A Universal Orlando closure has been announced for 2027, prompting many guests to adjust their vacation plans 8 months in advance.Credit: UniversalUniversal Orlando Closure Coming in 2027: Which Ride and for How Long?A soaking ride through Toon Lagoon may not sound essential while planning a January vacation. Once Florida delivers an unexpectedly warm winter afternoon, however, Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges can become one of the most appealing stops inside Universal’s Islands of Adventure.Guests traveling in early 2027 will need another plan.Universal Orlando Resort has scheduled Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges to close temporarily from January 4 through February 2, 2027. The dates now appear on Universal’s official theme-park hours and temporary-closures calendar, giving travelers roughly five months to account for the downtime.The listing does not describe the work as an overhaul or identify what Universal intends to repair. It confirms only a temporary closure, and Universal cautions that dates on its calendar remain subject to change.Credit: Emmanuel Detres at Inside The MagicUniversal Orlando Blocks Out 30 Dates for the Popeye RideAs currently listed, Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges will be unavailable across 30 calendar dates. Universal has not explicitly announced a February 3 reopening, so vacationers should treat February 2 as the scheduled final closure date—not an unmovable promise that the ride will return the following morning.The attraction’s official page describes Bilge-Rat Barges as a water ride through raging rapids in which riders help Popeye rescue Olive Oyl from Bluto. It carries a 42-inch minimum height requirement, accepts Universal Express Pass, and is unapologetically built around getting everyone aboard thoroughly wet.That makes its absence more consequential than the loss of a single ride credit. Bilge-Rat Barges is one of Toon Lagoon’s two large water rides, alongside Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls. It also connects physically and experientially with Me Ship, The Olive, whose water cannons allow visitors to spray passing rafts.Universal has not listed Me Ship, The Olive as part of the January closure. Still, the company has not confirmed whether every portion of that neighboring play area will remain accessible while Bilge-Rat Barges is down. During the attraction’s 2025 refurbishment, construction walls reportedly affected access around the ship as well.Credit: Universal OrlandoThe 2027 Closure Is Noticeable—but Not Unusually LongCalling this an unprecedented or unusually extensive shutdown would distort the ride’s documented maintenance history.Inside the Magic reported that Universal initially scheduled the attraction to close from February 5 through March 8, 2024, before expanding that window to February 2 through March 15. That amounted to roughly six weeks of scheduled downtime.The ride then closed on February 1, 2025, and returned in mid-March, again producing a closure longer than the 2027 period now displayed.Earlier maintenance windows followed the same general winter pattern. Inside the Magic covered a standard early-2023 refurbishment, while previous work has also affected multiple Toon Lagoon water features.The important change, then, is not the existence of winter maintenance. It is how early Universal has placed this particular closure in front of guests.X user @dean8001 highlighted the new dates, writing, “Once again 5 months notice before Popeye goes on vacation!” The post also noted that no comparable scheduled Bilge-Rat Barges refurbishment appeared during 2026. An unofficial historical closure record likewise jumps from 2025 to 2027, but that does not establish that the ride experienced no brief technical or operational interruptions during 2026.Credit: UniversalWhat January 2027 Guests Should Do NextVisitors arriving from January 4 through February 2 should plan as though Bilge-Rat Barges will not operate. Families hoping for water-based relief can check Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls and Jurassic Park River Adventure closer to their travel dates, but Universal has not guaranteed that either attraction will remain uninterrupted throughout the same period.Me Ship, The Olive may provide another splash-heavy option if it stays accessible. The play area underwent its own short scheduled refurbishment in 2026, demonstrating that Universal can maintain it separately from the raft ride.Most importantly, guests should revisit Universal’s calendar shortly before departure. The resort has changed refurbishment windows before, including Bilge-Rat Barges’ 2024 schedule.For anyone visiting during this 30-day window, the consequence is straightforward: one of Islands of Adventure’s most reliably drenching attractions will be unavailable. The early warning makes that easier to plan around—but it cannot replace the experience for guests whose perfect Toon Lagoon afternoon ends with soaked shoes and absolutely no dry seat in the raft.The post Universal Orlando Silently Announces 2027 Closure of Another Opening-Day Ride appeared first on Inside the Magic.