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Potential New Universal UK Park

I can see Universal working in the UK. It's something people would travel from all around the World for & high potential to attract consistent localised footfall easily with their brand power... especially if located around the London area due to the multitude of international transport links. There is another park currently in very initial stages of considering branching to the UK, (Oxfordshire) so there must be appeal!

Planning is quite a barrier here as stated above, including the Environmental Agency who like you to jump through a lot of hoops. However, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine there'd be a great deal of 'powers that be' support for something so World-renowned that could boost the economy, become a large employer and create a new excitement for visitors. The London Resort didn't have a long history of past successes or international recognition, it was a new brand with a lot of ideas... one that had to prove itself which I believe created more challenges. Universal is already well established.

As much as I would truly LOVE to see it, I am equally in two minds as to whether it would cause existing UK parks to considerably up their game or whether it would be their demise! Anyway, all hypothetical at this stage 😊
 
What's the deal with the Harry Potter studios near Watford, is that something that could be converted into a Universal theme park?
 
Clearly most people would rather go to a Universal park than a Merlin park, but that’s like saying most people would rather drive a Lamborghini than a Toyota Aygo. The pricing points are completely different, which is partly why Legoland’s still able to compete in Florida and California.

People will pay extra for quality, but only if they can afford it. In Britain we spend an abnormally high percentage of our income on housing, which squeezes people’s discretionary income for leisure. Since austerity started there has been a big decline in the middle class, which is typically the main audience for high end theme parks. Since Brexit our economy has got smaller. We’ve got the volume and density of people to support something like a Universal park, but I don’t know if we’ve got the economy to support it.

Most people would rather go to Universal UK than Thorpe Park, but if Thorpe Park were half the price, would enough people be able to justify the difference?
 
Bowser said:
What's the deal with the Harry Potter studios near Watford, is that something that could be converted into a Universal theme park?
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That is a tour of the former sets from the films based at Warner Bros Studios Levesdon, it has nothing to do with Universal/Comcast.

Maybe Warner Bros would be willing to work with Universal to expand, but I doubt it. Also most of the land is being developed for more soundstages and backlot space.
 
Funcone said:
Clearly most people would rather go to a Universal park than a Merlin park, but that’s like saying most people would rather drive a Lamborghini than a Toyota Aygo. The pricing points are completely different, which is partly why Legoland’s still able to compete in Florida and California.
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I just went to Universal Singapore and an on the day ticket was £39 :D
 
Funcone said:
Clearly most people would rather go to a Universal park than a Merlin park, but that’s like saying most people would rather drive a Lamborghini than a Toyota Aygo. The pricing points are completely different, which is partly why Legoland’s still able to compete in Florida and California.

People will pay extra for quality, but only if they can afford it. In Britain we spend an abnormally high percentage of our income on housing, which squeezes people’s discretionary income for leisure. Since austerity started there has been a big decline in the middle class, which is typically the main audience for high end theme parks. Since Brexit our economy has got smaller. We’ve got the volume and density of people to support something like a Universal park, but I don’t know if we’ve got the economy to support it.

Most people would rather go to Universal UK than Thorpe Park, but if Thorpe Park were half the price, would enough people be able to justify the difference?
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One key thing being forgotten here is that with a park like a Universal park, the British market would not be the only market visiting. A Universal park would likely attract some degree of foreign custom that the existing parks in the UK don’t, particularly if located near London.

Comparing the Merlin parks and a hypothetical Universal park is like comparing Parc Asterix to Disneyland Paris in France. Disneyland Paris is Europe’s most visited theme park and pulls in visitors from all over the continent, while Parc Asterix, despite being located nearby, is more of a regional theme park appealing to a mostly domestic market. They’re different things, and Alton Towers et al and a hypothetical Universal park would be different in exactly the same way. Just because Alton Towers can only get 2.5 million guests per year, that doesn’t mean that a UK Universal park would be limited to those numbers.

While Universal are not Disney, they are still a major theme park brand that holds considerably more weight on the world stage than somewhere like a Merlin park. Plenty of Europeans visit the Universal resort in Orlando, so if Universal were to come to the UK, I think it would tempt international custom. Yes, I know that Brexit is a factor to consider, but plenty of Europeans still visit London and the UK despite that. London is one of the world’s most visited cities.
 
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People keep bring up Brexit as a reason why Universal won’t build in the UK as it makes travel ‘difficult’. Now I think Brexit is and was stupid but I just don’t see it being a factor.

EU citizens don’t need a visa to enter the UK and can use the egates to quickly pass through immigration (something that isn’t reciprocated for us entering the EU). I don’t think requiring people to own a passport to enter the UK is a barrier. The same is true for every other country that hosts a Universal Studios.

Also, look how many millions of people already visit London. There’s a big market to tap into there.
 
I think the situation between Disneyland Paris and Parc Asterix is different, though. When Disneyland Paris opened Parc Asterix was a fairly small park that was a few years old. I know the London parks are sometimes a bit lacking in quality, but they’re all probably larger than Parc Asterix was when Disneyland Paris opened (although smaller than Parc Asterix is now). A new Universal park near London would be entering a very mature marketplace with some well established parks nearby.

I’m sure it would attract people from around Europe, but we’d presumably be talking about something a lot smaller than Disneyland Paris is today, given that Disneyland Paris has 30 years of growth under its belt. Initially it probably would be more of a one day park

When Disneyland Paris first opened they overestimated how much accommodation they’d need, which is partly why early on it had some financial challenges. Also Disneyland Paris fairly quickly changed some of the voice overs from English to French, because the proportion of international visitors was lower than they expected.
 
havaska said:
People keep bring up Brexit as a reason why Universal won’t build in the UK as it makes travel ‘difficult’. Now I think Brexit is and was stupid but I just don’t see it being a factor.

EU citizens don’t need a visa to enter the UK and can use the egates to quickly pass through immigration (something that isn’t reciprocated for us entering the EU). I don’t think requiring people to own a passport to enter the UK is a barrier. The same is true for every other country that hosts a Universal Studios.

Also, look how many millions of people already visit London. There’s a big market to tap into there.
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I don’t think it will be a blocker but theoretically visa’s will become a thing (well more likely an ESTA style arrangement). The EU will be implementing theirs in theory next year so you would expect the UK will need to reciprocate at some point.

The biggest blocker is how you get international guests from an airport/ St Pancras to the location as once you get outside of the tube network options drop off quickly.
 
Bowser said:
What's the deal with the Harry Potter studios near Watford, is that something that could be converted into a Universal theme park?
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I live 10 minutes away and it's hugely popular, attracting tourists from all over the world, all year round. Funny to watch people get off at Watford Junction with their cloaks and wands on a Saturday.

But there's nowhere near enough room there for a full theme park. A lot of the site is also a working film studio.
 
Dave said:
I don’t think it will be a blocker but theoretically visa’s will become a thing (well more likely an ESTA style arrangement). The EU will be implementing theirs in theory next year so you would expect the UK will need to reciprocate at some point.
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Even if that is the case, people already jump through more hoops to visit other countries. I just don't think it's a consideration for 99% tourists that they won't visit a country because they might have to fill out a short form online when booking (alongside the numerous they'd already be doing for flights etc). Literally tens of millions do this every year to visit the US. It only becomes a deterrent if you have to go visit an embassy or the cost is prohibitive.

Also i'm fairly sure the UK allows most tourists in without a visa so can't see them imposing one solely on EU citizens.

UPDATE: The EU will be implementing theirs in mid 2025.
 
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Bowser said:
What's the deal with the Harry Potter studios near Watford, is that something that could be converted into a Universal theme park?
Click to expand...

jon81uk said:
That is a tour of the former sets from the films based at Warner Bros Studios Levesdon, it has nothing to do with Universal/Comcast.

Maybe Warner Bros would be willing to work with Universal to expand, but I doubt it. Also most of the land is being developed for more soundstages and backlot space.
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Have just confirmed with a colleague who often works at Levesdon: There is no spare land that isn’t already reserved for future soundstages or backlot use.
 
Bowser said:
Even if that is the case, people already jump through more hoops to visit other countries. I just don't think it's a consideration for 99% tourists that they won't visit a country because they might have to fill out a short form online when booking (alongside the numerous they'd already be doing for flights etc). Literally tens of millions do this every year to visit the US. It only becomes a deterrent if you have to go visit an embassy or the cost is prohibitive.

Also i'm fairly sure the UK allows most tourists in without a visa so can't see them imposing one solely on EU citizens.

UPDATE: The EU will be implementing theirs in mid 2025.
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s why I said I didn’t think it would be an issue, I was just pointing out that visa free travel between the UK and EU won’t be indefinite.
 
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