NEW plans have been revealed for a massive Universal theme park in the UK including potential hotels, an entertainment zone and a train station.
Last year, theme park fans went wild with excitement when Universal Studios revealed plans for a huge 500-acre theme park in Bedford.
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The rumours surfaced after Universal’s owners Comcast and NBC registered the domain names UniversalStudiosGreatBritain.com and UniversalGreatBritain.com.
The domains were registered in September 2023, as can be seen here.
In December, Universal confirmed to Sun Online Travel that they had acquired land in Bedford and were exploring the possibility of building a park in the home county.
Bedford was chosen as a potential location due to its excellent transportation connectivity to London and Europe, with more than half of the UK population within a two-hour journey away.
Additionally, the town is seen as having potential because of its proximity to Luton Airport.
The location would put any new theme park less than half an hour away from Gulliver’s Land and less than an hour from Warner Brothers Studios in Watford.
Universal’s latest proposal
Even though the theme park giants are still very early in the planning stages of the project, Universal Studios has published a new proposal online.
The new proposal includes several maps of what the theme park could possibly look like, if plans are given a green light that is.
According to the 16-page document, the new site could include features like a hotel, a retail, dining and entertainment zone as well as a Lake Zone, a restoration zone and a landscaped area.
The landscaped will aim to reduce the “visual impact” of the resort on the surrounding area.
As stated in the proposal, rides, attractions and buildings at the theme park would be capped at a maximum height.
They wrote: “The maximum height of any component would be 115m, while the highest occupiable floor of any building would be limited to 75m.”
Specific rides and attractions will be confirmed at a later stage, with the theme park adding: “We recognise the tremendous excitement our theme parks and developments bring, yet it is too early in the process to know the possibilities of featured attractions and experiences.”
The proposal does suggest that the Bedford-based theme park could have its own Citywalk.
Citywalk is an entertainment and retail space that typically operates close to a theme park.
They added: “Accessing CityWalk does not require a ticket, and this is where visitors and the local community could come for a unique
culinary experience, with themed restaurants like our Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen, for example,
in CityWalk Orlando.
“CityWalk’s themed experiences are very dierent from typical entertainment and therefore are not direct competitors to the
leisure options that you experience in a town centre or on the high street.”
The theme park giant also plans to build hotels on its resort site – although they will not aim to compete with accommodation providers in Bedford.
If plans go ahead, a new train station will also also be constructed.
While Wixams Railway Station will be built on the Midland Main Line, a new station will also be built on the East West Rail line in close proximity to the resort.
Universal will hold two public events on April 13 and April 16 for people to learn more about the plans.
Despite the 16-page proposal, Universal hasn’t committed to opening a theme park in the UK.
Meanwhile, other theme parks around the world have been busy announcing plans to expand their offering.
Disneyland
Earlier this month, Disney unveiled plans for a brand new Avatar-themed land.
Slated to open at Disneyland, CEO Bob Iger released a concept image of what the new are could potentially look like during The Walt Disney Company Annual Meeting of Shareholders.
In a recorded message, Bob explained how the California park’s “imagineers” are working on bringing the land to life, although plans aren’t set in stone quite yet.
While the image is pretty non-committal in terms of features for the land, it does show park-goers wandering through scenes from Pandora, the magical and colourful land from the Avatar movies.
And a brand-new water ride will open at Paultons Park this summer.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Timeline of events surrounding the UK theme park
- September 2023 – Domain names for the potential theme park were registered.
- December 2023 – Rumours surrounding the possibility of a UK theme park circulated online.
- December 2023 – Universal confirmed the plans to Sun Online Travel, including acquiring land in Bedford.
- February 2024 – Transport Secretary Mark Harper showed his support for the new theme park.
- April 2024 – Universal entered a public feedback period.
- April 13 and 16, 2024 – Universal will hold two public events where people can learn and comment on the proposal.
- May 3, 2024 – the public survey about the plans will close.
If Universal proceeds with its plans to open a theme park in the UK, it would need further approval, including government planning consent.
The ride, which is called Splash Lagoon, is a Jurassic-themed flume ride.
Set to open in May, the flume ride promises to introduce kids to different species of dinosaurs, while also taking them through twisting rapids and down a final drop.
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