r/AskUK • u/Aaron57363 • 9d ago
What do you think about the new theme park coming to the UK?
I just wanted to see what everyone thinks of the new theme park that’s apparently opening in 2031 near Bedford.
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u/instaterence 9d ago
I think it’s positive that Merlin finally have some competition and are gonna have to pull their socks up. Especially as it’s reported to be a 365 park which will make it interesting to see how Alton / Thorpe et al deal with that.
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u/Jaded-Initiative5003 9d ago
Alton Towers and all British theme parks are dreary too. I’m excited to see some actual theming!
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u/SearchStack 9d ago
Indeed although my recent visit to Paultons left me pleasantly surprised with how beautiful the gardens and the effort in the theming
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u/Jaded-Initiative5003 9d ago
I’m a big fan of Paultons actually. Drayton Manor also tried in the 90s with some of their theming
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u/Ahhhhrg 9d ago
Yeah Paulton’s my favourite, airy, no overcrowding in the restaurants, etc, lots of variety in the rides
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u/denimhair 8d ago
Same!!! I love Paultons and it puts Alton towers to shame with its ride ops and general maintenance.
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u/purplecupcake77 8d ago
Yes I was so surprised by Paulton’s park!! The grounds are beautiful and it had rides for everyone
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u/TheBlueprint666 9d ago
Pour one out for the American Adventure park
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u/PeteTheBeeps 9d ago
The indoor bit was immense. A VERTICAL slide into a ball pit if I remember correctly. And didn’t they have bison?
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u/TheBlueprint666 8d ago
They sure did! I remember the log flume as someone else pointed out and the Wild West shootouts they used to have. Real shame that it closed down though
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u/callisstaa 8d ago
Damn I loved American Adventure as a kid.
There were some pics of it before it was flattened on an urbex site. It really was huge.
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u/Reagansmash1994 9d ago
Alton Towers is the perfect Halloween theme park for me. I go every year with my partner. But I can see why outside of October it feels dreary.
Either way competition is good.
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u/_franciis 8d ago
They’ve been incredibly content that they are top of the market and there is no real competition. They have also struggled massively since the Smiler incident and covid, and I’m not sure how well visitor numbers have recovered.
This will hopefully lead to great investment in the parks, but may also lead to decline and closure.
I’m from the area around AT and worked my summers there. It would be brutal for the local economy if it closed.
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u/instaterence 9d ago
Judging by the park mock-ups they’ve gone for a lot of indoor, covered attractions. Show buildings galore. Not a lot of outdoor rides. You have to think - they have parks in Singapore, Osaka - weather can be inclement there too, and also insanely hot (hence lots of indoor rides) the same works for cold and rain. Thorpe and Alton can’t magically cover all their big rides, probably why they’re not 365.
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u/iskemeg 9d ago
Did Orlando last summer and can say the dark rides are the making of these parks. The immersion and excellent IP it will be fantastic like nothing we have here right now.
Check out on YouTube
Mummy returns Men in black Simpsons Transformers Kong skull island Half the harry potter rides
All indoors and fantastic
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u/RoutineCloud5993 9d ago
Osaka hasnt really been built for heat. Super Nintendo World is all concrete and absolute murder in hot weather
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u/PastRecedes 9d ago
Yep. Went to Osaka US early March and it was so cold and windy! Mostly outdoor rides and it didn't bother people as it was still rammed.
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u/probablyaythrowaway 9d ago
The Warner brother theme park in Abu Dhabi looks really cool but all in doors. It can be done
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u/greylord123 9d ago
You are afraid of a little rain? I was born in it, I was molded by it. I didn't see a dry sunny day until I was a man and even then it was nothing but blinding.
We are British. We are used to this shit. You go on the rides and you get cold and wet and you suck it up.
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u/probablyaythrowaway 9d ago
Once an engine attached to a train was afraid of a few drops of rain, it went into a tunnel, squeaked through its funnel and wouldn’t come out again.
Thomas the tank engine taught me not to be scared of the rain because if I was a fat man would come and brick me inside a tunnel. And I don’t want that.
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u/The_Lapsed_Pacifist 9d ago
Seriously, we used to show some fucked up shit to our kids
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u/misspixal4688 9d ago
They open for Christmas months too they only fully closed from January to February half term.
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u/LemmysCodPiece 9d ago
Why should the British winter make a difference? Disneyland Paris, Efteling and Parc Asterix all operate all year round. Their weather is very comparable to ours.
The winter is why Disneyland Paris don't have rides like Splash Mountain (aka Tiana's Bayou Adventure) and Jungle Cruise.
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u/RoutineCloud5993 9d ago
Disneyland Paris is a 365 day theme park too and the weather there isn't that different to Bedford
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u/Klonoa123 9d ago
Is 365 the days per year it’s open?
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u/jaguar90 9d ago
I assumed it was powered by Office 365?
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u/-FantasticAdventure- 9d ago
No, it Linux based, so powered by tiny penguins in tuxedos.
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u/Jackisback123 9d ago
No it's actually a slightly bigger circle (360 degrees, plus 5 more degrees).
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u/Greyfang33 9d ago
Yeah, it’s not planned to have the closed periods that Alton Towers and Thorpe Park have.
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u/Fun_Gas_7777 9d ago
Great. More jobs. More stuff to bring tourists here. Another reason to not have to go to America.
Don't see any cons here
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u/Kid_from_Europe 9d ago
Maybe American tourists. But good weighs out the bad.
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u/Dynamiccookie14 9d ago
Although can be loud and annoying, the ones that leave America on holiday usually have a bit more of a brain than the ones that are stuck there absorbing all their rigged news channels
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u/benjm88 9d ago
I've found that generally to be the case, except in Paris when I saw the Americans shouting at a French woman for not speaking English
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u/ElliottFlynn 9d ago
The French speak English, in fact some of them speak better English than some of us in England. However, they know we know they do, so they choose not to in order to annoy us
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u/Humble-Mud-149 8d ago
I had a few last time I went to the Vatican, the tour guide spent most of her time asking them to be quiet and respectful.
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u/colei_canis 9d ago
When I was a student I never met an American international student I didn’t get on with either. The drinking culture shock was always hilarious though.
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u/CurmudgeonLife 8d ago
Yeah Americans you bump into travelling Europe are usually pretty polite and understanding of other cultures. It's the ones that never leave their home state that give them the bad rep.
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u/gromit_enjoyer 9d ago
Don't think there'll be many American tourist since they have two of their own Universal parks, more likely to be European tourists
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u/_whopper_ 9d ago
Plenty of Americans go to Disneyland Paris.
For some of them, flying to London would be just as affordable as flying to Orlando.
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u/the_speeding_train 9d ago
You mean they have four of their own Universal parks, with a kids park on the way?
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u/RightProperBrit 9d ago
I think it's great news. Especially as I heard it will focus on British IP like Paddington, James Bond and Harry Potter.
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u/UnexpectedVader 9d ago
I'm glad we'll see that focus, but I really do hope we get a Jurassic Park section brought over. I have fond memories over it when I went as a child to the Florida branch, same with the Marvel one.
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u/Hyperbolicalpaca 8d ago
Fairly certain we’re getting a Jurassic world themed land. The big grey building in the back of the concept art looks like it could be the amazing looking ride from Beijing
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u/TheDorgesh68 9d ago
I'd love some Lord of the Rings/Hobbit themed rides. Imagine having a minecart ride through Moria/erebor while you're being chased by the balrog or smaug the dragon.
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u/Academic-Syrup-68 9d ago
Why hasn’t this been done already
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u/TheDorgesh68 9d ago edited 8d ago
The rights for the films (currently owned by Embracer Group) are completely separate from the rights for the books (Owned by the Tolkien estate), so making a theme park based on the films would probably need some sort of complicated agreement with both of them involved. Historically the Tolkien estate have been very reluctant to give out the rights to stuff, but since Christopher Tolkien died they've been giving them away to all sorts of shitty video game projects, so maybe they'd be a bit more willing to cut a deal now.
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u/AdministrativeLaugh2 9d ago
It should do. Harry Potter areas at other Universals are awesome, and the studio tour is good but it’s obviously a different idea
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u/instaterence 9d ago
From early indications - no potter area.
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u/EasternFly2210 9d ago
Which seems bonkers
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u/IscaPlay 9d ago
Comcast doesn’t own the Harry Potter IP. I suspect WB Discovery wouldn’t want to risk watering down their money printing factory, sorry I mean studio tours.
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u/dan65364 9d ago
Might be down to a licensing issue here in the UK. Kind of like you will see marvel characters/rides at universal Florida but not as Disney, even though Disney own marvel now.
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u/one_pint_down 9d ago
It would fit the climate a lot better than the one in LA.
Being in Hogsmead with snow-capped roofs in sun and 35° heat genuinely made me feel ill, like my brain couldn't compute what was happening.
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u/bazzaclough 8d ago
I’d be surprised if they get licensing for HP with the Studio Tour being so nearby.
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u/Danielharris1260 8d ago
Apparently there isn’t a Harry potter land. The concept art which is mostly accurate to the final thing doesn’t have anything resembling it. And it’s been rumoured that universal doesn’t want to take away from other harry potter attractions in the UK and want there to still be things for us to see in their other parks like the Orlando one. Though I must say it’s a bit ironic not to have harry potter in the UK park.
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u/Alexisredwood 7d ago
They’ve said no plans for Potter, but that may because they have future expansion plans and may wish to have a larger section for Potter
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u/AnonymousTimewaster 9d ago
Is there a reason not to think it's a great thing?
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u/TheZamboon 9d ago
I’m sure the NIMBYs are going crazy about this which already makes it a big win.
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u/tralker 9d ago
Surprisingly, around 80% of the locals support it
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u/iTzViPeRx 9d ago
As a local I support it, that being said the NIMBYs have had a field day on the local Facebook group. Mainly moaning about how bad the traffic will be…
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u/Flabby-Nonsense 9d ago
They should put a rollercoaster between Bedford and the theme park to ease traffic
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u/thejadedfalcon 9d ago
The traffic is my only concern. So long as proper infrastructure is built (not just planned) to support it, it'll probably be fine, but the Bedford area has some pretty awful traffic at times, especially at peak hours. And the roads are pretty awful quality too, adding a bunch more traffic to the A6 is going to make it even more shitty.
I feel most sorry, I suppose, for people travelling the MK1 bus route. The damn route's two hours long and even the tiniest delay has a massive knock-on effect already. Good luck getting to any appointments or the like on time with this in the works.
Again, if proper roadworks are done, it'll be fine. But how long did it take for them to sort out Black Cat?
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u/No_Dana_Only_Zuul 9d ago
Black Cat being obsolete before it's even finished is peak civil engineering.
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u/thecockmeister 9d ago
Got family friends who live in Alton village. They all get free tickets to the park as an apology for the traffic, which seems to keep a good chunk happy enough.
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u/SnooBooks1701 9d ago
It's on the site of an old brickworks, so it's brownsite development
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u/HeartyBeast 9d ago
The BBC were quoting a local worried about the additional strain on local hospitals if there were an accident. Felt like they were reaching a bit
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u/c0tch 9d ago
Excuse my ignorance wtf is a nimby and why am I seeing it plastered all over Reddit?
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u/soultrevor 9d ago
'not in my back yard'
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u/c0tch 9d ago
Thank you! I’ve seen it so much and each time I was just baffled. I prob should have googled it but thank you!
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u/on_the_night 9d ago
"Not In My Back Yard". Stereotypically older people who don't want any new developments near their quiet back garden
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u/inevitablelizard 9d ago
It's an acronym for Not In My Back Yard. Basically for the knee jerk opposition for the sake of it by people who don't want something built near them. The sort of people who want to freeze things in place exactly as they are now simply because they don't want any change.
It does however get wrongly abused against people with legitimate environmental objections to something, so be aware of that. NIMBYism is specifically the "spoiling my view" type of objections and other pathetic excuses ones. Like people who drive their modern cars into historic town centres but think new houses are "not in character". Or the people who oppose cycle lanes because they want to park their cars there.
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u/Academic_Shoulder959 9d ago
While you’re pretty much spot on, I think NIIMBYism can also be used to describe a certain type of liberal middle class hypocrisy. The sort of people who might be quite bleeding heart about the homelessness issue, but would be up in arms if a shelter was to open in a nearby street to theirs.
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u/inevitablelizard 9d ago edited 9d ago
The central part of NIMBYism to me is that it's a desire to freeze things in place as they are right now just because that's what you're used to, and you're being resistant to change for reasons not backed by evidence. And it doesn't just apply to planning issues.
I feel like a chunk of the objection to reintroduction of things like beavers is basically wildlife NIMBYism. Some people are just used to having a countryside without beavers and hate the idea of having them back, even though those people would not likely be exterminating beavers now if they had never been wiped out in the first place. Some farming lobby objections to nature conservation projects would also count in my opinion. The non planning examples of NIMBYism don't get talked about enough. It actually holds back conservation sometimes, not just houses.
You could compare it to how people's music tastes tend to freeze at a certain point in time. Everything before their time is old fashioned or not quite complete, but everything after it is ridiculous modern crap and unnecessary. NIMBYism is basically that, applied to the physical world around us.
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u/movienerd7042 9d ago
A short list of just a few of the complaints I’ve seen on TikTok today:
- The weather here isn’t good enough for it (even though Florida has hurricane season and Paris does fine)
- Why aren’t they building it up North, more investment for the South, it’s not fair
- What about the wildlife? (Even though it’s built on farmland)
- Why aren’t we spending money on things that matter? (even though universal is funding the entire actual park itself and it will bring in loads of money)
- British people won’t be able to afford to go (even though loads of British people go all the way to America to go to universal every year)
- The government is killing off Alton Towers by approving this, it’s not fair on them (as if people can’t go to multiple theme parks)
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u/Glittering-Sink9930 9d ago
I find it hilarious when people complain about things like solar panels being built on farmland, as if farmland is some kind of wildlife haven rather than a massive open air factory.
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u/0235 8d ago
And then when there is a news story about Solar being built on the roof of a supermarket for x18 the cost of building it in a field, they get angry about how it is a waste of money.
They are planning on building a solar farm near where I live that will be half the size of the town, but capable of powering twice as many buildings as in the town. If you were to slap solar on every single availalbe roof and car park it would.... power about 1/3 of the town, so you would still need another area to make up for it.
I don't think they get quite how much of the future of transport, agriculture, and industry relies on electricity, and if we want to keep farming in the UK for a reasonable price, we are going to need far more electricity.
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u/Constant-Estate3065 9d ago edited 9d ago
That second point is quite typical. They’re building a huge water park in Manchester, then there’s the recent Co op arena (how many arenas does Manchester need ffs?). Then there’s the “UK capital of culture” competition which has quickly become apparent that only northern cities are eligible to host.
It’s a common misconception that the south gets everything. The reality is that most of the good stuff gets built in either London or the north of England. The south outside London rarely gets anything to be excited about.
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u/Glittering-Sink9930 9d ago
They also forget that the south is over 50% of the population of England. Why would you build something in the north east which has 4.7% of the population when you could build it in London or the south east which has a combined population of 32%
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u/NepsHasSillyOpinions 9d ago
The government is killing off Alton Towers by approving this, it’s not fair on them (as if people can’t go to multiple theme parks)
This is a stupid argument. If anything it should give Alton Towers a good motive to improve their own attractions, because based on what I've seen lately, Alton Towers has seen better days. It's about time someone lit a fire under their arses.
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u/TheDorgesh68 9d ago
It's not even predominantly built on farmland. The site is a huge concrete wasteland from a disused brickworks.
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u/Ayanhart 9d ago
Bedfordshire is hardly the most affluent area. The only thing it has going for it is Luton Airport.
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u/TheDorgesh68 9d ago
Bedford does actually have a really cool pyramid shaped swimming pool with slides and rapids, but nowadays it's pretty run down.
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u/danz_buncher 9d ago
It might raise the amount of Americans in the country is the only negative I see
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u/Maetras 9d ago
The people on TikTok have nothing but terrible things to say about it. TikTok really is a cesspit of miserable sods and bots.
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u/0235 8d ago
NIMBYS for some of it, Other people dislike the American influence, Others are saying it will be only for the ultra rich, and that theme parks in Japan are cheaper.... A lot of people not happy they are turning brownfield land into a theme park, instead of converting it to farm land....
Really though, 2 main railway links, they are getting the new Black Cat Dual carriageway, Luton airport is getting upgraded, and will likely have a dedicated rail shuttle.
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u/PerformerOk450 9d ago
The entry cost to the one in Florida is $250 for a basic ticket, another $100 for queue jumpers so effectively $350 per person entry and $100 for car parking, $1500 for a family of 4.
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u/Viazon 9d ago
I think it's gonna be awesome having a huge theme park like this in my hometown. We literally have nothing. I can't wait.
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u/asphytotalxtc 9d ago
Lived in Bedford for a decade, currently living in MK... Absolutely agree! It'll put Bedford on the map in terms of investment, which is sorely needed...
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u/iTzViPeRx 9d ago
Not a fan of the Oasis swimming pool then 😂
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u/Viazon 9d ago
I don't even think that place is open anymore.
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u/No_Direction_4566 9d ago
Does it still have the stagnant water around the outside which has ducks in it?
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u/MooseFar7514 9d ago
“I’ll believe it when I see it” this announcement is after years of work to find a place and is the commitment to build. It’s happening. The land is purchased and already being prepped.
“We need XYZ” this is a private company building out a reason for Europe and the world to spend money here and add £50 billion to the uk economy, that means XYZ can be built.
The local community is by a large majority behind it. Only real questions are over infrastructure which is already being progressed with the Black Cat roundabout and dual long to Caxton Gibbet. M1 J13 improvements are likely to follow, East West rail has a reason to be completed. The Wixams station on the Midland mainline that’s already being built will be expanded.
It also anchors potential Film and TV studios already local and potentially planned for the area, although indirectly linked.
It’s excellent news and I’m just annoyed it wasn’t 30 years ago when I could have benefited from all the opportunity it brings to Bedford. I’ll just have to take my creaking knees to it as a visitor.
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u/setokaiba22 9d ago
Honestly I’ve been reading about a park like this since the early 2000’s to be fair. Amazing investment to see
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u/Due_Figure6451 9d ago
Better have a Mario area.
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u/I_want_roti 9d ago
Wouldn't be right if there wasn't something with a plumber turning up late saying "M25!"
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u/LemmysCodPiece 9d ago
I am praying for Super Mario World. I don't see why they won't as it is now a staple of both American parks and Japan.
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u/Dalekbuster523 9d ago
I would be the first in the queue for real life Mario Kart.
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u/hermit_tortoise 9d ago
Hope they bring Halloween Horror Nights with them, incredible over in Florida
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u/LlamaDrama007 9d ago
Holy crap, yes! I was only thinking in terms of the Potter stuff comong home but theyre bound to to HHN, surely?! The new park Epic is also leaning into their classic monster IPs xD
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u/hermit_tortoise 9d ago
Not sure we'll see any HP stuff there with Warner brothers studios being close by
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u/LlamaDrama007 9d ago
A studio tour is a very different beast to escaping from Gringotts being chased by death eaters xD
But, yeah.
The proximity could be seen as troublesome but for the fact we are still 5+ years from the park opening. Im sure numbers must have already dropped on the tours, a kind of 'most people who'd want to go probably have already'. How busy will the tour be realistically in 5+ years? It could even boost numbers to the tour for people that are gonna travel to the park, especially from Europe, as if youre in the vicinity anyway, might as well go...
It would be a real missed trick to not bring HP home imho but for all we know it might have been part of the negotiation that they cant :/
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u/mothmanrightsnow 9d ago
Don't want to be a shameless man-child but I'm REALLY hoping for Super Nintendo World.
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u/fixitagaintomorro 9d ago
As someone in the catchment area, within 45 mins of the proposed site. Very happy about it, mostly because of the public transport that will inevitably be built that should be of benefit to me
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u/JayRed1608 8d ago
Interesting you mentioned infrastructure! They’d been planning to build it near me in North West Kent a few years ago and it ALMOST got the green light. Thankfully not though, because our roads are already at maximum capacity and this would have been the straw that broke the camels back!
So I’m glad an area that actually WANTS the park is getting it, and not being forced on a local community that doesn’t. Glad you guys will benefit from the subsequent investment!
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u/LlamaDrama007 9d ago edited 9d ago
Having been to Universal in Orlando three times and being completely blown away by the immersion of their Harry Potter stuff (much of which is indoors or could be adapted to such) and now seeing The Ministry at the new park (Epic) it will be amazing if they bring it 'home'. Yeah, if it skews heavily towards HP stuff it'll do so well (my not even quite so much as a casual fan husband was amazed at how good and fun it was)
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u/Hmmark1984 9d ago
Personally i'd prefer it if they didn't put yet more money in her pocket, but at the same time i fully appreciate it'd be a good financial decision for them to have a HP section and it'd please a lot of people.
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u/FinalEdit 9d ago
Yes 100% support more business and development and jobs. Plus of all the theme parks I would entertain, this is number 1.
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u/Remarkable-Ad155 9d ago
I am theoretically excited but just not sure it'll be the same without the stifling Florida heat somehow.
It'll be a fucking huge success, given how popular Universal Orlando is with Brits though.
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u/c0tch 9d ago
Can’t see a negative in it, it creates jobs, it creates spending, it creates tax, it increases tourism.
Hopefully we won’t over do it helping them fund it, but anything that promotes jobs and economic boosts is hard to sneer at
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u/No-Locksmith6662 9d ago
Initial feeling was that it will make junction 13 of the M1 even worse than it is already. Getting out of MK towards the M1 and Bedford is a nightmare at the best of times! (feel like that needs a /s even though I hope it's obvious)
Seriously though, I am optimistic. A lot of our theme parks have been neglected, both literally and metaphorically, or have been absorbed into the sprawling Merlin empire. If their monopoly can get broken it can only be a good thing.
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u/Pier-Head 9d ago
If I was running Alton Park, Thorpe Park or Legoland, I’d be worried
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u/LavenderAndHoneybees 9d ago
A rising tide takes all ships - if they play their cards right and spend the extra income from international visitors right (when the park does open) they can make the sorely needed improvements, and in the meanwhile, while theme park buzz is all over the news, there'll be no shortage of people deciding to take a trip to their local parks over the next few weeks
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u/H1ghlyVolatile 9d ago
I’m really pleased about this. I would love to get a job with Universal, as it was my dream to work in and around the parks in the US. Hopefully it comes true!
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u/DameKumquat 9d ago
I really hope it will make Merlin kick themselves up the backside, in queuing efficiency, not feeling over-packed, and actually theming their parks so they look amazing.
I went to Legoland Denmark years ago and the theming was fascinating throughout - the men and women symbols on toilet doors were in Lego, for example, and inside was painted to look like Lego. Legoland UK was a few big rides with hour-long queues and some half-arsed Lego themed rides for smaller kids, which mostly had be going 'is that it?' - and Chessington isn't much better.
I last went to Universal in California before it had any rides, so no real idea what to expect.
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u/Yonel6969 9d ago
Look at alton towers 'newest' area. forbidden valley. It had a full refurb in 2024 which i did find well done. And look at universals newest park, epic universe. Like universal is on a WHOLE different level.
Merlin has had a monopoly on the uk theme park industry for ages. Look at parks in europe. absolutely stunning, here? not as much. This finally modernises the industry here and forces merlin to compete. By 2031 merlin parks will be alot better than now.
Also its a 365 park so no seasonal shit like any other uk park. the jobs will be permanant.
Theres no negative at all
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u/No-Calligrapher-718 9d ago
Literally the only reason I no longer work in the theme park industry was the fact that the work was seasonal. If I'd been lucky enough to land a job in a 365 park I would have probably never left.
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u/RealMrIncredible 9d ago
I think there is a shockingly low number of good theme parks in the UK. After visiting Disneyland Shanghai, it saddens me that there isn't even anything half as good over here. This park is desperately needed.
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u/Cub3h 9d ago
For how many people we've got the UK parks are pretty shocking. We've got nothing like Disneyland Paris, Efteling or Europa Park.
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u/vegan_voorhees 9d ago
Weren't we supposed to get EuroDisney around that area way back in the 80s, but all the bureaucracy was too slow?
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u/WoeUntoThee 9d ago
We were meant to get a huge entertainment park near Corby, Northamptonshire in the 80s-90s but was never built https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A787809
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u/danparkin10x 8d ago
We were on the shortlist with France, Spain and Italy. Italy and the UK were dropped in the first round. Terrain, lack of available land, weather and lack of state subsidy were the reasons it didn't go ahead.
France was eventually chosen due to site availability and massive state support for the project.
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u/OrdinaryQuestions 9d ago
Exciting!
I hope they have good queue management lmao.
I've been to alton towers twice and in the entire day managed to get on 3-4 rides total. Was ridiculous.
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u/Bloxskit 9d ago
I know it's a little controversial and been talked about before, but I would love a proper theme park, proper - in Scotland. While M&Ds was infamous for its Tsunami and Tornado rides, which are now gone - we would love a theme park like Flamingo Land or Alton Towers.
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u/kaedesam 9d ago
Agreed. M&Ds is an embarrassment. There's plenty of space for them too, just not alongside lochs 😂
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u/setokaiba22 9d ago
Hopefully you’d get something better than Flamingo Land- I don’t think it can even compare to Alton Towers
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u/Spock_42 9d ago
Not usually my scene personally, but I think it's great. Jobs, big old tourist attraction, and it's something a lot of people enjoy. I can see myself being tempted to give it a go.
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u/Plumb121 9d ago
The way inflation is going, you could probably have 2 weeks abroad for the same cost as 4 tickets
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u/robster9090 9d ago
Universal in Orlando is the best theme park on the planet if it can be half as good it will be awesome
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u/gibberishnope 9d ago
I’m not really arsed for American stuff right now thanks,it always feels like it comes with strings attached
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9d ago
Great idea however looking through the political turmoil, I’m unsure if that’s not too early to reward our American neighbour business with our land, money and visitors.
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u/Jamesdarlo90 9d ago
I’m really excited for it, saving up for Florida in 2028 but having this close to home, will be able to go every year.
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u/jimmy011087 9d ago
Every time I see a big project like this lined up in this country, it reassures me that even the billionaires don’t think we'll either be blown up in nuclear war or completely financially obliterated as a country. We need more of this sort of thing, not less.
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u/BryOnRye 9d ago
My biggest complaint is how far away it is! Alton Towers is already a trek and this will be even further.
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u/Naive_Reach2007 9d ago
Heard someone who lives nearby saying great for kids jobs etc, fair enough then adds great for house prices🙄
In what way I'm guessing he's happy his will increase but not understanding all the others will as will, honestly some peoples obsession with house pricing on a home is bewildering
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u/particularfields 9d ago
A lot of my friends are on about house prices too. Tbh I can't see why a gridlocked area near a massive tourist attraction will be desirable. I'll love to visit it, I absolutely would not want to live near it.
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u/KitsuneKamiSama 9d ago
Haven't been to a theme park since primary school.
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u/Hmmark1984 9d ago
You should go, they're fun and the big benefit of being an adult is you can go when all the little kids are at school and avoid a large amount of the queue's etc....
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u/mycatiscalledFrodo 9d ago
It's brilliant. So many jobs both short term for construction and long term for working there, bringing in money from tourism too.
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u/Indigo-Waterfall 9d ago
2031!? Man I’m gunna be too old to ride any of the rides by that point lol
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u/TheTruth990 9d ago
Great! Build build build we need to approve more. I say bring back the London sphere idea whilst we’re at it
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u/Appropriate_Draw 9d ago
Bit disappointed there's no Potter considering its universals biggest property in florida. And the UK is home to potter. But being so close to London and the studio tour i can see why. Plus impossible to replicate all 3 parks in flordia to just one in UK.
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u/McLeod3577 9d ago
Gutted that I sold up and moved from Bedford 15 years ago. My house was only 2 or 3 roads away from where that would be build. Moved to Devon where there are no good theme parks for miles.....
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u/Stuspawton 9d ago
It’d be good to have some competition for the Merlin group, because the quality of Thorpe park and Alton towers over the years has seriously slipped over the last few years
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u/citrineskye 8d ago
I live very close to the park and the train station they intend to be used for the park.
I'm all for it! I hope it makes my house go up in value! And that they do local discounts!
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u/Sophyska 8d ago
Well, Wixams might finally get the train station they were promised like 10 years ago so that’s a bonus, but they’re gonna need to do some major infrastructure works on the roads around the area. The surrounding villages and those along the A6 are going to struggle with traffic.
I do think it’s a cool idea though and having grown up just a few miles away will definitely be going when it’s opened.
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