Portaventura Being Sold Back to Universal? Rumour!

[TPoseOnTantrum]

My question is what the heck would they do with Uncharted? Universal has zero stake in either the video games of the movie as far as I'm aware, and exiting the contract to retheme it a year after it opens would be a tough pill to swallow.

 

[Indy]

I just have a hard time getting behind these Universal rumors. Yes, I realize they once owned a large share of the park, but the company has changed significantly since buying into PA. They've built several parks since then and their ride, theming, immersion, and design standards have all changed dramatically. They also almost exclusively theme their attractions to their IPs. Non-IP based attractions are very rare nowadays. Port Aventura would also require so many areas and attractions to be completely overhauled to eliminate outside IPs like Sesame Street, Ferrari, and now Uncharted. Additionally, there are a number of rides that I'm not convinced Universal is going to be willing to deal with, notably the wood coasters.

I know I'm setting myself up to eat my words, but the idea of Universal buying back Port Aventura just feels farfetched. It definitely makes sense for them to regain a presence in Europe. I'm just not sure this is it. And if it is, I feel like the park will have a substantially different look within a few years of purchase. I could almost see them closing the place for a year or two for a substantial makeover. Rather than build a brand new park, buy an existing park (PA) with pre-existing infrastructure and completely remodel it.

 

[Magic-Man]

My question is what the heck would they do with Uncharted? Universal has zero stake in either the video games of the movie as far as I'm aware, and exiting the contract to retheme it a year after it opens would be a tough pill to swallow.

They would just continue to use it? Universal Studios Florida has Men in Black and Transformers, which are owned by Sony and Paramount respectively.

 

[jbondpreston]

I just have a hard time getting behind these Universal rumors. Yes, I realize they once owned a large share of the park, but the company has changed significantly since buying into PA. They've built several parks since then and their ride, theming, immersion, and design standards have all changed dramatically. They also almost exclusively theme their attractions to their IPs. Non-IP based attractions are very rare nowadays. Port Aventura would also require so many areas and attractions to be completely overhauled to eliminate outside IPs like Sesame Street, Ferrari, and now Uncharted. Additionally, there are a number of rides that I'm not convinced Universal is going to be willing to deal with, notably the wood coasters.

I know I'm setting myself up to eat my words, but the idea of Universal buying back Port Aventura just feels farfetched. It definitely makes sense for them to regain a presence in Europe. I'm just not sure this is it. And if it is, I feel like the park will have a substantially different look within a few years of purchase. I could almost see them closing the place for a year or two for a substantial makeover. Rather than build a brand new park, buy an existing park (PA) with pre-existing infrastructure and completely remodel it.

I don’t think they would need to eliminate those IP’s. I agree there’s a glaring issue with ferrari land and that will need to be addressed (due to Ferrari Land not being Universal-ly at all) but other ones like Sesame Street and the new Uncharted would definitely be apart of the purchasing deal and discussed in length during that process. PortAventura feels very Universal, and definitely wouldn’t stick out in their lineup. Issues like the wooden coasters aren’t really issues imo. They are (in my opinion) very rough at the moment anyway and could see Universal just reinvesting in that area and replacing them over a couple years without closing the entire area. The rest of the park seems fine and definitely wouldn’t need a complete overhaul. I’d imagine they do some significant charges inside of PortAventura park but nothing that would require any long-term closures. I’d think they spend a few years doing some changes, albeit not as dramatic as you said, and then have a long term plan of a new gate.

 

[cookie]

Stampida got a lot of new track last year and IMO ran great in those sections. It just needs new trains and maybe some Titan Track during the double-up and the twister bowl where it’s been jackhammering the most. The Mini Flyers work great on Tomahawk, so proper Millenium Flyers on Stampida shouldn’t be out of the question.

 

[davidm]

Can see Universal buying it all but I don't see the vast change that people are imagining - I'd have thought they'd keep Ferarri-Land as is, its a well established brand/IP and the mini-park has been around long enough to sit in tourist-people's consciousness (not just goons).

I don't them "Universal-studios-ing" the main park at all, slow changes yes and and general spruce up of the existing stuff with only maybe new additions having a strong Universal-IP tie in. They'll be trying to upsell the resort-aspects of it all as well not just the parks.

 

[Magic-Man]

Can see Universal buying it all but I don't see the vast change that people are imagining - I'd have thought they'd keep Ferarri-Land as is, its a well established brand/IP and the mini-park has been around long enough to sit in tourist-people's consciousness (not just goons).

I don't them "Universal-studios-ing" the main park at all, slow changes yes and and general spruce up of the existing stuff with only maybe new additions having a strong Universal-IP tie in. They'll be trying to upsell the resort-aspects of it all as well not just the parks.

Yeah, I don't think they will touch the main park too much. They'll just build a third gate instead.

 

[Georgie-M]

...but other ones like Sesame Street and the new Uncharted would definitely be apart of the purchasing deal and discussed in length during that process.

Not to mention that Universal already has a Sesame Street area in their Japan park, so would likely have experience working/negotiating with Sesame Workshop.

The resort aspect is an interesting point actually. There's that big stretch of path from the park entrances to the train station, passing under the main road and past Hotel El Paso. The park recently added that LaLiga bar there next to customer services and I can see Universal slowly adding more and more to that stretch until it becomes a City Walk-type experience.

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

Looks like a domain was registered (in Spanish) last week, see this thread here;

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1614567040651493377

Link if anyone wants to take it for a spin; universalportaventura.com

 

[Projektion]

Sadly, it's likely either a Troll or a domain squatter after seeing the commotion the last few days of the possible buyout. Neither Universal nor PA use IONOS to register domains, they both use MarkMonitor.

 

[Tonkso]

Disappointed, no rickroll.

 

[cookie]

The fabled "no comment" response has arrived.

PortAventura wil niet reageren op geruchten over overname door Universal

Wordt het Spaanse pretparkresort PortAventura World overgenomen door de Amerikaanse multinational Universal? Verhalen daarover doen al geruime tijd...

www.looopings.nl

 

[jbondpreston]

Universal Parks have rebranded to Universal Destinations & Experiences

“Universal Destinations & Experiences aligns with our aspiration to be the Destination of Choice in the markets where we are today and the markets we enter in the future”

“And the markets we enter in the future” is interesting?

 

[Lofty]

They're creating more immersive experiences that do not rely on their parks as a hosting venue. The Halloween Horror Nights experience in Las Vegas is a prime example - a complete separate entity that can operate in locations where there is no park. Arguably this is a very different market from their normal operating models - I think it's safe to see this type of pop-up / semi-permanent experience popping up all over the world.

 

[spicy]

I love what they are doing with these new experiences outside of the parks. Reminds me of what alot of companies were trying in the 90's with Disney Quest, Sega World, Namco World, Star Trek Vegas, Alien War Trocadero etc...

I hope the Vegas Halloween Horror Nights is a huge success, would love to see something like that in London to rival the Dungeons, there is definately a market for it. Imagine how popular a Stranger Things maze would be over here..

On the flipside though if these were a huge success, it also gives Universal a reason to not build a fully fledged European theme park or purchase PA as these experiences will be much cheaper..

 

[Christian]

On the flipside though if these were a huge success, it also gives Universal a reason to not build a fully fledged European theme park or purchase PA as these experiences will be much cheaper..

These experiences are not competitive with each other, probably not even complementary with each other. Having a maze in London does not in any way mean that they shouldn't have a theme park in Spain.

I would still take it with a grain of salt that Universal are interested in PA. They sold it ones, what makes them want it back?

 

[jasone]

These experiences are not competitive with each other, probably not even complementary with each other. Having a maze in London does not in any way mean that they shouldn't have a theme park in Spain.

I would still take it with a grain of salt that Universal are interested in PA. They sold it ones, what makes them want it back?

Plenty of things might make them want it back. Firstly, the success of all their other parks recently. Add to this, Port Aventura's coaster line up is significantly better than when they owned it, there is also a second park now with Ferrari Land. Theres been a lot of investment since Universal sold it. Buying it back and investing in a few additions to bring it under the Universal umbrella would probably be significantly easier/cheaper than building a park from the ground up. Plus Port Aventura is one of the biggest parks in the whole of Europe, it's also pretty close to one of the most visited cities in Europe. It makes sense to invest there. Other cities have their own competition, London has Thorpe & Chessington, Paris has Parc Asterix and Disney, Madrid has Warner Bros & Parque de Atracciones de Madrid.... PA being so close to Barcelona with little surrounding competition.... it makes sense for Universal to at least consider it if they wanted to be part of the European market again.

 

[cookie]

I would still take it with a grain of salt that Universal are interested in PA. They sold it ones, what makes them want it back?

They sold PA in 2004 because they had just emerged from an expensive merger with NBC (owned at the time by General Electric) and were swimming in debt, plus the Spanish theme park sector was in the pits at the time, with the major parks seeing declining attendance and losing millions across the board. NBCUniversal was then bought up by Comcast who's been much happier to expand the company's portfolio than General Electric, so it'd make sense why they'd want another shot at what's already a successful resort as a quick and easy entry into the European market.

 

[wrc555]

I would still take it with a grain of salt that Universal are interested in PA. They sold it ones, what makes them want it back?

I agree this idea should be taken with a pinch of salt, and I'm still to be convinced how much of the rumor is truth vs wishful thinking.......But what is certain, is that Universal is a very different proposition now compared with when they originally owned PA - at the time they sold it originally they were trying to keep their heads above water, rather than being in the position of being able to spend a Billion plus on a new park in Orlando, at the same time as planning attractions in Texas and Vegas.

The other point worth noting (and its probably already been mentioned in this thread) is that the land they are building Epic universe on was previously owned by Universal, then sold and more recently bought back to start the current construction, so they have previous in that respect!

I guess it comes down to how ambitious their growth plans are - PA would be a logical and quick way for Universal to establish themselves in Europe - but financing that on top of building Epic Universe would take a huge stack of cash!

 

[Lofty]

I hope the Vegas Halloween Horror Nights is a huge success, would love to see something like that in London to rival the Dungeons, there is definately a market for it. Imagine how popular a Stranger Things maze would be over here..

HHN is not comparable to Dungeons - it could easily coincide with it and offer something different. Also, London wouldn't necessarily be the best place for it in the UK. Studies have shown that both Bristol and Manchester are more intrigued by the proposition of immersive theatre style experiences, or year-round horror events over London where there's HUGE competitor markets for the same disposable income.

Stranger Things has already had a run in London in the form of the Fever event that ran... interestingly enough, they're also working on a West End play version of the brand.

I'd say the Classic Monsters brand would be a much stronger proposition.