Hurricane Ian Causes Flooding and Ride Damage at Universal Orlando
Today is a grim day for the state of Florida. More than 1.8 million people lost power due to the impact of Hurricane Ian.
While the greater Orlando area primarily avoided the worst of the storm, Universal Orlando Resort wasn’t as fortunate.
Photo:instagram/universalorlando
Hurricane Ian has caused flooding and ride damage that will have ramifications indefinitely. Here’s what we know.
Jurassic Park Adventure Goes Viral
Have you seen these photos yet?
Photos of damage to the Jurassic Park River Adventure show building at Universal's Islands of Adventure. https://t.co/Un5efcfAuB
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 29, 2022
Universal Orlando Resort officials have yet to confirm the damage. However, these images are apparently not doctored in any way.
The high winds caused by the hurricane and/or flying debris have knocked a chunk out of the ride building at Jurassic Park Adventure.
Photo: Universal
Until Universal makes a statement, we’re left speculating about what has happened here. There were no eyewitnesses as people were too busy trying to survive.
Still, I’m not going out on a limb to say that this ride will probably require extensive refurbishment. If it looks like that on the outside, the interior could be worse.
That part of the wall had to go somewhere. It’s solid material falling from dozens of feet in the air. Some stuff underneath it could have gotten crushed.
We’re talking about a multi-month repair if those are Audio-Animatronics or boat ride track.
So, no matter when Universal Orlando Resort opens, Jurassic Park Adventure is wildly unlikely to join it.
Since October starts on Saturday, I’d speculate that it may not return in 2022.
However, I should stress that I’m merely guessing here. If that facing is cosmetic and fell during an unused part of the ride building, mops and brooms fix everything.
We’ll need Universal to say something before we know for sure. They have more pressing matters, though…
The Incredible Hulk Coaster Is Apparently Underwater
Here is a story that has broken in the past hour. The Weather Channel just posted this photo:
https://twitter.com/lissainbama/status/1575540533824323589
Other sources have semi-confirmed the story, at least in combination with previous anecdotes about parts of the Universal Orlando Resort campus.
Folks, you don’t need to know much about theme park design to understand what a big deal this is.
Those alloy metal parts are susceptible to rust and cracking, just like any other kind of metal. Of course, it’s stronger with exponentially greater tensile strength, but it has to be.
Otherwise, the tracks couldn’t support the high-velocity ride. However, this ride already resides in water as a rule. Here’s a video timestamp:
My wife and I have Zapruder film’d the video and ride photos compared to this one with the underwater track.
My estimate – and I am WILDLY SPECULATING with my guess here – is that this has taken on two to four feet of water.
Here’s another timestamp video:
When you look at the submerged video image, the H block of concrete on the right is underwater.
Meanwhile, the image hints that water from the left and right sides of the tunnel has flooded the inside area and overwhelmed the track.
Still, this isn’t necessarily a dangerous sign for the rest of the park. As we’ll discuss in the next section, we already knew that flooding was an issue.
The ride design of The Incredible Hulk Coaster leaves it distinct from the rest of Universal’s Islands of Adventure, even the other Super Hero Island attractions.
In other words, this looks really bad, but it isn’t necessarily worse than Jurassic Park Adventure. Unfortunately, we likely won’t know for another few days.
Still, you shouldn’t expect this roller coaster to reopen with the park.
That Hotel Picture…
Overnight, reports indicated that parts of Universal Orlando Resort had flooded. This image went viral:
This WAS the entrance to the Double Tree by Hilton hotel at Universal Studios.
And those cars across Major Blvd used to be working cars. Likely not anymore. @MyNews13 #HurricaneIan#flooding pic.twitter.com/CpoHyAqeQD
— Jeff Allen (@News13JeffAllen) September 29, 2022
This reporter did all the work, but the retweets and reposts proved much more popular.
I suspect that Universal fans have already seen this photo. Yes, it’s real. That’s the DoubleTree by Hilton at the Entrance To Universal Orlando Hotel.
I’m not describing the location here. The name of the place includes “at the Entrance to Universal….”
Photo: Facebook/Universal Orlando
That hotel is 1.1 miles away from the entrance to Universal Studios Florida. If the DoubleTree has flooded this much, Universal has likely suffered similarly.
I’m not saying the entire park has flooded. That’s wildly improbable. However, parts such as the Hulk coaster will likely require drainage.
At a minimum, we’re talking about new safety checks, which aren’t easy to do with everything happening in Orlando today.
Photo:instagram/universalorlando
SeaWorld Orlando has already announced that it will close on Friday. We haven’t heard yet from Universal officials.
The only announcement is this tweet:
Our thoughts go out to all those impacted by Hurricane Ian and we stand ready to help our community recover. 💙 pic.twitter.com/7SxOHsPMVC
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) September 29, 2022
Universal had previously stated the intent to reopen on Friday. We also know that the official Universal resorts are at full capacity during the hurricane.
Stay tuned to UniversalParksBlog for updates and the official announcement from Universal regarding Friday operations.
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