Months after the opening of its Epic Universe, Universal Studios in Orlando hints at future expansion efforts.
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According to the Orlando Sentinel, Universal Destinations & Experiences CEO Mark Woodbury recently spoke to the Bank of America Securities analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich about the potential growth of the Orlando, Florida park.
“If you fly over Epic [Universe] or you look at Google Earth, you’ll see how we planned the park,” he explained. “And you’ll see greenfield space between the existing worlds. That is strategically positioned to give us flexibility to expand the world or create a new world, and that’s how we look at it.”
As he continued to speak about the future Universal expansion, Woodbury said he didn’t have anything specific to announce, attraction-wise.
“I can tell you that there are multiple attractions in the works,” he said. “Not just at Epic. We have a pretty sophisticated and well thought-through long-range plan that takes us out another decade in terms of product offerings, not just in Orlando, but around the world.”
Woodbury further addressed some speculation among fans about future Epic Universe plans. “I think I might have stirred that pot when I saw the Wicked sets and said it was a ‘theme park waiting to happen,'” he said, referring to the comments he made while speaking to The New Times earlier this year.
Universal Epic Universe opened to the public in late May. The Orlando resort’s fourth park. It features five themed lands: Wizarding World – Ministry of Magic; How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk; Super Nintendo World; Dark Universe; and Celestial Park.
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Meanwhile, Woodbury spoke about plans for other Universal parks. This includes projects in Frisco, Texas, and the U.K.
“We have a terrific pipeline of intellectual property in the form of DreamWorks and Trolls and Gabby’s Dollhouse to build around,” Woodbury shared about Universal Kids Resort which is planning to open next year. “[Young families] get to that park from all over Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and [a] 300-room hotel as part of it, great product and a feeder as they age up to become aligned with our brand and then grow into our bigger parks.”
Regarding the U.K. plans, Woodbury said the new location won’t disrupt the flow of guests from the country to the Florida park.
“The best way to look at it is to look at it like one of our standalone park,” he added. “It’s a full-blown Universal theme park with a 500-room hotel that is part of it, very much like Epic in terms of a big park with a hotel. So we’ve created a different mix of attractions that we think will work great in the UK.”
Construction for the U.K. location is set to begin in 2026.