The loss of Kong makes me really sad for a few reasons - First up, he survived the 1990 fire that really ripped up the backlot. Second, after years of neglect from Vivendi (spit) who decided that the attractions didn't need yearly maintenance, NBC Universal had restored him last year, and he got his yearly maintenance this year, just a few weeks ago. So he was lookin' pretty good for a big piece of 1980s large scale mechanical effect.
Thirdly, a lot of people put a lot of heart into King Kong's show building- if you ever saw the "grafitti" around the bridge or at the exit tunnel, that was all names of people who worked on the Tour. I've still got a "KONG LIVES" button from 1990- years before I worked for USH, but it still shows that there was a ton of pride in that 16 ton beast.
KONG LIVES - somewhere
