Will Universal Studios Great Britain ruin the UK’s theme park industry? 

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Great video Harry, I personally think that it won’t destroy the UK Theme Park Industry because it’ll get Merlin to step up their game and probably the same with the other UK Parks

Merlin needs competition. I hope this encourages them to raise their game in the UK.

My simple answer is no, it won't. Competition promotes innovation. The Merlins of the world will adapt, but those independent parks may struggle. Great content as always, Harry. 👍

‘Trying its best’ is very generous as far as Towers goes. They will definitely be the one to feel the pressure to increase standards the most. Ultimately I think they’ll all be fine, there might be a small attendance percentage decrease from the increased competition, but hopefully that’s offset by increased tourism generally and an increase in operating standards. Parks can use this to their advantage if they adapt well.

I hope this comes to fruition. It'd be so nice to have a world-class theme park in our backyard rather than have to travel thousands of miles

This will definitely help draw in visitors from outside the UK. I live in the US, and while there are some interesting-looking attractions at some of the Merlin parks, there’s nothing that would make me want you to shell out for a trip overseas quite like a Universal Park with new and unique attractions (especially if Lord of the Rings is included). It could help out Merlin too, as people who were attracted to the UK for Universal may want to check out the new Mack hyper coaster at Thorpe Park.

Imagine a world where Alton Towers opened a second theme park right next to it to create its own resort. That would be insane for the industry, and id LOVE to see it compete with Universal

No matter which way you cut it this is great for the UK. It has the potential to attract a lot of visitors from overseas. This could be a game changer. I believe the knockon impact for the wider themepark scene in the UK to be largely positive.

I think universal will build multiple, perhaps smaller, parks/resorts in europe. Given all of universal's various patent and trademark applications in different countries (germany, UK, spain), and their recent announcement about building more small regional attractions in the US, this makes the most sense. Instead of trying to beat disney with the same strategy, build more than one location so that they become easier to reach for a greater number of people than DLP. My bets would be on Bedfordshire, Portaventura, and somewhere near Berlin.

In 2009 I visited Alton Towers and had the driest Peri-Peri Chicken Sandwich I had ever received, it's 2024 and I still haven't forgotten it as I was Chef at the time it made me very angry that they presumed to serve it at all...if this motivates Merlin to upgrade the culinary options and food quality that alone would be a good thing.

Went to Universal last year was incredible, I would absolutely love one in the UK Bedford is so close to where I live too

Every time I go to US theme parks I struggle going back to UK parks. I always go by rule of more competition is better and will help others up their game

Hope us Bedford residents get some sort of discount. Cannot wait for this theme park to be built if it goes through, we'll have the best theme park in the UK in our back garden 😆 we don't get much snow in Bedford so the weather shouldn't be an issue. Merlin are trembling after the announcement.

They will 100% put a Harry Potter land in, no matter the cost. This is just down the road from the Harry Potter thing in Watford and that audience will be very valuable. Also hoping to see James Bond, Paddington, and Lord of the Rings. Doctor Who I think is about 10 years too late, the franchise is dying a prolonged death

Merlin’s park’s definitely need a little kick because they have a habit of just not touching things after they’ve finished with them, meaning things that only opened five or so years ago already have paint peeling off and Merlin doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it.

UK Theme parks are not really that well themed, but they do have some of the best rides in the world. Universal rides concentrate on themed movie-based experiences, so most of their rides rely heavily on Audio Visual systems, animatronics, motion-based platforms and slow speed trick coasters with lots of spikes/switch tracks. (Too many if you ask our USA based friends). Universal have obviously seen this is an experience they can exploit. They do know how to build outstanding theme parks with huge throughputs, so if they do build one, it will likely be one of the largest theme parks for visitor numbers in the UK, but I don't think it will pull too many visitors away from the other theme parks, as they will just be offering an experience that is currently missing from all of the other UK attractions.

I’m actually from Bedford and i’m pretty excited for this, albeit I probably won’t be living in the UK by the time this is open. For Bedford it’s gonna be great and hugely improve the town, which is one of the fastest growing areas of the country. Though, the transport links will really need to be much further improved. The local buses here are awful and the train station is not well connected to town (though I realistically think they’ll build a new train station at Wixams which is closer to the new parks). They are currently upgrading the A421 so it seems the area is being further primed for this extra traffic.

It could be really good and bring a lot of industry/tech/artist jobs to the UK if they didnt source from elsewhere. Alton towers seem to have got a bit lax at late so will be good to see them with a reason to improve and get some shut rides up and running again (looking at you Hex!)

Great video! LORD OF THE RINGS IP 🤩🎉🥳 I’ve literally been talking about this for years, it could be absolutely incredible. Let’s pray this goes ahead after the London Resort fiasco! I think this would be really GOOD for the UK theme park market - quite frankly Merlin needs a kick up the @$$, they are light years behind other similar sized parks like Phantasialand which have shown they know how to transform and create legendary areas. We lack this in UK parks with the exception to a few things like Nemesis and perhaps Hyperia (will have to see). Exciting news!

That is hands down the best video on the subject that I’ve seen, outstanding job! 💯

I see this as a good thing. The theme park industry in the UK has been relatively stagnant for quite a while now. This should serve as notice for the major parks to focus on modernisation. The drive in international travel to the UK may also increase the overall footfall within British theme parks as thrill seekers may want to see what the local offerings are as well. Given that most UK parks only take a day or 2 to see all there is, a family on a 2 week holiday could sample a variety of parks, sharing the boon. My main concern would be that mass transit in the UK outside of London can be very unreliable and funding for projects can sometimes fall off leaving the plans unfinished (looking at you HS2). If this is to go ahead I would hope that the local and regional authorities arrange a significant section 287 planning agreement to make sure our transport network can handle the influx of tourists and locals alike.

Tourism will probably be effected the most. Tourism to Orlando would decrease, but UK would increase a lot as it would be Europe’s Universal Studios. I also think it’s possible that Thorpe Park and Chessington could maybe increase in visitors as it’ll be quite close to Universal.

I think it’s been a long time coming. The UK needs a high quality theme park, and we finally might have it now. It can definitely be sustained with domestic and international tourism.

I don't think it will force any uk parks to close

Really enjoyed your very pragmatic approach on this video. Ultimately I feel the UK is big enough for multiple parks, I think about how Disneyland, SixFlags Knotts and Universal all do very well in California. Ultimately if Merlin want to compete they’ll have to up their game. Which is a win for absolutely everyone

I gotta give you credit bro, I've watched you on and off for a few years and you've remained nothing but consistent. 10 year old me is so jelous of you! keep up the hard work mate

James Bond would work as Universal is currently MGM/Amazon's co-distributor on the movies. 'Doctor Who' would more likely be better placed at a Disney park considering Disney+ owns the non-UK and Ireland streaming rights. For rides, they could also consider placing new versions of defunct attractions from their other parks like Back to the Future and Jaws. Also, I would love to see Universal try a land of attractions dedicated to their Focus Features label (let's call it Focus World) in either their GB park or their parks in general.

Make it happen. I live in the UK I never visit theme parks not because I don’t enjoy them but I don’t feel they offer an experience beyond a big rollercoaster. Universal Studios would do just that! Millions would definitely visit. A Lord of the Rings theme would be huge, and so fitting for the UK given JRR Tolkien was British. 🙌

It wont take anything away from the Industry if anything it will bring more international visitors as well as domestic visitors adding to the industry and our economy.

I think one reason why this could happen is the influence of those who created the IP. J K Rowling has always made Warner Bros keep production of the films in the UK and use UK actors, I wouldn’t be surprised if she pushed universal in creating a park in the UK. Similarly if rumours are true about universal getting LoTR IP, the tolkien family are very protective of the IP and may have stipulated creating the first Land in the UK to allow them the theme park rights.

It would be crazy if platform 9 3/4 or whatever number was at each train station and the hogwarts express would pick you up and take you to Harry Potter world in Universal

Hopefully the Universal park will show the others how its done, with longer opening hours, and being maintained correctly, with rides not braking down as often too.

As a bedford resident, this is quite exciting! Our town isn't particularly big on the map, so I was very surprised to hear the news regarding the land purchase.

This was so well put together and informative thank you xd. I loved the current Universal Parks overlay you done with the Bedford site as I’ve been wondering exactly that. I’m really looking forwards to this Universal UK. It’s going to be incredible with a new Harry Potter land which we haven’t seen, and I really hope the Lord Of The Rings rumour is true as well, as having both JK Rowling and JRR Tolkien represented here in the UK their home would be amazing :)

Brilliant and informative video! As referenced in relation to Alton Towers, suspect there would be a significant price variance between Universal and the existing parks which will be a key point of differentiation. Would be interested to see the price points of the universal park, suspect Disney or Orlando prices wouldn't work for the internal UK market. If they're charging the best part of £100 a day for a ticket in today's money, would price out alot of people.

in terms of overseas visitors, if you a booking a flight to visit a park like Disney, when has anyone only gone to one park? i think in the long run Universal UK will be a good thing for all the parks in England, overseas tourists will try and visit as many of the parks as they can, i know i would.

Normally people that will come from other countries will also go to other UK Theme parks once they are travelled so far 👌

Top quality video as usual harry👍

To be honest, it was a disgrace that they built the Harry Potter one in US. It is literally a British franchise, no need for it to be in Florida when it would just SUIT London better overall. So ridiculous.

there will also be a direct train from gatwick airport too!

Meanwhile, Harrington Flint and the Phalanx are hosting emergency meetings nearby in a shippping container

I’m taking a trip to Europe after my younger brother graduates from High school, I’m so excited to see how European theme parks are before the opening of Universal and hopefully I’ll get back afterwards to see how much it affects the other parks

Good job, Harry! I really hope the UK gets a Universal theme park. I love Universal Studios and I plan on going to the UK again in the future. Btw, congratulations on your marriage last month! You, Zoe, and Gus looked amazing!

I really hope they do! I’ve been lucky enough to get to visit the Florida universal studios and Disney parks in 2022 and it was the best holiday I’ve ever had! I so wish they do this

Rivals will be sticking Great Crested Newts on the site as we speak. On a serious note though it's in a cracking location, close to London, near an airport in between the A1 and M1. Maybe even potential for a Eurostar terminal like Marne-le-Vallé had before the pandemic.

It will be epic hopefully. It will make the other major themeparks try a lot harder!

What a perfect video! Great analysis. Bring on Universal!

Excellent video. I think the potential arrival of Universal will see Merlin up their game in every way. We are excited for the next 10 years, we are only a short flight away in Ireland. ❤

Going to move this year to London, would be amazing seeing this build nearbye! 🤩

i think it will make Merlin step up there game and revitalize the UK theme park scene

Hi There, a great Video and a great analysis, I think it will just encourage the competition to invest more heavily in the UK Theme Parks and as a result give people a choice for different target audiences etc. Cheers Peter

This is the best video I have watch on this topic. When looking at the site, I'm thinking those warehouses top left to the side, perfect logistics hub for the site, make sense to buying up. I'm think Universial might end up buying all of the land between the two rail tracks as well.

The thought of people from all over the world holidaying in Bedford is crazy

The UK theme parks today don't really hold a candle to those in The Netherlands, Germany, Poland or other European countries. I'm an avid theme park enthusiast and always find myself travelling for a good fix. I'd LOVE for the UK to get a Universal Studios as I live in London myself, and really enjoy their parks.

Can't wait Hopefully it's open all year too.

I think it might inject some enthusiasm into the UK theme park industry, as smaller local theme parks have been declining for a while now, for example the flamingo entertainment small rides at Hastings, which looked like they were going to do something with it, but didn't in the end.

I cant wait for their texas park to open!! Im glad they r opening more parks over seas though !!❤❤❤

It will clearly take part of the Market Share that the others have, but, that market should be much bigger due to tourism. I think the other parks will be fine.

Fingers crossed it happens 😍🙌🏽🧱👍🏽

Lets be honest we in the UK haven't got a great Theme Park Industry. We have a GOOD Selection - Not Great or Excellent or Top Tier. We have Alton Towers as our only world class Theme Park. Thorpe Park and Pleasure Beach are just large ammusment Parks with some decent and fun rides. Drayton Manor? Chessington? Oakwood? Neither on par with Alton, Thrope or Pleasure Beach but are decent but no world class rides A+ Tier Rides but they do seem to be investing Flamingo Land? Is just silly/funny meme rides and a zoo Fantasy Island is like a large Fairground Park but that indoor section does have a bit of charm to it and the video game arcade and 2 rollar coasters are decent. In fact yes the Arcade is good. Paulton Park, Legoland, Gullivers, Sundown, Lightwater Valley and Wheelgate are for Kids and Families. Lightwater closing down The Ultimate is a travesty. Universal brings something to the UK we are in desperate need for and I back them 100% of the way to come and inject a bit of fun in the theme park space over here and gets Merlin, Legoland, Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Drayton, Pleasure Beach and Chessington to think "Ahh we need to do better to attract people to us"

The UK doesn’t have a Theme Park industry - if you don’t go to the main theme parks like Alton or Thorpe, there is literally 0% going to a theme park area or carnival in the uk, they’re all dangerous, not looked after properly, most of the staff (if there is any) are rude and don’t care about safety, food is over priced, games are over priced, and the experience is so depressing, I actually feel worse after a carnival, purely because of how miserable it is. Either get rid of faulty, unsafe carnival workers and have them regulated or bring in universal.

I would be amazed if we got a grand-scale brand theme park in the UK, but it would be very crowded and invite way too many people for anyone to consider going. The three biggest theme parks in the UK I’ve been to: Drayton Manor (which has gone down the toilet since about 2018), Alton Towers and Legoland in Windsor. They’re all great, so I could probably live with these places, but a new park wouldn’t hurt.

We need this in England. Especially in this part of the country. Decent parks either Alton Tower or south of Heathrow and are awful to get to. This being north of the M25 will be a godsend. Hopefully it will encourage a lot of the regional parks to invest. Visited pleasurewood hills last year and I don’t think it had changed since my last visit circa 20 years ago

It’s always a good day when CoasterBot uploads 😌

I suggest doing a video of the used themes by Universal and trying to guess what it could be.

i for one would love it if they made a universal studios here, more in line with Adventure Island. I don't think it'd kill off the other theme parks, maybe small ones not under the Merlin umbrella perhaps but from my personal experience and others i know, when someone visits a theme park abroad they don't just visit one, it's usually a small handful and it could genuinely bring in more money for our local ones. Bedford is honestly a great locale for it. I'd also love to see some larger rides more thrilling ones. Could be a huge game changer here.

I would argue it will help SAVE the UKs theme park industry due to the fact that over the last 10 years except for Wickerman, it’s really not had much advancements until this year, so I think this’ll be a really great opportunity for people to go around comparing them all and finding that thing they enjoy about each one and keep coming back- this is why Orlando survived- so many parks offered so many different things for different people but ultimately competition kept it to a high standard, I can only see good coming from this. Bigger picture needs to be looked at here, universal haven’t invested in Europe yet, let alone UK, this’ll be a bigger risk for them than it will be for Merlin or competition. They will be playing it very safe, Harry Potter and Nintendo is what I reckon we see at first and as the park grows, we will see more innovation but right now I think it will be a very safe small scale park for them in comparison to Hollywood or Orlando as this is a huge risk on their part which will slowly grow.

I'm looking forward to the new park - it's a 30 min drive away from me. If I get a quiet day in the week, you betcha I'm heading there for the day!

Having a Universal Studios park practically in my backyard sounds really exciting, though I am concerned about how much of an effect it’ll have on places like Alton Towers and Thorpe Park. (Maybe it’ll make them realise that not every ride has to be a rollercoaster with creepy marketing, I’m looking at you Thirteen and The Smiler!)

How much day tripping do resort parks usually attract? The price of entry is high, and their aim is usually to sell you a package to stay at the park. In that sense, they already occupy a different niche to places like Thorpe Park, which do offer bare-bones overnight accommodation but are mainly frequented by people looking to only spend one day there.

If the island of Singapore can easily host one of these theme parks, then I am sure that our "tiny" will somehow manage.

If this happens then Universal Studios GB will literally be next door to me. I sure hope things work out!

Maybe a bit of competition would be good. Bedford is a good spot for it too.

Great video. I'm a fan of independent parks, but I'm really looking forward to Universal potentially opening in the UK! The Merlin group really need a kick up the bum to improve their parks. American parks have been able to successfully add shopping and other entertainment - not to mention the food! Food in UK theme parks absolutely sucks so this is one area of competition Merlin group will have to deal with!!!!

Competition drives innovation, and if we do get some serious competition for Merlin then they will absolutely have to start investing in their parks to keep them in good shape. Closing day at Alton Towers last year was pretty dreadful from an operational standpoint, with at least one major ride closed at any given time, with the smiler opening 20 minutes later than the other rides and curse of Alton manor, nemesis subterra and Galactica all having issues throughout the day. This isn’t even to mention that Galactica has been operating at less than maximum capacity consistently since covid, which shows in the wait times. They were using both stations again, but still only two of three trains. If the opening of a new universal park in the uk gives Merlin incentive to get their act together, then I’m all for it.

Considering the music artists on Universals Label their Park Radio is going to be amazing

Blackpool Pleasure Beach is privately owned (the Tower is owned by Merlin) but some new competition and a kick up the rear will be good for them. Perhaps they’ll finally abolish their miserly practice of charging people just to go in and walk around even if you don’t go on a ride.

MIss your videos man quality!

Competition almost always builds industries, not destroys them. If anything Florida should be more afraid than the likes of Towers and Thorpe

Good thing I live in Luton very easy to get to Bedford

Survival of the fittest. Merlin isn’t exactly poor. They’ll have to step up their game or be demolished. They have been getting away with murder for the past 10 years and so has Disneyland Paris! Bedford is a great place for a theme park (not because I live 8 miles away 😂) But because it’s 2hrs South of Thorpe and 2 hours North of Alton, so it’s pretty much smack bang in the middle of both of them. It’s crazy I could have Middle Earth & Nintendo land only 8 miles from me 😂

I would absolutely welcome universal bedford. Florida has always been my most favourite resort so having it here would awesome, but the cherry on the top is my dads family lives in bedford to i could visit very easily and get free accomodation so win win for me.

One park you didn't mention in regards to how this will impact them is Drayton Manor, closer in proximity to Alton Towers and is a large family centric park compared to others in the UK - how would the Looping Group be able to support the park in order for Drayton to compete?

i went to universal studios orlando on holiday back in 2005, had a great time so would be interesting to see how. UK universal studios would differ, i'm sure it would be hugely popular but to what end?

Great video Harry! I think opening universal studios could potentially put Alton towers out of business, Alton towers is the hardest theme park to get to Via public transport, there are no local train stations and it's a 30 mile drive from any major motorway, and with the government increasingly pushing towards pay per mile to drive anywhere, and the fact that Alton towers is built in and around a protected heritage site, so planning on expanding or adding new attractions is so heavily restricted will unfortunately end in it's demise I fear🤔

I spent a couple months backpacking through the UK and Ireland back in 2009. I have to admit that I never knew there was a single theme park there. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention??

I would be very excited by this. Apart from Lucasfilms there aren't many Disney IPs that appeal to me. Although Disneyland Paris is pretty close to England, the cost of going on holliday there is still pretty expensive in comparison to theme parks you can visit as a daytrip. Bedford isn't as glamorous of a place as Paris, Miami or Beijing, but it's pretty centrally placed to be accessible to the midlands, east of England and London with a short journey. The place's it's furthest from like Manchester, Cardiff, Newcastle and Glasgow are still much closer to Bedford than they are to Paris so it could have a wide appeal across the whole of the UK.

If they could use the James Bond IP then a themed show like the Ship / robbery at Parc Asterix would be fantastic…. Something with lots of practical effects

I must say, there is absolutely no objections to it in Bedford, we're quite excited to finally get something interesting happening here. The only worry is the traffic

People will come to the uk and also visit other patks. Not building any existing rides goes both ways people who visit orlando from the us will want to visit the new park.

European parks got really scared when Eurodisney was announced. Then they had massive investments which actually made them stronger, not weaker after 1992. As a Dutchman I can see myself combine a trip to Universal Great Britain and Alton Towers. They never should have built Disneyland Paris in France, the UK is a much better location.

Hopefully we get a Mack spinning coaster or even a standing up coaster

A LOTR theme would be amazing plus it’s one of my favourite books series of all time

I know Blackpool Pleasure Beach already has a Wallace and Gromit themed ride, but I still want a land themed to pretty much ANY Aardman Animations character when the plans for this park get put in action

great video

It won't ruin the UK theme park industry, it'll give it a good kick up the arse.

As a property developer myself I unfortunately do not think this will be viable in the long run. The amount of bureaucracy and red tape will hinder any chances and ultimately they will pull the plug. Shame as it would do wonders for UK tourism.

the annual pass is not really an annual pass since if you get the 99 pound standard one you can only go on certain dates

As long as they pay tribute to the Universal Monsters IP then I'm all in!!!! Plus they need to bring in a Downton Abbey sized ghost train (apologies, I'm totally addicted to those things). Is the UK big enough to site such a project, of course it is. Will it kill "neighboring" parks, of course not. There is never anything wrong with a bit of competition. Bring it on!!!!