Universal Studios Texas Update: Permits, News, and Rumors for Universal Kids Frisco 

Where would you build the next smaller Universal park or year-round haunt?

this is the kind of local planning nitty gritty details that people don't even think about but are operating in the background of most theme parks. fascinating stuff

they really got this thing planned out well. impressive

I love the idea of smaller parks that focus on one aspect of Universals IP. It would be cool to have a smaller park somewhere in the Midwest that would be like the Universal Studios park in Orlando, old time Hollywood with a monsters section and a bunch of indoor stuff to do so that when winter hits there is still plenty to do.

If this is successful, I could see it being replicated in lots of places. Europe is desperate for some Universal parks. Bring it on! 😁

I'm always more fascinated by the infrastructure that supports a theme park than by the theme park itself, so this was a perfect update!

I live in this area, I think the park will be a great success, however, I think its a major fail on behalf of Frisco to notate that there shall be no "dark ride" attractions allowed. The state severely lacks innovative dark ride attractions and this would be a major miss by the city and Universal. Hopefully, they can get this worked out prior to opening to ensure that is reconsidered.

Since this is the kids and family resort their Wizarding World should be The Weasley’s House/The Burrow! A dark ride through the burrow and maybe a kiddie coaster with the cars that are made to look like the Weasley’s flying car

I was at the announcement in Frisco, and it is so weird seeing myself in the footage. Anywho, great video!! I’m so excited for Frisco to get some more kid-oriented activities

I said it from the get-go that the Minions are 100% going to be in this park. The Rise of Gru was the FIFTH film in the series and it's made the most money. Very few series increase value as they move beyond the first sequel. Also, that boat ride in the concept art is yellow and blue, just like a Minion. It makes total sense that they would be the first things you see when you enter. Also, the area behind the boat ride was mysteriously empty in the art, which is NOT going to happen in a theme park. The Minions are literally going to be front and center. It will be interesting to see who gets the boot, though. While it's a kiddie park, there does need to be interest for parents. Adults like the Minions. And to a lesser degree, they are into the other Illuminations and DreamWorks properties. Camp Cretaceous? Not so much. But what would be better? Nintendo and Harry Potter certainly won't be allowed to exist here. Dora is long in the tooth. Of the non-Universal properties, SpongeBob has the best chance of replacing something. Adults like those characters. (Norwegian Cruise Lines has the SpongeBob characters and at the meet 'n' greets 80% of the people in line were adults. And, YES, I was one of them!) SpongeBob probably lends itself to flat rides more than any other property. The argument against this is they'd have to share profits, but there would be a lot of profits to share once they start selling Krusty Burgers.

Hopefully with newer plans they will get a dark ride or two. Frisco is hot, they need some air-conditioned areas to cool off.

Once they announced Dreamworks to replace Kid Zone at USF, along with the new Villain Con attraction that just opened, I immediately started to wonder if they're developing clone attractions for both areas. Villian Con checks all the boxes for what is planned (and allowed by the city) for Frisco.

Yeah, this seems very similar to the original development of the first USA Legoland, Legoland California, which I watched throughout its five year development between 1994-1999 as I have lived only about 10 minutes away from the park site since 1990…While the park didn’t open with the hotel, it always had expansion built in to its original 50 acre park site (and has now been filled out by two hotels, a water park and an aquarium)…my kids were 2 and 6 when the park opened and we basically LIVED at this park for a solid seven years, so, if Universal does this concept right, like Legoland did, they’ve got a Really solid goldmine here! (As there are now sister parks to the California park in Florida and New York)

🎢 The Universal Studios Texas venture is shaping up impressively! 🚀 It's fascinating to see their meticulous planning and vision for this new park. Can't wait to experience the magic they're bringing to Frisco! 🏰🌟

In USJ, a deceptively simple sound stage houses the impressive Snoopy Studios play area. I always see families laughing as they make the comic books and movies come to life, and without exaggerating I can say it reminds me of the old Image Works upstairs in Epcot’s Imagination pavilion. But of course there’s no rainbow tunnel or Figment. ;-) I wish Universal could buy the Snoopy IP away from Knotts/Cedar Fair in America.

Universal needs to wise up and give the people what they want in a theme park... Bikini bottom and have spongebobs neighborhood, the krusty krab to eat at and the chum bucket as a ride entrance 😂😍

Thanks for the updates Alicia!

catch me offering to take the kids i babysit here just so i can experience it lmao

Crazy how over half of the land will be just for parking #Murica

I'm so excited for this! I'm really close to Frisco. I went to the noise ordinance panel before it was approved. The team was fabulous presenting. This seems like a very interesting change in the structure of theme parks. I hope it's successful! I think something in the Midwest, northeast and northwest would be great. Something in Oregon/Washington, maybe something near ish to Chicago... Great coverage!

Thanks! Please keep us updated on the progress of this theme park

Incredibly cool to see giant, fun projects come together from the most micro, logistical perspective there is. It's where the magic begins. Thanks as always for making these videos!

Universal Studios Over Texas 🥁

I think this park will surely have a Nintendo property in there some where. Something like Animal Crossing would be a big win for the kiddos.

Very detailed and I wouldn't expect anything less. Orlando has been successful with their parks.

Thank you. Enjoy your updates

Looks like they got all of the logistics planned out that most people wouldn't even think about when building a theme park. My brother took my nephew to Universal Orlando. He was 7, and there wasn't a lot there he could ride. Great to see they're building a park for kids.

Universal probably should have bought all the land they could surrounding this for future expansions.

Alicia makes the most informative theme park videos on RU-vid! Theme Park Stop is the best, no competition!

I live right by Frisco. This should be interesting 👍 I wish it wasn't just for kids though 😅

I think Universal Studios understands that it can have many parks but not necessarily that big. It's not that they require a huge, giant infrastructure for them to exist and be called Universal. They can make smaller, local parks. But they transmit the same magic and quality as their parks in Orlando. I think a good example is Universal Singapore, which is less than 50% Island of Adventure. The idea of ​​going big or nothing is not profitable today, not only because of operating costs but also because of what consumers can pay. We can see how this park model (under a big big name as Universal) can be more accessible and targeting specific markets, such as children in this case.

6:13 bruh is that a pool literally shaped like Texas?!?!?! thats hilarious

Sad. Looks like a bad location. Way to close to neighborhoods. My kids are grown so no interest in this park. Texas would be a great location for a real Universal park.

Universal: We’re making a 3rd park in Florida with a Nintendo land in 2025, a permanent attraction in Area 15 and a family park in Texas. Disney: CHINA RIDE IN FLORIDA, DELAYED BUT OPENED, MONEY.

A Secret Life of Pets ride here seems a perfect and natural fit.

So are they sticking to a strictly younger age park? Or are there now pressures from locals to make this a proper Universal park? I live close to the area and all of my friends who live in the area do not want a kid only park. The locals essentially want a proper park if they are going to have to deal with a theme park.

I still scratch my head over this project. Is this like a sample to entice people to eventually go to one of the coastal resorts? As a stand alone experience I can see parents getting bored pretty quickly. As a stand alone I think a mini Universal Studios like what they have in Singapore would be better and appeal to all ages. This kids concept would have made more sense as a mini park within their other resorts.

Good luck getting in. 97 acres is not enough. They will need to buy the next lot over.

Maybe along with the DreamWorks attractions they do a small Pokémon land at this park 1st to put the new park on the map and have a massive draw. Then the bigger Pokémon land with more attractions at studios will open a couple of years later once the Simpsons rights expire.

I wouldn't expect "licensors" to appear in the Frisco park (unless it's for the expansion) - but keeping it open like that could spell big things for their hopeful other parks. Namely in that it would allow for more parks to have more unique lands (instead of disney's clone everything strategy)

Good bye Disney. It's Universal's turn🤠🤠

Holy crap those parking minimums and some of those other city requirements are kind of annoying. Good thing the park is still moving along.

Not a bad idea overall for Universal. The parking takes up a considerable amount of space and affecting the space for the actual theme park. Hasn't anyone thought to utilize vertical carousal parking structures for that amount of space? for every 2-3 car slot you could get 10 cars in the structure, plus it wouldn't be that difficult to get your car out. What if you want to add more to the theme park but are limited to the amount of space you have without purchasing more. That's just my thought.

I wish it would be for adults too from where I live it is too far to drive to Florida or California.

Way too hot in Texas in the summer and pretty cold in the winter. But given it can never be anything more than a kid's park, maybe it's meant to be a partial-day park even with the really short hours. Also, one of the biggest reasons for building anything in Texas is the perceived less regulated nature of Texas, but there are a lot of restrictions and requirements from the Texas government.

Disney should be worried

Looks like universal mean business - will be interesting to see if / when Disney finally take notice! I do find it a little sad that attractions without an IP bolted on don't even seem to be a consideration now.....when you look at the likes of the original lost continent in IoA or the original Animal Kingdom in Disney it shows what can be created when creative designers arent limited by an IP. But I guess thats just the era we're in right now!

RMC coasters have a height requirement of 48", so thrill rides are possible ;-) I wonder if Universal has plans for opening a park in Europe...

kinda weird they are saving the smaller theme park for after epic universe opens, since smaller theme parks usually take less time to build. i know construction for this new park is expected to begin in 2024, but it won't be open until at least 2026

How do they have the money for this and epic and hhn and vegas

You really think Comcast is going to build two new parks at once? Disney did that but only because OLC was dropping tons of money on TDLR. That 2026 opening is so unrealistic. Especially with how high the bar is set for EU and all of the new tech going into it

Sad that parking takes up so much of the land. I know parking structures are expensive but it frees up so much room.

So we’re not getting a 50’ tall guillotine? 😢

Frisco city council is being ridiculous with these demands! Why on earth would any city not want a Universal Park that will mean $$$ tax dollars and will bring in tourists that will spend not only in the park but the local economy as well! Everyone wins and many cities around the world are begging Universal to build a park in their city!

So awesome

Judging off the infrastructure, the Jurassic area might be an old school Jurassic Park area. Camp C fell off post season 3. That and Ted Cruz and co are gonna go ballistic when they find out about season 5. All the CC stuff aside, the infrastructure is giving me Jp1 vibes.

When I Tell You Universal Are not messing around with Epic Universe I Mean they aren’t messing around at all they are hitting Disney Right we’re it hurts and they know exactly what they are doing and are loving every second of it. Not Only are they Building a Theme Park in Texas Which Disney does not have. But they are also making it a Kid Friendly Park. Which is Disney Territory.

First Epic and now this, what's with all the parking lots recently? They take up so much unnecessary space, especially considering how well Universal has already implemented garages in their first two parks. Is it too expensive or something?

What are they waiting for pokemon lands.

Alicia is the best!

I wonder why Universal would need to use character's they don't own. They have Nintendo, Minions and the Dream Work characters along with Jurassic Park more then enough kid friendly IPs for this size of a park.

If they dont st least have a couple of dark rides...idk

looks like 2/3 parking and 1/3 theme park.

It’s going to be super small

I SUPER look forward to hearing from you Alicia. I am a huge fan... alas I have never been to Universal anything. We need more parks!

honestly the park itself seems kind of small

Ugh, it's giving me Hard Rock Park vibes, that Hotel is gonna be empty, I'm disappointed, like Quibi disappointed.

were tired of six flags! its about time!

Universal’s Lone Star Park?

But if parents are paying for it, there should be stuff for them

Spongebob Land PLS

TRUCKERS PASSING THROUGH DALLAS

Universal are making Disney look embarrassing

Please please VeggieTales

This just doesn’t seem like something that is sustainable. I can’t imagine people wanting to go back multiple times.

Well I’m not going to Texas because it’s hot and I’m a tween and this park is for kids for elementary not me

They gave no thought whatsoever for public transit and especially mass transit, which means the park is not future proof.

At the rate they’re going they’ll end up becoming the next Six Flags.

Looks Lame