Universal Is Taking Over — Everything to Know About the New Parks Coming to Texas and the UK

While it’s only been just over a year since Universal opened the groundbreaking Epic Universe theme park at its Orlando resort, the company isn’t slowing down.

Instead, there are not one, but TWO new Universal resorts on the way that could fundamentally reshape the theme park landscape.

The first is the Universal Kids Resort, located in Frisco, Texas, a state, and overall geographic area of the country that features no competition from Disney, a first for a U.S. Universal park. 

Scheduled to open on July 1st, the new resort will feature a hotel and theme park that — as the name would suggest — is aimed at families with kids!

We had a chance to visit the park as part of a media preview event, and experience each of it’s IP-based lands!

Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants Bikini Bottom

First up, there’s the Jellyfish Fields Jamboree, which will allow guests to “float above the coral on a current of fun” as they catch bouncing jellyfish with the one and only SpongeBob SquarePants. Next, there’s the Barnacle Bus Surf, which allows guests to see how many Bikini Bottom sights and residents they can spot, “from Goofy Goober’s to Glovey Glove and SpongeBob’s loyal pet, Gary the Snail.”

Meanwhile, the Bobbing Barrels is a water cannon-based ride featuring Patrick and Sandy, and finally Mrs. Puff’s Boating School, which will allow kids and their grown-ups to “put their skills to the test and try to impress Mrs. Puff as they swerve and spin—and even go backwards—through her specially designed course.”

Illumination’s Minions vs. Minions: Bello Bay Club

This iteration of a Minions-based land will feature the Bello Bay Cruise is a mini-rapids ride, which will feature Yellow and Purple Minions creating  “water-soaked chaos.”

Meanwhile, the Bello Bay Golf Cart Derby will see the Purple Minions turn a relaxing round of golf completely upside down.

Jurassic World Adventure Camp

The headline attraction of the newest dino-themed island, Jurassic World: Cretaceous Coaster, will see guests ride a ranger vehicle and join the search for the missing Baby Bumpy, a curious Ankylosaur. Guests will roar through the land on this exciting roller coaster ride, zooming through “twists, turns, peaks, and valleys while keeping an eye out for an adorable little dinosaur.”

The area will also feature Mr. DNA’s Double Helix Spin, a  Metallbau Emmeln Flying Wheels attraction, and the Pteranodrop, which will offer gentle drops, bounces, and dips just like a real flying with a Pteranodon!

Did we mention the baby raptor? There’s A BABY RAPTOR!

DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots Del Mar

The Swings Over Del Mar attraction is a seated swing ride which will “spin high above the colorful kitty adoption day festivities of Del Mar with Puss in Boots, Perrito, Mama Luna and more of his adorable furry friends.”

DreamWorks’ Shrek’s Swamp

Shrek & Fiona’s Happily Ogre After, an outdoor dark ride,  will take families through the story of how Shrek and Fiona met in a fun ride that Shrek built for their triplets, including the “heroic rescue from the dragon’s castle—with the help of the one and only Donkey.”

TrollsFest

Based on the popular franchise, this land will be headlined by Rhonda’s TrollsFest Express, an armadillo bus ride. Meanwhile, Hair in the Clouds will allow guests to “climb aboard for high-flying fun and awesome views of the festival grounds.”

Also, be sure to remember that all of these rides are even more fun in Trolls makeup!

Isle of Curiosity

The park’s main entry thoroughfare is themed to the popular Gabby’s Dollhouse series, and there’s an exclusive entrance form the hotel for guests staying there. 

While the Universal Kids Resort won’t feature any groundbreaking attractions in the vein of Epic Universe’s Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment or Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry, the lineup is revolutionary for Universal in the sense that every attraction is, as the name implies, aimed at young kids, a market Universal has long been thought to sometimes ignore.

Universal United Kingdom Resort

The other Universal resort currently in development isn’t opening anytime soon — it’s scheduled for 2031 — but could be just as game-changing: Universal’s United Kingdom Resort in Bedfordshire, England. The resort will be Universal’s first ever newly built destination in Europe, and their first presence on the continent of any kind since they owned the previously built PortAventura theme park, and briefly renamed it Universal Mediterranea, in the early 2000s.

First announced in 2025, the initial phase of the U.K. resort is scheduled to contain a theme park, a 500-room hotel, and an integrated retail, dining, and entertainment complex (think CiityWalk) over approximately 476 acres, with about 300 further acres earmarked for potential future development. According to Universal, the complex is forecast to draw approximately 8.5 million visitors in its first year of operation, add £50 billion to the UK economy by 2055, and create approximately 28,000 jobs across construction, operations, and the wider supply chain.

Universal hasn’t released many further concrete details about the future park, but a close look at the released concept art reveals features that hint at areas based on Harry Potter, Jurassic World, and Back to the Future. Of course, that concept art could be purposefully deceptive, and could also change many times before the park actually opens.

Universal is expanding its role as a dominant player in the theme park space, with the Universal Kids and Universal UK resorts opening them up to major untapped markets. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on Universal’s growth.

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Are you planning on visiting either of these upcoming Universal resorts? Let us know in the comments below.

Disclosure: We were invited by Universal to attend the Universal Kids Resort media event. This did not affect our reporting of the event — our opinions are our own.

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