Universal Great Britain - Speculation & Rumors

[Elijah Abrams]

It's a side discussion, but McDonalds France is v different to McDonalds USA:

What Makes McDonald's France So Different From McDonald's America - Mashed

You may have heard the old saying: "if you've been to one, you've been to them all." That same concept can apply to McDonald's — at least, in America.

www.mashed.com

I don't know about that, the reaction to Disneyland Paris when it was announced certainly doesn't support the view .

But yea I see your point. I think in the context of Europe, the UK was the best option if all things were equal, certainly from a catchment area, cultural association and in hindsight the welcoming aspect.

Sure, DLP got a bad press when if first opened, but that was more than 30 years ago. Now it gets 15million+ visitors per year, the majority French, making it the largest single tourist attraction in Europe, massively ahead of everything else. I spend two or three months in France each year and to be honest it doesn’t feel much different to being at home in the UK.

I’ve never been to Singapore or China, but I’ve spent a bit of time in Japan and it’s make-your-head-spin different to the UK or the USA. Despite that massive cultural difference Tokyo Disneyland is wildly popular, so much so that Oriental Land Co has paid for the best Disney park anywhere in the world. As I said, some things are universal…

If only Disneyland Paris was culturally different from the other Disney parks when it first opened, it wouldn't have gotten that bad rep in its beginning and would've been successful, making many of the scrapped Disney Decade projects (except Long Beach's Port Disney) happen, even if Frank Wells suddenly died in 1994 and Michael Eisner went through that bypass surgery that same year.

 

[Lost Meerkat]

Just seen an application to convert Bromham Manor into a hotel and citing increased future demand for Universal as one of the reasons. I reckon this will not be the last, I suspect Premier Inn and Travel Lodge are already looking around for sites.

 

[Doug88]

When I mentioned earlier about my mate getting called up to a new project in Bedford he said he's based in Little Barford or something like that. Is that close to the site?

 

[Doug88]

Someone mentioned that maybe the reason universal are splashing the cash at the minute is because studios might be getting replaced by streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, Shudder and so on. So they're trying to make more money from the leisure side of things instead.

 

[Altonsky]

Will the council be zoning plots of land around the potential site for this park?

The land could be used for 3rd party hotel chains etc. Better for the nearby residents knowing everything is going to be in one area and not scattered all around the place?

 

[rob@rar]

Will the council be zoning plots of land around the potential site for this park?

The land could be used for 3rd party hotel chains etc. Better for the nearby residents knowing everything is going to be in one area and not scattered all around the place?

Not sure, but aren't there parcels of land nearby already zoned by the local council for development. For example, when Universal bought Cloud Wing Ltd they didn't buy all of the land that Cloud Wing held, there's still a fairly large plot of land North of Green Lane (the old Stewartby Brickworks?) that Cloud hold, and that's definitely zoned for development. Perhaps this is the land that Universal have an option on, as mentioned in the info document they published a couple of months ago. If Universal don't take up that option I'm sure Cloud Wing would be keen to sell to other developers, or develop it themselves.

There's also a plot of land West of Broadmead Rd that is in the process of being bought by Harwood Estates Investments. This might be for housing or other property development. Both these plots of land are very close to the Universal development, so whatever is built there would literally be on the theme park's doorstep.

 

[Lost Meerkat]

When I mentioned earlier about my mate getting called up to a new project in Bedford he said he's based in Little Barford or something like that. Is that close to the site?

Some distance away. There is a small power station nearby to Little Barford.

 

[Altonsky]

Not sure, but aren't there parcels of land nearby already zoned by the local council for development. For example, when Universal bought Cloud Wing Ltd they didn't buy all of the land that Cloud Wing held, there's still a fairly large plot of land North of Green Lane (the old Stewartby Brickworks?) that Cloud hold, and that's definitely zoned for development. Perhaps this is the land that Universal have an option on, as mentioned in the info document they published a couple of months ago. If Universal don't take up that option I'm sure Cloud Wing would be keen to sell to other developers, or develop it themselves.

There's also a plot of land West of Broadmead Rd that is in the process of being bought by Harwood Estates Investments. This might be for housing or other property development. Both these plots of land are very close to the Universal development, so whatever is built there would literally be on the theme park's doorstep.

Makes sense, I think that’s probably one of the main questions I’d want answering if I was a resident of the local area.

It’s not just Universal that’ll be arriving, it’ll be everything else that hopefully comes with it.

 

[BBPH]

I’ve been a party to some discussions recently (unrelated to this project), the studio tour has a pretty extensive exclusivity area way beyond Bedford.

I’m very confident on no HP.

 

[Alicia]

I’ve been a party to some discussions recently (unrelated to this project), the studio tour has a pretty extensive exclusivity area way beyond Bedford.

I’m very confident on no HP.

Yep.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

This is going to be the most unique modern Universal park built and I’m so excited to see what they decide to do with this. Fascinating.

 

[Steeb]

I’ve been a party to some discussions recently (unrelated to this project), the studio tour has a pretty extensive exclusivity area way beyond Bedford.

I’m very confident on no HP.

I'm honestly quite excited about this. Will be great to see them work with something new.

 

[xtpower]

I'm honestly quite excited about this. Will be great to see them work with something new.

Me too. I had a worry that whilst not a clone in rides/attractions, the Park would just have the Universal staple IPs aka Universal Beijing. But with no Potter there's a giant void there to be filled. I also hope if they do Nintendo it's something like Zelda or Pokemon so it's not another SNW in the theming and general feel - yea SNW is amazing but there's gonna be 3 of them in 2025, all basically a copy of each other (with some differences).

 

[rob@rar]

I’ve been a party to some discussions recently (unrelated to this project), the studio tour has a pretty extensive exclusivity area way beyond Bedford.

I’m very confident on no HP.

A shame, but not a surprise. Wonder how much in the way of licensing fees Warner Bros will pass up in order to protect the exclusivity of the Studios Tour down the road in Levesden?

 

[Elijah Abrams]

Another idea for a themed land at Universal GB came to my head!:

With Universal's film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked coming out later this year, perhaps an Oz-themed land would be nice?

 

[extrobeiuf]

, perhaps an Oz-themed land would be nice?

Not that this would necessarily influence what Universal might do in UGB, but WB Movie World in Australia are currently building an Oz land in their park. At least gives an idea of what such an area could look like.

Wizard of Oz Precinct at Warner Bros. Movie World

Prepare to Journey Over the Rainbow with a world-first Wizard of Oz precinct including two new family-friendly rides coming to Warner Bros. Movie World in 2024!

movieworld.com.au

 

[Doug88]

I'm excited to see what they do with the coasters because it's going to be open all year round so the coasters will have to be open as well.

 

[Chessy]

Another idea for a themed land at Universal GB came to my head!:

With Universal's film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked coming out later this year, perhaps an Oz-themed land would be nice?

Just seen the stage version last night in London. Depends what the film is like I guess, the show is great though.

 

[Doug88]

For Halloween Horror Nights they should definitely trademark Jack the Ripper

 

[Thorin Groth]

Harry Potter had three bad spin-off films and it's still coming to Epic and I'd say the reception towards LotR is more positive than HP (not as popular, sure, but there's really no way the film could be bad enough to scrap one of the most popular film franchises ever).