Kirkman Road to be extended to reach the new Universal Orlando park

Awe man.... no monorail. :(

Or sweatbox gondola ;(

I'm still hopeful that they'll build a monorail between the 2 resorts.

From the article: "Road design is expected to be finished next fall and construction should begin in the summer of 2020."

If the new extension takes two years to complete and it is meant to serve a fourth UO gate that means we won't likely see a new park open until .... 2023?

Assuming of course UO's corporate overlords green light a park rather than selling off to another owner.

Universal doesn’t have the rights to enough quality IPs for the new park anyways. Nintendo and Dreamworks isn’t enough. In fact, we may see a fifth WDW park before we see the next UOR park.

I'll take that bet Keith. A new Disney park would cost somewhere in the range of $2 billion. WDW has plenty of expansion space for their current existing parks that would be better used to build new attractions. Universal Orlando is landlocked to the gills and needs to expand, especially as attendance continues to grow every year.

And it really doesn't matter what IPs are used as long as the attractions are well done. How To Train Your Dragon is just begging for a theme park presence. Regardless of how anyone feels about the sugary-sweet Trolls, kids love them and would make for a perfect dark boat ride, a type of ride Universal desperately needs. As for Nintendo, well, the sales for the Switch alone should prove that it is a popular brand that isn't slowing any time soon.

Trex writes: "A new Disney park would cost somewhere in the range of $2 billion."

I Respond: Twice that ... At least.

It very much does matter what IPs are used in a theme park - Harry Potter matters, Star Wars matters, LotR/The Hobbit matters. And if Universal doesn’t have the rights to LotR/The Hobbit, then Universal doesn’t have enough quality IPs that matter for another theme park.

Yeah TH, I was playing it safe on the low end of estimates, but a park full of lands along the lines of Pandora or Galaxy's Edge would completely blow the bank.

Anyone who bets the bank on another Universal park in Orlando is demonstrating a sizable load of confidence that has no roots in fiscal responsibility. Think about the way Sea World has floundered. Think about the Hard Rock. Starting a new theme park is like starting a new airline. It's especially disconcerting when you consider that Universal's parks change ownership so frequently.

>>>Universal doesn’t have the rights to enough quality IPs for the new park anyways. Nintendo and Dreamworks isn’t enough. In fact, we may see a fifth WDW park before we see the next UOR park.

You don't do a general announcement to frontline staff unless you're looking to start a grassroots hype campaign, and you don't do that unless you've moved beyond the spitballing stage.

If built, Universal’s Fantastic Worlds will open in 2025 at best. That’s when Kirkman is expected to be done, as said in the video.

Will theme parks still be cool in 2025?

I think this is one of the worst threads I have ever read on this website.

Well Dr. v, you have been hanging for only 1.5 . So ...

TH: Haha ... very true

I think adding a Universal park in Orlando adds to the flagship property of the Universal Parks and improves their image world wide. In the same ways WDW relates to the other Disney properties, Universal Orlando is the example of successful growth beyond a couple theme park, hotels, and resort amenities. This is the step you take to move the conversations about ideas from "a few billion" to "tens of billions".

Regardless of your favorite parks, this elevates the ceiling of the industry as a whole. Now it just remains to be seen if this is a bubble that's preparing to burst.

The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is talking to people at the parks, (ride lines, eatery tables etc .. )and to find out it's their first time at the park, and very often first time visiting Orlando.

While that continues to be the case, I can't ever see the bubble bursting.