Fans of Harry Potter and Super Nintendo may soon have a new Universal theme park across the pond.
Universal currently operates theme park resorts around the world, including properties in the United States in Florida and California, and internationally in Beijing, Singapore and Osaka. The company also recently announced an upcoming kid-focused theme park resort in Texas and a first-of-its-kind year-round horror experience to be housed in the immersive Area15 in Las Vegas.
The company also said that this project is still very early in the planning process as they determine feasibility. Europe, and the UK in particular, is a particular focus for the brand as an attractive destination for a project of this scale. Universal cites several reasons for this, including a large population, a vibrant existing tourism industry, creative industries and a transport infrastructure that provides easy and close access to many other parts of Europe.
The Bedford site is located approximately 45 minutes from London by public transport. Its proximity to London provides links to many other locations in Europe, attracting visitors from all over the world with easy transport to the new destination. In addition, the city of Bedford is within a two-hour drive of more than half of the UK’s population.
Universal also said that, due to the early stage of the development, there is no set creative content for this development and anything shared online is pure speculation.
It’s too early to know if we’ll see another Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and the new location’s proximity to another Harry Potter attraction, the Warner Bros. Studios Tour London, could complicate matters.
It’s an exciting time of great expansion for Universal theme parks, with the recent opening of Minion Land at Universal Orlando Resort, Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood and the opening of a brand new theme park, Epic Universe, in Orlando in 2025.