Everything we know so far about Universal Studios' plans to open huge UK theme park

Just when you happily thought we had it all with Alton Towers and Thorpe Park, the UK is set to get a huge new theme park.

And nope, it won’t be another Peppa Pig World or a British Disney Land, think Harry Potter, The Simpsons and Fast & Furious.

Oh yes, it was announced yesterday (19 December) that Universal Studios have plans to open a theme park for us Brits.

The land is ready, and we are excited, so here’s what we know so far.

Universal Destinations and Experiences announced it is ‘exploring’ the idea of building one of their popular parks and resorts in Bedfordshire.

The company confirmed it has ‘acquired land’ with 480 acres on a former brickworks site and is ‘at the early stages of exploring its feasibility for a potential park and resort at this site’.

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images

A spokesperson added to Theme Park Insider: “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."

Universal pointed out the UK’s ‘large population, creative industries, strong tourism’ as well as the ‘close proximity’ to other areas of Europe as to why it’s chosen the area.

Turns out more than half of the UK’s population lives within two hours of the hoped theme park site.

"We support Bedford's vision of becoming a prosperous place to live, work and visit,” the company added.

Tom Wootton, the elected mayor of Bedford Borough Council, said: "The suggestion of a major business investment is of course positive, nevertheless these are early days and much detailed work is required before any decisions are made.

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"We very much welcome and are excited by the interest from Universal and the immense potential for it to be transformative for the borough.

"We're committed to ensure that any plans align with the best interests of our residents."

So, while it’s not decided what rides we would have here in the UK, we can look to the existing theme parks in the US, China, Singapore and Japan.

At Universal Studios Florida, there are areas dedicated to the likes of Harry Potter, Despicable Me and The Simpsons. Oh, and who could forget the Men in Black and TRANSFORMERS rides?

Over in Osaka, Japan even has he famed area themed around Super Nintendo.

What would you want to see over here?

Topics: UK News, Theme Park

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_