Universal Orlando’s massive King Kong animatronic may have been damaged in a fire.
Skull Island: Reign of Kong has now been closed at Islands of Adventure for weeks. Universal Orlando Resort has not explained the extended downtime or announced when the attraction will reopen.
The ride opened on July 13, 2016, bringing King Kong back to Orlando 14 years after Kongfrontation closed at Universal Studios Florida. Reign of Kong combines enormous trackless vehicles, screen-based sequences, physical sets, and a towering Kong animatronic.
Now, an unverified report claims that the figure caught fire while undergoing repairs.
Report Claims King Kong Caught Fire
A post shared in a Universal Orlando Facebook group claims the King Kong animatronic caught fire during repair work.
The post alleges that the incident damaged the figure and is responsible for Skull Island: Reign of Kong remaining closed.
A similar claim has also appeared on Reddit, where another Universal Orlando fan stated that Kong had caught fire.
Neither report included photographs, documentation, or a named source.
Universal Orlando Resort has not confirmed that a fire occurred. It has also not said whether the Kong animatronic has suffered damage.
Skull Island: Reign of Kong remains listed as closed in the Universal Orlando app, with no reopening date currently announced.
Confusingly, the attraction still appears on Universal Orlando Resort’s website, where operating hours are also listed.
Universal’s current rider guide continues to include Reign of Kong as an Islands of Adventure attraction, meaning there is currently no official indication that the ride has permanently closed.
If the fire report is accurate, however, repairing Kong could be a major undertaking.
Universal previously described the animatronic as nearly three stories tall and around 18 feet wide across the shoulders. Its head alone is larger than a car.
The figure dominates the ride’s final scene, where guests come face-to-face with Kong after traveling through Skull Island.
The rest of the attraction is equally oversized.
Its expedition vehicles are approximately 40 feet long and weigh about 17 tons, carrying guests through outdoor scenery, physical sets, and large-scale projection sequences.
The alleged incident would also give Kong an unfortunate second connection to fire at Universal.
In June 2008, a major backlot blaze at Universal Studios Hollywood destroyed the original King Kong Encounter on the Studio Tour.
That attraction had featured a 30-foot King Kong animatronic since 1986.
Universal later replaced it with King Kong 360 3-D, which opened in 2010 as a screen-based experience. The attraction dropped its 3D element earlier this year.
Reign of Kong Was Already Struggling
Recent downtime follows a difficult year for Skull Island: Reign of Kong, with the attraction closing 87 times in January 2026 alone.
Operational issues continued into February, adding to questions about the ride’s reliability.
Reign of Kong also typically attracts shorter waits than Islands of Adventure’s biggest attractions.
Queue Times data puts its average posted wait in 2026 at around 25 minutes.
That compares with roughly 56 minutes for Jurassic World VelociCoaster and 107 minutes for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure – arguably the two most popular attractions in the park.
Shorter waits do not automatically make an attraction expendable. Islands of Adventure needs rides with different capacities and thrill levels, and Reign of Kong remains one of the park’s largest indoor experiences.
Its footprint, however, makes its future particularly interesting.
Skull Island occupies a substantial stretch of land between Toon Lagoon (which has also faced its own share of closure rumors) and Jurassic Park. The area includes a large show building, outdoor ride path, extensive queue space, and elaborate rockwork built almost entirely around one attraction.
That would give Universal considerable room to work with if it ever decided to replace Kong.
Do you think it’s time to replace Skull Island: Reign of Kong?
