Right now, if you’re in the UK and want to go to a Universal theme park, you’ve gotta go a pretty long way. The legendary production company doesn’t even have parks in Europe – it’s best known for its outposts in California, Florida, Singapore, Beijing and Osaka.
But that might not be the case for much longer. Universal Studios – or, as it’s now known after a rebrand earlier this year, Universal Destinations & Experiences – has just confirmed that it is in the early stages of planning a theme park right here in the UK. In other words, a theme park known elsewhere for everything from ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Jurassic Park’ to Super Nintendo and Hello Kitty could be coming to British shores.
While we don’t know exactly what will be lurking behind the gates of Universal Studios UK, we do know where it’ll likely be. The company has bought a former brickworks in Bedfordshire that comes with 480 acres of land. The location is ideally placed for access to both London and Luton Airport.
While the UK does have plenty of theme parks, it doesn’t have many that are part of huge, multi-national brands. Sure, there’s Legoland, but the likes of Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and Chessington aren’t tied to production or toy companies.
In any case, it could be big news for theme park fans. Universal UK hasn’t been officially confirmed and so doesn’t yet have an opening date (or any sneak peeks at what it might look like), so watch this space for updates.
UK theme parks and Time Out
Theme parks are practically designed so that you can’t not have fun. We’re on top of all the ups and downs of the UK’s theme parks here at Time Out, from rankings of the country’s finest thrill parks to Thorpe Park getting the UK’s tallest and fastest ‘coaster.
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