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London Entertainment Resort: All Discussion

Should this project not be halfway built by the original timeline?

That's why there's no sense of likelihood this'll be built... Guess Varney got something right after all; stopped clocks and all that...
 
Benzin said:
Should this project not be halfway built by the original timeline?

That's why there's no sense of likelihood this'll be built... Guess Varney got something right after all; stopped clocks and all that...
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Judging by the original timescale, 2018 would have been an even more exciting year for the UK than it already is!
 
As far as Orlando goes, I think this would fight more for the DLP/PA and domestic market than the Orlando one - the combined product over there is quite different, not to mention the climate.
 
Wardley said this wouldn't happen a good few years back for various reasons. He probably knows better about the industry than me. Other than that, it looks a right balls up doesn't it. When we get to 2023 it will probably be pushed back to 2028.
 
I can't wait for this open, has anybody seen an actual opening date? I know they said 2018, but that's a bit vague. Personally, I reckon they're aiming at Easter half-term? Maybe a week or two earlier to get the teething problems sorted before the peak season hits.

Have to say, I'm very impressed with them keeping all the ride details and construction photos under wraps, they must have gotten some input from Phantasialand for that, I would have thought there would be photos and vLogs all over the place about this by now!

(/s)

Looking back through this thread, it's interesting that people's main concern seemed to be the planning permission, when in reality the major obstacle was the fact that it was never really a serious proposition. They've raked in the money, set up some committees, bought themselves nice cars, and then lost interest. Of course they'll keep posting updates, with new challenges and obstacles that need new committees to be setup, so they can keep tapping the capital investment, until they wise up and turn the tap off.


Here's to 2018, when the opening gets pushed back until 2025 because they've discovered a rare breed of nematode or something.
 
Rick said:
Only if they have spent a double digit million figure on it knowing they're not going to build it.
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I think they knew it was a high risk gamble, threw the hook out hoped someone would bite. It's always been hard to take this proposal seriously.
 
There has been considerable effort involved in this project, and the government will be desperate for it to happen to help convey an image of invest-ability in the UK right now. There are also some serious players signed up.

However, as to whether or not it will happen, it STILL remains uncertain. But the fact is, it has been - and continues to be - much more credible than what many people realise. I think that Nick Varney's dismissive comments (based on hope more than analysis, one suspects) that it would never happen went a little too easily to some people's heads.
 
I don't even know what Varney said so it hasn't gone to my head. But a project of this magnitude, in the middle of one of the most dense and congested cities in the world, on some of the most expensive land in the world? Never going to happen and it never was.
 
He said something to the effect of only considering the project a competitor when it opened, which based on the info being bounded about, wasn't likely to happen anytime soon.

Even a first year business studies student could see the project was doomed from the start by the figures being put out, add that to the Paramount Spain fiasco and the little fact that Paramount weren't involved at all and we're just renting their name to the group behind it (much how Paulton's rents the Peppa Pig World IP and the Abu Dhabi Government (aka Ruling Family) does with Ferrari and Warner for their theme park's at Yas Marina) and you could see why this project was doomed to fail especially when you looked deeper and found the guy behind it was a bored Kuwatti 'prince' just trying to copy his Middle East brevens success with Yas Marina.
 
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The project hasn't failed yet. I am hopeful that the park will open, and I will be until the day it gets cancelled. Public consultations/planning permission for this is due in the 2nd quarter (April/May/June) of 2018. This year, guys. This project is clearly being driven by greatly motivated and resilient people who want the project to succeed. They will push through and try their very hardest to get this built, and if it is built, then it could be brilliant for the UK industry.

And if they need an IP to succeed, then I reckon Universal would be a good shout, because they haven't got a park in Europe yet, and even though some enthusiasts don't like Universal, they are capable of bringing us a quality that Merlin physically cannot bring us.
 
Matt N said:
And if they need an IP to succeed, then I reckon Universal would be a good shout, because they haven't got a park in Europe yet, and even though some enthusiasts don't like Universal, they are capable of bringing us a quality that Merlin physically cannot bring us.
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Although GE, who own Universal, are hugely ambitious, I doubt they would take on a UK property. Part of their current, mega US expansion plans involve attracting more UK customers over to Orlando. Their previous foray into Europe, with Portaventura, didn't seem to work for them.
 
Plastic Person said:
Although GE, who own Universal, are hugely ambitious, I doubt they would take on a UK property. Part of their current, mega US expansion plans involve attracting more UK customers over to Orlando. Their previous foray into Europe, with Portaventura, didn't seem to work for them.
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What does GE stand for @Plastic Person?

Anyway, I always forget that PortAventura was once a Universal park. I knew it was, but from the ride lineup, it never seems overly similar to other Universal theme parks, which always makes me forget. It also seems too low in visitor numbers to be a Universal park, as I'd say PortAventura gets/got about 3-3.5m visitors per year, and I believe they got about 3.6million in 2016. By comparison, I would have thought that your average Universal park would have even gotten 4 or 5 million visitors pre-Potter, with the average park getting about 8 or 9 million post-Potter.

Anyway, I'm off-topic!
 
Not that it’ll happen, but if Universal did own the site you could have the only Wizarding World of Harry Potter to have a Hogwarts express that runs from the real Kings Cross straight into the park. The train line already exists. How insanely cool would that be?
 
Tim said:
Not that it’ll happen, but if Universal did own the site you could have the only Wizarding World of Harry Potter to have a Hogwarts express that runs from the real Kings Cross straight into the park. The train line already exists. How insanely cool would that be?
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The thought of that happening...Jesus. Why wouldn't they want to invest given that's a possibility - even above all other concerns they might have? :p
 
GE usually refers to General Electric, but they don't own Universal, Comcast do through their NBC subsidiary @Matt N

To clarify: GE did own 49% of NBCU, but Comcast bough them out, ohhhh about 5 years ago (2013 I think).
 
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