Universal considering UK theme park in Bedford

[Nicky Borrill]

Yes I'm sure this has been discussed many times in the past when previous rumours of Universal coming to the uk. I am pretty sure Warner Bros own all rights to Harry potter theme parks/ attractions etc in the UK so would rule that out instantly for the new park unless they pay a gigantic fee to warner bros.

They coexist in Japan...

 

[Nitefly]

Yes I'm sure this has been discussed many times in the past when previous rumours of Universal coming to the uk. I am pretty sure Warner Bros own all rights to Harry potter theme parks/ attractions etc in the UK so would rule that out instantly for the new park unless they pay a gigantic fee to warner bros.

I would be surprised if the ultimate rights owners sleepwalked into a situation akin to the Marvel rights in Florida - I expect that there would be lots of caveats, provisos and renewals at play to preempt any negotiations of this nature.

Even if that wasn’t the case, I can’t see WB opting for a Dr. Evil approach…

Universal: “With our world class theme park resorts and your IP, we have proven that we can create an immersive experience that would bring in tourism from all over the world. Together, we could make BILLIONS!”

WB: “… but why make billions when we could make…. MILLIONS?”

 

[Galahad]

I personally think the whole point of a park is to offer 'exotic' themes, I wouldn't want to see a resort filled with just British IP's. Mind, wouldn't complain about Harry Potter, showcasing heritage could certainly have an appeal especially on foreign tourist but I hope they will diversify and bring along the likes of Jurassic World, Marvel etc.. Would love to see a version of the Dragon Challenge coming to the resort since they got rid of it at IOA, they were quite frankly the best coasters there. Still can't believe this could be built 40 min from my doorsteps

 

[Nicky Borrill]

I personally think the whole point of a park is to offer 'exotic' themes, I wouldn't want to see a resort filled with just British IP's. Mind, wouldn't complain about Harry Potter, showcasing heritage could certainly have an appeal especially to foreign tourist but I hope they will diversify and bring along the likes of Jurassic World, Marvel etc.. Would love to see a version of the Dragon Challenge coming to the resort since they got rid of it at IOA, they were quite frankly the best coasters there. Still can't believe that this could be built 40 min from my doorsteps

Not sure that would be the wisest move. Firstly, on recent showings, B&M don't seem to be able to make inverts to the same standard that they used to for some reason. But secondly, the UK is home to one of the most iconic inverts on the planet, and vica versa, one of the UK's most iconic coasters is an invert, why plonk 2 more down in a brand new park 2 hours away?

Starfall racers though... Or better yet, a duelling Intamin multi launch!!!!

 

[Galahad]

Not sure that would be the wisest move. Firstly, on recent showings, B&M don't seem to be able to make inverts to the same standard that they used to for some reason. But secondly, the UK is home to one of the most iconic inverts on the planet, and vica versa, one of the UK's most iconic coasters is an invert, why plonk 2 more down in a brand new park 2 hours away?

Starfall racers though... Or better yet, a duelling Intamin multi launch!!!!

That's what I meant not necessarily inverts but some version of a duelling coaster be awesome. I will be so glad to see the end of Merlin's (almost) monopoly, hopefully we will start getting quality coasters of a satisfactory length. As much as I love Nemesis I always found it frustratingly short, especially after a 3 hours long queue..

 

[Nitefly]

In my feedback to the proposals I said that to truly create an attraction with global appeal, they really need to be able to build massive rides. No silly height requirements.

Why shouldn’t there be an Energylandia sized ride at this park? - I fail to see how one or two larger structures could devastate the environmental impact / residential concerns.

The thrill rides should at least compete with Hyperia / Europa, IMO.

 

[IGwaziSolos]

In my feedback to the proposals I said that to truly create an attraction with global appeal, they really need to be able to build massive rides. No silly height requirements.

Why shouldn’t there be an Energylandia sized ride at this park? - I fail to see how one or two larger structures could devastate the environmental impact / residential concerns.

The thrill rides should at least compete with Hyperia / Europa, IMO.

Universal have proposed/requsted a max height of 377ft somewhere within the park, with the tallest occupied floor of any building only being 230 foot. It could be for a very large theming element or just them playing it safe with restrictions but there is hope that we won't have the alton towers type of restrictions in this park meaning we could see a tall coaster. I'm not sure how likely they are to be accepted considering Cranfield Airport is nearby.

 

[Nicky Borrill]

Universal have proposed/requsted a max height of 377ft somewhere within the park, with the tallest occupied floor of any building only being 230 foot. It could be for a very large theming element or just them playing it safe with restrictions but there is hope that we won't have the alton towers type of restrictions in this park meaning we could see a tall coaster. I'm not sure how likely they are to be accepted considering Cranfield Airport is nearby.

Cranfield is more than 5km away, and the direction of the runway is favourable… We did all the research for Thorpe park, can’t be bothered to drag it all out again, but for sure, it won’t be an issue whatsoever.

 

[otwidalepda]

Having seen a few IP / Theme predictions floating around I wanted to put my thoughts into a post. Potentially controversial, but I think the over utilisation of British themes would be a mistake. (Potter excluded). I worry about how us Brits would receive something that could be considered a lesser version of the big budget multinational brands, and how this would filter through to world wide audiences. I’m not sure there are that many British themes that would really resonate world wide like, for example, the Simpsons or Jurassic Park. I think we are much more likely to see a British area within the park, surrounded by the more traditional tried and tested universal themes. I think the closest themes we have for a ‘British’ area are;

Bond - I, personally, can’t see it but I think it’s about as close as we get. I just don’t see how it will translate or be enough for a land or theme though? Maybe an individual ride within a London area?
Paddington - weirdly I think this could work relatively well. Unsure if there are any future films planned tho. Again a ride in a London area could work
Dr who - stand-alone ride at best.
LOTR - would be amazing but unsure on longevity of brand. More suited to a land but can’t see enough appeal for a land (despite loving it myself)
Top gear? - nah
Roald dahl - can’t see it
Wind in the willows - not a chance
Sherlock Holmes - a slightly older brand but the recent Robert Downey jr films were popular
Monopoly - at first I thought nah, but on second thought maybe?
Kingsman - nah
Peaky blinders - god no

The issue with some of these is where the IP belongs.
I think Warner Bros for Harry Potter is a given.
Dr Who - unlikely as Disney have gotten involved with its production.
Bond is MGM / Amazon - maybe
Paddington is Lionsgate - maybe
Kingsman - Disney
Monopoly - Mattel brands are tricky as different games are across different studios (plus most are American)

 

[Geeky Pastimes]

I don't think we'll get many 'British' brands, maybe some roaming characters and Harry Potter.

I really think a lot of what we'll get will be copies of the other parks, perhaps with a different ride system, like they've done in the parks in Japan, SIngapore and China.

Things like Jurassic Park, Fast and the Furious, King Kong, Minions, Harry Potter, Transformers seem likely to me, perhaps a Nintendo World too?
Would obviously love for some more unique IPs

 

[spicy]

I don't think Universal need to do anything different here with the IP's. They could literally copy and paste Universal Studios Singapore into Bedford and it would be hugely successful. Add in some Potter and they are printing money.

If they do go ahead with the project I really can't see this being anything but a huge success for them.

 

[Crazycoaster]

Beijing doesn’t have uniquely chinese themed areas, I’m not sure why this would have British ones.

The most interesting point is when they said they want to keep this unique from it’s florida counterpart. I can see this meaning we won’t get a Hulk, or a Velocicoaster or a Hagrid's coaster. I can see us getting the JW dark ride from Beijing. Will we also see the Transformers coaster? Potentially.

Harry Potter is an interesting point, I can’t see them not building one. It’s the whole reason Universal saw the huge success boom over the last few decades, and Potter nerds are an unending source of merchandising money.

I wonder if we’ll get the Waterworld show? It’s another thing not in Florida, but is in every other one.

 

[Georgie-M]

I don't think we'll get many 'British' brands, maybe some roaming characters and Harry Potter.

I really think a lot of what we'll get will be copies of the other parks, perhaps with a different ride system, like they've done in the parks in Japan, Singapore and China.

Things like Jurassic Park, Fast and the Furious, King Kong, Minions, Harry Potter, Transformers seem likely to me, perhaps a Nintendo World too?
Would obviously love for some more unique IPs

Current rumours suggest that Universal are looking at different rides and IP to differentiate the new park from the Orlando resort and avoid cannibalising their UK vacationers market. The no Orlando clones rule in particular is one that's been thrown around quite a bit. (Wrote most of this before seeing crazycoaster's post so yeah, echoing what they said a bit here)

For Jurassic that seems fairly straight forward, as they can just clone the Beijing ride and kids area, then plonk in a unique thrill coaster somewhere. (A new gen vekoma flyer as a successor to Japan's flying dinosaur please!)

F&F seems like the perfect candidate for the second thrill coaster as Hollywood Drift feels unlikely to be arriving at the Orlando parks any time soon. Minions and the DreamWorks properties already have a presence at Orlando (or will do within the next year in the latter's case) but will be good draws for families and have the potential for unique offerings.

The property that I personally want the most is Nintendo but that sadly seems unlikely with Orlando already planning to cover all of their most popular series. The one exception I can see is Pokémon - if the ride rumoured to replace the Simpsons in Orlando is different to the Spiderman retheme Osaka is supposedly getting, then I can see Bedford getting a clone of the Japan ride, maybe as part of an area set in Galar (the region based on the UK from the recent Switch games). Pop-up Pokémon stores and events in London have been rammed so there's clearly a demand for it over here.

Potter feels like it should be a shoe-in, but that may depend on what they can create without repeating what already exists at either Orlando or the Studio Tour. Maybe a revival of past concepts like the Knight Bus or the Weasley Bros' flying car?

I could see a smaller Potter zone work particularly well as part of a larger "London Waterfront" area near the front of the park, halfway between a hub area and the "UK IP land" Chris mentioned. I'm picturing a covered main street, similar to the Japan and Beijing parks but with a Covent Garden style shopping arcade feel to it, with a mix of regular main street fair and some more wizardy bits like a bookshop or a food location. At the end would be a larger area facing the main lagoon, with a theatre for a Bond Stunt Spectacular, some sort of UNIT base that could lead to a Dr Who ride*, the aforementioned Potter Thing and paths leading to smaller areas like the street Paddington lives on.

Either way, I think utilising some UK IP would be a smart move. They might not have quite the same weight as some of the American brands but they still have a decent pull to them, and with the number of Anglophile tourists London already attracts, making the most of the unique culture here might help sell the park to more people. These are franchises with legs too - Doctor Who and Bond have both been going 50+ years and while they've had ups and downs they've proved adaptable enough to keep going. Then there's LotR. Regardless of how well the sequel series goes, people still come back to the original movies and travel all the way to New Zealand to visit Hobbiton. The potential for an immersive area in that world is super exciting, and I can see a Middle Earth area serving as the parks unique star attraction.

*Disney be damned, I just know Universal Creative are itching to have a go at the Bigger On the Inside illusion, plus Disney don't distribute Dr Who in the UK nor have any theme park presence here so I don't think it'll be a massive issue.

 

[Will]

I didn't read most of the above posts, but I agree - build more inverts

 

[roomraider]

F&F seems like the perfect candidate for the second thrill coaster as Hollywood Drift feels unlikely to be arriving at the Orlando parks any time soon.

Theres apparently one coming to Beijing as part of Phase 2 is appears. seems like a good ride to transport over.

 

[Graeme]

There are some themes that are so huge I can't see them not using them - Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Nintendo.

Then there are some where they could have some leeway. Do we really need The Mummy, Fast & Furious, Battlestar Galactica or Transformers? I don't think so, personally. The early suggestions of James Bond, Paddington and Lord of the Rings sound like good choices to me, and are all "independent" enough that they might be possible.

Looking at the list of Universal IP, there are some other good, forgotten ones. They have The A-Team, apparently; and Back to the Future is enduring enough, they could do worse than have that as their "sci-fi" land, with a more modern attempt at a ride. I also thought Jaws looked like the best ride at Universal Studios Florida, but it is a bit unlikely getting that, I must admit.

Personally, I think they'd be missing a trick if James Bond was not the VelociCoaster of Universal Great Britain. I can just imagine a massive, multi-launched coaster that simulates Bond in some sort of stunt situation.

For Harry Potter, I'd try and bring the Hagrid coaster over, even if it was a bit different. For Jurassic World, maybe the dark ride and an outdoor jeep ride. Nintendo is massive, although I must admit I'm not convinced by the capacity/ride systems of what they've done so far.

The Paddington films are genuinely great, so I'd have them. Maybe some sort of train ride? I haven't watched a great deal of Lord of the Rings, but it'd make for a great land, and the appeal is not limited to the Peter Jackson films. If Universal aren't planning on a New Zealand/Australian park, they'd really be missing a trick if they didn't use Lord of the Rings for Bedford.

And for the other thrill coaster, I know I'd much prefer The A-Team to Fast & Furious. Anyone who lived through the '80s wants to zoom about in that van, dodging tanks and shouting at Murdoch!

 

[TjChapperz]

It's all over TikTok this evening that diggers have arrived on site and work has began I'm guessing on getting quality of the soil/ land etc

 

[Nicky Borrill]

It's all over TikTok this evening that diggers have arrived on site and work has began I'm guessing on getting quality of the soil/ land etc

tiktok is a little bit behind… Those diggers have been digging the archeological trenches for at least a week and possibly longer.

 

[Mushroom]

Seen a couple of pictures from tonight's public consultation at Bedford College, it looked extremely busy, which is a very good sign =] Also the presentation they are doing is the exact same each time, well rehearsed it seems, and probably got it down to a t by now haha (My friend uploaded it to his personal Facebook)

Quick quote from a comment: It has 93% support from the public

 

[Geeky Pastimes]

Seen a couple of pictures from tonight's public consultation at Bedford College, it looked extremely busy, which is a very good sign =] Also the presentation they are doing is the exact same each time, well rehearsed it seems, and probably got it down to a t by now haha (My friend uploaded it to his personal Facebook)

Quick quote from a comment: It has 93% support from the public

I wonder where they got that 93% figure from?