Universal Orlando vacations usually come with one big goal: hit the rides you’ve been dreaming about. For some guests, that means racing to Hagrid’s. For others, it’s VelociCoaster. But there’s also a group of visitors who head straight toward Skull Island, ready to face off with one of Hollywood’s most famous monsters.
The problem is… a lot of them aren’t getting that chance.
Universal Orlando guests have reportedly been getting turned away repeatedly from Skull Island: Reign of Kong at Islands of Adventure, as the attraction continues to experience frequent operational shutdowns.
Ride downtime is nothing new, but what’s happening with Kong feels extreme.
Reports tracking attraction closures indicate that the ride closed 87 times in January, which is a number that immediately stands out. That kind of frequency means guests could show up at the entrance multiple times in one day and still have bad luck. It’s the type of situation that can seriously derail a park plan, especially for visitors who only have one day at Islands of Adventure.
And the frustration makes sense.
Kong is located in a unique part of the park between Jurassic Park and Toon Lagoon, in an area where it is essentially the main attraction. Guests often walk into that section expecting Kong to be the centerpiece of the experience. When the ride goes down, there isn’t much else to do in that immediate area besides turn around and head somewhere else.
That might not sound like a huge deal at first, but when thousands of guests are all being redirected at once, it creates bigger problems. Nearby attractions can see sudden wait time spikes, walkways get crowded, and guests start scrambling to adjust their plans.
It also doesn’t help that Jurassic Park River Adventure is expected to remain closed until November 19, 2026. With that attraction unavailable, Kong becomes even more important for guests who want to experience something in that section of Islands of Adventure. When both rides aren’t operating as expected, it makes the entire area feel like it’s missing something.
The ride itself is also heavily reliant on screens and complex systems, similar to attractions like Fast & Furious — Supercharged over at Universal Studios Florida. When a ride depends on technology that has to sync perfectly, even a minor issue can trigger a shutdown.
Universal hasn’t announced what’s causing the repeated closures, but the pattern is becoming hard to ignore. Guests don’t just notice when a ride goes down once—they notice when it happens constantly.
For now, visitors who want to ride Kong may want to keep a flexible strategy. If the ride is open, it could be worth hopping in line quickly rather than waiting until later in the day. If it’s closed, guests may need to move on and check back throughout the day.
Because right now, Universal Orlando’s King Kong attraction is not the reliable experience it’s supposed to be—and more and more guests are learning that the hard way.
