Universal Studios UK
With the exciting news that Universal Studios are building a new resort in the UK, information is starting to emerge regarding the new park. On this page we’ll keep you up-to-date with everything we know as news develops over the coming weeks, months and years.
Latest news
Here we summarise the latest news and announcements that have most recently emerged about the new park. See below for our full guide to everything we know so far.
April 2025: Latest news reports include quotes from Page Thompson, president of new ventures at Universal Destinations & Experiences. These were the first real words coming out of Universal since the original announcement. In summary the key points coming out were as follows:
The announced project is “just the start” of Universal’s century-long plans for their site in the UK, with further future developments in Universal’s plans.
Phase 1 will include a theme park, 500 room hotel and “some restaurants that people can visit without buying a theme park ticket”
This will be the only Universal destination in Europe and not the first of many. Therefore the company expects to draw visitors from all over Europe (expected around 30% of all visitors in the first year). They appear confident there is plenty of demand to draw visitors to the UK.
The Oxford rail link to the site which is currently planned for development is expected to be completed by 2030. The Luton airport development announcement was an “extra bonus” for Universal as well. Universal also have plans to work on the A421 road to ensure it can handle the increase in traffic.
Universal expects people will stay overnight and come for weekend breaks. Mr Thompson expects more (assume off-site) hotels will be built as a result.
Planning documents will be submitted to the government in the next few months with construction scheduled to start in 2026.
Universal won’t comment on the attractions and theming until closer to opening.
So unpacking these quotes, there were a few new morsels of information. Most notably that there will be restaurants people can visit without buying a ticket, indicating perhaps some sort of City Walk area will form part of phase 1 for the project. Also interesting were the quotes on the future of the site, the plans for new development and the fact Universal intends to focus on the UK, rather than expanding elsewhere in Europe (setting aside it’s previous links to Port Aventura in Spain). In terms of logistics, it seems clear Universal are confident the rail and road networks will be in place to cope with demand. They also seem to expect new hotels to pop up in the area - which is only to be expected given their plans currently only include a 500 room hotel, where demand will surely outstrip supply.
What do we know so far?
The basic announcement that came out in early April 2025 was that Universal have committed to build a new theme park and resort in Bedfordshire, due to open in 2031, 6 years from now, with the expectation the project will break ground in 2026 once planning permission etc has been ironed out (although we have heard the land is being fenced off and prepared already). The announcements say:
The site will be 476 acres, with the potential to expand to 700 acres,
Will attract around 8.5M visitors in its first year,
Will include a theme park with several lands, billed as one of the largest and most advanced theme parks in Europe, a 500 room hotel and a retail, dining and entertainment complex.
So that’s a look to unpack but if we can compare to the other Universal parks around the world in the US, Japan, Singapore and China, we can get a feel for what we might be getting. Firstly footfall of 8.5M visitors. To compare the US parks in Orlando and Hollywood attract around the 9-10M mark, Beijing around 9M, whereas Singapore attracts more like 2M. So we can expect a large theme park comparable with the big Universal parks around the World.
In terms of land, by comparison the Hollywood park covers something like 415 acres, Beijing close to 1000, and Singapore only around the 100ish mark depending on how you measure it. It’s hard to compare with Orlando given it has 3 theme parks and a water park, but the main site excluding Epic Universe is around 550ish acres plus another 700 for Epic. So again a 476 acre site in the UK, with the possibility of expanding to 700 is a pretty decent footprint with plenty of room to build and expand. Universal have already commented that they do have plans to expand, and see this as long term project, solely in the UK (i.e. they don’t appear to have plans to expand elsewhere in Europe).
From what has been announced we know we’re getting a theme park and from the concept art a pretty decent sized one – and the plans very much remind us of Islands of Adventure in Orlando in terms of layout and size. We also know we’re getting a 500 room hotel. To compare, this is the same size as the new Helios hotel that’s just opened in Epic Universe in Orlando. Keep in mind though if 8.5M visitors a year are expected, and there is only a 500 room hotel, the demand is going to be through the roof, and expect prices to be on the high side, similar to how the signature hotels at say Alton Towers and Legoland in the UK are. It also suggests, given the footprint of the site, and the expected popularity, that further hotels could follow. Recent comments coming out of Universal indicate they expect other hotels (assume off-site) will pop up too. Finally they’ve said there will be a retail, dining and entertainment complex – which screams City Walk – an area common in most other Universal resorts outside the park filled with shopping, dining and entertainment and would fit nicely. All indications are this would sit in the mixed use area at the top of the site which you can see on the plans released by Universal below. Comments from Universal indicate this, or at least some restaurants, will form part of phase 1 of the project. Finally, we have heard that Universal have trademarked the ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ name in the UK, so it appears these Halloween events could be held in the park in the future.
We know the park is going to be located in Kempston Hardwick, Bedfordshire, roughly half way between the midlands and London, and directly between Oxford and Cambridge. So in a great spot that should make it easy to reach for a significant number of people as well as tourists coming into the UK. Universal has said they expect around 30% of visitors in the first year to come from outside the UK. Of course there are train links to London itself and its airports, but even closer is Luton airport which is now going to be expanded and which will have direct train links to the site. At present Wixams station nearby (see the station on the right hand side in the plans above) is being improved, but Universal have said they plan to expand the station further to cope with demand, as well as building a further station nearby (see the station on the left hand side in the plans above). Rail links to Oxford are also being improved in time for opening. The road network is also going to be improved with additional slip roads being added to the A421 nearby, and the massive car parks on the concept art indicates they obviously still expect a number of visitors to travel by car.
What do we think will be in the park?
So now diving into the theme park itself , we have some concept art, and we have some reports that have come out indicating bits and pieces. If we put these together we can take a decent guess at what’s going to be in the park. While you can’t base too much on the concept art as things may change, logically the plans for the park will already be made, especially if they’re breaking ground next year, so really we shouldn’t expect too much significant deviation from the plans at this stage.
From the reports to date, assuming these are correct and accurate, we already know the following:
It’s not going to have anything Harry Potter related, because of the nearby Warner Brothers attraction and that Warner Brothers holds the rights, at least for the time being.
James Bond, Paddington, Lord of Rings, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Minions will all be included in the park. In fact Universal have trademarked the Back to the Future name in the UK.
Rollercoasters based on Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Minions are among the few rides that won’t be under cover.
There will be a stunt show based on James Bond, similar to the Bourne Stuntacular in Florida.
There is not expected to be anything Nintendo or Wicked related due to rights issues.
There also won’t be anything Simpsons or Marvel related now that Disney have the rights to these.
So if we now take a look at the concept art we can make some educated guesses about what goes where. Starting at the front there you’ve got the classic Universal entrance plaza, through which you enter the park and walk down the main street. On your left is what looks like the hotel which appears as though it will enter straight into the park, and provide amazing park views. On the right we assume will primarily be shopping, as for any typical theme park.
At the end of the street you reach the central lake, much like Islands of Adventure in Orlando. This really breaks the park up nicely, gives it a fairly simple layout so its easy to get around, and we would expect there to be some sort of water or fountain show in here perhaps, similar to what they’re doing at Epic Universe and Universal Orlando.
If we start on the left hand side and move around clockwise, this first area here very much looks like a kids land. This might be where Paddington is introduced perhaps, or Universal have tonnes of other IP they can use here – perhaps a Dreamworks land like in Orlando, with Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Trolls, Secret Life of Pets all possible contenders. Moving on around there seems to be some sort of amphitheatre here by the lake to allow them to put on shows – Universal does often have a strong music presence in their parks and with the British music scene this seems an obvious inclusion.
Back from the lake is what we guess will be a Back to the Future land. We know from reports it will be one of three outdoor rollercoasters and there is a massive blue rollercoaster here that looks pretty intense. The colour theming, plus the layout of the buildings with a square in the middle says to us that this could be Hill Valley with a Back to the Future rollercoaster as the main attraction here. This would be amazing, with it being one of our favourite films, and we really miss this now its not been in the Orlando parks for many years.
Further around at the back of the park this seems the most obvious area due to the theming and buildings – this looks to be a Jurassic Park or Jurassic World themed area. These films have a big presence in the Universal parks worldwide so it makes sense it would be included in a big way. The land does look massive, much bigger than the other lands, with potentially 3-4 rides here so it’ll be interesting to see if this is all Jurassic or if anything else is included. Either way we are massive Jurassic fans so this is really exciting.
Throughout the land there seems to be a lot of waterfalls, lush walkways etc and then off to the left perhaps some sort of drop ride, and maybe a play area of some sort. Then you have the massive building at the back which a lot of people are speculating is the Jurassic World Adventure ride that they currently have in Beijing and looks amazing. You’ve got a couple more buildings nearer the lake that we’d guess are likely restaurants, shops – maybe some sort of entertainment visitor centre, a bit like in Orlando. Then behind here is a massive green rollercoaster that stretches all the way out over the lake, very much like the Velocicoaster in Orlando. As we know it’s been said the Jurassic coaster is outdoors, this seems obviously the Jurassic themed rollercoaster here.
Further around in the top right corner of the park there looks to be some sort of outdoor theatre. It looks a lot like Waterworld in the US parks, which is an amazing show, but its pretty old and niche IP these days, so we’d be surprised if this is just replicated here. We know there’ll be a James Bond stunt show, so it might be that this fits here. Or maybe we’re wrong and it is Waterworld and the James Bond show will be in one the buildings somewhere.
Looking at the right hand side of the park there looks to be a small land with two buildings, one which looks like it has turrets on. To us this feels like the Lord of the Rings ride, or potentially land, with a second building behind it.
Then there’s a final land on the right hand side of the park which looks very much like a Minions land with a third outdoor coaster. If they’re doing a Minions land as it looks, we’d be surprised if there is anything else non-Minions related here, which again indicates the Paddington attraction will be located elsewhere, perhaps in the kids land on the left hand side of the park. There are a few final buildings between here and the main street, so perhaps room for another attraction or two, its hard to tell. Some have speculated a Jaws ride could fit in here.
IP which hasn’t been mentioned yet and which has a presence in the other parks include Transformers, Fast and the Furious, the Mummy, Men In Black, Jaws, Kong, Dr Suess, so it might be that these appear somewhere in the park, or hopefully there will be some more new additions to the park that aren’t found elsewhere. Either way it’s all very exciting and we’ll keep this page up-to-date with the latest news and developments!
