Uncovering the SECRETS of Universal's New Theme Park Experience Coming to Texas!

Before a big project gets built at Disney World or Universal, we often see concept art released. But if all you do is look at the concept art quickly and move on, you’ve done things WRONG.

Concept art is just that — a concept — so it’s no guarantee of what’s to come. BUT it could clue you into some BIG reveals about things that could be built or created in a certain space. We’ve already done a DEEP dive into the Epic Universe concept art, the concept art for the potential lands teased for Magic Kingdom, the concept art for the rethemed teased for DinoLand U.S.A., and even a deep dive into the Journey of Water — Inspired by Moana concept art. But now we’re moving on to…Texas?

What Has Been Announced

Wait…why are we in Texas? Well, that’s a good question! In early 2023, Universal announced that it would be building a NEW resort in Texas aimed at families with younger kids.

Here’s what we know about it so far:

It’ll be a family-focused resort
It’ll be on 97 acres of land (ultimately it’ll end up being around 1/4 the size of the parks in Orlando)
You’ll find it in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas (on the east side of the Dallas North Tollway near Panther Creek Parkway)
It’ll have rides, shows, and a hotel
There will also be character meet-and-greets tied to films and TV properties like Minions and Shrek
It’s meant to be a 1-2 day destination

Thus far, Universal hasn’t released too many other details, but they did share that concept art linked above. Upon first glance, it might not look like all that much. But we’re going to take a DEEP dive now to show you just how many attractions and experiences are HIDING in there!

But First…A Disclaimer!

First, we’ve got to do our typical concept art disclaimer. This is concept art — meaning, it’s only a CONCEPT of what could be built. The rides and experiences for this new park are NOT confirmed and there’s no guarantee that it’ll look just as it does in the concept art. But hopefully, by analyzing the concept art, we can all get a feel of what could be.

Second, we analyzed this concept art by really zooming in on those details. But what we see might not exactly be what the artist intended — it’s all up to the viewer on these things! So tell us if you see something different in the comments below!

Alright, let’s look at the art!

The Concept Art

Entrance

We start at what we expect is the front of the park where there are two cloud-like structures with what appear to be 2 barriers between them. Those could be indicative of security check locations or potentially turnstiles/spots where guests will scan their tickets. There’s a good amount of foliage around the entrance, giving it a nice and colorful feel.

From those clouds we move to a fountain — seems like a great place to snap a quick photo with the family! (A good security thing to do too as it can help you identify colors of clothing that family members were wearing, etc. in case they get lost later.)

From there we zoom out a bit to take a look at the two structures that flank the central blue cloud/circular structure. Those two buildings appear to be potential hotel buildings, which would make sense considering Universal indicated that their plans did include a hotel for this Frisco experience. You can see what appear to be little balconies in some of the rooms or at least windows with detailing. The hotel doesn’t look to be tremendously large but could be a least several floors with some rooms looking to the outside, and others looking into the park.

The building on the right-hand side also appears to have some kind of show building attached which could house more rooms (though there don’t really appear to be windows there) or maybe an attraction, restaurant, or something else entirely.

And then there’s that circular structure in the center of the two buildings. It continues with the cloud theme but also has a circular blue design in the center. It could end up being home to the sign that will showcase the name of this park/resort experience — which has not yet been confirmed. Universal Texas? The Universal Texas Experience? Universal Frisco? FunTown? Who knows?!

From there we go into a central square that seems to have walking space on the left and a small fountain as well as tables shaded by umbrellas on the right. In the center is a large water feature with fountains.

And in the background, you can see little yellow boats taking off with guests from a yellow structure topped with clouds.

That appears to be a boat ride that could load in an area just behind the water feature.

Based on the concept art, it looks like the boats would go under a small bridge and then around other attractions and experiences throughout the park. If you follow the water, it leads past this pink area filled with stars and essentially around most of the other places in the park.

It could be a great way to get a sort of “tour” of what the park has to offer all from one seated location.

Eventually, it winds its way back down to the load/unload area. The ride appears to be a slower-moving boat — not anything like Kali River Rapids, though some of the waterways show a bit of a current.

Let’s move from the boat ride and go clockwise around the park, back from the hotel area. To the left of the boats and water area, there is what appears to be a large show building (lower center/left) of some kind that could connect to the hotel. It then appears to potentially be connected or at least sit across from another smaller show building (upper center).

If you walk through the gap in those two buildings you enter the first “land” of sorts. You are first greeted with some trees that lead to some kind of attraction. Could this be some kind of swing? It looks like there are guests queued up in the area nearby waiting to get on this mysterious red and yellow ride. There are also 3 birdcages surrounding this attraction so perhaps it will be bird-themed.

Nearby there are some blue and yellow structures (maybe shaded sitting areas?) and red umbrellas that could be covering some nice tables for families to sit at and relax. (There are also some more tables not shown in the image below near a fountain.)

Moving past this area, there is a space with various trees and what appear to be some walking paths. This looks like it could be a nice quiet space to escape from the world for a bit or maybe even meet a character or two!

Moving past that, it looks like there’s a water play area with plenty of splash zones for kiddos to cool off at. The blue/yellow structures we looked at earlier could potentially be changing stations so kiddos can get into their bathing suit gear.

Beyond that is what appears to be a playground covered with purple/pink roofs. We have a feeling plenty of kids could spend a LOT of time enjoying this space. There’s also a show building behind it but it’s unclear what this could be — a ride? A restaurant? A shop? A show?

From there we can see a pathway that goes from yellow to red and connects this “land” to the next.

In the next land, there’s a LOT going on. In one area there is what looks like a mountain or volcano or other structure in the center with little ride vehicles attached to it. It feels very much like a Dumbo-style ride or maybe more along the lines of Astro Orbiter in Disney World.

To the left of that there is another experience that looks like it could be some kind of drop ride — but not necessarily the scary kind. This looks more like a ride that would take vehicles up and maybe around the pole and then back down (with those little yellow structures to the right as the vehicles).

Between those rides and around the drop one, there appear to be treehouse structures and brown walkways. It looks like a series of elevated platforms that will take you around this land and could be great to explore (and take pictures from!). It also looks like there could be fun hidden things to look for while on these bridges — there’s a brown item hidden in the grass in one area and a purple one in another. Maybe these are ruins of some sort — somehow themed to the land?

Moving to the left, there appears to be another show building that could hold a show or ride potentially.

And past that it looks like there’s at least the potential for a small roller coaster to be built in this land! It’s hidden and a bit darker than some other areas, but certainly there! As this is a family-friendly park, it doesn’t look to have any portions that go upside-down, but it does have a number of twists and turns. (This also sort-of looks like one of those enclosed slides but appears to be too large for that kind of experience.)

Continuing on, we see a grey building with a circular structure in front — could be a show, ride, restaurant, shop, or something else!

And there’s a yellow building seemingly connected to it. This has more rounded designs, and some little structures in the back, as well as a small fountain.

Is anyone else getting Jurassic World vibes with all those circular yellow structures?

There are some gates to this “land” that also give off some Jurassic Park vibes, so who knows?!

Finally, in this land, we also see a building in the back that is right on the water. What do you hope this becomes?

If we continue along the water and out of this second “land,” we hit a different area surrounded by trees. It looks to be a nice peaceful spot where families can maybe eat a little lunch or snack, let the kiddos run around, or just sit on a bench. It’s connected by a central pathway down to the loading area for that yellow boat ride and by more pathways to other lands.

If we continue to the right, there’s Groot?! Okay, okay, it may not be Groot considering all of the Marvel/Disney/Universal theme park agreements with those characters. But it does look to be some kind of tree structure at the front of a large show building. This could be home to some BIG attraction or experience that is themed to the forest.

Connected to that is a building that is shaped like the turret of a castle and has some illuminated balloons? Perhaps this clues us into the theme of this area as being a castle in the forest! Could this be related to Shrek perhaps?

Connected to the balloon turret are more buildings that really give off that castle/medieval feel. Maybe this will be a land of knights, battles, and epic heroes.

That building in the back could potentially be some kind of restaurant, shop, show, or something else! In front of it are more fountains and tables with umbrella covers.

To the right side of all of that, there is a MAZE! Oh yeah, we could see this being a big draw for kids and adults alike.

Moving back a bit, between the tree building and the more castle-like buildings, there’s a central green space that is some kind of island. Are there just walkways around here or maybe another experience? There’s also a sign on it in the front with something placed within a red circle.

Moving on from there you can see a fountain (there’s quite a lot of those)…

…and a ride that again gives us Dumbo feels. Is that a dragon on top of the ride?! Maybe this will tie into that medieval feeling and bring us into a land where guests can hop on a dragon for a quick ride through the sky! Or, if there is a Shrek theme, could it be themed to Donkey’s dragon love interest?

From there, there’s a pathway that leads to a very BRIGHT and colorful “land.” This land has some attractions on the back/right side. Specifically, it looks like there are some guests waiting to step on those triangle structures — perhaps they are an experience on their own or a part of the following attraction, which looks like it could be some kind of teacups/bumper cars/floating vehicles ride. They almost remind us of the Flying Saucers from Disneyland.

Past that, there is a semi-circle of bright yellow buildings with another small maze in the center. These almost look like they could be cabanas. Perhaps families will be able to rent these to use during their stay as a spot to go back to and relax? Or will there be some kind of interactive experience here?

Then we move into a space covered in BRIGHT, giant flowers! We can only imagine how beautiful this spot will be at night.

There is also what looks to be another experience/attraction with a star theme. This almost feels like one of those carnival rides that sort of tilts and spins around (sometimes shaped like a tugboat or something else). But that’s just a guess as the image doesn’t really give too much away.

Also in this colorful “land” there is a very large show building in the back. This could be one experience or potentially multiple different ones in spaces all next to each other. It looks like there are also some cacti on the buildings — some in pink and others in yellow/beige. So there are clouds, stars, flowers, and cacti all in this one space along with tons of pops of color — it’s not clear what this theme is, but it’s sure to be interesting!

You can also see a lot of tables and chairs around with colored umbrellas covering them. That could indicate that there’s a restaurant nearby.

And that’s a FULL look at what this future park could hold. It looks like around 4 potential themed lands with that relaxation spot and boat ride in separate places. Though the park is undoubtedly smaller than the Orlando Universal parks, it still could house a lot of fun for families.

What do you think? What did you spot in the concept art? Tell us in the comments!

And stay tuned for more Universal and theme park news.