Hey Thrill Seekers,
It’s a good time to be associated with Universal Orlando Resort, as an employee told me yesterday
It’s great to work for a company doing things
And its hard to disagree! Universal are currently at the forefront of everything theme park related so much so that rivals have been accused of straight up copying.
So the news coming from Florida that Universal yesterday not only purchased 100’s of acres of additional land but also the deed of restrictions that would have blocked Universal’s master plan probably wasn’t welcomed.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, deeds filed with Orange County on Thursday showed the transfer of land from Georgia businessman Stan Thomas to Universal’s subsidiary, SLRC Holdings LLC. How much Universal paid for the additional land and the exact acreage haven’t been confirmed but by the looks of the map below it’s a lot.
Pic credit: (Adelaide Chen/Orlando Sentinel)
An email sent by Universal SpokesmanTom Schroder stated;
We are excited about our plans for this area, and we are looking forward to sharing more at the right time. We also look forward to working with our neighbors in the area and our partners in the community as we move forward.
Universal now have access to 500+ acres of land and are free (local government permitting) to do whatever they like with it. For me I think its pretty clear that Universal are build a resort the introduction of 1 or even 2 new parks would make them much more of a match for Disney.
I believe its pretty certain that one will have a large Nintendo presence or could just be a dedicated park. If this is the case the next big battle could be for more IP.
What would you want to see at a new Universal park?
Smiles included…
Jamie
