Last January, we told you Universal Parks & Resorts planned to open a “one-of-a-kind” theme park in Frisco designed for families with young children. The company said the park would be “unlike anything in the world.” Well now the park has a name—and ground was broken to begin building it in November.
Universal Kids Resort got its official introduction Friday by Universal Destinations & Experiences, a division of Comcast NBCUniversal. The company said the “imaginative, original” Frisco resort will bring Universal’s innovative style of storytelling to a new, younger audience.
The resort will include a theme park featuring “immersive themed lands” that celebrate Universal’s brand of entertainment, humor, and fun. Beloved characters and stories will be brought to life in ways “that will wow the youngest theme park goers,” Universal said. Family-friendly attractions, interactive and playful shows, unique merchandise, “fun” food and beverage venues, and character meet-and-greets will all be featured.
The Frisco City Council voted in March to approve the zoning permit for the resort, despite pushback from some in the community about the park’s potential impact on traffic and other concerns. The theme park is being built on 97 acres of land east of the Dallas North Tollway and north of Panther Creek Parkway in Frisco.
The parcel will provide room for the new “regional” sized park, a themed hotel, and future expansion. While the park will be smaller in size than the company’s other larger theme parks, Universal said it will “deliver the quality the Universal brand is known for worldwide.”
300-room themed hotel will be part of the resort
The resort area will also include a 300-room themed hotel, Universal said, giving families a place to stay and to play following their day of adventure.
“Universal Kids Resort will inspire the unbridled creativity of kids through imagination, discovery and—most importantly—play,” Molly Murphy, president of Universal Creative, said in a statement. “We’re designing the resort so kids and families can feel the thrill of being physically immersed in their most beloved stories and characters.”
The company said progress on the concept “is well underway” following the November groundbreaking.
Universal Kids Resort is expected to drive “immediate economic impact for the region, creating thousands of jobs including more than 2,500 new construction jobs,” the company said. Throughout the project, the company said it will “remain focused on ensuring the resort adds value and positively serves the community.”
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R E A D N E X T
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Universal Parks & Resorts is planning a new theme park concept "unlike any other in the world"—and it aims to build it right here in North Texas. The proposed park will be sited within 97 acres of land Universal recently purchased in Frisco, and will target "a whole new generation of fans" on a more intimate scale than larger Universal parks. An adjacent themed hotel will be also be part of Frisco's newest attraction.
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Trick Rider will pay homage to a legendary woman trick rider from the 1940s and '50s. Its spirit will be encapsulated in an astonishing light sculpture suspended over the bar: a 16-foot-long, nine-foot-high crystal horse chandelier made from 4,075 "bohemian cut" crystal beads.
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The Frisco City Council voted Tuesday to approve the zoning permit for a Universal Studios theme park and adjacent 300-room hotel, despite pushback from some in the community about the park's potential impact on traffic and other concerns. "Welcome to Frisco," Mayor Jeff Cheney said after the vote, according to WFAA, which noted that Frisco estimates the project will bring $1.8 billion in economic impact to the city.
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Scanning someone's brain with an MRI machine may not seem like child's play. But kids will have the opportunity to do that and much more—on mannequins, that is—at a new Children's Health Hospital experience at KidZania Dallas in Frisco.
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Gearbox is an award-winning creator and distributor of transmedia entertainment, including hit video games and franchises like Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Brothers in Arms, and Borderlands. Captured Dimensions has done 3D capture and scanning for numerous Hollywood movies, and produced video game titles for 2K Games and Electronic Arts. Captured Dimensions founder and president Jordan Williams called the merger "an incredible runway for growth an opportunity."
