Popular Universal Coaster Flooded, Second Ride Building Damaged Due to Hurricane Ian
After days of heavy winds and rain, Hurricane Ian is finally making its way out of Florida. Both Walt Disney World Resort and Universal Orlando Resort have announced that they will begin phased reopenings of their theme parks — although Universal’s will be only for Resort hotel Guests — on September 30. Now, during these phased reopenings, not all experiences will be available and, at Universal, that is because some of its attractions sustained some serious damage thanks to Hurricane Ian.
Pictures shared on Twitter show that part of The Incredible Hulk Coaster — located in Universal’s Islands of Adventure — is underwater due to severe flooding and Jurassic Park: River Adventure — also in Islands of Adventure — has had part of the building ripped off because of the severe wind.
It appears part of The Incredible Hulk’s roller coaster track is underwater at @UniversalORL.
https://twitter.com/Attractions/status/1575541766366765056
Here’s a look at the damage at Jurassic Park River Adventure at @UniversalORL
https://twitter.com/Attractions/status/1575495527889661954
Upon announcing its phased reopening, Universal Studios Florida shared the following message on its website:
We continue to conduct assessment and recovery efforts across our entire destination with the safety of our guests and team members being our top priority. We expect to begin a phased reopen of portions of our destination for our hotel guests only beginning Friday, Sept. 30. We will update our website and social channels with information on Park hours as conditions allow.
The Universal Orlando Resort Guest Contact Center is currently experiencing higher than expected wait times and is currently assisting guests whose travel is directly affected by the hurricane. If your travel dates are after September 30, we would appreciate if you would call us back at a later date.
Our hotels will remain operational as they focus on taking care of our guests. If you have an existing reservation for arrival through Friday that you would like to cancel or modify, please continue to hold.
While the Universal theme parks will only be open for hotel Guests during normal operating hours, Halloween Horror Nights will be operating as normal and will be open to all Guests with a valid ticket to the event.
