Though Universal has only ever offered a firm “no comment” when it comes to its massive Real Estate purchase from the day before Christmas in 2015, their plans to build new theme parks on this land has been a very poorly-kept secret for several years now, with the new park plans being quietly confirmed inside Comcast’s second-quarter 2018 financial results. And though the company finally went on record earlier this year and confirmed that it was indeed developing a new “gate” in Florida (even filing name registrations), there hasn’t been much of an update on this project…until now.
Could Universal have finally settled on a name for its new park?
Earlier this year the Orlando Business Journal reported that Universal filed a multi-use trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently for the names “Universal’s Epic Universe” and “Fantastic Worlds” for a variety of uses, including amusement park attractions, live stage performances, and merchandise. And now, thanks to a leaked image from a recent corporate meeting it looks like we may know what new name Universal has settled on:
— James (@jacqueshca) December 13, 2018
Though “Fantastic Worlds” is a little vague (and plans can always change), this seems like an extension of the Islands of Adventure concept, with the mixing of different IP in self-contained “lands” inside one park. And if, the leaked image above is anything to go by, one of the big “anchors” for this new land will be some version of Nintendo Land. And while we know that the original plan was to put the stateside Nintendo Land at Universal Studios Florida, plans may have changed, with Universal looking to move this upcoming land to their new park. Either that, or Universal could be looking to have multiple Nintendo Lands across several parks, the way that it has multiple Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands across its current two parks.
Either way, though this leak is very credible and lines up with some whispers we heard earlier this year, we have to stress once again that plans can change at any moment, and until Universal finally announces something concrete, we don’t know anything for sure.
When might we see an official announcement?
Though Universal has already laid a lot of the groundwork for their upcoming “Fantastic Worlds” park, purchasing nearly 600 acres of land, and quietly negotiating park-to-park transportation solutions with the City of Orlando, it probably still will be some time before we hear anything official about this new park.
Universal is known for taking their time announcing their new projects, and will likely want to open their new Wizarding World attraction (now under construction at Islands of Adventure) and potentially confirm their plans for Nintendo Land at Universal Studios Florida, (if those plans are still in place) before announcing this new park.
If we had to guess, we’d say that Universal will likely make an announcement either mid-way through or towards the end of 2019, potentially around the time that Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens at Disneyland or at Walt Disney World to try and steal some of Disney’s thunder.
What kind of “Fantastic Worlds” could we see at this new park?
Image: Universal
If this new park is indeed a mash of IPs (similar to Islands of Adventure), guests might wonder what kinds of far off places they could visit at this upcoming destination. And though this is all purely speculation on our part, we’d guess that in addition to a Nintendo Land, there will probably also be another Wizarding World (perhaps based on the world of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) as well as a new DreamWorks Land, featuring characters from popular films like Kung-Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar and of course Shrek. Now that Universal owns these properties, a DreamWorks Land especially seems like a no-brainer for a new land.
Of course, there’s no telling what additional properties Universal could license for its new park, and it seems likely that there will be one or two surprises announced when this new park is finally confirmed.
Though it has been nearly two decades since Islands of Adventure opened at Universal Orlando Resort, fans have always been excited by the prospect of a third Universal park joining the lineup at this growing resort, and while it looks like it is going to be a long time before we actually learn some concrete details about this project, this latest image leak hopefully means some momentum is building behind the scenes and Universal will start building on its massive land parcel (which technically doubles the resort size) and will finally reveal their plans for this upcoming park sometime next year.
