Universal Announces New Texas Theme Park and Year-Round Horror Location in Las Vegas
Universal just released two major announcements today. They are planning to build a theme park in Texas and apparently bought land in Frisco, near Dallas’ North Freeway. Plans were also announced for a year-round horror-focused location in Las Vegas as well. No opening dates or timelines have been announced yet.
Universal Texas
Universal plans to build a 97-acre, family-focused resort on the outskirts of Dallas. The company apparently bought the land using a Delaware-based shell company.
The new park will be geared towards younger children and will feature several interactive experiences and a 300-room hotel, with Minions and Shrek as the focus.
This makes sense since a new Shrek movie is said to be on the horizon and the Minions are dominating the box office for animated films.
Mark Woodbury, Chairman and CEO of Universal Parks and Resorts said:
“The project will be designed to appeal to families, with immersive experiences that make it a one- to two-day destination.”
It’s not that big overall, but it’s in a growing family demographic with younger kids.
Here is an image of the concept art they released.
Universal Las Vegas
The second announcement is about a year-round horror zone in Las Vegas. Bloomberg lists it as 110,000 square feet and will be located in an expansion of the Area15 district. Given the theme park’s long history with Universal Monsters and Halloween Horror Nights, it makes sense to offer a year-round location.
Mark Woodbury also said:
“Horror is no longer just for Halloween at Universal,” Mark Woodbury, president of the company’s resorts unit.
It’s interesting to note that Bloomberg wrote “More cities, both in the US and internationally, could be coming.”
It looks like Universal is out for theme park dominance and not just against Disney.
Since Universal / Comcast is based in Philadelphia, I’m personally hoping for a PA announcement, but time will tell.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Sources: Bloomberg and Dallas News
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