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[News] Universal Theme Park - UK



jackalbion

jackalbion

Well-known member
Aug 30, 2011
5,906
jcdenton08 said:
Question for @jackalbion - if you have knowledge of that line, how do you think the network would cope?
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Absolutely fine I think 4 12 car Thameslinks an hour, easily accessible to London, Luton Airport, Gatwick Airport, Brighton etc, 24 hour Railway. Only stupid lack of foresight, is they've only built platforms on the slow line at Wixhams which will cause a few issues during engineering works, and if the park requires even more capacity, theres also a station on the otherside of the foot print at Kempston Hardwick, which in its current form wouldn't cope, but its being improved for the East - West Rail project so should be fine, that'll connect to Oxford, Milton Keynes, all over so pretty good coverage.
 






jcdenton08

jcdenton08

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Oct 17, 2008
17,023
jackalbion said:
Absolutely fine I think 4 12 car Thameslinks an hour, easily accessible to London, Luton Airport, Gatwick Airport, Brighton etc, 24 hour Railway. Only stupid lack of foresight, is they've only built platforms on the slow line at Wixhams which will cause a few issues during engineering works, and if the park requires even more capacity, theres also a station on the otherside of the foot print at Kempston Hardwick, which in its current form wouldn't cope, but its being improved for the East - West Rail project so should be fine, that'll connect to Oxford, Milton Keynes, all over so pretty good coverage.
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Thanks!
 


Weststander

Weststander

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Aug 25, 2011
72,403
Withdean area
Bozza said:
Yeah, they finally added Express to Velocicoaster a couple of years ago.

I do wonder if they will ever add it for Hagrid's as it's just so popular - the standby line would be (even more) horrendous. Maybe once Epic Universe has bedded in and crowds are split across three parks each day, they'll feel they'll be able to do so.

Our tactic for both the Universal and Disney big hitters is to enter the queue line a few minutes before park closing. I think the parks intentionally leave the stated wait time artificially high to dissuade people from doing what we do. We've had pretty short waits for Hagrid's doing this, and virtually walked onto Rise of the Resistance and Flight of Passage at Disney just before park closing.

The risk is if you try this approach as your only chance to ride the attraction and it goes down, you're likely to miss out.
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On a happy subject and Disney, what did you guys think of Soarin'? We loved it.
 


maltaseagull

maltaseagull

Well-known member
Feb 25, 2009
13,724
Zabbar- Malta
jcdenton08 said:
www.bbc.co.uk

Prime minister confirms new UK Universal theme park in Bedford

The company says the new site is expected to create 28,000 jobs and generate £50bn for the economy.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

Utterly fantastic news, and well done to all involved to push this through. With some 28,000 jobs being created, and a massive influx of that sweet, sweet tourism money, this can only possibly be viewed as a good thing. Even locals support it, according to the article, with 92% of 6,000 polled supporting the venture.

This is a guaranteed success and will make bank for everybody, which in this financial climate is an extremely good thing.

On a purely selfish note, I am very excited having loved both Universal California and Florida, and having no desire to return to the States.

2031 does seem to be to be incredibly optimistic for an opening date though - the landscaping alone will take years.

Strongly suspect it will be opened in stages, as each area is developed and themed and attractions are slowly added. They will be very mindful of what happened with EuroDisney, which nearly sunk that whole division, and lessons have no doubt learned.

I have a strong feeling we will get Super Nintendo World, Harry Potter World, and maybe one UK exclusive attraction to try and tempt Americans over.
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Fine with that as long as there is a 90% tarriff for anyone from the USA.
 




jcdenton08

jcdenton08

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Oct 17, 2008
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Weststander said:
On a happy subject and Disney, what did you guys think of Soarin'? We loved it.
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Brilliant, I went on both - the Orlando version was better than the original California one “Soarin’ Over California”. A beautiful ride and experience.

Fun story, one year when we went to Orlando, the theme was “Disney Dreams Come True” which had its own parade, etc. Still got that bloody song in my head!

Anyway, at Epcot first thing in the morning, we went for Soarin’ because along with Test Track that had the biggest queues usually according to guides.

A cast member cornered us and about 6 others in the queue and sectioned a bit off before we were about to board and said they were from the Dreams Come True team, and gave us a lanyard with two free fast passes for each major ride, which you snapped off and gave to them when you wanted to ride - and a free lunch voucher of up to $30 each.

Just that little something to make it even more special.
 


jcdenton08

jcdenton08

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Oct 17, 2008
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jackalbion said:
Absolutely fine I think 4 12 car Thameslinks an hour, easily accessible to London, Luton Airport, Gatwick Airport, Brighton etc, 24 hour Railway. Only stupid lack of foresight, is they've only built platforms on the slow line at Wixhams which will cause a few issues during engineering works, and if the park requires even more capacity, theres also a station on the otherside of the foot print at Kempston Hardwick, which in its current form wouldn't cope, but its being improved for the East - West Rail project so should be fine, that'll connect to Oxford, Milton Keynes, all over so pretty good coverage.
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Sorry one more thing, presumably what you describe is the line capacity - is that what they normally run, if not they do they have the stock presently to run that configuration? Thanks!
 










dolphins

dolphins

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Jan 26, 2012
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jcdenton08 said:
Brilliant, I went on both - the Orlando version was better than the original California one “Soarin’ Over California”. A beautiful ride and experience.
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FerrariLand at PortAventura do a (surprisingly enough) Ferrari themed one which is ace - possibly my favourite of the three. BUT it doesn't have Patrick Warburton doing the pre-ride chat so loses a point or two for that reason alone! :lolol:
 




jcdenton08

jcdenton08

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Oct 17, 2008
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dolphins said:
FerrariLand at PortAventura do a (surprisingly enough) Ferrari themed one which is ace - possibly my favourite of the three. BUT it doesn't have Patrick Warburton doing the pre-ride chat so loses a point or two for that reason alone! :lolol:
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Seriously looking at PortAventura later this year, in fact I opened a thread about it a while back to ask for advice.

Is it doable without renting a car? Fly to closest airport, and public transport, and hotel nearby? Is two days appropriate?
 


Weststander

Weststander

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Aug 25, 2011
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Withdean area
Obviously not as good as Soarin', but for anyone visiting NYC this is similar and fantastic. We were there this time last year.
www.riseny.co

RiseNY | A Soaring Journey Over New York | Immersive Attraction

Experience New York like you've never seen before! RiseNY is a 3-part immersive experience in Times Square including a film, museum & soaring 4D ride over NYC.
www.riseny.co www.riseny.co
 


dolphins

dolphins

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Jan 26, 2012
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Yes, I think so in terms of not needing a car. Been there LOADS of times, albeit always as part of a package through TUI, so a laid on transfer from Reus Airport to Salou, and have always stayed in one of the PA hotels (there's a selection, all close or actually connecting to the park). Our favourite is the Hotel PortAventura, and arguably it is in the best position (followed by the Gold River in terms of park proximity, but just not as nice, and not as handy for Salou itself which has some decent shopping and a lovely beach). Even if you stay at a hotel in Salou, it's only a short walk up to PortAventura. There's a decent waterpark which is easily a day in itself, the main park, and FerrariLand (or is it FerrariWorld? Can't remember). The Ferrari park is a solid day but not more than that, and the main park has plenty going on, including great night shows. If you are staying in a PA hotel, you get free entrance to the main park throughout your stay, meaning you can pop in at various points of the day. You used to get free entrance to the waterpark included too, but that, and Ferrari, are paid attractions (think they might still do occasional offers for a free visit to either/both).

It's also an hour by train (the station is nearby and can be seen from the hotels/the park approach) to Barcelona.

Presumably the USGB hotel will include free entrance during your stay, but suspect most will use the hotel for an overnight and not much more than that, but you could potentially then squeeze two days visit to the park to ensure you've done everything you want and revisit rides you've particularly enjoyed.
 




jcdenton08

jcdenton08

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dolphins said:
Yes, I think so in terms of not needing a car. Been there LOADS of times, albeit always as part of a package through TUI, so a laid on transfer from Reus Airport to Salou, and have always stayed in one of the PA hotels (there's a selection, all close or actually connecting to the park). Our favourite is the Hotel PortAventura, and arguably it is in the best position (followed by the Gold River in terms of park proximity, but just not as nice, and not as handy for Salou itself which has some decent shopping and a lovely beach). Even if you stay at a hotel in Salou, it's only a short walk up to PortAventura. There's a decent waterpark which is easily a day in itself, the main park, and FerrariLand (or is it FerrariWorld? Can't remember). The Ferrari park is a solid day but not more than that, and the main park has plenty going on, including great night shows. If you are staying in a PA hotel, you get free entrance to the main park throughout your stay, meaning you can pop in at various points of the day. You used to get free entrance to the waterpark included too, but that, and Ferrari, are paid attractions (think they might still do occasional offers for a free visit to either/both).

It's also an hour by train (the station is nearby and can be seen from the hotels/the park approach) to Barcelona.

Presumably the USGB hotel will include free entrance during your stay, but suspect most will use the hotel for an overnight and not much more than that, but you could potentially then squeeze two days visit to the park to ensure you've done everything you want and revisit rides you've particularly enjoyed.
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Overall would one day in PA and one in Ferrari be sufficient do you think? Planning to go off season and midweek if that makes any difference. Thank you for your advice!!

Edit; I don’t speak Spanish, is the park accessible as an English visitor? :lol:
 




dolphins

dolphins

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Jan 26, 2012
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jcdenton08 said:
Overall would one day in PA and one in Ferrari be sufficient do you think? Planning to go off season and midweek if that makes any difference. Thank you for your advice!!
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We normally do at least a few days in PA - it's a nice park, some great attractions and decent shows, which change periodically - and if you are staying in a PA hotel you can come and go easily. We'd sometimes go in after dinner, when the park is nicely lit and frazzled families who have been there all day and are knackered have buggered off! You COULD potentially try and do it all in a day, especially if offseason and during the week it is always quieter as the Spanish locals tend to do the weekends. The bonus as well is that Salou is lovely - a great place to go on holiday with the added advantage of a really good theme park. A shame that Universal didn't persist with their branding of the park but it hasn't suffered since and gone from strength to strength, including a conference centre in the PA grounds. The only slight pain is the layout of the park - it doesn't have the Disneyesque hub layout and in the old days, it could take a while to get from one area to another. There's a decent Sesame Street Land now - great for kids, but there's a decent "shooter" attraction similar I suppose to things like the Buzz Lightyear attraction in Disney parks (or Antman at Hong Kong Disney) where you try and shoot cookies. Sounds dreadful but good fun. Anyway - there's a great cut-through to other parts of PA that you can use in Sesame Street Land which not many people seem to know/realise. Anyway...feel like I'm at risk of de-railing this thread! Feel free to DM for any questions...
 






B

backson

Registered Mis-user
Jul 26, 2004
2,474
dolphins said:
The Transformers ride is very similar, with a ride vehicle going from scene to scene, and some cunning use of lifts to move to upper/lower floors without the riders generally being aware - means the building footprint can be smaller.
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On our last trip we were on the Transformers ride at US Florida when it stopped working. We had to complete the ride circuit with no video, audio or effects, including the lifts up and down. Which surprised us, as we'd been on it earlier and hadn't even noticed there were any lifts; they disguise them really well.
 




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