Log In
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Log In
Theme Parks
Magic Kingdom
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
EPCOT
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Hollywood Studios
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Animal Kingdom
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Tickets & Park Reservations
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Walt Disney World (Florida)
Water Parks
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Walt Disney World (Florida)
Touring Plans
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Touring Plans
Pre-Made Touring Plans
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Hotels
Campground Resorts
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Universal Studios FL
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Islands of Adventure
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Epic Universe
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Special Events
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Special Needs
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Universal Orlando (Florida)
Water Parks
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Universal Orlando (Florida)
Touring Plans
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Touring Plans
Pre-Made Touring Plans
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Hotels
Signature Collection Resorts
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Hotels
Prime Value Hotels Resorts
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Main Menu
Disneyland (California)
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Disneyland
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
California Adventure
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Theme Parks
Special Events
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Disneyland (California)
Touring Plans
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Touring Plans
Pre-Made Touring Plans
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Main Menu
Disney Cruise Line
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Disney Cruise Line
Ships
Maximize Your Magic

Subscribe now to create a customized Touring Plan for everything you want to do.

Subscribe Now
Skull Island: Reign of Kong

Skull Island: Reign of Kong

An Attraction in Islands of Adventure

Last updated: November 20, 2024

At a Glance

Skull Island: Reign of Kong is both an attraction and an entire “island” unto itself, located between Toon Lagoon’s Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls and the Thunder Falls Terrace restaurant in Jurassic Park. The ride is an original adventure set in the 1930s, casting guests as explorers with the 8th Wonder Expedition Company, which has set up its jungle base camp in an ancient temple inhabited by a hostile, Kong-worshiping indigenous tribe. The queuing experience is phenomenal, featuring both lifelike animatronic figures and live haunted house–style actors who aggressively startle unwitting guests.

The winding, skeleton-strewn path eventually leads to your transportation: an oversized 72-seat open-sided “expedition vehicle” that superficially resembles Animal Kingdom’s Kilimanjaro Safaris trucks. It's helmed by one of five different animatronic tour guides, each with its unique personality and backstory, which lends the attraction additional re-rideablity. Your ride begins with a short loop outside through the jungle (which may be bypassed in inclement weather, abbreviating the experience by almost 2 minutes), ending at the massive torch-framed doors in the center of Skull Island’s imposing stony facade. The doors open, allowing you passage into a maze of caves and caverns; there, you’re swiftly assaulted by all manners of icky prehistoric bats, bugs, and beasties, brought to gruesome life through a mix of detailed physical effects and razor-sharp screens (even better than the ones in Gringotts and Transformers). After barely surviving a preliminary series of multi-sensory near misses, you’re thrust into the center of a raging battle between vicious V-Rex dinosaurs and the big ape himself, in a climactic sequence similar (though not identical) to the King Kong 360 attraction on Universal Studios Hollywood’s tram tour. Finally, just when you think it’s all over, you’ll have one last face-to-face encounter with the “eighth wonder of the world,” only this time in the fur-covered flesh.

Reign of Kong is a remarkable achievement in immersive attractions, but crucial creative missteps hold it back from being a home run, resulting in a ride that sits slightly behind Forbidden Journey and Spider-Man. The queue’s atmosphere is unimpeachable, but muffled radio reports do an inadequate job of establishing the plot and characters before boarding. The initial scenes introduce a crisis that is completely abandoned once Kong arrives midride. Finally, while the coda’s animatronic Kong has stunningly fluid facial expressions, his movements seem anticlimactically passive, resulting in an attraction that seems oddly brief despite being (at nearly 6 minutes) one of one of the longest in the resort. There’s no shame in being among the top half-dozen rides in Universal Orlando’s impressive lineup, but Kong’s long-awaited return turned out to fall slightly short of the world-beating game-changer his faithful fans may have expected.

Current Standby Wait Time
Park Closed
Guest Overall Rating
Our Overall Rating
Grade School
Teens
Young Adults
Over 30
Seniors
Location
Skull Island: Reign of Kong in Islands of Adventure
Duration
6 min
Child Swap?
Yes
Minimum Height
36 in
Queues
Accessibility
  • Frightening

Touring Tips

When To Go
Immediately after park opening or just before closing
Loading Speed
Fast
Early Park Admission?
No
Wait per 100 People Ahead
3 min
Skull Island is epic in every sense—including its lines. On the plus side, Kong draws some guests away from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The minimum height requirement is just 36 inches—one of the lowest in the resort—but on a sensory and psychological level, it’s extremely intense; if you or your little one has a fear of darkness, insects, or man-eating monsters, you may want to forgo the monkey; the standby queue alone is enough to reduce fearful kids to tears, though the Express line bypasses most of the scares. A child swap room (with benches and a TV showing clips of the 2005 film) is available, but you are directed to navigate the scary standby queue to reach it; if needed, ask a team member if you can access it via the accommodation queue instead.

For those brave enough to board, the experience is far better in the back half of the truck (ideally rows 7, 8, or 9), with guests on the right side getting the best view of finale. If directed to one of the first few rows, politely ask to wait for the next truck so you can sit towards the rear. Sitting at either end of a row reveals the edges of the screens, so sacrifice the enjoyment of your friend or family member by forcing them to sit in the outside seat.

Other attractions you might like

Users who like Skull Island: Reign of Kong, generally also like:

Universal Studios Florida

Revenge of the Mummy

Islands of Adventure

The Incredible Hulk Coaster

Universal Studios Florida

The Simpsons Ride

Universal Studios Florida

Transformers: The Ride-3D
Wait Times

Here's roughly how many minutes you'll wait for Skull Island: Reign of Kong at each Islands of Adventure Crowd Level.

1
11 to 31
2
15 to 44
3
21 to 60
4
27 to 68
5
36 to 80
6
40 to 89
7
45 to 89
8
51 to 100
9
54 to 102
10
61 to 123
Hourly View
Thursday,
Nov 21, 2024
View another date
Wait Times for
Skull Island: Reign of Kong
 
As of 6:16 am EST
Thursday,
November 21, 2024

Loading...

TouringPlans.com
Share This Info

Download chart to share to social media.

Our Recommendation

Not to be missed!

Disney Dish with Jim Hill Podcast

Learn more about the latest doings at Disney with TouringPlan's Len Testa & Jim Hill of JimHillMedia.com

Listen Now

Copyright ©2024 TouringPlans.com. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy & Terms of Use | Cookie Preference