No longer a rumor! Universal confirms land purchase and intent to build park: www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/breaking-news-universal-studios-confirm-they-are-planning-a-theme-park-in-bedford-borough/
Amazing reporting Alicia! You are killing it! 2030 let’s go! Can’t wait to watch your progress videos of this expansion! You gotta keep em comin for the Universal family. We’re with you! Ride or die!
I thought there were rumors about a park in Spain. Honestly I would have preferred that. It’s not convenient to go to UK for Europeans as it doesn’t belong to EU and you need an international Passport that you don’t need to go to other European countries. Also it’s on an island. But for Brits it’s wonderful the other parks there aren’t that great. Best one is alton towers i guess. So they will have to up their game to compete with universal.
@@shiraparaguas9273 Being on a island shouldn't be an issue. The Euro Tunnel connects England to France. You can literally drive or take the train there from mainland Europe.
The Merlin group runs all the large theme parks in the uk The problem is they pick and choose which parks to favour legoland gets well maintained dark rides and the rest of the park's dark rides are left to fester for years. @@williamshort3620
As many Brits know: this isn’t the first time that a major theme park like this has been promised for the UK… but I will say the parks location seems more promising. Having the park in Bedford means it’s serviced by the M1 and A1M motorways, and can act as both a tourist destination that attracts visitors from london, and also a local theme park serving the urban towns nearby like Milton Keynes and Luton. It’s even close to luton airport. I wonder how this park will be competing with the UKs Merlin theme park chain, the owners of Thorpe park and Alton towers, who are currently going through a investment boom. The competition between Universal and Merlin willl be interesting to see.
I agree that the location seems promising, especially it being further south allows for less rain. Though I do wonder if they'll change some of their general layouts (like more inside rides than outside) to be better suited for the UK.
As it will be a universal park I think most people will only go once due to expensive tickets and still go to Thorpe & chessington. However Alton towers in the north might not see the same results
Makes me think if merlin knew about this potential universal park and are trying to get ahead. Towers is having a forbidden valley redo/possible new flats and project horizon. Thorpe with hyperia and brand redo. all in the same time frame
Doing a Harry Potter land (different from the USA ones) or a Lord Of The Rings land would be perfect for a UK Universal as both books came from the UK, so it will be bringing them home :)
Don't mind you, I think that cloning the Harry Potter section would be a very good idea for them. That would be the one thing that should be completely transferred to the UK, the properties Homeland
The are so many themes the UK universal park could use like: Harry Potter Lord of the rings Dr Who James Bond Mr Bean Peppa pig (For the kids) Knights and castles (cause it’s the UK)
So Happy for our UK friends! They spend a lot of money to travel to Universal (& Disney) here in the USA so it feels good to see them get their own Universal park!! We in the States may need to return the favor once this park opens!❤
If this is true, DisneyLand Paris will need to step up their game in terms of offers for UK residents, who make up a large portion of DLPs customers. Universal are out for Mickey blood these days.
That, and just how badly Disney is failing on the whole at the moment. And the latest thing they added to Paris was a lackluster Marvel land that went to the Studios park, and was just generally a bit rubbish, so this would be awesome if it comes true.
@@inventions178 I mean in terms of WDSP? I hate to say it, but I don't have much faith. Disney are very slow when it comes to these things, and considering what the Marvel land was like there, I can't say my hopes are high for the others.
What a time to be alive. Fingers crossed this comes to pass. The UK has a poor track record with seeing projects like this through to the end, but if anyone can make it happen, Universal can.
As a Brit I would be SOOO happy if this is built. I can’t afford to come to Florida very much (haven’t been for 5 years) but I could go here all the time!! I think the weather is not a problem , it’s similar to northern France after all, I go to Disneyland Paris a lot and it is bitterly cold in the winter and if this place has lots of indoor attractions/lands that’s a brilliant solution. I reeeeally hope this happens!
Yeah the weather thing is fine really. Not too hot, not too cold. Nice summers on average in the South east, a bit of rain other than that just very grey. Certainly not as cold as DLP during their winters. Always baffles me when people bring up the weather.
I'd love to see their take on a Disney style dark ride. Instead of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Maybe a Sherlock Holmes mystery ride where the guests have to piece it together with Holmes? Idk. Just an idea.
A full fledged theme park near London with its very own attractions themed to Harry Potter and the Lord of the rings ? This is huge news and way beyond exciting !!!
Someone should give you a medal for your investigative talents. If only they were a rumored theme park, I bet you could find Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster!
Disney blows billions on wasteful films and film acquisitions and has very little to show for it, while Universal reinvests its revenue in building brand-new theme parks. Way to go, Universal!
I remember back in the 90’s before Euro Disney opened in Paris they were looking at Spain originally (best weather), but it came down to Paris (has best connections to a wider European diaspora, Germany, Spain, Italy etc) and the UK, and the UK came very close because after American visitors to the Disney parks in the US the next biggest visitor numbers are the British, way more than the French, Spanish, Germans etc. So it makes sense for me for Universal to come to the UK
I remembered back in the 90’s before euro Disney opened in Paris, Fox was created by Disney as Fox was founded and formed and began by Walt Disney, Roy O. Disney, Joseph M. Schenck, William Fox and Darryl F. Zanuck and ABC Stands For American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Was Created By Disney and Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney were also the founders of ABC Stands For American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
This park should be exclusive for their UK based characters like Harry Potter with new attractions, Lord of the Rings(a perfect home for this!), Paddington and 007(instead of Bourne). Though I’d like to have them include some of their obscure sword and sorcery material like Conan, Dragonheart and maybe The Mummy could be their cloned attraction and definitely include the Universal Monsters in their castle grounds.
They should make the hogwarts castle as a land. That way its inside and us potterheads can finally explore a lifesize hogwarts. The great hall works as a restaurant, kitchens could also be restaurant/bakery, classrooms can double up as shops or interactive experiances, the slytherin common room could be a dark ride that goes through the black lake- you see the squid, merfolk and more, room of requirement could contain an indoor play area ‘to train the young’ obviously theres no way they could make it as big as the book describes but i think it’d still be pretty cool.
Okay this baffles me to say the least. UK is not consider a good place for buisness right now. A massive inflation, lack of long tirm government planing and shortage of workers in the hospitility buisness due to Brexit don´t make for a strong place to put a new theme park.
Comcast obviously disagree with you. Inflation isn’t just a UK issue, it’s worldwide and it’s coming down. The pound to the dollar is strong meaning Comcast will get more for their money. We have 1+ million people unemployed, we don’t have a shortage of workers. I’m sure staff accommodation will be provided if the local workforce isn’t sufficient. Lack of long term government planning you’re right, but we’re going to have a new government within the next 12 months. Despite Brexit the UK is still afloat, it hasn’t sank and relatively is doing okay. Not great not awful, kind of like the EU. Both of which are falling further and further behind the US with each passing day.
A British universal theme park with no Harry Potter?? That’s insane!! Edit: yes I’ve seen the video, although it isn’t confirmed that there will or will not be a wizarding world land, I just thought it was surprising to hear that this new theme park wouldn’t include any cloned attractions
She said "no cloned attractions." So it's possible they will get Harry Potter, just no Forbidden Journey, Gringotts, Hagrid's, or anything else built in Orlando; it would be something entirely new.
When did she say there weren’t going to be a Harry Potter themed area? Lol. All future universal parks will have the wizarding world as an achor land. Only difference is that the rides will be different.
@@prologue_00 I’m going to look forward to what they’ll come up with, I’m sure it’ll create great competition to The Harry Potter Warner bros studios in London
Really good location, with the entrance potentially a 5 minute walk both from the railway line to Bletchley/Bicester/Oxford and a 5 minute walk from what could be a new Thameslink station with direct service to Luton Airport and central London.
this is awesome. living in germany, both future universal parks in britain and catalonia are only a short flight away. at least its way way cheaper than flying to orlando.
Very popular summer destination for us Brits too but honestly I'd be over the moon with either, this would put UK back on the map for theme parks though
Why then are most of the most popular parks in Europe in cold weather areas? Of the top 20 only two parks are Spanish (6th and 12th place) The American perspective is why Disneyland Paris failed as they tried to project the American travel patterns on Europe.
Its not rly too much of an issue. england is more dry than people think especially more south. The biggest parks in europe work just fine in cold areas. Alton towers even functions fine and staffordshire is quite wet compared to bedford
I’ve heard rumors they’ve pulled trademarks in Spain. Not sure how to check that or not though. And universal and Busch gardens were originally involved with port aventura I do believe. 🤷🏻♂️
I think what a lot of people don't understand as to why this park would probably succeed and why the London resort failed is because this park would be built and operated by a well established theme park operator with a proven track record of successful parks while london resort was a random park (that had most of its partners pull out) owned by a random kuwaiti company, which made approving the park a difficult decision as it just wouldn't have the same pull as a WHOLE UNIVERSAL PARK... i mean just look at DLP yes at the start it might've had a struggle, but in terms of european theme parks its in a whole nother ball park in terms of visitors which in the end of the day is all they care about. also HARRY POTTER i mean just the studio tour itself in london brings in the same amount of visitors a year as Alton Towers despite the ticket prices being more expensive, imagine how successful a whole theme park land would be
I think the biggest issue for the London resort was its position on the estuary which, while very pretty, ended up being partially protected as a unique habitat for wildlife and pitted the park against environmental groups.
Despite what people think, the weather in Bedford is actually good, especially in the summer. Winter temperatures are mild compared to a lot of Europe. Great location as it’s basically the midlands.
This sounds like a great idea. As someone who lives near Orlando. I've always kind of wanted to go Universal and Disney in La but figured why bother since it's almost identical so opening a new park with a totally different experience would make another trip to London worthwhile.
putting a universal and more importantly a harry potter land out there is actually genius. theres a decent amount of orlando pass holders who live in britain that come and stay for weeks just for the harry potter land
I feel like we are about to see Universal bring so much Harry Potter to one theme park. Also, most of those new IPs you mentioned do have upcoming movies, so maybe it does actually become a reality.
I for one hope it happens. There's to be more Lotr's films coming thus this would make sense. And if you want British theming then 007 and Paddington would also make sense. Could even add Narnia or something from Beatrix Potter or perhaps Roald Dahl's books. Spoilt for choice really. Universal may consider this a great time to invest given the strength of the Dollar vs the Pound. Hope it happens.
Eeekkkkkk super excited fingers crossed it will be built.... I don't mind driving a few hours from Norwich to go and experience it instead of the long flight to Orlando 😍
Yep just lost my mind seeing this . We’ve spent a fortune over the last 13 years visiting Orlando and love Universal . It will be so cool to have this park over here in the Uk 🇬🇧 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽thank you 🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️👍🏽🧱
I do worry that they might be spreading themselves to thin. Reminds me a bit of Disney in the late 90's and early 2000's. Three second gates - In Anaheim, Paris, and Tokyo - and a whole new resort - Hong Kong. Only one of those really opened as anything worthwhile. I don't think it's wise to jump into all these projects at the same time.
Although I live here in Florida just 1 hr from Orlando, I am very glad to see HP return home. I know Alicia said the rumor is no cloned rides, but I am wondering what can Universal do to create a unique Wizarding World. What do you guys think Universal could pull from the novels to create the land? And BTW, I sneakily suspect Universal may still acquire Port Aventura. They are on an absolute tear!
@@UmmYeahOk I'm wondering if they will be able to use the Harry Potter IP at all in the UK. We already have the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio tour. So I assume the theme park rights are with WB in this country.
@@toastedavalancheMy belief is that they have to get rights with each individual park. That’s why they have rights to Marvel in FL, but not CA. They needed to get permission for Epic Universe, but didn’t want to pay WB again for an experimental regional park, but felt that if they were going to pay someone, they’d go ahead and license Sponge Bob. There’s plenty of international Potterheads who’d loved to visit all three, the real platform 9 and 3/4, which has WB permission, the studio tour, and Universal.
@@toastedavalancheMoney talks and imo they’re two totally different experiences. It’d be unusual for a competitor such as universal to advertise the studios but I wouldn’t see anything wrong with that seeing as they are so different. With the new TV show anyway which most likely will be filmed at the same location as the films and the studio there’s gonna be a lot of HP to go round for quite a while
When I went to Universal Studios Orlando there was Brits everywhere. Mostly I saw them in the Hogwarts part of the park. Now that there maybe a Universal Great Britain, they may get their own Hogwarts section and as such won’t need to fly to Orlando.
What’s crazy is that even with the massive improvements and innovations of there parks and resorts in recent years I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come
I Want Transformers Harry Potter Despicable Me Lord Of The Rings Battlestar Galactica The Mummy Jurassic Park Dragon Ball Z ET Legend Of Zelda Paddington Pokemon Shrek And Evangelion
WOUW!! This got me SOO EXITED, thanks!! I was always looking out for these LotR-rumoured lands coming to Universal!! I was first hyped, when Alicia Stella mentioned this idea for EPIC UNIVERSE, eventually in the future.. But now hearing about Great Britain and a possible UK-Park, I MUST admit: Great Britain is a BETTER choice for this franchise.. It's literally were Tolkien invented the Story , and GB does fit the rural landscapes of LotR better than anything in FLORIDA ( or New Zealand even 😀) Altough I would LOVE to see RIVENDELL at EpicUniverse, some day in the future.., And I still want to vistit Matamata in NZ😀!! Meanwhile: While Disney is building PLANTERS, Universal is apparently about to COLONIZE Europe, the World and the Moon for God sakes'.. !😆😆
Also heard rumors of Universal buying back Portaventura, that would make more sense as it could be a 365 park, and it is already a mature park. Would they need another park in the UK? Would be nice to have thrill rides over 30 seconds long in the UK, so i hope it is true.
I live 10 mins drive from the site and it holds some history in my family as my father worked in the brickworks. I am a huge Universal fan and railway fan, so seeing the park go smack between my local railways is incredible. Bring it on.
Interesting article in the UK times newspaper where they have approached householders in the small number of houses in the road bisecting this plot of land. Four are said to have sold at above market value but refuse to talk as they have signed NDAs This plot is 5.5 miles to walk the perimeter of Also an interesting You Tube video, which I have now lost the link to, where the author overlaid existing Universal Theme parks into the plot and comfortably managed both Orlando parks. It would appear that Universal, with the website and letter to residents ready to go, and the apparently purchasing of houses, is meaning business. Manor road is going to be an issue though, unless they can persuade the Council to close it entirely, but it is a well used rat run of a road, unless they divert it or bridge it somehow.
Universal Great Britain is definitely going to rock. I think that they need to include James Bond, Paddington, and LOTR. I would also like for them to add Monty Python and maybe bring over some of the Universal Monsters (Dracula, the Frankensteins, the Phantom of the Opera, the Invisible Man, and Jekyll/Hyde all originate from Europe).
I think it simply has to have at least one of the orlando harry potter rides. Being set in the UK, surely you have Hogsmeade and Hogwarts at the very least. What's Harry Potter without Hogwarts?
That's like the worst possible location if this is supposed to be their European counterpart to Disneyland Paris. Maybe it's just supposed to be one of several Universal theme parks in Europe, otherwise building it there makes absolutely no sense to me. The only market this would serve is the UK.
It's amazing to hear and see Universal Destinations & Experiences is continuing to expand more. It would be awesome if Universal continues with the plans and builds a Universal Studios theme park in the United Kingdom.
@@SaltburnJurassic Thank you. This is going to be good for Comcast because they're going to be earning more money from their international Universal theme parks. Tom Williams would be proud of Mark Woodbury because Mark is doing well in his role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Destinations & Experiences. He is definitely following Tom's footsteps but he could also make his own decisions about what's best for Universal Destinations & Experiences.
A Universal in England would be awesome. However, I know a lot of people there use public transportation. Would the British Government build a Train route to Universal ? Any plans on how visitors would get there from the Airport ? Will they build a large parking lot ? I heard that most rental cars in England are manual shift cars. Most Americans are used to driving automatics now. Is a American Driver's license valid in Great Britian, or would we need to get a International Driver's license ? How far from London is this land ? Is Heathrow the closest Airport to it ?
Just looking at google maps it looks like a passenger rail line goes right through the middle of this property. With a small station(which I sure would need to be completely redone) already on site.
Your American drivers license would be fine to use in the UK, I think it’s maybe up to a year you can use it until you need to have a test here in the UK, so more than fine for a holiday. We do use manual cars galore than automatic cars, but automatic car sales are increasing YOY and you’d have no problem hiring one. Heathrow isn’t far but Luton airport is closer. London is about 45ish miles away and there’s a direct service to London I think.
Luton airport has a direct link to the Thameslink main line, which then stops at Bedford. If they have their heads in the right place they can then use the minor Bedford to Bletchley line to run shuttle trains, if not it is a 20 minute bus ride. That same train line offers trains from central London to Bedford in only 40 minutes. As to rental cars, with more and more vehicles being electric or hybrid, it is likely it will be an automatic, if not you can just request to hire an automatic, there are plenty about.
Well, I can not believe it! Our choice of theme parks here in the UK are poor to non-existent! We simply drop coasters anywhere in the parks without much consideration of holistic theming. Universal and Disney are the very best, so be welcoming one of these brands to the UK is one of the most exciting bits of news I've heard in years - maybe the most excited since the announcement of the Star Wars lands at Disney parks. What would I like to see? I'm not sure if the Harry Potter experiences would make it here due to existing attractions run by Warner Brothers. I'd like to see Back to the Future for absolute sure, but they seemed to have abandoned this IP many years ago with the exception of Los Angeles. The Jurassic Park/World brand would be amazing, specifically the JP dark ride recently introduced in Beijing. It looks like the best attraction in the world right now - with exception of Rise of the Resistance. A proper Super Silly Fun Land complete with roller coaster is an interesting idea. Lastly, with Universal pushing into more of a kid-friendly brand I can see them looking at bringing over the Dreamworks-related IPs. Maybe Kung-fu Panda on its own like Beijing? Universal don't mess around, so these moves are looking promising - unlike the now almost defunct London Resorts project.
I soo hope this happens I live 30 miles from here it’s been rumoured for years but must admit this sounds more promising especially as theme park stop is doing film on it and she is always right 🤞🤞🤞
I've heard about this one for a while, here's the choices. Have been the UK, Germany or Spain. I knew they were gunning for the UK because the very simple idea is actually having the wizarding world of Harry Potter in its own country with literally print pounds hand over fist overnight. No I wouldn't be surprised if they start running into issues like Eddie either joked about with Disneyland Paris or it's like. Hey, we need to make the castle bigger cuz they actually have them here. Imagine they're going to really have to step up their food game at this point. 😅
I will also add that one of the reasons why it's taking so long for the idea of universal to bring a theme park to the UK is because of brexit and the UK's currently worsening economy. There have been suggestions though that in order to counteract that that the United Kingdom themselves will help subsidize cost of development and wave certain fees and zonings in order to make it happen in order to bring more of an economy to the country. Was the only reason why they were interested in your zone countries mainly Spain because Germany is shocked full of theme parks because that way they would still be in the Euro zone and would be a tourist destination with a wide range of economy. It's a similar reason why there was for years of universal wanting to build one of their theme parks in Russia but they had to cancel out with the actual reason was because of the volatile government of Russia and all of their political and war exploits that would be terrible for a theme destination. Imagine if they made a universal Moscow while the Ukraine war was going on and all the sanctions against the country. So they definitely dodged bullet there and I can imagine that universal wants to avoid a similar bullet with the UK, so there's probably going to be a lot of negotiations back and forth in order to make them work.
I really, REALLY hope this gets realised. The whole thing with The London Resort has been a load of bullshit throughout the years, and it'd be amazing for us Brits to finally get a new theme park after so long, especially one built by a massive, massive company like Universal. And to be honest, it might even drive some business away from Disneyland Paris, as its quicker for Brits to get to Bedford compared to Paris.
There is no way in hell 😭😭😭 I’ve been dreaming of this since a child. I never actually thought they’d go through with it. Excitement isn’t even the world.
Worth mentioning that Bedford is quite close to the location for the current Harry Potter Warner Bros studio tour. This could be quite good cross promotion to include a wizarding world in Universal GB if done right.
Very close I work 500 yards across the road from it, lived a mile from it & now live 5 miles from it. But that land is wasted full of old previous works from years ago plus bare land unused.
No longer a rumor! Universal confirms land purchase and intent to build park: www.bedfordindependent.co.uk/breaking-news-universal-studios-confirm-they-are-planning-a-theme-park-in-bedford-borough/
Great sleuthing on this one!
Sky news reporting in the UK
Amazing reporting Alicia! You are killing it!
2030 let’s go! Can’t wait to watch your progress videos of this expansion! You gotta keep em comin for the Universal family. We’re with you! Ride or die!
I thought there were rumors about a park in Spain. Honestly I would have preferred that. It’s not convenient to go to UK for Europeans as it doesn’t belong to EU and you need an international Passport that you don’t need to go to other European countries. Also it’s on an island. But for Brits it’s wonderful the other parks there aren’t that great. Best one is alton towers i guess. So they will have to up their game to compete with universal.
@@shiraparaguas9273 Being on a island shouldn't be an issue. The Euro Tunnel connects England to France. You can literally drive or take the train there from mainland Europe.
As a Brit I’ve never clicked since so fast 😆
Omg i am shaking hahahaha
As a german, same
@@Joshua___ well germany doesn’t have a big city so it is our own fault hahaha
Same 😂
Same lol
This will make Merlin and other UK park operators step up their game. I hope this becomes a reality
Hopefully
they'll probably sneak spiders onto the land like they did with the london resort.
We all said that about Paramount Park/TLR and it ended in shattered dreams. Both Universal and TLR would put the final nails in Merlin. One can hope!
Bro what have you all got against Merlin 😂
The Merlin group runs all the large theme parks in the uk The problem is they pick and choose which parks to favour legoland gets well maintained dark rides and the rest of the park's dark rides are left to fester for years. @@williamshort3620
As many Brits know: this isn’t the first time that a major theme park like this has been promised for the UK… but I will say the parks location seems more promising. Having the park in Bedford means it’s serviced by the M1 and A1M motorways, and can act as both a tourist destination that attracts visitors from london, and also a local theme park serving the urban towns nearby like Milton Keynes and Luton. It’s even close to luton airport.
I wonder how this park will be competing with the UKs Merlin theme park chain, the owners of Thorpe park and Alton towers, who are currently going through a investment boom. The competition between Universal and Merlin willl be interesting to see.
I agree that the location seems promising, especially it being further south allows for less rain. Though I do wonder if they'll change some of their general layouts (like more inside rides than outside) to be better suited for the UK.
As it will be a universal park I think most people will only go once due to expensive tickets and still go to Thorpe & chessington. However Alton towers in the north might not see the same results
Makes me think if merlin knew about this potential universal park and are trying to get ahead. Towers is having a forbidden valley redo/possible new flats and project horizon. Thorpe with hyperia and brand redo. all in the same time frame
@@IamNiggler its sad yes, but hows this exactly relevant to universal wanting a park in the uk? you cant change history
@@Yonel6969 you colonizing racist sob
Doing a Harry Potter land (different from the USA ones) or a Lord Of The Rings land would be perfect for a UK Universal as both books came from the UK, so it will be bringing them home :)
Don't mind you, I think that cloning the Harry Potter section would be a very good idea for them. That would be the one thing that should be completely transferred to the UK, the properties Homeland
Shhhhhh nooooo we want a lotr expansion at epic 😅
Yes!!
The are so many themes the UK universal park could use like:
Harry Potter
Lord of the rings
Dr Who
James Bond
Mr Bean
Peppa pig (For the kids)
Knights and castles (cause it’s the UK)
Harry Potter but different attractions to Orlando
So Happy for our UK friends! They spend a lot of money to travel to Universal (& Disney) here in the USA so it feels good to see them get their own Universal park!! We in the States may need to return the favor once this park opens!❤
UK tourists are the loudest and rudest of all the tourists in Orlando, so it's great they can stay in their rain soaked dump!
If this is true, DisneyLand Paris will need to step up their game in terms of offers for UK residents, who make up a large portion of DLPs customers.
Universal are out for Mickey blood these days.
That, and just how badly Disney is failing on the whole at the moment. And the latest thing they added to Paris was a lackluster Marvel land that went to the Studios park, and was just generally a bit rubbish, so this would be awesome if it comes true.
@@THEtomh I meam they're currently literally expanding the park.
@@inventions178 I mean in terms of WDSP? I hate to say it, but I don't have much faith. Disney are very slow when it comes to these things, and considering what the Marvel land was like there, I can't say my hopes are high for the others.
What a time to be alive. Fingers crossed this comes to pass. The UK has a poor track record with seeing projects like this through to the end, but if anyone can make it happen, Universal can.
As a Brit I would be SOOO happy if this is built. I can’t afford to come to Florida very much (haven’t been for 5 years) but I could go here all the time!! I think the weather is not a problem , it’s similar to northern France after all, I go to Disneyland Paris a lot and it is bitterly cold in the winter and if this place has lots of indoor attractions/lands that’s a brilliant solution. I reeeeally hope this happens!
Yeah the weather thing is fine really.
Not too hot, not too cold. Nice summers on average in the South east, a bit of rain other than that just very grey.
Certainly not as cold as DLP during their winters.
Always baffles me when people bring up the weather.
What would you like to see at this possible new UK park? Also, share this one with someone you think may like to know about this project!!
JW
of course me i am french i love UK london espacially and i want a new park in England bring it man do it
Just a long as Nintendo representation is in the park, since that IP has an audience in UK.
I'd love to see their take on a Disney style dark ride. Instead of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Maybe a Sherlock Holmes mystery ride where the guests have to piece it together with Holmes? Idk. Just an idea.
Long time overdue, this would be amazing! James bond dark ride could be incredible!
YOU DESERVE AN EMMY FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING 🙌🏼
I think there’s more pressing concerns around the world than theme parks.
Yet here you are....@@happymaskedguy1943
@@happymaskedguy1943 No there isn't, theme parks all the way!
@@happymaskedguy1943What does this have to do with anything?
@@happymaskedguy1943 You came all the way here to make this completely irrelevant comment. Your life must be hard.
A full fledged theme park near London with its very own attractions themed to Harry Potter and the Lord of the rings ? This is huge news and way beyond exciting !!!
a Universal UK resort would consume a not insignificant amount of my yearly income
Someone should give you a medal for your investigative talents. If only they were a rumored theme park, I bet you could find Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster!
I’m coming for Nessie next
This could be truly EPIC! And I hope to see The Lord of the Rings come to the UK -Thank you Alicia and the team, this has made our day :-)
We’re gonna need a bigger -boat- LotR tip jar
JAR!
Disney blows billions on wasteful films and film acquisitions and has very little to show for it, while Universal reinvests its revenue in building brand-new theme parks. Way to go, Universal!
As someone who loves Universal and lives in the UK … I AM ECSTATIC! 🤪🥳🇬🇧
Thanks Alicia for another fab video 😘
Universal is just killing Disney lately
Incredible investigative work Alicia! Thanks, on behalf of everyone!
I remember back in the 90’s before Euro Disney opened in Paris they were looking at Spain originally (best weather), but it came down to Paris (has best connections to a wider European diaspora, Germany, Spain, Italy etc) and the UK, and the UK came very close because after American visitors to the Disney parks in the US the next biggest visitor numbers are the British, way more than the French, Spanish, Germans etc. So it makes sense for me for Universal to come to the UK
I remembered back in the 90’s before euro Disney opened in Paris, Fox was created by Disney as Fox was founded and formed and began by Walt Disney, Roy O. Disney, Joseph M. Schenck, William Fox and Darryl F. Zanuck and ABC Stands For American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Was Created By Disney and Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney were also the founders of ABC Stands For American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
A Lod of The Rings themed area would be a huge pull, really hope this happens
This park should be exclusive for their UK based characters like Harry Potter with new attractions, Lord of the Rings(a perfect home for this!), Paddington and 007(instead of Bourne). Though I’d like to have them include some of their obscure sword and sorcery material like Conan, Dragonheart and maybe The Mummy could be their cloned attraction and definitely include the Universal Monsters in their castle grounds.
They should make the hogwarts castle as a land. That way its inside and us potterheads can finally explore a lifesize hogwarts. The great hall works as a restaurant, kitchens could also be restaurant/bakery, classrooms can double up as shops or interactive experiances, the slytherin common room could be a dark ride that goes through the black lake- you see the squid, merfolk and more, room of requirement could contain an indoor play area ‘to train the young’ obviously theres no way they could make it as big as the book describes but i think it’d still be pretty cool.
OMG!!!😆looks like this could really happen! So excited for all the universal fans in Great Britain 🇬🇧
Its a great idea. A win for Universal, UK theme parks and the local economy.
TPS can you compare the size of this land to other Universal size parks? Is this the same size land as Epic Universe?
It’s comparable to the contiguous land of Epic, but it is long and stretched out, so will be interesting to see how it is utilized here.
So will bioreconstruct be crossing the pond soon, or will we receive updates from his British cousin?
Some of these possible lands are so intriguing, but I'm most excited about the possibility of Halloween Horror Nights!
It will give Thorpe park a run for its money, and the theme park itself will give Merlin a run for its money
Okay this baffles me to say the least. UK is not consider a good place for buisness right now. A massive inflation, lack of long tirm government planing and shortage of workers in the hospitility buisness due to Brexit don´t make for a strong place to put a new theme park.
Comcast obviously disagree with you.
Inflation isn’t just a UK issue, it’s worldwide and it’s coming down.
The pound to the dollar is strong meaning Comcast will get more for their money.
We have 1+ million people unemployed, we don’t have a shortage of workers. I’m sure staff accommodation will be provided if the local workforce isn’t sufficient.
Lack of long term government planning you’re right, but we’re going to have a new government within the next 12 months.
Despite Brexit the UK is still afloat, it hasn’t sank and relatively is doing okay. Not great not awful, kind of like the EU.
Both of which are falling further and further behind the US with each passing day.
A British universal theme park with no Harry Potter?? That’s insane!!
Edit: yes I’ve seen the video, although it isn’t confirmed that there will or will not be a wizarding world land, I just thought it was surprising to hear that this new theme park wouldn’t include any cloned attractions
She said "no cloned attractions." So it's possible they will get Harry Potter, just no Forbidden Journey, Gringotts, Hagrid's, or anything else built in Orlando; it would be something entirely new.
When did she say there weren’t going to be a Harry Potter themed area? Lol. All future universal parks will have the wizarding world as an achor land. Only difference is that the rides will be different.
@@prologue_00 I’m going to look forward to what they’ll come up with, I’m sure it’ll create great competition to The Harry Potter Warner bros studios in London
@@huskywolfpop I think it’s fun to speculate
Pretty disappointing the potential no cloning of attractions means that we probably won't get the mummy coaster
We really don’t have anything near the quality of a Universal Studios as far as theming goes in England. Really hope this happens.
Wow! My house is literally on the top down map you keep showing! Better get my outdoor office ready for AirBnB 😂
Really good location, with the entrance potentially a 5 minute walk both from the railway line to Bletchley/Bicester/Oxford and a 5 minute walk from what could be a new Thameslink station with direct service to Luton Airport and central London.
this is awesome. living in germany, both future universal parks in britain and catalonia are only a short flight away. at least its way way cheaper than flying to orlando.
It's such a shame germany never got the universal park that was almost built in 2004.
@@Mark-Mark-Mark-Markuniversal studios is also considered planning to build in germany in the future
@@ikdante5597 would they really build two major resorts in Europe?
Sincerelly, I feel like buying Port Aventura ( old Universal) in Spain, near Barcelona, would be a much better location in terms of the weather itself
Very popular summer destination for us Brits too but honestly I'd be over the moon with either, this would put UK back on the map for theme parks though
AFAIK, this is a seperate project?
Why then are most of the most popular parks in Europe in cold weather areas? Of the top 20 only two parks are Spanish (6th and 12th place)
The American perspective is why Disneyland Paris failed as they tried to project the American travel patterns on Europe.
Its not rly too much of an issue. england is more dry than people think especially more south. The biggest parks in europe work just fine in cold areas. Alton towers even functions fine and staffordshire is quite wet compared to bedford
I’ve heard rumors they’ve pulled trademarks in Spain. Not sure how to check that or not though. And universal and Busch gardens were originally involved with port aventura I do believe. 🤷🏻♂️
Holy crap. I bet Universal will focus on indoor rides in the UK and acquire Port Aventura in Spain where they will focus on Coasters and water rides.
I think what a lot of people don't understand as to why this park would probably succeed and why the London resort failed is because this park would be built and operated by a well established theme park operator with a proven track record of successful parks while london resort was a random park (that had most of its partners pull out) owned by a random kuwaiti company, which made approving the park a difficult decision as it just wouldn't have the same pull as a WHOLE UNIVERSAL PARK... i mean just look at DLP yes at the start it might've had a struggle, but in terms of european theme parks its in a whole nother ball park in terms of visitors which in the end of the day is all they care about. also HARRY POTTER i mean just the studio tour itself in london brings in the same amount of visitors a year as Alton Towers despite the ticket prices being more expensive, imagine how successful a whole theme park land would be
I think the biggest issue for the London resort was its position on the estuary which, while very pretty, ended up being partially protected as a unique habitat for wildlife and pitted the park against environmental groups.
Despite what people think, the weather in Bedford is actually good, especially in the summer. Winter temperatures are mild compared to a lot of Europe. Great location as it’s basically the midlands.
I really hope they get the rights to Doctor Who 🤞🏻 it’s way overdue for some theme park representation.
That universal logo to google earth globe transition tho… 🔥 🔥 🔥 KEEP UP THE AMAZING WORK PATENT QUEEN!
No lie that happened by accident in editing and I stood up and yelped when I realized what I’d done lol
1:19
This sounds like a great idea. As someone who lives near Orlando. I've always kind of wanted to go Universal and Disney in La but figured why bother since it's almost identical so opening a new park with a totally different experience would make another trip to London worthwhile.
I am just so bloody happy and joyful that my country is getting its own Universal Theme Park!! I’m so excited!
I live in Bedford and its true Bedford is situated so well in between the A1 and M1 !! I really think its a ideal plot of land.
Wow, exciting news if it actually happens. They better buy up every available parcel next this land for future uses.
Ahhhhh as an American living in the UK....this is awesome news! Thanks Alicia!
I still remember the old cancelled project.
putting a universal and more importantly a harry potter land out there is actually genius. theres a decent amount of orlando pass holders who live in britain that come and stay for weeks just for the harry potter land
I feel like we are about to see Universal bring so much Harry Potter to one theme park. Also, most of those new IPs you mentioned do have upcoming movies, so maybe it does actually become a reality.
As a european, one of the best news ever! Please Comcast, let our dream come true
I for one hope it happens. There's to be more Lotr's films coming thus this would make sense. And if you want British theming then 007 and Paddington would also make sense. Could even add Narnia or something from Beatrix Potter or perhaps Roald Dahl's books. Spoilt for choice really. Universal may consider this a great time to invest given the strength of the Dollar vs the Pound. Hope it happens.
Eeekkkkkk super excited fingers crossed it will be built.... I don't mind driving a few hours from Norwich to go and experience it instead of the long flight to Orlando 😍
Bioreconstruct will have to move countries.
Totally 🤣🤣🤣
Yep just lost my mind seeing this . We’ve spent a fortune over the last 13 years visiting Orlando and love Universal . It will be so cool to have this park over here in the Uk 🇬🇧 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽thank you 🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️👍🏽🧱
America got Harry Potter. Its only fair the UK get Lord of the Rings.
Even still people would riot if HP wasn’t present, imo it’d be a bit of a PR disaster from the get go if there’s no Harry Potter.
I do worry that they might be spreading themselves to thin. Reminds me a bit of Disney in the late 90's and early 2000's. Three second gates - In Anaheim, Paris, and Tokyo - and a whole new resort - Hong Kong. Only one of those really opened as anything worthwhile. I don't think it's wise to jump into all these projects at the same time.
Although I live here in Florida just 1 hr from Orlando, I am very glad to see HP return home. I know Alicia said the rumor is no cloned rides, but I am wondering what can Universal do to create a unique Wizarding World. What do you guys think Universal could pull from the novels to create the land? And BTW, I sneakily suspect Universal may still acquire Port Aventura. They are on an absolute tear!
Would be neat if you could take an actual train from the real Kings Cross, to Hogsmeade (or Universal in general)
@@UmmYeahOk I'm wondering if they will be able to use the Harry Potter IP at all in the UK. We already have the Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio tour. So I assume the theme park rights are with WB in this country.
@@toastedavalancheMy belief is that they have to get rights with each individual park. That’s why they have rights to Marvel in FL, but not CA. They needed to get permission for Epic Universe, but didn’t want to pay WB again for an experimental regional park, but felt that if they were going to pay someone, they’d go ahead and license Sponge Bob.
There’s plenty of international Potterheads who’d loved to visit all three, the real platform 9 and 3/4, which has WB permission, the studio tour, and Universal.
@@toastedavalancheMoney talks and imo they’re two totally different experiences.
It’d be unusual for a competitor such as universal to advertise the studios but I wouldn’t see anything wrong with that seeing as they are so different.
With the new TV show anyway which most likely will be filmed at the same location as the films and the studio there’s gonna be a lot of HP to go round for quite a while
@@UmmYeahOkIt would be nice, but unfortunately its a different line
is Universal considering building parks in both England and Spain or are they choosing between one or the other?
When I went to Universal Studios Orlando there was Brits everywhere. Mostly I saw them in the Hogwarts part of the park. Now that there maybe a Universal Great Britain, they may get their own Hogwarts section and as such won’t need to fly to Orlando.
What’s crazy is that even with the massive improvements and innovations of there parks and resorts in recent years I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg of what’s to come
I Want Transformers Harry Potter Despicable Me Lord Of The Rings Battlestar Galactica The Mummy Jurassic Park Dragon Ball Z ET Legend Of Zelda Paddington Pokemon Shrek And Evangelion
Beleive it when l see plans approved..
WOUW!! This got me SOO EXITED, thanks!!
I was always looking out for these LotR-rumoured lands coming to Universal!! I was first hyped, when Alicia Stella mentioned this idea for EPIC UNIVERSE, eventually in the future.. But now hearing about Great Britain and a possible UK-Park, I MUST admit:
Great Britain is a BETTER choice for this franchise..
It's literally were Tolkien invented the Story , and GB does fit the rural landscapes of LotR better than anything in FLORIDA ( or New Zealand even 😀)
Altough I would LOVE to see RIVENDELL at EpicUniverse, some day in the future.., And I still want to vistit Matamata in NZ😀!!
Meanwhile:
While Disney is building PLANTERS,
Universal is apparently about to COLONIZE Europe, the World and the Moon for God sakes'.. !😆😆
Also heard rumors of Universal buying back Portaventura, that would make more sense as it could be a 365 park, and it is already a mature park. Would they need another park in the UK?
Would be nice to have thrill rides over 30 seconds long in the UK, so i hope it is true.
I live 10 mins drive from the site and it holds some history in my family as my father worked in the brickworks. I am a huge Universal fan and railway fan, so seeing the park go smack between my local railways is incredible. Bring it on.
I guess Universal heard I was moving back to the UK, so wanted to keep me busy for the next few years! 😁🙃😁
Absolutely! Thanks for providing the world of the gift of the best Universal Beijing videos btw!!
@@ThemeParkStop Thanks a bunch! I still get goosebumps whenever I see my channel name pop up in one of your videos. Keep up the amazing work! 😁
Omg a lord of the rings themed area would be stunning😍
Interesting article in the UK times newspaper where they have approached householders in the small number of houses in the road bisecting this plot of land. Four are said to have sold at above market value but refuse to talk as they have signed NDAs
This plot is 5.5 miles to walk the perimeter of
Also an interesting You Tube video, which I have now lost the link to, where the author overlaid existing Universal Theme parks into the plot and comfortably managed both Orlando parks. It would appear that Universal, with the website and letter to residents ready to go, and the apparently purchasing of houses, is meaning business.
Manor road is going to be an issue though, unless they can persuade the Council to close it entirely, but it is a well used rat run of a road, unless they divert it or bridge it somehow.
I hope they include Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Httyd in this park
Once again...Universal keeps winning while Disney keeps losing
Wow I did not expect to see this! Come on Universal dont let us Brits down, or the rest of the world, with this Epic Possibility!
I love the amount of research you put into this video. Please continue making updates on various locations outside of USA as its very interesting :)
Universal Great Britain is definitely going to rock. I think that they need to include James Bond, Paddington, and LOTR. I would also like for them to add Monty Python and maybe bring over some of the Universal Monsters (Dracula, the Frankensteins, the Phantom of the Opera, the Invisible Man, and Jekyll/Hyde all originate from Europe).
WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH WOAH
this wasn't on my bingo card this year thats cool!
Such an exciting project! Really hope this proceeds and gets an official announcement in the future
What about PortAventura?
Warner brothers and Paramount have tried and failed, let’s see if universal can do it
Universal is hitting on all cylinders while Disney can’t even get Epcot finished, and it looks like a business park.
Lots of indoor stuff and for goodness sake please someone build a giga coaster in the uk …. Please
I think it simply has to have at least one of the orlando harry potter rides. Being set in the UK, surely you have Hogsmeade and Hogwarts at the very least. What's Harry Potter without Hogwarts?
Millions of eyes in the UK are turning towards Bedford today! Very exciting news.
Kinda hoping they were building a Super Nintendo World in there since the UK needs one.
That's like the worst possible location if this is supposed to be their European counterpart to Disneyland Paris. Maybe it's just supposed to be one of several Universal theme parks in Europe, otherwise building it there makes absolutely no sense to me. The only market this would serve is the UK.
I also hope they add in some of iconic British properties like Doctor Who
It's amazing to hear and see Universal Destinations & Experiences is continuing to expand more. It would be awesome if Universal continues with the plans and builds a Universal Studios theme park in the United Kingdom.
Agreed with you, just think about the number of new jobs that will be opened to the public who are indeed of paid work!
@@SaltburnJurassic Thank you. This is going to be good for Comcast because they're going to be earning more money from their international Universal theme parks. Tom Williams would be proud of Mark Woodbury because Mark is doing well in his role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Destinations & Experiences. He is definitely following Tom's footsteps but he could also make his own decisions about what's best for Universal Destinations & Experiences.
Absoloutely incredible news, now it’s confirmed, I can’t wait! Great update
2nd
A Universal in England would be awesome. However, I know a lot of people there use public transportation. Would the British Government build a Train route to Universal ? Any plans on how visitors would get there from the Airport ? Will they build a large parking lot ? I heard that most rental cars in England are manual shift cars. Most Americans are used to driving automatics now. Is a American Driver's license valid in Great Britian, or would we need to get a International Driver's license ? How far from London is this land ? Is Heathrow the closest Airport to it ?
Just looking at google maps it looks like a passenger rail line goes right through the middle of this property. With a small station(which I sure would need to be completely redone) already on site.
Your American drivers license would be fine to use in the UK, I think it’s maybe up to a year you can use it until you need to have a test here in the UK, so more than fine for a holiday.
We do use manual cars galore than automatic cars, but automatic car sales are increasing YOY and you’d have no problem hiring one.
Heathrow isn’t far but Luton airport is closer. London is about 45ish miles away and there’s a direct service to London I think.
Luton airport has a direct link to the Thameslink main line, which then stops at Bedford. If they have their heads in the right place they can then use the minor Bedford to Bletchley line to run shuttle trains, if not it is a 20 minute bus ride. That same train line offers trains from central London to Bedford in only 40 minutes. As to rental cars, with more and more vehicles being electric or hybrid, it is likely it will be an automatic, if not you can just request to hire an automatic, there are plenty about.
I would be sooo happy if there were more parks in general. I hope it comes into fruition.
Well, I can not believe it! Our choice of theme parks here in the UK are poor to non-existent! We simply drop coasters anywhere in the parks without much consideration of holistic theming. Universal and Disney are the very best, so be welcoming one of these brands to the UK is one of the most exciting bits of news I've heard in years - maybe the most excited since the announcement of the Star Wars lands at Disney parks. What would I like to see? I'm not sure if the Harry Potter experiences would make it here due to existing attractions run by Warner Brothers. I'd like to see Back to the Future for absolute sure, but they seemed to have abandoned this IP many years ago with the exception of Los Angeles. The Jurassic Park/World brand would be amazing, specifically the JP dark ride recently introduced in Beijing. It looks like the best attraction in the world right now - with exception of Rise of the Resistance. A proper Super Silly Fun Land complete with roller coaster is an interesting idea. Lastly, with Universal pushing into more of a kid-friendly brand I can see them looking at bringing over the Dreamworks-related IPs. Maybe Kung-fu Panda on its own like Beijing? Universal don't mess around, so these moves are looking promising - unlike the now almost defunct London Resorts project.
I soo hope this happens I live 30 miles from here it’s been rumoured for years but must admit this sounds more promising especially as theme park stop is doing film on it and she is always right 🤞🤞🤞
I've heard about this one for a while, here's the choices. Have been the UK, Germany or Spain. I knew they were gunning for the UK because the very simple idea is actually having the wizarding world of Harry Potter in its own country with literally print pounds hand over fist overnight. No I wouldn't be surprised if they start running into issues like Eddie either joked about with Disneyland Paris or it's like. Hey, we need to make the castle bigger cuz they actually have them here. Imagine they're going to really have to step up their food game at this point. 😅
I will also add that one of the reasons why it's taking so long for the idea of universal to bring a theme park to the UK is because of brexit and the UK's currently worsening economy. There have been suggestions though that in order to counteract that that the United Kingdom themselves will help subsidize cost of development and wave certain fees and zonings in order to make it happen in order to bring more of an economy to the country. Was the only reason why they were interested in your zone countries mainly Spain because Germany is shocked full of theme parks because that way they would still be in the Euro zone and would be a tourist destination with a wide range of economy. It's a similar reason why there was for years of universal wanting to build one of their theme parks in Russia but they had to cancel out with the actual reason was because of the volatile government of Russia and all of their political and war exploits that would be terrible for a theme destination. Imagine if they made a universal Moscow while the Ukraine war was going on and all the sanctions against the country. So they definitely dodged bullet there and I can imagine that universal wants to avoid a similar bullet with the UK, so there's probably going to be a lot of negotiations back and forth in order to make them work.
That caught me by surprise! But that's awesome! Do it!
I did not think that it'll be in the UK 😲
I really, REALLY hope this gets realised. The whole thing with The London Resort has been a load of bullshit throughout the years, and it'd be amazing for us Brits to finally get a new theme park after so long, especially one built by a massive, massive company like Universal. And to be honest, it might even drive some business away from Disneyland Paris, as its quicker for Brits to get to Bedford compared to Paris.
any chance they might bring a park to Australia???
There is no way in hell 😭😭😭 I’ve been dreaming of this since a child. I never actually thought they’d go through with it. Excitement isn’t even the world.
Worth mentioning that Bedford is quite close to the location for the current Harry Potter Warner Bros studio tour.
This could be quite good cross promotion to include a wizarding world in Universal GB if done right.
Very close I work 500 yards across the road from it, lived a mile from it & now live 5 miles from it. But that land is wasted full of old previous works from years ago plus bare land unused.
Will you do a vid on Universal buying Port Aventura in Barcelona? 🙏🏼
After they’ve just purchased Port Aventura this is great it’s a Europe thing now, so excited!!!