Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/01/studio.fire/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/...dex.html</a> They don't yet know what started it, but an explosion was heard. A ride called the Cyclone has been damaged along with some prop buildings and a chapel so far. Over 100 firefighters are on the scene. It started around 4:45 a.m. California time.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Going to their website, I found more ammunition to use against Darkbeer lol, they show Maggie riding the Simpsons ride, so I am assuming that means my 2 year old can ride too....Nope, they have a height limitation....False advertising really irks me.
Originally Posted By dshyates They are showing the fire on MSNBC right now. They say the Kong attraction is on fire along with several other buildings.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Looks like this happened during the filming of a movie from what I hear, hopefully nobody got hutt. They could always let it keep on burning and extend the Backdraft attraction to the lot.
Originally Posted By dshyates They just reported that the park will open for business as usual including the tram tour (with some minor adjustments, one being I guess including the new "hot" set.)
Originally Posted By SuzieQ The report I heard said the park would be closed. Huh. The news is confused, imagine that! LOL Apparently 3 street sets have burned, including New York Street and the set of The Sting. They are showing a studio building burning, and part of the roof caved in a short time ago.
Originally Posted By mawnck Theme parks and backlots can be rebuilt. The really bad news is it took out a film vault. We may have lost some **VERY** important negatives, including a lot of classic animation (Betty Boop, Woody Woodpecker, Droopy, Chilly Willy).
Originally Posted By mawnck KABC is reporting that it's a *video* vault. They got some stuff out, but not everything. I would assume that this means there are some TV series and movies that no longer exist as of this morning, and many others that will have to be reassembled from the copies that are floating around. There is talk of the themepark reopening at noon today, but KABC's reporter says there's no way - too much smoke.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ I was watching the live video on knbc.com. One soundstage building was completely gutted and they were fighting a complete loss fire on the one next to it. Just trying to keep it from spreading.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ I'm watching the live news conference. It was a video library that was "damaged", no film archives were affected. Lost footage can be re-created or there are copies. No actual sets were damaged. Park will open at Noon today.
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Why do I get a funny feeling that The Backdraft attraction will be busier than usual today?
Originally Posted By SuzieQ Oops! My mistake. I thought it was gone now. I see it's still listed as an attraction. Cut N Paste from the Universal Studios webpage. Universal Studios Hollywood will be open today, Sunday, June 1, from 12pm (noon) to 6pm. CityWalk will also open from 12pm (noon) onwards. Our backlot tram tour attraction will be closed today due to this morning's fire affecting some movie production facilities. All other rides, shows and attractions are operating as normal. The backlot tram tour will be operating again tomorrow, Monday, June 2. We look forward to entertaining you at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Originally Posted By goldenstate5 No, it's still there. Since no one died, it's not disrespectful to any. Perhaps those wealthy actors who might not have a job for a while, but that's it...
Originally Posted By Ursula Bummer. They say that the Earthquake and King Kong attractions have been gutted. We were just there on Mother's Day, too. I am so glad to hear that no one was hurt.
Originally Posted By mawnck Just an observation about this "tape library" -- The fact that they were carrying out "reels of tape" indicates that it wasn't just a storage facility for backup copies, as they seem to be implying. Nobody uses reel-to-reel video tapes for backups anymore. Too expensive and too bulky. It's all tape cartridges and hard drives now. If they were saving the footage on the obsolete analog reels, then it was something important enough to keep the source materials in their original format (and thus optimal quality). I think these comments about the material being "replaceable" may contain more than a little corporate spin. I once worked at a TV station where a ST:TNG episode accidentally got erased a few hours before airtime. We "replaced" it with a VHS copy I'd made to watch at home. Looked like hell, but at least the show aired as scheduled. I fear that something similar may end up happening here.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ Oh, no doubt there's corporate spin. That's why they speak to the press, LOL I heard there were 3 firefighters injured, though I don't know how bad.
Originally Posted By bean the earthquale attraction is safe. The King Kong attraction as all new york street and the whole courtyard has been destroyed. Basically the heart of the tram tour is gone. Including the last remaining original set of back to the future clock tower. Sad news for the tram tour. The Large Kong animatronic is also history
