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Pteranodon Flyers Spotted Testing on the Jurassic Park Track at Universal's Islands of Adventure: First Public Sign of Life Ahead of the May 22 Reopening
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Pteranodon Flyers Spotted Testing on the Jurassic Park Track at Universal's Islands of Adventure: First Public Sign of Life Ahead of the May 22 Reopening

Michael Travels
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If you have been waiting for Pteranodon Flyers to come back, today is the first day you can actually see something flying. The elevated suspended glider over Jurassic Park at Universal's Islands of Adventure was spotted cycling on its track today, May 13, 2026, by fan-photographer @OrlandoAmusmnt on X. It's the first public test sighting since the attraction closed for refurbishment in late February, and it lands exactly nine days before its scheduled May 22 reopening.

The Jurassic Park entrance arch at Universal's Islands of Adventure, home to the Pteranodon Flyers attraction testing ahead of its May 22, 2026 reopening.
Jurassic Park at Universal's Islands of Adventure. Photo: Universal Orlando Resort, via Inside the Magic.

The headlines:

  • Pteranodon Flyers is testing today, the first public sign of operational life since the late-February refurbishment closure.
  • Scheduled reopen: Friday, May 22, 2026, nine days from today. (The reopen was pushed from an earlier May 14 target reported in March, an eight-day slip.)
  • The attraction has been one of Islands of Adventure's opening-day rides since 1999, making it a 26-year veteran of the park.
  • The reopen date is no coincidence: it lines up with Epic Universe's one-year anniversary (Friday, May 22) and the Blockbuster Summer 2026 launch (Saturday, May 23, resort-wide).

What Pteranodon Flyers actually is

Pteranodon Flyers is the unusual one. The ride uses suspended gondolas that glide above Camp Jurassic, the kid-focused exploration play area tucked into the Jurassic Park land at Islands of Adventure (its entrance sits across from the Jurassic Park River Adventure exit). Each small gondola is suspended from a track high above the ground and glides through the canopy, offering elevated views of the lush jungle below and the broader Jurassic Park land.

The catch is the seating rule: adults can ride only when accompanied by a child between 36 and 56 inches tall. It's one of the few attractions at any Orlando theme park where adults can't ride without a kid, which is part of why fans get protective of it. If you're an Annual Passholder traveling solo, this is not your ride.

Throughput has always been the other catch. The small gondolas and the slow, deliberate cycle time mean Pteranodon Flyers historically posts some of the longest waits at Islands of Adventure relative to its physical capacity. Universal added timed-return kiosks at Camp Jurassic back in 2016 specifically to manage how the line spills into the play area on busy days.

Why May 22 matters

Universal has been stacking its operational refreshes for the same Friday for a reason. May 22, 2026 is the one-year anniversary of Epic Universe opening, and the resort is leaning into the anniversary as a soft summer kickoff. Pteranodon Flyers reopens that day at Islands of Adventure. Hogwarts Castle across the lagoon at IoA is in its final stretch of refurbishment, with the scaffolding coming down (we covered yesterday).

Then Saturday, May 23, Blockbuster Summer 2026 kicks off resort-wide, with the Universal Mega Movie Parade returning on select nights at Universal Studios Florida and the JAWS-themed Amity overlay at USF anchoring the summer programming through August 10. Pteranodon Flyers coming back during that window means the attraction lineup is at near-full strength for the first guests of the busy summer crowds.

What's next this week

  • Friday, May 15: Mystic Fountain at Lost Continent has been rumored to close (per Annual Passholder group reports, not Universal-confirmed). If you've been meaning to say goodbye to the talking water spirit, this week is the window.
  • Sunday, May 17: Volcano Bay Nights night #3 returns (#1 was May 3, #2 was May 10), the after-hours water park event.
  • Friday, May 22: Pteranodon Flyers reopens at Islands of Adventure. Epic Universe celebrates its first anniversary.
  • Saturday, May 23: Blockbuster Summer 2026 kicks off resort-wide. Mega Movie Parade returns at USF. JAWS Amity overlay opens.
  • Saturday, May 30: Hogwarts Always projection show returns nightly at Hogwarts Castle.

Quick planner notes

  • Visiting May 22 or after? Plan a morning at Islands of Adventure with Pteranodon Flyers as a target. Expect long waits in the first week due to the reopening buzz plus the post-Epic-anniversary crowd surge.
  • Bring a kid if you're an adult Annual Passholder. No way around the 36-56 inch companion rule.
  • If you're visiting before May 22: Pteranodon Flyers is still closed. Plan around Jurassic Park River Adventure, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, and a meal at Mythos while it's still operating (the restaurant is part of the broader Lost Continent dismantling we covered May 7).
  • Save the May 30 Hogwarts Always return for a Blockbuster Summer trip. The castle paint should be fully dry and scaffolding gone by then, so the Hogsmeade walk plus the projection show is a perfect Blockbuster Summer 2026 anchor.

Sources

Image credit: Universal Orlando Resort, via Inside the Magic.

Mentioned in this story

Islands of Adventure

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