Huge boost for 480-acre Universal theme park set to open in the UK
PLANS to potentially open a huge 480-acre theme park in the UK have been handed a huge boost after receiving support from a cabinet minister.
Last year, theme park fans went wild with excitement when Universal Studios revealed plans for a potential new site in Bedford.
The rumours first circulated online after Universal's owners Comcast and NBC registered two domain names.
Last year, the theme park giant registered the domain names UniversalStudiosGreatBritain.com and UniversalGreatBritain.com.
The domains were registered in September 2023, as can be seen .
In December 2023, Universal confirmed the plans to Sun Online Travel.
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They revealed that they had acquired land in Bedford and were exploring the possibility of building a park there.
A spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: "We recently acquired land in Bedford and are at the early stages of exploring its feasibility for a potential park and resort at this site.
"It will be many months before we are ready to make a decision to proceed and we look forward to engaging with all relevant stakeholders and the local community."
While no firm decision has been made regarding the new theme park, one senior cabinet minister has backed the plans.
According to the , Transport Secretary Mark Harper showed his support for the new theme park during a Commons transport questions session.
In his response to a question put forward by Labour MP Mohammad Yasin, Mr Harper confirmed that the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, was familiar with Universal's plans.
Mr Harper said: "I'm very familiar with that scheme - I've been briefed on it myself, and I know the chancellor has been involved in this as well.
"We will look very carefully at the proposals put forward, and I know the Government will want to do what we can to make sure that this exciting proposal comes to fruition."
Despite the support from theme park fans and government figures, Universal are still very early in the planning stages of the project and are determining its feasibility.
They did confirm that they are always looking at new locations around the world, including in Europe, and added that they see the UK as an attractive place for a potential project.
The UK is an attractive location for a new theme park because of its large population, creative industries, strong tourism, and transportation infrastructure as well as its close links to other parts of Europe.
Even though nothing has been confirmed, that hasn't stopped fans getting excited about the proposals online.
Adding further fuel to the fire was an unverified concept mock-up picture that emerged on X, formerly Twitter.
However, Universal said that they have not determined the creative content for any park due to still being in the very early planning stages.
One theme park news account called shared the picture, which they said they believed to be from "an internal presentation about new ventures".
The rumours sparked excitement among thrill seekers on social media.
One commented on X: "My God I hope it's true."
Another said: "If this ends up coming through as described it's going to be an incredible theme park experience for Britain."
Universal is opening a huge new theme park next year - just not in the UK.
Epic Universe, first announced in 2019, will be Universal's fourth theme park and is set to open in Orlando next year.
Three new rides opening in the UK in 2024
While concrete plans for the new theme park appear to be a long way off, other new rollercoasters are launching in the UK this year.
One of those is the biggest and fastest rollercoaster in the country, which is due to launch at Thorpe Park.
Hyperia is expected to be ready sometime at the beginning of the year, although an exact date is yet to be been confirmed.
Elsewhere, thrill-seeker favourite, Nemesis, is set to reopen as Nemesis Reborn at Alton Towers.
Meanwhile, a brand-new water ride will open at Paultons Park this summer.
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The ride, which is called Splash Lagoon, is a Jurassic-themed flume ride.
Set to open in May, the flume ride promises to introduce kids to different species of dinosaurs, while also taking them through twisting rapids and down a final drop.