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Universal considering UK theme park in Bedford

Nah that's SkyTV's new production centre*, just down the road from Cardington Studios.

*getting out of their current expensive West-London real estate.

Probably more likely, but hope I'm wrong. :)
 
Its an awkward train route for me to get to Bedford but way easier than getting to Staines/Thorpe. I can see myself walking there in a decade or so for the genesis voyage, then getting a season rail & park pass. I'll need a few more leaky vids before I make more concrete plans and get too far ahead.

I believe 🤞 please gwad please. Not convinced its more than a smaller kids park in the works but I am usually very satisfied with Stella's thought process.
 
Exciting! I know that there are absolutely still hurdles to navigate, and absolutely nothing is a given at this stage, but I hope that the confirmation of a UK land purchase by Comcast is enough to convince some of the sceptics that the rumour may well hold weight.

I have to say that I think Bedford is a very good location for the UK regional market. It’s near enough to Greater London and the surrounding area to be doable in a day, but it is certainly more reachable from the likes of Birmingham/Manchester/Liverpool/Sheffield/Leeds etc than, say, the proposed location for the London Resort. According to Maps, it’s less than an hour from areas of North London and perhaps a bit over an hour from some of the areas further south in London, but it’s also only around 1.5 hours from many of the suburban areas surrounding Birmingham, which, for reference, is (surprisingly) not much longer than it takes to get to Alton Towers from those same areas. Sheffield and Leeds are also only 2-2.5 hours away, and even Manchester and Liverpool are only, maybe, 3 hours away at most.

It’s also an advantageous location in terms of local competition. There are no theme parks currently operating in Bedfordshire. The only two major-ish theme parks operating in any adjoining county (the adjoining counties are Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire) are Gulliver’s Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and Wicksteed Park in Northamptonshire, both of which are definitely on the smaller end of the scale on the countrywide scene.

I did have concerns about whether Bedford might be a bit too far from London to tap into the international visitor market, but I guess that London Luton Airport is pretty nearby. London Heathrow also appears to be less than an hour away by car according to Maps.

Out of interest, is the named site easily reachable from the motorway, like the likes of Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor are? Or is it more of an Alton Towers-type situation, where you wind your way through rural roads for what feels like ages after you leave the motorway?
 
So... The big takeaway from that video is conclusive proof that they now own that parcel of land near bedford... It's here in black and white on an official government website.

CLOUD WING UK LIMITED persons with significant control - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

CLOUD WING UK LIMITED - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

Think it's fair to say at this point, that at the very least, Universal are definitely considering building something here in the UK... Please please please let this be a full theme park!!!
 
Matt N said:
Out of interest, is the named site easily reachable from the motorway, like the likes of Thorpe Park and Legoland Windsor are? Or is it more of an Alton Towers-type situation, where you wind your way through rural roads for what feels like ages after you leave the motorway?
Click to expand...
It couldn't be any more perfect...

Dual carriageway access from both the M1 and A1 via the A421 for either Motorway (Yes I know the A1 isn't in it's entirety a Motorway... But it should be!)

Screenshot 2023-12-18 211323.jpg

Edited to add: The access is so good that Sainsburys, Argos, B&M, Asda and DHL all seem to have distribution centres right there on the North West corner of the site!!!
 
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Now take this with a massive, massive pinch of salt… but it is now being claimed that concept art for Universal Studios Great Britain has leaked, with the following image being revealed on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1736854928297968029
The folks who have posted it are claiming that it is from an internal presentation and “not fan-made”. It is also said, however, to be “at least 11 months old” and possibly outdated.

Personally, I would take this with a considerable pinch of salt. You can never guarantee that things like this aren’t fan-made, particularly with how powerful things like AI are these days. And even if it is genuine, I would not read too much into it at this stage given how early in development any park would probably be.
 
Alot of people on "x" Twitter back that Ally! Doesn't just post anything and is usually correct with their information.

Also Jim Shull who is a well respected ex imagineer and has proven in the past to have multiple contacts points that this is more than just a rumour.

1000014791.png
 
not that i believe baseless speculation, but it does make sense to have a primarily indoor/screen based dark ride kind of park in the UK
 
Matt N said:
Now take this with a massive, massive pinch of salt… but it is now being claimed that concept art for Universal Studios Great Britain has leaked, with the following image being revealed on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1736854928297968029
The folks who have posted it are claiming that it is from an internal presentation and “not fan-made”. It is also said, however, to be “at least 11 months old” and possibly outdated.

Personally, I would take this with a considerable pinch of salt. You can never guarantee that things like this aren’t fan-made, particularly with how powerful things like AI are these days. And even if it is genuine, I would not read too much into it at this stage given how early in development any park would probably be.
Click to expand...
Have spent ages now trying to get the satellite imagery at the top of that concept art to line up with any google satellite imagery of the Kempston Hardwick site, and I just can't seem to find anything similar... I've even checked different years on Google Earth. Perhaps somebody else will have better luck...

There's roundabouts though, and everybody is driving on the left... Attention to detail :)
 
Um, I was kind of joking when I suggested this site as a possible theme park location, just my imagination. Didn't mean to be so prophetic. Maybe I should do the lottery...

Still not convinced though, and that image is 100% AI and is one junction up the M1 (well within an AI's margin of error).
 
Nicky Borrill said:
Have spent ages now trying to get the satellite imagery at the top of that concept art to line up with any google satellite imagery of the Kempston Hardwick site, and I just can't seem to find anything similar... I've even checked different years on Google Earth. Perhaps somebody else will have better luck...

There's roundabouts though, and everybody is driving on the left... Attention to detail :)
Click to expand...
I recognise it, it's the next junction up the M1. The AI didn't quite get it right.
 
Interestingly the images on google Earth for the proposed site were all update in June 2023, whereas all other surrounding areas in the immediate vicinity were last updated in 2022 or earlier.

Seriously doubt whether that is, in any way, relevant, but it's a bit of a coincidence that only the proposed area has had a google earth update this year.
 
I don’t wanna get too excited but I feel like a little kid again! Genuinely hope this comes into fruition - there’s a lot of factors as discussed before - road connections are brilliant with both the A6 & A421 - the proposed Luton M1 - A6 link road and Luton Airport down the road which again, could support with International visits and is on the same train line as Bedford! We can all put 2 + 2 together but I hope this time it does equal 4 (cough cough London Resort)

And again, as someone from Luton and with family in Bedford, to have a major park that close will be sensational!
 
Tonkso said:
I recognise it, it's the next junction up the M1. The AI didn't quite get it right.
Click to expand...
Forgot to say, I don't think it is fully AI, maybe enhanced by AI. But there looks to be a Hulk clone and a clone of the new racer going into UEU. Along with a Jurassic World area.

------------------

Also, come on, fess up, which one of you works for the Sun!!!!

www.thesun.co.uk

Universal Studios to ‘open huge 500 acre theme park in the UK’

UNIVERSAL Studios has confirmed that they are considering launching a brand new theme park in the UK, with fans online getting excited about the possibility. The rumours surfaced after Universal…
www.thesun.co.uk www.thesun.co.uk
 
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