Radar mourns America's bygone amusement icons

June 1, 2008, saw a devastating fire rip through Universal Studios Hollywood, destroying a number of iconic film sets and several thousand copies of Universal films and television shows themselves (with no backups, now we have to be extra careful with those original Miami Vice tapes!). Among the casualties of this monumental blaze was the King Kong portion of the famed Universal Studios backlot tour. Now the only animatronic animals left to terrorize tourists is "Bruce," the grumpy shark from Jaws who has been baring his teeth since 1976, and that dinky Jurassic Park dinosaur whose claim to fame is spraying Wayne Knight in the face.

Kong is the latest in a long line of tragic theme park deaths, a sobering reminder that the coasters, trolleys, trams, robots, and motion simulators we've come to know and love are susceptible to all manner of bizarre and unstoppable expirations. Sometimes entire parks fall, leaving nothing more than piles of brick, wood, and painful memories. Come with Radar now as we look back on the deceased theme park attractions of yesteryear...

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King Kong (Studio Tour, Universal Studios Hollywood): 1986–2008
Inspired by the 1976 Dino De Laurentiis remake of Merian C. Cooper's 1933 classic, work on this seven-ton, 30-foot-tall animatronic King Kong began in 1985. One year later, the furry bastard made his helicopter-smashing, bridge-shaking debut, the first of his kind anywhere. Kong's hefty presence rejuvenated Universal Studios' tourism and provided the inspiration for an entirely new Universal park in Orlando, Florida, the heart of which was a similar Kong attraction (to be discussed on the next page). Who knew it would take little more than a blowtorch to dethrone California's most beloved simian?

That's supposedly what caused the fire on June 1, 2008, that reduced King Kong to cinders and ash. Firefighters claim the blaze spread rapidly due to water pressure issues and the failure of certain fire protection features that were introduced after a similar fire in 1990. Despite the massive popularity of King Kong, Universal Studios has announced they will not rebuild the giant monkey (which originally cost a staggering $6.5 million to construct) and will replace the burnt area with an unknown "new attraction."