We’re a little bit short on theme parks in the UK. Although there’s a few brilliant ones, they’re few and far between, and a couple have had to shut their gates in the past few years (RIP Flambards in Cornwall and Oakwood in Wales). Soon however, none of that will matter, as us Brits are due to get a massive Universal resort in Bedfordshire, and we’ve just had more information about what exactly it could look like.
We’ll get the bad news out of the way first: despite hopes from fans of Harry Potter for a taste of the Wizarding World – like there is in Universal Studios Orlando – the Boy Who Lived is not expected to make an appearance in Bedfordshire. Don’t be too disappointed though, there’s loads to get excited about.
Planning documents have revealed that the park is set to have four separate ‘lands’, each with its own unique theming, rides, and places to eat. We don’t know yet what they'll be based on, but according to the Mirror, some of the rumours include James Bond, Paddington, the Minions, Jurassic Park, and the Lord of the Rings. It’s also not currently known if each land will have a single theme or if they’ll share, but we’d definitely love to see a James Bond/Minions collab.
At present, the lands are being referred to as ‘the Core Zone’, ‘Lake Zone’, ‘West Gateway Zone’, and ‘East Gateway Zone’. It’s expected that the core zone will have most of the theme park rides, as well as a massive 500 room hotel. The Lake Zone will, unsurprisingly, be home to a new wetland development, and an even bigger hotel, whilst the West Gateway will be more focused on eateries, entertainment, and even offer a petrol station. Finally, the East Gateway is likely to be where most of the public transport links terminate.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, the park could become home to the tallest roller coaster in the UK, a title currently held by Thorpe Park’s Hyperia. In the proposal, the developers explained that building coasters of up to 115m tall would ‘allow the proposed theme park to compete with other attractions in Europe’, adding that ‘taller attractions are more common in Europe, where rides need to be taller to create the experience, as space is more constrained’.
When will Universal's theme park in the UK open?
Although all of that sounds very exciting, we’ve still got a while to wait until we can see it firsthand. The park is currently due to open in 2031, after five years of construction, but projects this huge often face unexpected delays, so it could be well into the 2030s before it reaches completion.
You can read what we currently know about the date the upcoming Universal park will open here.
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