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Universal UK theme park in Bedford

maiconcosta said:
In my interpretation — and of course, it's just an illustrative concept — I imagined it with two switch tracks to alternate between forward and backward sections. I even posted a video showing my take on the concept
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This looks pretty much exactly how I imagined it. The only thing that looks off, although Its hard to tell on the images we have, the airtime following the backwards overbank cutback thing looks like a barrel roll in the concept art.
 
Niles said:
@maiconcosta that is a fantastic interpretation, may i ask if you made it go 88mph how high does it go up that spike?
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If you ignore air resistance and other friction, then something travelling upwards at 88mph will reach 259ft. Of course there is a bit of friction, so it will go up a bit less. But then it should start that slightly off the ground, and the top of the train will be higher up, and there needs to be some extra track at the top, so I’d imagine the spike would be just over 300ft.
 
Niles said:
@maiconcosta that is a fantastic interpretation, may i ask if you made it go 88mph how high does it go up that spike?
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When I made it, I was so hyped about the concept art they released that I didn’t even read any of the rumors about it — so I ended up creating this version with a 65-meter (213 ft) height and a top speed of 110 km/h (68 mph).

And responding to the other comment: I really think that if they go for a layout like this, they’ll probably use Intamin new spinning trains. That would be super cool, especially with those switch track sections!
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Were all hammering out the concept art with ideas of what we think it could be, but look at Epic Universes concept art;1744460800765.png
Yes its very similar to what it is today but you could barely make out a land without knowing what the land was meant to be, so always remember were going to be wrong at some point.
 
As for Lord of the Rings not fitting in, they could do something like the Shire on a smaller plot in this park, and Rivendell or another more grand location at Epic Universe. There is a 17 acre expansion plot at Epic Universe that has been rumored to be a Lord of the Rings expansion.
 
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I think that ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a big of a strange one for a theme park.

I think what gets people into the world of Potter is the ‘human experience’ element. Good friendships and low points (bullying e.g. ‘Potter Stinks!’ badge), school, young romances… just everyday normality set in a weird world.

The draw of LotR, I think, is the appeal of an epic world, full of legend and lore. The sort of thing that appeals to ‘fantasy nerds’.

The former you feel part of, whereas the latter you ‘observe’.

I wonder whether LotR has that ‘mass merch’ appeal… hmm. I’m not really sure what setting / era they would go for and how that would translate to ‘rides / shows’.
 
Nitefly said:
I think that ‘The Lord of the Rings’ is a big of a strange one for a theme park.

I think what gets people into the world of Potter is the ‘human experience’ element. Good friendships and low points (bullying e.g. ‘Potter Stinks!’ badge), school, young romances… just everyday normality set in a weird world.

The draw of LotR, I think, is the appeal of an epic world, full of legend and lore. The sort of thing that appeals to ‘fantasy nerds’.

The former you feel part of, whereas the latter you ‘observe’.

I wonder whether LotR has that ‘mass merch’ appeal… hmm. I’m not really sure what setting / era they would go for and how that would translate to ‘rides / shows’.
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It has to be absolutely huge, or just don't bother IMO...

If it's not pushing Wizarding World and Galaxy's Edge in terms of scale, then it's not doing the IP justice, and won't be as well received as it could be.

I'm not keen on suggestions of a smaller land, set in the shire or similar. If it's not Rivendell, which it should be, then the Shire would still need to be massive in scale. Including Hobbiton with numerous Hobbit holes, The Green Dragon pub, the hills above, and of course, the village fete.

If they're not going in full with it, please please please just don't bother doing it at all, until you can do it properly.
 
A hoverboard themed surf coaster could be a neat idea...

Also lotr does seem tricky to make in to a ride. I assume it would be based on the Peter Jackson films, and the last one of those was published over 20 years ago, so most of the actors will have aged significantly (although something just featuring gollum could work). I'm struggling to think of a good ride mechanism that would fit in with the world and deliver an appropriate spectacle. Maybe a flying theater based on riding a giant eagle could work.
 
Chain together a few attractions, follow the theatre up with a boat ride to the other side. The queue could use the moving walkway from Minion Blast, heck even use the S&S Steeplechase revival for some horse action. A massive drop tower themed to the ring being dropped into the volcano leads to being saved by the Eagles.

Something like that but better than a planet coaster fever dream and better tech than a typical amusement park.
 
Mabye the jurassic world area is a holding space for the LotR area, it’s big enough. Outside could be the shire/rivendell and the inside building could be mordor.
 
I would absolutely love to see a LOTR attraction, much more than I would a Potter one. Like a few people have mentioned before, it's a risky business building something Potter related when there is going to be a new series landing before the park opens. LOTR on the other hand has already had it's series land on Amazon prime, and it doesn't cancel out or tread on the toes of the Peter Jackson movies or the original books.

However, I do agree, with LOTR you'd have to go big or not do it. The shire just wouldn't cut it in my opinion, it's not out there enough to be fully immersive I don't think. Although I can imagine some great pubs/restaurants themed to the Shire. If I was planning a LOTR attraction my mind would immediately go to the Mines of Moria from Fellowship of the Ring. You could easily make a huge indoor dark ride based on the Dwarf Mines, it could be as it's overrun by Orcs, or later when the Fellowship enter it. It lends itself to huge indoor set pieces, it could do a lot of trickery to make everything feel much larger, deep and foreboding than it is. And this scene has probably one of the most iconic lines of the whole franchise "You shall not pass" when Gandalf fights the Balrog. Hell, i'd love Universal to build something where I feel like those stone bridges are crumbling around me and the finale is battling the Balrog and getting dragged to the depths of the Earth. Sign me up!

Just some other things that could make a great LOTR ride:
- Ring wraiths / Nazgul / Fell beast ride
- Riders of Rohan
- Rivendell
- Elven boat to the Undying lands / Valinor
- Helms Deep or Minas Tirith

Anyway, i'm still not convinced we'll get a LOTR area either, but it would be up there with my most anticipated. However, I do think it could work well, it's inherently British and universally loved at the same time. It's also timeless and the films are still popular 20 years later. If you're happy to make a coaster based on Back to the Future, where the last film came out in the 1990s and is very American, LOTR isn't too out there to go to considering the films are much more recent, if you wanted to loop something into the park that felt inherently British but at the same time had enough appeal to translate to visitors from all over.
 
jasone said:
I would absolutely love to see a LOTR attraction, much more than I would a Potter one. Like a few people have mentioned before, it's a risky business building something Potter related when there is going to be a new series landing before the park opens. LOTR on the other hand has already had it's series land on Amazon prime, and it doesn't cancel out or tread on the toes of the Peter Jackson movies or the original books.

However, I do agree, with LOTR you'd have to go big or not do it. The shire just wouldn't cut it in my opinion, it's not out there enough to be fully immersive I don't think. Although I can imagine some great pubs/restaurants themed to the Shire. If I was planning a LOTR attraction my mind would immediately go to the Mines of Moria from Fellowship of the Ring. You could easily make a huge indoor dark ride based on the Dwarf Mines, it could be as it's overrun by Orcs, or later when the Fellowship enter it. It lends itself to huge indoor set pieces, it could do a lot of trickery to make everything feel much larger, deep and foreboding than it is. And this scene has probably one of the most iconic lines of the whole franchise "You shall not pass" when Gandalf fights the Balrog. Hell, i'd love Universal to build something where I feel like those stone bridges are crumbling around me and the finale is battling the Balrog and getting dragged to the depths of the Earth. Sign me up!

Just some other things that could make a great LOTR ride:
- Ring wraiths / Nazgul / Fell beast ride
- Riders of Rohan
- Rivendell
- Elven boat to the Undying lands / Valinor
- Helms Deep or Minas Tirith

Anyway, i'm still not convinced we'll get a LOTR area either, but it would be up there with my most anticipated. However, I do think it could work well, it's inherently British and universally loved at the same time. It's also timeless and the films are still popular 20 years later. If you're happy to make a coaster based on Back to the Future, where the last film came out in the 1990s and is very American, LOTR isn't too out there to go to considering the films are much more recent, if you wanted to loop something into the park that felt inherently British but at the same time had enough appeal to translate to visitors from all over.
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Imagine Rivendell as the outdoor area, complete with it's own rides, but with a proper hidden entrance somewhere into Moria, a massive indoor section, which includes your 'Mines of Moria' dark ride!!!

Although to be fair, they're likely to keep these two seperate, as one would be a potential expansion. So maybe Mirkwood as the outdoor part? Still with the Moria indoor area.

There's so many possibilities.
 
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