Universal Orlando has confirmed the King Kong animatronic was damaged during routine maintenance, ending weeks of silence about Skull Island: Reign of Kong’s closure. The statement makes no mention of a fire, which was the central claim in the rumor that spread earlier this month.
Universal Orlando has finally explained why Skull Island: Reign of Kong has been closed.
“During routine maintenance, the King Kong animatronic sustained damage and is undergoing repairs,” a Universal Orlando spokesperson told Attractions Magazine. “We look forward to welcoming guests back once the work is complete.”
That confirms what fans suspected for weeks. It doesn’t confirm the rumor, but it doesn’t mean that it didn’t catch fire either.
Universal did not say fire
The claim circulating in Universal fan groups earlier this month was specific: that the animatronic caught fire while undergoing repairs.
Universal’s statement says the figure “sustained damage.” It does not say how.
“Sustained damage” is broad enough to cover a fire without confirming one, and it equally covers a mechanical failure, a structural issue, or a maintenance accident with no flames involved.
So the damage rumor is now confirmed. The fire rumor is not confirmed, but still possible.
“During routine maintenance” is the one detail they gave
Universal placed the incident during maintenance work rather than during operation, which means no guests were on the attraction when it happened.
That matches the structure of the original rumor, which also described the damage occurring while the figure was being worked on.
What Universal still has not said
The statement is four sentences long and answers one question.
Universal has not detailed how the damage occurred beyond “routine maintenance,” has not described the extent of the damage, and has not offered a repair timeline.
There is no announced reopening date. Universal’s only forward-looking language is that it looks forward to welcoming guests back once work is complete, which is not a date.
How this got out before Universal spoke
The attraction had been closed for several weeks with no announcement when speculation started.
An unverified post in a Universal Orlando Facebook group claimed the animatronic caught fire during repairs. The claim then appeared on Reddit, where a commenter answering a guest’s question about the downtime repeated it.
Neither post included documentation or an identifiable source. At the time, that was the entire evidentiary chain, and the fire element remains exactly where it was.
There was also a discrepancy in Universal’s own guest information during the closure, with the resort’s website continuing to list the attraction as operating while the Universal FL app showed it closed.
Why repairs would take a while
When Universal unveiled the animatronic, it described Kong 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 moment that distinguishes the finale from the projection-based sequences leading into it. A figure that size, with that much mechanical complexity, is not a quick fix regardless of what went wrong.
If it caught on fire, it could be even more of a task to bring it back online.
What the attraction is
Skull Island: Reign of Kong opened at Universal Islands of Adventure on July 13, 2016.
Guests board large trackless expedition vehicles for a trip through Skull Island, encountering its creatures across a combination of physical environments, animatronics, and screen-based sequences, before the Kong finale.
It occupies its own themed area between Jurassic Park and Toon Lagoon, with an enormous stone gate entrance that is among the more recognizable structures in the park.
If you have a trip booked
Plan without it.
Universal has confirmed the attraction is down for repairs and offered no timeline. The safest approach remains checking the Universal app on the morning of a visit rather than the website, since the app has been the more accurate of the two.
Universal has announced no plans to permanently close or replace the attraction, and the statement’s phrasing points toward a return rather than a retirement.
Whether that takes weeks or considerably longer depends on what “sustained damage” actually means, and Universal is not saying.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
Pirates and Princesses is your destination for Disney news, theme park updates, and the pop culture you love. From Disney cruises and travel tips to Disney fashion, food, collectibles, and movie news, PNP covers it all. Visit us at piratesandprincesses.net for daily coverage. Follow PNP on Facebook and Instagram, and listen to the Pirates & Princesses podcast on Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Hat Tips:
Attractions Magazine (September 14, 2026), the statement obtained from a Universal Orlando spokesperson confirming the animatronic damage and repairs
WDW News Today (September 12 and 14, 2026), Lauren Stracner and Austin Haughton’s reporting on the confirmation, the original rumor coverage, the website and app discrepancy, and the animatronic specifications
Universal Orlando, the attraction listing and the absence of a reopening date
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