New Universal Park with focus on families and kids announced near Dallas, Texas

Hi Everyone,

I have to preface this, this not a Dollywood-related post per se, but it is interesting news from the Amusement and Theme Park Industry.  In America, it has been somewhat rare to hear about new park openings.  New parks are mostly limited to Asia and the Middle East right now, where they seemingly spring up all the time.  They do happen from time to time in the US.  Recent park openings in America include Lost Island park in Iowa that grew from the success of a sister water park, American Dream indoor park in New Jersey, and then the OWA park in Foley, Alabama.  Legoland New York and Peppa Pig Park in Orlando are two new parks that cater to families with small children.

So, what's going on in Texas?  Well, I heard rumblings on one of the news sources I follow that something was coming to Texas, but it would be small because it was around 100 acres.  Who would build something?? - was the most asked question.  An announcement was made on Wednesday that the Universal Group was behind it, and they were building a different type of theme park from all the others they own.  Universal, is of course, a traditional movie studio as well as an extremely immersive type of theme park with thrilling rides, roller coasters and resort hotels.  It is steeped in characters like Spiderman, The Hulk, The Simpsons, Shrek, Harry Potter, and that list goes on forever.   Universal has resort theme parks in Hollywood California, Orlando, as well as Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo...and now Frisco, Texas.

Let's read the press release from Universal and discuss it further after that.

FRISCO, Texas (January 11, 2023) – Universal Parks & Resorts announces a one-of-a-kind theme park, unlike any other in the world, specifically designed to inspire fun for families with young children. The new park concept, set in a lush green landscape and featuring immersive themed lands, celebrates Universal’s iconic brand of entertainment, humor and innovation and brings to life its beloved characters and stories in ways that will wow even the youngest theme park goers.

The proposed park will be designed to be more intimate and engaging for younger audiences and will be sized for a regional audience. It will be full of family-friendly attractions, interactive and playful shows, character meet and greets, unique merchandise and fun food and beverage venues. Although smaller in size, it will still carry the same quality as Universal’s other larger resort destinations.

Part of 97 acres of land recently purchased by the company, the proposed park also has plans for an adjacent themed hotel and room for expansion. The entire area is intended to have a completely different look, feel, and scale than Universal’s existing parks and will appeal to a new audience for the brand.

Universal Parks & Resorts selected the city of Frisco, in North Texas, as the area for this new concept given the city’s growing population and ability to attract businesses to the area. The proposed location for the new concept is ideally situated east of the Dallas North Tollway and north of Panther Creek Parkway.

“We are excited about the opportunity to partner with the city of Frisco and Mayor Cheney as we work to bring this innovative, new concept to life designed specifically for a younger generation of Universal fans,” said Page Thompson, President, New Ventures, Universal Parks & Resorts. “We think North Texas is the perfect place to launch this unique park for families given its growing popularity within this part of the country.”

“Frisco is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. and has been recognized as a great place to plant professional roots and raise a family,” said Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney. “This new Universal concept will continue to enhance our tax base, expand employment opportunities and bring even more fun to Frisco benefiting our residents, businesses, and visitors.”

More details about the project will be revealed over time.

That's a lot of information!  Fun fact: Frisco, Texas is where the first season of Dallas was filmed!

More about the park...from the NBC Dallas Affiliate article - which owns Universal and Comcast...

Specific details about the park were not disclosed, but officials did say it would have traditional offerings like rides, shows and food while also including meet and greets with characters from Universal properties, films and shows -- like Minions or Shrek.

 

A rendering of the park was shown Wednesday morning that included a lush border with a grand entrance that opens to a lagoon. From there, guests can head in a number of directions to visit themed areas of the park.

 

The park design also included a river with what appears to be a boat ride throughout the park.

And this, too...

The footprint is about one-quarter the size of the parks in Orlando, scaled smaller to be more "intimate and engaging" for younger guests. The company said the theme park will have a completely different look, feel, and scale compared to Universal’s existing parks but will still carry the same quality as the larger resort destinations.

 

"The idea is to create a place in a region like this that people can come to time and time again, in between their visits to our big vacation destinations like Los Angeles or Orlando," explained Woodbury.

 

He said the park is expected to be a one-day or two-day experience and that they plan to also build a 300-room themed resort hotel on the property.

 

What stands out to me, and why I wanted to share this article, is that it does somewhat encroach on one of Dollywood's target audiences, which is families.  Since this park will be in Texas, it's not a direct competition to Dollywood, but Universal has a lot of money.  They are currently building a new flagship park in Orlando called Epic Universe, which will sort of be like Disney's Magic Kingdom with massive infrastructure, a hub and spoke layout, and several lands to visit.  Is this new small park style what's to come for amusement parks in America, or is Universal tapping into demands of what families are looking for?  Or Both?

In the late 1960's and early 1970's we saw dozens of corporate backed parks pop up.  The original bunch of Six Flags, King's Island, King's Dominion, Astroworld, Carowinds, Great America, The Busch Parks, the Sea Worlds, and Opryland were all built basically all at once, like a whole park was constructed in a year or two, and they all had funding from stable corporate sponsors - in their respective beginnings.  So, is this what will happen in the future?  Will Universal build out small parks like the one discussed here around the country?   According to this article from Dallasnews.com, Yes, they plan to build more small parks across the country.

Unlike Universal Studios’ sprawling parks in Orlando, Los Angeles and abroad, the Frisco development will be a much smaller attraction — the first of multiple such projects the company plans.

This article from Travel And Leisure says that this type of development is called a micro-theme park.

This is part of a growing trend in the theme park industry known as ‘micro-parks.’ These parks, significantly smaller in size than large-scale parks, are designed to be experienced in a shorter period of time and often are more affordable.

 

Examples include the newly opened Peppa Pig Theme Park in Florida, and the in-development Crystal Lagoons Island Resort in Arizona.

 

Universal Parks & Resorts currently operates five theme park resorts around the world — including Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Japan — but this will be its first venture of this new park concept.

Would Universal build in East Tennessee?  I don't know!  I think there are a lot of plusses in the Pro Column for Universal to build in East Tennessee.   This area is appealing to families.  Families flock here and love it because the price points for all of the major attractions and lodging are a better value than in Orlando & in Southern California, and other tourist hot spots.  We are about an 8-hour drive from over 80% of the population in the United States.  This area is one of the more Southern areas in the US that experiences snow, and that is appealing to those who live south of this area, for winter activities.  Dollywood is a well-established park, so would Universal want to tap into that base?  Well, if you look at Universal's build-out history, they certainly tapped into what Disney had created in Orlando, so that is your answer to that question of would they or not.  

As far as other areas Universal might pop up - well, basically anywhere.  Frisco, Texas is an affluent, fast-growing suburb and America has a fair amount of that to offer.   The beauty, in my opinion, of this idea of micro-parks is that it really doesn't matter if another major theme park is nearby since their target audience is different.  The bigger parks are not catering exclusively to families and little kiddos.  Families no doubt visit these parks, out of necessity, but the parks have a heavy emphasis towards thrill-seekers.  Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, Missouri are exceptions to that idea, and both appeal to thrill-seekers and families quite well.

My hometown Nashville also comes to mind.  It is desperate-thirsty for any type of amusement park or family entertainment.  The challenge there is that no one wants it in their backyard (See StoryVille Gardens - a location has not been specified after the announcement in June of 2021), so it will be a real task to find 100+ acres in Middle Tennessee at this point, with an appropriately sized buffer zone surrounding it, and a community that will support it.  

This is all too early to know how any of this will play out over the next several decades, but I thought it was an interesting development that, one day, may impact Dollywood.  Of course, competition isn't bad for the consumer.

 

Resources for this article:

• Press Release from Universal - Universal Brings Kids Theme Park to Frisco (universalparks.com)
• Travel and Leisure Article - Universal Announces Plans for New Theme Park in Texas — What We Know So Far (travelandleisure.com)
• DallasNews.com 
• NBC Dallas Affilate Universal Theme Park, Resort Hotel Coming to North Texas – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth (nbcdfw.com)