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Universal Destinations & Experiences facts for kids
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Formerly
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Universal Parks & Resorts |
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Theme park |
| Founded | July 15, 1964 |
| Headquarters | Orlando, Florida |
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Number of locations
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5 (3 Coming Soon; One in Frisco, Texas, one in Subic Bay, and one in Bedford, England.) |
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Area served
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China, Japan, Singapore, United States |
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Key people
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Mark Woodbury (CEO) |
| Services | Theme parks, hotel lodging, travel packages, attraction design, licensing, Hotels, entertainment, Resorts |
| Owner | Comcast |
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Number of employees
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29,000 (2024) |
| Parent | NBCUniversal |
| Subsidiaries | Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Orlando Resort Universal Studios Japan Universal Studios Singapore Universal Beijing Resort Universal Kids Resort Universal Horror Unleashed Universal Creative |
Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX) is a company that creates and runs amazing theme parks and resorts all over the world. It used to be called Universal Parks & Resorts. This company is part of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast.
Universal Destinations & Experiences is famous for its many rides, themed areas, and fun experiences. These are inspired by popular movies, TV shows, and characters from Universal and other companies. The company's main office is in Orlando, Florida.
The idea for Universal's parks started way back in the 1910s. It began as a tour at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California, near Los Angeles. In 1964, this tour became the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park. Here, guests could see how movies and TV shows were made and enjoy rides based on them. Because Universal Studios Hollywood was so popular, Universal decided to build more parks in Florida and other countries.
In 2017, nearly 50 million people visited Universal Studios theme parks. This made Universal the third-largest theme park operator in the world. It competes with other big park companies like Disney Experiences and Six Flags.
On March 8, 2023, Universal announced that its theme park division would change its name to "Universal Destinations & Experiences."
Contents
Universal Theme Parks Around the World
Universal has several amazing theme parks and resorts across the globe. Each one offers unique experiences for guests.
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood was the very first Universal theme park. It opened on July 15, 1964. Before that, it started as a simple studio tour in 1915. This was after Universal's founder, Carl Laemmle, opened Universal City, California.
In May 1993, Universal CityWalk opened right outside the park gates. It has many restaurants, shops, and entertainment spots. There's also a large movie theater with 19 screens. The park and studio cover about 415 acres.
Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort, located in Orlando, Florida, first opened on June 7, 1990. It started with Universal Studios Florida, which has themed areas and rides based on movies.
On May 28, 1999, the Universal Islands of Adventure theme park opened. This park has different themed islands with rides and characters. This made Universal Orlando a full family vacation resort. At the same time, Universal CityWalk was added to connect the two parks.
Universal Orlando also has several hotels for guests. These include Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, and Universal's Aventura Hotel.
In 1998, Universal Orlando bought Wet 'n Wild Orlando water park. This was their main water park until it closed on December 31, 2016. It was replaced by a new water park called Universal Volcano Bay, which opened on May 25, 2017. Volcano Bay has 18 attractions, including slides and lazy rivers. It even has two volcano-themed rides. The park uses a special wristband called Taputapu for a virtual queuing system.
In August 2019, Universal announced Universal Epic Universe. This is a third theme park for the Orlando resort. It includes lands like Super Nintendo World, a new Wizarding World of Harry Potter area, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe, based on classic Universal Monsters. This new park opened on May 22, 2025. Epic Universe also has three new Loews hotels: Universal Helios Grand Hotel, Universal Stella Nova Resort, and Universal Terra Luna Resort. All three hotels opened in the spring of 2025.
Universal Studios Japan
After almost three years of building, Universal Studios Japan opened on March 31, 2001. It is in the Konohana-ku district of Osaka, Japan. This was the first Universal Studios theme park outside of the U.S. It was also the first Universal park in Asia.
The park has rides from both Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood. It also has a CityWalk area with shops, restaurants, and Universal hotels. The park covers about 108 acres. It is the second most visited amusement park in Japan.
Universal Studios Singapore
Building the Singapore park started on April 19, 2008, on Sentosa, Singapore. Universal Studios Singapore had a soft opening on March 18, 2010, and a full opening on May 28, 2011. It was the second Universal Studios theme park in Asia and the first in Southeast Asia.
Like other Universal parks, it has rides based on Universal movies and other popular stories. These include Jurassic Park, Shrek, The Mummy, Waterworld, and Transformers. The park is 49 acres in size. Unlike other Universal theme parks, Universal Studios Singapore is owned by Genting Group. They operate it with permission from Universal Parks & Resorts.
Universal Beijing Resort
Universal Studios Beijing is a Universal theme park that opened on September 20, 2021, in Beijing, China. It has rides and attractions based on Universal movies, TV shows, and characters. It also features licensed properties from other companies like Warner Bros..
More than 20 billion Chinese Yuan was invested in this project. It is owned by Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Co., Ltd. and Universal Parks & Resorts. The building of Universal Beijing Resort was finished in April 2021. The next phase of Universal Beijing Resort is planned to start building in 2025.
Future Universal Parks and Experiences
Universal is always planning new and exciting places for people to visit.
Universal Horror Unleashed
On January 11, 2023, Universal announced a new "horror experience" called Universal Horror Unleashed. This will be a main attraction in a new 20-acre expansion of Las Vegas's Area15 entertainment district. Unlike Universal's temporary Halloween Horror Nights events, this will be a permanent, year-round attraction.
This new Universal experience is a creative addition to Area15's focus on art and entertainment. It is set to open on August 14, 2025, at Area15. In June 2025, Universal announced that Chicago will be the second Universal Horror Unleashed location. This will be the first Universal attraction in the Midwest, and it is set to open in 2027.
Universal Kids Resort
On January 11, 2023, Universal also announced a new type of theme park. This park is designed especially for families with young children. The park is being built in Frisco, Texas. It will have immersive themed lands and celebrate Universal's fun characters and stories.
On December 1, 2023, the resort's name was officially announced as "Universal Kids Resort." Construction began in November 2023. The park is expected to open in May 2026.
Universal Studios Great Britain
On December 19, 2023, Universal Destinations & Experiences confirmed they bought 480 acres of land in Bedford, United Kingdom. This land is for a possible new theme park. On April 5, 2024, the official Universal UK Project website shared information for the public to give their opinions.
The project is already quite far along in planning. It will include two new railway stations and better road connections. The park itself will be similar in size to Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe at first. It could expand later to be as big as Universal Studios Japan. The park will also focus on wildlife and being environmentally friendly.
On April 8, 2025, Universal Destinations & Experiences and the United Kingdom government shared their plans for the Bedford theme park. It is expected to open in 2031 as part of a large entertainment resort. Universal predicts that 8.5 million visitors will come in its first year.
Unnamed Second Theme Park at Universal Beijing Resort
In April 2021, Universal Beijing announced plans for a second theme park. This park was originally set to open by 2025. In September 2023, it was confirmed that construction for this expansion would begin in 2025.
Universal Theme Parks: The Exhibition
In July 2025, Comcast NBCUniversal announced a new interactive experience. It will open at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, USA, in February 2026. This exhibition will cover 18,000 square feet. It will have eight themed galleries, 25 interactive experiences, and over 100 original items from the parks.
Past and Cancelled Universal Parks
Universal has had some parks in the past, and some ideas for parks that were never built.
Cancelled Parks
- Universal Studios Europe, Melun-Sénart, Seine-et-Marne, France.
- Universal Studios, Manila, Philippines
- Universal Studios Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Construction stopped in 2009)
- Universal's Hollywoodland, Krefeld, Germany
- Universal Studios Moscow, Moscow, Russia
- Universal Studios South Korea, Hwaseong, South Korea
Former Parks
- Universal Mediterránea, Salou, Spain (1998–2004)
Port Aventura opened in 1995. In 1998, Universal Parks & Resorts bought a large part of the park. It was then renamed 'Universal's Port Aventura' in 1999. This made it the first Universal Studios Theme Park in Europe. In 2002, two hotels and a water park were added, and the resort became 'Universal Mediterranea'. In 2004, Universal sold its share in the park. The Universal name was later removed.
Former Water Parks
- Costa Caribe Aquatic Park, Salou, Spain (2002–2004)
- Wet 'n Wild Orlando (Universal Orlando Resort, Orlando, Florida, United States) (1977–2016)
Universal Theme Park Attractions and Lands
Universal Studios parks around the world often have similar rides and themed areas. The links above show full lists of attractions and lands at Universal theme parks. Most of these attractions are based on Universal movies and characters, as well as other popular stories.
Steven Spielberg's Work with Universal Parks
Director Steven Spielberg has worked closely with Universal Destinations & Experiences for a long time. This is because of his connection with Universal Studios, where he started as an intern in the 1960s. He also directed or produced many famous films for the studio, like Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Back to the Future, The Land Before Time, and Jurassic Park.
In March 1987, Spielberg agreed to be a creative advisor for Universal theme parks. At that time, Universal was planning to build its first big theme park in Orlando. This was to compete with Walt Disney World. Thomas L. Williams, a Universal Parks leader, said that Spielberg helped create the main idea for Universal Studios Florida:
Take, for example, Steven Spielberg. He was the creative consultant on our first [full] theme park, Universal Studios Florida. Steve was the guy who came up with that park's core concept, that we were going to put our Guests in their favorite scene from their favorite film. Ride the Movies, if you will.
Since 1987, Spielberg has advised on many attractions. These include E.T. Adventure, Jaws, Jurassic Park: The Ride, and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. Because of this, he receives a percentage of park ticket sales and some money from park shops and restaurants. This applies to Universal parks in Florida, Japan, and Singapore. The Universal Studios Hollywood park in Los Angeles is not part of this deal.
See also
In Spanish: Universal Destinations & Experiences para niños