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Potential New Universal UK Park

Rob said:
You could argue that Harry Potter is a big enough IP to justify 2 attractions in close proximity to each other. Also, Universal would be a full day out whereas the studio tour is (or at least was when I last went) more of a part/half day sort of thing.

Either way, my gut feeling is that Universal will not bring Harry Potter to their UK park. And if Alicia Stella appears to have heard this also, then that is as good a source as you're going to get without Universal coming out and saying it themselves. Ultimately time will tell.

Whatever does end up at the park, assuming it happens as seemingly planned, I hope we get some unique attractions. I'd hate for another Hogsmeade, Hogwarts and Forbidden Journey (complete with very exposed show building) to crop up again!
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Sorry to add more to the Wizarding World discussion but having visited the Studio Tour the other day, I think there is more than enough room for both with it being a money printer.

I'd imagine Universal potentially being packaged with the Studio Tour as there would be a load who would want to do both as they're very different. One is about the making of the movies and going through sets whilst the other is being immersed in the world of Harry Potter in a theme park.

I'm of the view that people around the world will want to see Harry Potter in his homeland and if it doesn't happen, it will be a point bought up by the general public around the world which eventually forces Universal's hand.

The big thing about this is that Harry Potter is one of the biggest UK IPs around and that's what's fueling the fire on this.

Anyway, we will have to wait and see what happens in the future.

With other IPs, it's also a wait and see matter and I'd only imagine one IP that will be the same if not similar to the US parks in it's execution. That would be Super Nintendo World. There will be variations of Jurassic World of course but it won't be exactly as it is elsewhere.
 
If HP is going to happen it won’t be based on the movies but I could see it being based on the new TV show. It’s going to be styled quite differently to set it apart from the movies whilst also being the ‘same’ as to not put people off.

I can’t see WB having two studio tours and even if they did they’d be waiting until the TV show is finished in the mid 2030s. They’ll obviously be looking to sell rights for a whole load of things, theme park rights will surely be right up there.

So even though I don’t think we’ll get HP as we know it because of the reasons I’ve stated maybe there’s a chance we’ll get something slightly different way, way down the line but it’s not by the sounds of it within universals initial plans.
 
If Harry Potter doesn’t end up coming here, I think the reason will likely be rights (WB digging their heels in as a result of the Leavesden Studio Tour) or Universal not wanting to cannibalise visitation to Orlando rather than anything to do with JK Rowling. As much as she has generated some controversy, I question the reach of said controversy. The people infuriated enough by her views to shun the Harry Potter franchise seem to be a particularly vocal and invested minority on social media rather than a representation of the wider populace at large.

If Alicia Stella says that Potter is not coming, I trust her, as she is very well informed. Nonetheless, I do think that Harry Potter in his home country seems like an absolute license to print money. Like it or not, it’s easily been Universal’s most monetarily successful IP investment so far, and I feel like that success could only be magnified in the country where Potter came to be.

If they don’t have Potter, I think they need something with equivalent widespread appeal, and I’m struggling to think of what that might be.
 
Matt N said:
If they don’t have Potter, I think they need something with equivalent widespread appeal, and I’m struggling to think of what that might be.
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If they have Jurassic Park and Nintendo i think that would more than satisfy people with the "big" IP. Jurassic Park seems the safest best as i believe it is present at every single Universal park but has a wide variety of attractions.
 
Bowser said:
If they have Jurassic Park and Nintendo i think that would more than satisfy people with the "big" IP. Jurassic Park seems the safest best as i believe it is present at every single Universal park but has a wide variety of attractions.
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Absolutely, it’s such an IP step up from half-arsing David Walliams.
 
Moving away from the IP's and Potter debate for a second......

How does everyone feel about the coaster situation? Will it open with 1 or 2 great big outdoor coasters given the UK weather and the fact it's bound to be a 365 day a year park? I don't know about you but I'd be pretty annoyed if I visited in Winter time paying top dollar and didn't get to ride 2 of the main attractions due to inclement weather.

Could they do something different and build huge indoor coasters instead? More expensive for sure but it would certainly be far more practical I'd have thought. Weather proofing the park will be an absolute must for me. I just can't see it working otherwise.
 
Benjsh said:
Moving away from the IP's and Potter debate for a second......

How does everyone feel about the coaster situation? Will it open with 1 or 2 great big outdoor coasters given the UK weather and the fact it's bound to be a 365 day a year park? I don't know about you but I'd be pretty annoyed if I visited in Winter time paying top dollar and didn't get to ride 2 of the main attractions due to inclement weather.

Could they do something different and build huge indoor coasters instead? More expensive for sure but it would certainly be far more practical I'd have thought. Weather proofing the park will be an absolute must for me. I just can't see it working otherwise.
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I'm expecting the majority of rides to be indoors.

But you only have to look at Phantasialand, Energylandia or even Universal's own parks in Asia to see that rollercoasters are perfectly capable of operating in poorer conditions than rides typically operate in the UK, providing they're designed to do so in the first place.
 
Benjsh said:
Moving away from the IP's and Potter debate for a second......

How does everyone feel about the coaster situation? Will it open with 1 or 2 great big outdoor coasters given the UK weather and the fact it's bound to be a 365 day a year park? I don't know about you but I'd be pretty annoyed if I visited in Winter time paying top dollar and didn't get to ride 2 of the main attractions due to inclement weather.

Could they do something different and build huge indoor coasters instead? More expensive for sure but it would certainly be far more practical I'd have thought. Weather proofing the park will be an absolute must for me. I just can't see it working otherwise.
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Hmm... I'm thinking that there will be one signature thrill coaster that will be outdoors. I can imagine potentially being a clone of Incredible Hulk however has more potential to operate in colder temperatures and inclement weather compared to Merlin parks. I think they'll use some of the things that are made for the European parks to help it operate more.

There will of course be other coasters however I'd say either they'll be indoors or have a family audience.

I can imagine there will be a greater focus on indoor and dark rides to cater for a 365 operation park similar to Beijing and Singapore. I'd say the Nintendo area would be perfect for this.

Some of the rides would be covered and whilst there would be some outdoor flat rides, quite a few of them will be covered or indoors.

Water Rides, I'm thinking that there will be one signature water ride that may be open from February/March to about November and I'd say that it'll be most likely to be something like the Jurassic World Shoot the Chute. Other than that, I think it'll be more boat rides that don't splash to better cater for 365 operations.

I could be wrong and there could be more coasters and water rides that operate from February/March to November.

The big key for this Universal park would be themed worlds that would be open 365 days a year and indoor rides will be a key focus for this park.
 
Quantum said:
An OZ land looks good on paper but what rides are you getting in that area? It certainly doesn't lend itself to exciting rides.
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Flying coaster on a broomstick

Dark ride attraction entering the palace to see the wizard and getting chased out by monkeys

Walkthrough of a forest area with the yellow brick road featuring prominently
 
Whilst it elevates things if you're a fan of a particular IP, i don't think it's a necessity to enjoy a ride or themed area even.

I have no interest in The Mummy but the ride at Universal Singapore was incredible and immersive.

Equally i haven't seen nor will i likely ever see Wicked but if they have a great B&M flying coaster and/or Forbidden Journey-esque dark ride i'm sure i'll still be able to appreciate the experience they've created whilst enjoying the rides. Perhaps it will even stir an interest in an unfamiliar IP as a result!

Case in point we're soon visiting Disneyland Paris. Would i enjoy it more if the rides were based on childhood favourites Aladdin, Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast rather than Ratatouille or Avengers? Perhaps marginally but in the end it's splitting hairs when the overall quality is so high.

Actually a better example would be Efteling where the IP is all original yet almost everything is of an incredibly high standard and no less enjoyable as a result. In the end the IP is the cherry on top and i think only has a notable impact if you're a particularly avid fan of something rather than act as a deterrent.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
The proximity between the two attractions is minimal, to the point where it's negligible.

There are roughly 30 miles, or or take, between Warner Bros. Studio Tour and the proposed Universal UK site.
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There are 316 miles, give or take, between Universal Studio Japan and their version of the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.

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This is exactly the point. Who would want to go and look at sets and props when they could experience and be immersed in the world itself, and it's literally up the road?
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Really sorry I’ve been busy at work and just reading through all the comments.

I wasn’t referring to the distance or the size between the two attractions in the UK & Japan.
I pointed out that one is theme park with rides and the other is a museum in Japan.
Uni UK would be a theme park and the studios is a museum.
The comparison is that having completely two differing kinds of attractions with the same theme in two different places can work together.

Tbh distance doesn’t mean anything because you have Thorpe Park, LEGOLAND, Chessington theme parks within a small radius in the UK.
Therefore it wouldn’t be a crazy idea to have the two different attractions near each other.

Plus you also have to think (the horror I know ) that not everyone in the UK/worldwide likes rides or wants to go to a theme park.

I don’t want to keep banging on about HP but to clarify as to why I don’t think Uni UK would be a treat to the studio because they are two completely different attractions .


Moving onto the other comments


I’m a Nintendo, Mario, Zelda, anime fan so I’m up for that. However I would like to see something different that sets the UK park apart from the others.

We don’t have to stick to films we could have themed areas? Countries, cities or places? On the same lines as Phantasialand? Or another idea like that if anyone can think of?

I hope they have a nice mixture of outdoor & dark rides. I would feel too boxed in with too many dark rides.

The UK is so beautiful and I love to see the countryside. Esp if the ride is really high so you can really see the beautiful views and hopefully awesome theming/areas around the park. Which I think is part of the experience.

What about water rides? What kind of ride would you like to see?

Plus they need to make sure the food is amazing! I would love to see themed food based on the area you’re in. The food in Universal & Disney Japan is awesome. What you see in the pictures is exactly what you get. Tbh it’s the same everywhere in Japan in regards to the food.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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Benjsh said:
Moving away from the IP's and Potter debate for a second......

How does everyone feel about the coaster situation? Will it open with 1 or 2 great big outdoor coasters given the UK weather and the fact it's bound to be a 365 day a year park? I don't know about you but I'd be pretty annoyed if I visited in Winter time paying top dollar and didn't get to ride 2 of the main attractions due to inclement weather.

Could they do something different and build huge indoor coasters instead? More expensive for sure but it would certainly be far more practical I'd have thought. Weather proofing the park will be an absolute must for me. I just can't see it working otherwise.
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I feel that one of Universal's selling points is that it is not just about coasters and that they have lots of highly immersive dark rides which we just don't have in the UK. Plus the UK weather is incentive for them to build more indoor attractions.

I can see something like 1 big signature thrill coaster with high capacity. Then maybe 1-2 support/family coasters and 2-3 signature dark rides.
 
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