Charles Parry

I mean, I suppose Diagon Alley is just beautiful sheds... I was dismissive of the idea Universal would be interested in a UK park anyway, but I was going through old online seminars and I stumbled on one from 2013 about the Harry Potter Studio Tour. In the Q&A at the end someone in the audience states they looked at the location the tour uses for a "Universal Studios location". I didn't even know Universal had actually properly looked at doing a park over here, let alone at a location a mile from my front door. Sounds like the main problem was the local council and access too, to think what could have been! Anyway, here is that Q&A, suppose it makes the idea of them taking over the Paramount Park project a bit more possible. https://youtu.be/gmVOmYxfDys?t=27m

So themeparx.com is reporting that London Resort Company Holdings, the company behind Paramount Park, are now in talks with Universal Studios to create Universal Studios London on the site in Swanscombe. I mean, it'll never happen, but just imagine for a single second if it did...

Announced today this will be getting a 5D interactive dark ride based around the Ghostbusters IP! Being built by Triotech. Enjoy this cringe-y launch video:

As I understand it, Hulk coaster is ready, the queue isn't. The rebuild was projected to take longer than it did, and so they didn't start work on the new queue line until comparatively late. So the ride itself has been done for a while, but they need to finish the queue, which is apparently very nearly done as the walls have started to come down.

The animatronic Elsa in Frozen Ever After is incredible! Have we finally left the uncanny valley?!

I think they mean: Despicable Me announced to be replacing Back To The Future at Universal Studios Japan and an announcement at Universal Studios Hollywood at 7:30am there time (so in an hour or so) most likely to be Secret Lift of Pets.

Guys can we keep spoilers stuff in the pinned spoiler thread in general discussion:

I swear they used to back when I was a regular at the park a few years back. They always had at least one staff member in a harness,

Watched the pov vid. A bit too screen heavy and the story is a bit ****, but the queue and animstronics are awesome. Now all I need is a couple of thousand to get over there and ride it.

Only the Magic Kingdom doesn't do booze (except for Be Our Guest and Club 33). But all the other parks (Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Studios and probably the water parks) serve alcohol.

Fracking could cause an earthquake or the tunnel to fill with water etc. The force of the water pressure could open up an area not seen for a 100 years.

Will no doubt be a clone of the other ones opening this year, which allows riders to make hand movements (instead of light guns etc) to battle their way through the ride.

I was off by a day (thought it would open Friday not Saturday)! I think that deserves a gold star or the changing of my display name to Nostradamus or something.

I could see Merlin deciding to build a RMC in the UK (and only the 2nd in Europe), but I would have thought it would be ear marked for Alton Towers to be the always dreamt of woodie in the valley that John Wardley had always wanted to build. I wouldn't be surprised if Thorpe went a little tamer for it's next coaster, and built something with little to no inversions. Perhaps a floorless dive coaster.

Just a thought on opening. Derren Brown is touring, spending the latter half of May in Ireland,so he won't be available to do the launch of the ride or the prize winning meet and great thing. The week before he is in Bristol, so not too far away, but the first week of May he has off. I think they are really going to be trying for opening at the end of the first week of May. Perhaps a soft opening in the week, then Derren officially opening on the Saturday?