Credit: UniversalCould King Kong’s reign over Islands of Adventure be over? According to recent reports, not so fast. The rumored closed-forever ride has reopened, but one big thing is missing. Could this be a sign of things to come?
The Ride Is Open, but Kong Is Gone: Universal Remains Quiet About Future of Beloved Attraction
Skull Island: Reign of Kong has reopened at Universal Islands of Adventure, but its most famous physical figure is not part of the reopened experience. Guests riding on September 18 report that the enormous King Kong animatronic at the attraction’s finale is absent from view, with black curtains covering the area where Kong normally appears.
That change is especially notable because Universal Orlando Resort confirmed days earlier that the Kong figure had been damaged during routine maintenance and was undergoing repairs. Separately, an Orlando Fire Department incident report says an animatronic fire occurred at Universal on August 27 and damaged machinery, although Universal has not publicly said the fire was the cause of Kong’s damage.
Skull Island: Reign of Kong Reopens Without Its Finale Figure
The September 18 reopening ends an extended shutdown that had kept the Islands of Adventure attraction unavailable since late August. Inside the Magic previously reported on the unexplained Skull Island closure and, later, Universal’s confirmation that the King Kong animatronic sustained damage.
Dueling Park News reported from the park Friday that Skull Island: Reign of Kong had reopened and that the Kong animatronic was gone from the finale, with black curtains blocking the space. The account said the rest of the ride appeared unchanged. Universal has not announced that the figure has been permanently removed, so its absence should not be treated as a permanent creative change.
Universal’s earlier statement said the animatronic was “undergoing repairs” and that the company looked forward to welcoming guests back when work was complete. The ride’s return without Kong now shows that Universal was willing to resume operations before the signature figure was back in place.
What the Reported Fire Changes About the Story
The black curtains are inevitably going to draw attention because of what happened during the closure. Before official details emerged, reports circulated that the Kong figure may have caught fire, a possibility Inside the Magic covered while identifying the claim as unconfirmed at the time.
There is now official documentation of a fire at Universal Orlando. According to reporting based on an Orlando Fire Department incident report, firefighters responded on August 27 after an animatronic caught fire while the attraction was closed to guests. Universal employees had extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived, no injuries were reported, and the report said the damage was limited to machinery rather than the building.
What remains unconfirmed is the precise connection between that fire and the condition of the Kong figure now hidden from guests. Universal’s public statement described the animatronic as damaged during routine maintenance but did not identify fire as the cause. The curtains therefore conceal a damaged or removed show area, but calling them a literal “cover-up” of fire destruction would go beyond the evidence currently available.
Kong’s Absence Removes the Ride’s Biggest Physical Payoff
Skull Island: Reign of Kong relies heavily on large projected sequences as expedition vehicles travel through the attraction, making the final encounter with a huge physical Kong particularly important. Universal’s current rider guide describes the attraction as an expedition through King Kong’s natural habitat, and the resort continues to list Skull Island: Reign of Kong among Islands of Adventure’s attractions.
Kongfrontation was part of Universal Studios Florida’s original attraction lineup before closing in 2002. Kong eventually returned in Skull Island: Reign of Kong, which opened at Islands of Adventure in 2016, according to Inside the Magic’s history of the current King Kong attraction.
That earlier coverage noted that the current attraction combines large-scale 3D scenes with a massive physical Kong for the final encounter. Without that figure, guests can still experience the attraction’s expedition vehicles and screen-driven action, according to Friday’s rider report, but the physical climax is visibly altered.
Universal Is Reopening Kong During a Changing Islands of Adventure
The decision to reopen rather than keep the entire attraction dark also arrives during a period of substantial work around Islands of Adventure. Jurassic Park River Adventure has been undergoing an extended refurbishment, which Inside the Magic has tracked throughout 2026, while Universal has also been clearing and changing portions of The Lost Continent.
Those projects are separate from the Kong incident, and there is no announced plan to replace Skull Island: Reign of Kong. Still, the number of simultaneous closures, refurbishments, and redevelopment projects makes returning an otherwise operable attraction understandable from a park-capacity standpoint, even with one major show element unavailable. Universal continues to list Skull Island as part of Islands of Adventure on its official park materials.
For guests, the practical takeaway is simpler: Skull Island: Reign of Kong is rideable again, but it is not currently presenting the full finale longtime riders know.
What Happens to the King Kong Animatronic Next?
The biggest unanswered question is whether the Kong animatronic will return after repairs, be replaced, or require a more extensive rebuild. Universal has not announced a timeline for restoring the figure, disclosed the extent of its damage, or explained why the attraction reopened before the animatronic was ready.
The company’s own wording remains the strongest indication of intent: Universal said the figure was undergoing repairs, not that it had been permanently removed. Meanwhile, Islands of Adventure itself continues to change, with major redevelopment already underway elsewhere in the park.
For now, the black curtains create a conspicuous placeholder at the end of a ride built around a face-to-face encounter with Kong. Until Universal provides another update—or the giant ape reappears—the attraction is open, but one of its defining moments remains missing.
