Universal United Kingdom Resort - Speculation & Rumors

[EllieB]

Very true.

Alton Towers can easily accommodate 8.5 million visitors, it's massive. I don't think I would want to be trying to get on a ride, enter a shop or buy food if it did though!

 

[Parkscope Joe]

How do you know if it’ll be able to handle 8.5 million visitors if you don’t open first and see if 8.5 million visitors come

They can just *say* it can hold 8.5 million visitors and get approval. Doesn’t mean there’ll be enough rides to accommodate them all once they get there

Building fire codes? Attraction capacity? Queue sizes? Restaurant plates per hour? They need to know these things and can work backwards to see if it’ll fit 8.5 million.

 

[Alicia]

Building fire codes? Attraction capacity? Queue sizes? Restaurant plates per hour? They need to know these things and can work backwards to see if it’ll fit 8.5 million.

These walkways, parking lot, and empty green field are designed to hold 7 million people per year. The rest are rides shops and dining.

All I’m saying is they can say the park will be able to hold x amount of people and sign off on it. This company convinced itself that Volcano Bay and Epic Universe could hold more too, and they can blame the manufacturer in the case of VB and who knows who for Epic, but the reality ended up different than they claimed… so I’m not holding them to any number they think they’ll hit and be able to accommodate.

Just because they promised the government it’ll be able to accommodate it doesn’t mean I believe them. Even if Universal themselves “believe” it.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

These walkways, parking lot, and empty green field are designed to hold 7 million people per year. The rest are rides shops and dining.

All I’m saying is they can say the park will be able to hold x amount of people and sign off on it. This company convinced itself that Volcano Bay and Epic Universe could hold more too, and they can blame the manufacturer in the case of VB and who knows who for Epic, but the reality ended up different than they claimed… so I’m not holding them to any number they think they’ll hit and be able to accommodate.

Just because they promised the government it’ll be able to accommodate it doesn’t mean I believe them. Even if Universal themselves “believe” it.

I apologize that I came off blunt, I was just kinda confused. Yeah it's all estimating, Industrial Engineering is very much a science but still has artistic elements to it. I remember Disney's calculations for the WoC viewing area being off back in 2010. I don't think Universal is lying or being deceitful by agreeing to 8.5 million and then building a smaller park (which was what I thought the OG anxiety and discussion was about).

 

[DragonSlayer]

Having worked guest services in the industry in the UK, the joke will be on Universal pretty quick if they open something small and underwhelming…

 

[masekwm]

The first confirmed lagoon image?

 

[Clouday]

So not part of the surface water management. Probably points to what we all envisaged likely hosting either some kind of evening fountain and light show like Epic, or something like CineSational with mist screens and drones but no fireworks.

 

[Andysol]

New update from @Alicia

Sounding like all clones. Which is not surprising, honestly. I had my hopes up pretty high for LotR, some unique attractions, etc. But it's feeling like nothing I won't have experienced already. Will likely be a F&F reskin to BTTF (think Hulk reskin to Hulk), JW clone, FJ clone (not LotR) and of course DMMM. A Paddington dark ride sounds cute, but it'll probably be at a smaller scale than Kung Fu Panda at Beijing.

It'll be ok for those who have never been to the other parks globally; even those who have only been to Orlando, possibly. But this just seems to be the status quo for Universal when building new parks internationally. A unique B/C or two and everything else cloned or reskins.

 

[xtpower]

I've watched the podcast where the rumours came from and I don't think we can take it without a grain of salt. All the guy said was 'reliable source' but it mostly sounded like someone speculating on the concept art. I've no doubt it came from someone working on the project, but outside of Creative and execs, no-one else will know the ins and outs of IP and rides.

It also directly contradicts the rumours about no cloned Florida rides to avoid cannibalisation and which Mark Woodbury spoke publicly about (cannibalising the large UK market for Florida parks).

So all in all I would take a grain of salt with any news like this.

 

[rabbitsmoon]

Is there a plan for a Forbidden Journey 2.0? Like, maybe the version in the UK will be refreshed with new media on the projection domes, or LEDs instead of projections, or something else entirely in those sections. And then those same updates could roll out to the other installations, which will be going on 20 years old?

That's probably just wishful thinking on my part, as someone who looks at his feet in the domes so I don't get queasy. I get why you'd build Hogwarts at every one of these lands, and why it would hold a headliner ride. But putting FJ in this park would be like if they put Spider-Man in Universal Beijing with the 1999 graphics.

 

[Andysol]

Is there a plan for a Forbidden Journey 2.0? Like, maybe the version in the UK will be refreshed with new media on the projection domes, or LEDs instead of projections, or something else entirely in those sections. And then those same updates could roll out to the other installations, which will be going on 20 years old?

That's probably just wishful thinking on my part, as someone who looks at his feet in the domes so I don't get queasy. I get why you'd build Hogwarts at every one of these lands, and why it would hold a headliner ride. But putting FJ in this park would be like if they put Spider-Man in Universal Beijing with the 1999 graphics.

Universal Beijing’s forbidden journey was an exact replica with no discernible difference.

This will be a decade later, so maybe? But doubtful.