The Kongfrontation ride was in operation for 12 years…from opening day on June 7th, 1990 until September 8th, 2002.  There was no specific reason given for the ride’s closure, however from what I’ve heard it was mostly due to high operating costs and upkeep of the animatronics.  The ride has since been replaced with the $45 million dollar indoor roller coaster known as “Revenge of The Mummy” which opened in May 2004.

Luckily for those who were unable to ride Kongfrontation during it's reign at Universal Studios Florida, there are quite a few videos on youtube which will give you a good sense of what it was like to be on the ride.  Here is a great video from youtuber jonfromqueens... Enjoy!

Akron, OH resident Vaneisha Robinson recently made a huge discovery when she found out that her ugly ass LeBron James pendant that she purchased for $5 several years ago is actually made of real diamonds and gold, worth an estimated $9,670.

When Vaneisha heard the news she decided to do what anyone with half a brain would do...sell the f'n thing on ebay! 

I attempted to go on the auction website to see how much her pendant was selling for, although for some reason I wasn't able to find it...I did however come across several other auctions labeled as "Lebron James Pendant Diamond Necklace".

In this first auction shown above, the description states "You are bidding on a drawing of a pendant of lebron james I did.  Sorry I dont have a picture of my drawing but will send it to the winning bidder."  Weirdly enough, this guy's auction currently has 12 bids with a current bid price of $10.50.

Here, I'll save you guys a whole lot of money...and don't say I never gave you anything!

This next auction shown above is for an actual hand made LeBron wire pendant...not nearly as fancy as the one Vaneisha Robinson is selling, but this one comes with a huge bonus, making you $50,000 richer!

A REAL, GENUINE $50,000.00 (Dinara) BILL FROM YUGOSLAVIA!

The only problem, as stated in the auction, is that this currency no longer exists rendering the cash completely worthless.  Such a bizarre auction to say the least.

To pick your own amateur sketch of the LeBron James pendant, or some sweet Yugoslavia cash, head on over to Ebay to check out these and the other hilarious auctions that are up for grabs!

One of the biggest attractions at Universal Studios Florida, when the park first opened, was the "Ghostbusters Spooktacular".  This 11 minute, live action show featured all 4 ghostbusters battling it out with Gozer, The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and various other ghosts on a rooftop set, identical to the one featured in the first movie.  The show would start off with a Universal tour guide discussing some background information on the Ghostbusters films, when all of a sudden Gozer would appear out of nowhere and proceed to attack her.  Eventually the Ghostbusters arrive to save the day. 

A couple of years later, Universal Studios decided to change it up a bit, creating a brand new storyline to the "Ghostbusters Spooktacular" show.  The storyline involved you, as an audience member, attending a free business seminar on starting up your own ghost busting company.  For the introductory price of $29,999.99 you could buy into the Ghostbusters franchise and be on your way to catching ghosts and making the big bucks.   The Louis Tully character (originally played by Rick Moranis) was added to the new storyline, replacing the generic female tour guide.  Here, Louis plays the junior assistant Vice President in charge of finance for Ghostbusters Inc. and is there to discuss business opportunities with you and show off some new equipment.  Unfortunately villainous Walter Peck shows up with a court order to shut the Ghostbusters down, which results in him shutting off the Ectoplasmic Containment Center releasing all of the ghosts.

The rest of the show was essentially the same as the old "Ghostbusters Spooktacular", with the boys going after Gozer and Stay Puft on the rooftop of Dana's apartment building.  Unfortunately though, these action sequences had to be shortened in length due to the rather long pre-show that was tacked on.  In this new version, the Ghostbusters don't show up until the final 2 minutes of the show...compare this with the original version which featured the Ghostbusters in action for approximately 6 minutes.

Less than one year after the park opened, in March of 1991, a 2nd Ghostbusters show was added to Universal's list of attractions called "StreetBusters", which ran in conjunction with "Spooktacular".  This outdoor event featured The Ghostbusters going head-to-head with the certified "ghost with the most", Beetlejuice, in front of the New York Public Library.  This "StreetBusters" show was nothing short of being absolutely terrible and involved The Ghostbusters singing and dancing to late 80's/early 90's pop songs! 

The following year in 1992 Universal decided to give Beetlejuice his own show titled "Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue"...a 20 minute stage show that makes a complete mockery out of the Universal Monsters and what many horror fans would consider downright blasphemous! LoL  I believe "StreetBusters" and "Graveyard Revue" ran periodically side-by-side until Universal finally put a stop to "StreetBusters" all together in 1993.

Sadly the main attraction, "Ghostbusters Spooktacular", closed its doors forever in 1996 to make room for a new show called "Twister...Ride It Out", based on the hit Warner Bros. film which is still operating today.

Luckily sfmghostbusters.com recorded the entire "Ghostbusters Spooktacular" show, including all of the pre-show stuff for people who weren't lucky enough to have seen this attraction when it was still operating.  Take a look...

In 2002, after a 6 year absence from Universal Studios, The Ghostbusters made their triumphant return with a brand new street show titled "Extreme Ghostbusters: The Great Fright Way" based loosely on the 1997 cartoon series 'Extreme Ghostbusters'.  This new show featured 4 new Ghostbusters who take on Beetlejuice in front of The New York Public Library.  Sounds familiar right?  Yeah this was basically the same bullshit show we saw during the short lived "StreetBusters" performance that ran from 1991-1993.  Here Beetlejuice takes control of the ghostbusters bodies and forces them to sing and dance to songs such as: “Good Vibrations” by Marky Mark, “Bye Bye Bye” by ‘N Sync and “Oops I Did It Again” by Britney Spears!  ...Again making a total mockery out of the Ghostbusters franchise (Beetlejuice is good at that).

"The Great Fright Way" continued to run for the next couple of years, until 2005 when Universal decided not to renew their contract with Columbia Pictures for the rights to use the Ghostbusters brand...Thus putting an end to The Ghostbusters forever!

With Universal Studios discontinuing all Ghostbuster related attractions at their theme park, the Ecto 1 car was stripped down and left in the studio's backlot to rot with the rest of the garbage.

Luckily Paul Francis, a collector and Ghostbuster enthusiast from Tennessee, was vacationing in Orlando in 2005 when he heard that the car was for sale.  Paul made Universal Studios a generous offer to take the automobile off their hands which they graciously accepted.  Since then, a lot of time and money has been put into the Universal Ecto 1 to make it as screen accurate as possible.  The fully resorted car has since appeared at several conventions and charity events across the United States. 

For more information on the Universal Ecto 1 car be sure to check out Paul's website at www.TheEcto1.com.

Special thanks to: sfmghostbusters.com and theecto1.com for supplying information and/or content.

For the majority of the 13 years that I've lived in the state of Florida, I've been the proud owner of a Universal Studios Annual Pass.  Even before moving to Florida in 1997, I've visited Universal quite frequently on family vacations from Ohio, with the first time being approximately 20 years ago, not too long after the park first opened.  I was 10 years old at the time and I remember being really excited getting to check out Nickelodeon Studios for the first time and seeing all of the other amazing attractions that Universal had to offer.  I've been to the theme park well over 100 times since then and have watched the park progressively change over the years with new attractions coming in and old ones going out.  Because of this I've decided to do a blog, discussing the old Universal from 1990 and some of the attractions that have since met their demise.

The first movie ever shot at Universal Studios Florida was Mick Garris' 'Psycho IV: The Beginning', a made for TV sequel/prequel that premiered on cable TV in November of 1990.  Universal Studios Florida first opened their doors on June 7th of that year, so if you were an early visitor to the park you might have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the film being made!

The Bates Motel set remained intact for approximately 8 years in the Expo Center area, back behind the "E.T. Adventure" and the "Animal Actors Stage".  Unfortunately the set was demolished in 1998 to make room for the "Curious George Goes to Town" water park.  Being a fan of horror films and especially 'Psycho', this is one of the things I miss the most about the old theme park.  Granted you couldn't actually walk up to the house and could only view it from a distance...however this Bates Motel film set was a part of the "Psycho" legacy and it was sad to see it destroyed for an attraction as stupid as a Curious George water park of all things!

The one thing that I vividly remember about the Bates Motel set was that they originally painted both the house and motel yellow to give it that clean "new" look for the flashback sequences with young Norman in 'Psycho IV'...later they repainted the house, dirtying it up to make it look old and weathered for the present day scenes in the film.  Well the old HardRock Cafe was located just behind the Bates motel and I remember coming out of the restaurant and being able to see the back of the house still having the fresh yellow paint, where as the rest of the house was aged badly.  I guess since they never filmed the back of the house during the production of 'Psycho 4', they figured it wasn't necessary to repaint it.

The Bates Motel set wasn't the only Hitchcock themed attraction at Universal Studios Florida.  "Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies" was the ultimate tribute to the legendary filmmaker, located near the park entrance, close to the old Nickelodeon Studios.

When you first walk in, you were greeted by a Hitchock aficionado who would give everyone a brief introduction on Alfred Hitchcock and some of the films he shot for Universal Studios.  From there you'd pick up a pair of 3D glasses and make your way into a large auditorium to watch a 9 minute film presentation featuring clips from some of Hitch's most popular movies.  Towards the end of the presentation you are instructed to put on your 3D glasses in order to watch a scene from the popular film 'Dial M For Murder' in 3D as it was originally intended...nearing the end of the scene (in a cheap 3D gag), the theatre screen is torn to shreds by an angry flock of 3 dimensional birds that fly around the theatre, destroying everything.  Fortunately YouTube user "idrion" was kind enough to film and upload the 9 minute presentation on his YouTube channel for people to check out.  The quality isn't the best, but since the attraction no longer exists, this is likely the only way you're ever going to see it.  Take a look!

After the movie is finished, you make your way into another room featuring a scaled down model of The Bates family mansion and a full size replica of the actual motel from the movie 'Psycho'.

After you come in and take your seats, you are presented with a video introduction from 'Psycho' star Anthony Perkins, discussing some behind the scenes info.  You are also treated to a shot-for-shot recreation of the infamous "shower scene" using a hired actress and a member of the studio audience playing the role of Mrs. Bates/Norman.  This was a pretty impressive set featuring a state of the art sound system and lighting effects.  Quite often "Mother" would chime in, threatening the stage hands.

Below is a press video from 1990 giving a brief demo of what this portion of the attraction was like, although I have to admit, the video makes it seem a lot cheesier than it really was.  After this "shower scene" demonstration you would exit to your left, into an interactive area where they would show you how scenes from other Hitchcock films were made, such as the Statue of Liberty sequence from the 1942 film 'Saboteur'.  There was also a scaled down replica of the apartment complex from 'Rear Window' where you'd attempt to locate the killer while peeping into windows with a pair of binoculars.  In this interactive area you were free to roam around and do whatever you wanted.  There was even a sitting area where you could watch old episodes of the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' television show.  Some of this is also shown in the following press video towards the end.  Give it a watch.

Whenever you got tired of the interactive area you would exit directly into the gift shop of course.  Here in the "Bates Motel Store" you were able to purchase over-priced VHS tapes of various Hitchcock films, as well as t-shirts, hats and Bates Motel shower curtains and bath towels.  I can remember the first time going to the park, I made my father buy me a 'Psycho' t-shirt and a butcher knife gag prop that you'd wear on top of your head to make it look like a butcher knife was sticking through it.  For whatever reason I've managed to hang on to my 'Psycho' shirt for the past 20 years, even though it's a size small and I could never fit into it again, no matter how much dieting I do LoL. 

Like Janet Leigh's character in 'Psycho', "The Art of Making Movies" attraction also met it's demise in 2003 when it was replaced by "Shrek 4-D"...an interactive 3D movie experience featuring Shrek, Donkey and others, while also incorporating a new dimension of "touch" and "smell".  What always bothered me the most about this switch is that "Shrek" isn't even a property owned by Universal, but rather DreamWorks.  If Shrek is owned by DreamWorks then what is it doing at Universal Studios?  I guess that question could be asked about many of their attractions these days however.

Special thanks to: YouTuber idrion, ThePsychoMovies.com, ThemeParkBrochures.net and SeptemberEntertainment.com for supplying information and/or content.

One of my all-time favorite horror flicks from the 80's, Bill Lustig's 'Maniac' will be released for the very first time on Blu-ray, with an official street date of October 26th, 2010.

Just in time for the Halloween season, horror fans will be able to watch the psychotic Frank Zito (played by Joe Spinell) as he walks the streets of New York, searching for his next victim in glorious High Definition quality.

The film will be released by Blue Underground and will include a slew of extra features previously seen on the DVD release, including an excellent hour long documentary on the late-great Joe Spinell, plus brand new interviews with special effects artist Tom Savini, co-star Caroline Munro and film composer Jay Chattaway.

The blu-ray disc will also feature an exclusive interview with songwriters Michael Sembello and his writing partner Dennis Matkosky.  Michael Sembello of course is best known for his hit song "Maniac" from the 1983 film 'Flashdance'.  Sembello was a huge fan of the 1980 slasher 'Maniac' at the time and originally wrote the song based on the film and the Frank Zito character. 
In fact the original chorus is said to be:
"He's a maniac, maniac that's for sure,
He will kill your cat and nail him to the door."

The song's lyrics of course were later re-written to fit the theme of the dance film in which it appears.  This isn't confirmed, but I have a strong feeling that we just might see Michael Sembello performing the song with the original Frank Zito lyrics on the Blu-ray release! 

According to DVD/Blu-ray producer Michael "Slipcase" Felsher, he posted the following message on Facebook a few weeks back:
"My official out-of-body moment for May 2010. Sitting in Michael Sembello's living room and he and his writing partner, Dennis Matkosky, perform an impromptu version of the song MANIAC with lyrics that would have made Joe Spinell cry."

Let's hope that Slippy had the smarts to hit "record" first!

Most people who know me know that I'm a HUGE fan of the 1980 horror film 'Maniac' starring Joe Spinell...hell I even have the poster in the banner of this very website! 

Anyway a good friend of the site, actor/musician Sal Sirchia, was recently going through some old answering machine tapes that he had lying around and found 13 voice mail messages from Joe Spinell in the late 80's.  For those who don't know, Sal was best friends with Joe up until he passed away in January of '89.  None of the messages are really groundbreaking, but I thought it was pretty awesome just to listen to...especially when Joe mentions filming a movie with Larry Marinelli who was the editor on 'Maniac' and 'Vigilante'.

For those who aren't familiar with Joe Spinell, he was a tremendous character actor from New York who appeared in over 60 film and TV projects during his relatively short 16 year career.  Joe worked with some of the all-time best, including Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Sylvester Stallone while appearing in such classics as The Godfather 1 & 2, Taxi Driver and Rocky.  To horror fans however, he will always be remembered as the lunatic Frank Zito in William Lustig's 1980 film 'Maniac'.

Anyway here are the voice mails and special thanks again to Sal for uploading these...enjoy!

For the first time ever, thrash metal pioneers Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax will share the same stage at the 2010 Sonisphere Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria on Tuesday, June 22nd.  Fans here in the United States who are dying to see this historic concert are in luck as NCM Fathom has teamed up with BY EXPERIENCE for a "1 Night Only" broadcast of this concert in select threatres across the US.

According to the official website, the event will take place at 7:30pm local time, lasting roughly 4 hours and will include exclusive backstage footage taken at the show.  For a full list of theatres CLICK HERE.

Somethings fans should be made aware of before making the trip out to their local theatre is that ticket prices are $18 a piece...there will be no mosh pits (at least one would think)...and also this is NOT a live broadcast.  The concert will take place at 3:00pm local time in Sofia which is 8:00am EST here in the United States.  What you'll be watching is pre-recorded concert footage taken earlier in the day and what will most likely end up on DVD and blu-ray somewhere down the road.

I'm personally on the fence about seeing this, mainly due to the inflated ticket prices and my belief that this will get an official DVD release later this year.  And honestly, this is something I'd rather watch at home anyway...it just seems awkward sitting in a packed movie theatre, watching a 4 hour thrash metal concert.  I mean, what are you supposed to do?  Headbang in your seat?  Just sitting in a movie theatre for 4 hours alone would suck.  The only plus side is that Metallica will be headlining and playing last, which would be the perfect opportunity to dip out early if you needed to.  After all, you wouldn't be missing much since they haven't put on a good show in the last 15 years.

Companies looking for prime advertising space need to look no further than this man's face!  For a cool $80,000 per month this man will walk around with your company's logo, slogan and/or website tattooed across the side of his face.

I wonder if he'd have a problem getting "Cottoncock, the official tampon of Deadpit Radio" tattooed on his head?  I wish I had that kind of disposable income to find out.

In the late 90's, Pokemon took the world by storm with its vast array of trading cards, movies, action figures, plush dolls and video games...and it really comes as no surprise that there would be ultra rare and ubber expensive Pokemon collectibles out there, but this is just ridiculous!

behold, the rarest Pokemon card in existence!  The Pikachu Illustrator Trophy Card from 1997 which you can now purchase at the low low price of only $32,500.00!  According to the seller only 6 of these were ever produced and they were given away to winners of a Japanese drawing contest.  The card itself features the lovable Pikachu holding a pen with Japanese text that reads "I can't believe your retarded ass just spent over 32 grand on a trading card!"

Hilarious enough, this is not the most expensive Pokemon trading card on ebay right now...that honor belongs to the infamous "Butt Scratcher" card! LMAO

Only 1 in existence, this Butt Scratcher trainer card reads "Flip a coin, if heads, scratch your opponent's butt."  Don't mind the excessive use of scotch tape holding this thing together...this baby is rare and can be yours at a "Buy It Now" price of $32,500.01, beating out the Pikachu Illustrator Trophy Card by only 1 cent.  Sadly purchasing this poorly constructed bootleg card is no more a waste of money then someone purchasing the above mentioned Pikachu card in my opinion.  Either way you're destined to be a friendless loser for the rest of your life.

And finally the last auction for today, Adam Sandler's 2005 hit 'The Longest Yard' DVD is available on ebay with a "Buy it Now" price of $99,999.99.  If you think that's a lot of money then you obviously didn't read the product description:
Great movie great price. You also get a 1985 k5 blazer 4x4 lifted on 35 inch tires with removable top and a v8 engine runs great!!  No reserve good luck happy bidding!!
What the hell?

So last week I was sitting on my couch watching TV and all of a sudden a commercial comes on for Microsoft’s newest operating system “Windows 7”.  This particular commercial showcases the new windows functionality in which you can wirelessly stream internet websites from your laptop, directly to your home television set.  What was great about this commercial however, is that it features clips from Lucio Fulci’s 1979 horror epic ‘Zombi 2’ aka ‘Zombie’ in which one of the undead has an underwater encounter with a living-breathing shark. 

To be honest I was never a huge fan of ‘Zombi 2’, but there’s no denying the fact that this is easily one of the coolest scenes you’ll find in any zombie film ever made…and I was more than amazed to see the film turn up in a Microsoft advertisement of all places.  If you’ve yet to see the commercial, here it is…