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Theme parks feel like cutting-edge engineering, but a lot of the best ride magic is centuries old and sometimes way stranger than you’d guess. We follow the historical lipstick traces behind modern attraction design, learning how people first learned to build believable “other worlds” using water pressure, puppetry, miniatures, mirrors, and projection. If you love dark rides, practical effects, and the craft behind Disney and Universal style immersion, this is a history detour that pays off fast.

Body snatchers, dinosaurs and opium all factor in to this madcap story!

Subscribe for more theme park deep dives, share this with a friend who loves ride secrets, and leave us a review with the oldest illusion you still can’t believe works.

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We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about! We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us. Or drop us a note to comments@lowdown-plus-up.com and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!

We are a Boardwalk Times production.
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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 to the attractions that helped Universal Studios evolve from a tour into a destination, to the surprising story of how King Kong vs. Godzilla 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.

Then we hit the theme park turning points: Hollywood’s King Kong Encounter with Bob Gurr, Jay Stein, and Henry Bumstead, including the bridge shake illusion, the close-up animatronic terror, and the legendary banana breath effect. We compare it to Florida’s Kongfrontation, a bigger, riskier swing with gondolas, two Kongs, timing challenges, and opening-day chaos. We also revisit the 2008 Universal Studios fire, the shift toward screen-based replacements like Kong 360 3D, and Skull Island: Reign of Kong.

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.

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about! We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us. Or drop us a note to comments@lowdown-plus-up.com and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!

We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .

Send us Fan Mail

A three-pound glow-in-the-dark skull from Disneyland sounds like a joke until you realize it was real, widely sold, and now weirdly hard to find. We’re talking about Randotti skulls: handmade chalkware souvenirs that once hung from hot rod mirrors, lit up under Haunted Mansion blacklights, and gave Adventureland and Pirates of the Caribbean shops a darker edge than you’d ever expect from a theme park aisle.

If you love Disneyland history, vintage theme park souvenirs, Adventureland tiki culture, or Disney nostalgia collecting, hit play, then subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave us a review so more park nerds can find us.

Thanks for listening!

We'd love it if you would give us a review on your podcast platform of choice: iTunes, Spotify, etc... They're really helpful.

And get in touch and let us know about YOUR Plus-Ups for the attractions we've talked about! We'd love to tell them on the air.

Come visit us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, or whatever social media you like. Just look up Lowdown on the Plus-Up and you'll probably find us. Or drop us a note to comments@lowdown-plus-up.com and let us know any questions or comments about how YOU would like to plus-something-up!

We are a Boardwalk Times production.
Boardwalk Times, https://boardwalktimes.net/
Boardwalk Times store, https://boardwalktimes.store .