In this week’s poll, we ask if you think there is still scope for a Universal Studios theme park to be built in Western Europe?
With news this week that Universal is opening a version of the hugely popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Japan, it’s clear that the company is still focused on expanding and developing. Universal Studios Singapore opened as recently as 2010, plans are in the works for an indoor theme park in Russia, and Potter-themed expansions are on the way at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida.
But is Universal missing a trick in Western Europe? There’s no doubt that there is a massive theme park market in the region, but the company has consistently overlooked it as a source of revenue growth in recent years – even going so far as to exit its Port Aventura joint venture in 2004. Granted, there’s already significant competition from other parks (including Disneyland Paris), but Universal has proven that its brand is big enough to effectively compete with anyone.
Is the weather to blame? This is one aspect which may have detered Universal’s bosses from re-entering the European market, but Disneyland Paris has proven that year-round operation is possible, even in drizzly Paris.
Could it be a fear that a European Universal Studios would negatively hit attendance at the Universal Orlando Resort? Certainly, travelling a short distance across Europe may prove more appealing to the hordes of tourists that jet across the Atlantic to Florida each year, but Disney has effectively maintained interest in both its Paris and Florida resorts.
And now, of course, there’s the seemingly neverending series of financial problems that threaten to drag Western Europe’s economies even deeper into economic hardship. Has any hope for European theme park fans of seeing a Universal theme park gone for good, dooming them to cast envious glances at fast-growing nations in Asia and South America instead?
Vote now!
So, will there ever be a Universal Studios park in Western Europe? Let us know what you think by voting in our poll below.
Will there ever be a Universal Studios theme park in Western Europe?
Share your thoughts
Thanks for voting in Theme Park Tourist’s Big Debate. Why not let us know why you voted as you did using the comments section below?
Theme Park Tourist
Related Reading
Catherine of Aragon is known as the first of King Henry VIII’s six wives, but before they were wed, she was married to his older brother Arthur. Catherine was the youngest daughter of Spain’s Ferdinand II and Isabella I, and her marriage to Arthur was primarily political. In fact, Arthur and Catherine were married by proxy before they had even met, in a ceremony attended by their representatives. The marriage was short-lived, as Arthur died young. When did Arthur and Catherine finally meet? Discuss
