Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Universal Islands of Adventure has reopened, but the damaged King Kong animatronic is reportedly gone.

Skull Island: Reign of Kong Reopens

Skull Island: Reign of Kong had an unannounced closure for the past few weeks. Rumors swirled that the closure was due to the life-size King Kong animatronic being damaged. Universal Orlando eventually confirmed this in a statement to Attractions Magazine:

During routine maintenance, the King Kong animatronic sustained damage and is undergoing repairs. We look forward to welcoming guests back once the work is complete.

The ride reopened on Friday, September 18, but the animatronic has not been repaired.

Riders report there is instead a black curtain where the animatronic should be. The animatronic itself appears to have been removed.

At time of writing, the ride has a 35-minute wait.

The King Kong figure is one of the attraction’s most prominent physical elements and distinguishes its finale from the preceding projection-based sequences.

Rumors suggested a fire caused the damage, but Universal did not provide details about how the damage occurred (other than “routine maintenance”), the extent of the damage, or the refurbishment timeline.

Last year, the outdoor section of Skull Island: Reign of Kong was fixed after years. Hopefully, it won’t take that long to restore the animatronic.

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