An unconfirmed rumor circulating in Universal fan groups claims the King Kong animatronic caught fire during repairs, which would explain why Skull Island: Reign of Kong has been closed for weeks. Universal has confirmed nothing, and the sourcing is thin.
If you didn’t think the King Kong animatronic was scary enough, now it might have caught on fire, according to a new rumor.
To be clear, none of this is confirmed, and Universal Orlando has said nothing, but the story is circulating on social media.
What is confirmed is that Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Universal Islands of Adventure has been closed for weeks with no explanation.
Where the rumor actually came from
According to WDWNT, a post in a Universal Orlando Facebook group claimed the King Kong animatronic was undergoing repairs several weeks ago when it caught fire, and that the incident is why the attraction remains closed.
Many reported they were told by Universal Team Members the ride would be closed for the “foreseeable future.”
As of now, it is speculation.
Universal has confirmed nothing
Universal Orlando has not confirmed that a fire occurred. It has not commented on the animatronic’s condition, has not identified a cause for the closure, and has not provided a reopening date.
There is no confirmed information about damage, because there is no confirmation that there is damage.
Universal has also not announced any plans to permanently close or replace the attraction.
Why the rumor is plausible without being proven
Scheduled refurbishments get announced. Unannounced closures running this long usually mean something failed, and a mechanical problem is a reasonable guess for any attraction of this complexity.
Back in 2008, the King Kong Encounter animatronic was burned at Universal Studios Hollywood after a fire, so it has happened.
Plus, a lot of employees tend to circulate on social media and could have posted somewhere that it was indeed a fire.
If the animatronic were damaged, it would not be a fast fix
When Universal unveiled the Kong figure, it described the animatronic as roughly three stories tall and 18 feet wide across the shoulders, with a head larger than an automobile.
It is the attraction’s signature physical element and the finale that separates the ride from the screen-based sequences before it.
Repairing a figure at that scale would take time, especially if it needed to be fully or partially rebuilt. Whether any repair is underway remains unestablished.
What the attraction is
Skull Island: Reign of Kong opened July 13, 2016, at Islands of Adventure.
Guests board large trackless expedition vehicles and travel through Skull Island, encountering its creatures across a mix of physical sets, animatronics, and projection sequences, before the Kong finale.
If the fire rumor is true, the closure could run a long while. If it is false, the ride could reopen tomorrow.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
WDW News Today (September 12, 2026), Austin Haughton’s reporting on the closure, the attribution of the fire claim to unverified social posts, the website and app discrepancy, and the animatronic specifications
Inside Universal (September 11, 2026), the report that the closure has run several weeks without announcement
Universal Orlando, the attraction listing, app status, and absence of any official statement
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