Universal Orlando Resort Expansion (Part 1)

[darkridelover]

Sarcastic or genuine?

LOTR are my favorite books and movie series. Even though I don't believe it will happen, I would love it to be part of this new park.
If I had the money I'd build an entire LOTR park. Entrance to the Shire on One End, Mordor on the Other. Throw in a Mines of Moria roller coaster and a Fly on Giant Eagles simulator and I would be in heaven. You would literally experience the "There and Back again" story.

 

[Viator]

Hillside huh?

Or...hear me out...

Either way, interesting to hear THAT tidbit, as it could help clue us to how accurate they may go for certain lands, and possibly doing something for a few attractions that are..unique

 

[Mike S]

Or...hear me out...

Either way, interesting to hear THAT tidbit, as it could help clue us to how accurate they may go for certain lands, and possibly doing something for a few attractions that are..unique

That’s a rocky, mountainous island. Not hills

 

[Suprachica79]

Or...hear me out...

Either way, interesting to hear THAT tidbit, as it could help clue us to how accurate they may go for certain lands, and possibly doing something for a few attractions that are..unique

Is it sad that I don’t know what either of these places are? (Runs inside steel bunker and locks the door)

 

[Viator]

Is it sad that I don’t know what either of these places are? (Runs inside steel bunker and locks the door)

No worries!

The place I posted was Berk from the DreamWorks Animation series, How to Train Your Dragon. The final film releases in March, but there is so much to mine in there.

And what Mike posted, was The Shire from Lord of The Rings.

That’s a rocky, mountainous island. Not hills

Ah, and that's good and all; but allow me to rebuddle with a cute dragon.

 

[Magic-Man]

How much do you want to bet that they’re going to make a live-action HTTYD remake in the near future?

 

[Mike S]

Ah, and that's good and all; but allow me to rebuddle with a cute dragon.

Yeah it’s definitely going to be in the new park which is what I was hoping for as I much preferred Zelda for the LC spot.

 

[Legacy]

How much do you want to bet that they’re going to make a live-action HTTYD remake in the near future?

I’m fine with that.

Hey ya'll, saw this already started trending. Editors looking at our version now, but what I gathered was Uni further laid out their stormwater plans. Even provided a map of some of the stormwater lakes. That map is probably what intrigues me the most as it shows a little bit more of what layout they may be playing with for parks/hotels. In total its another 231 acres for a total of 578 acres at play. Of course, remember that it doesn't mean ALL of the land will be used.

Anyways, I made a map highlighting the lakes below. I'll add link to story when I can.... eace:

EDIT: Link here (but paywalled, as usual): https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2018/09/18/breakinguniversal-orlando-adds-231-acres-to.html

My eyes are immediately drawn to the resort entrances.

What do mean? Look at the two pairs of ponds to the west and the south east. That looks like a road running between both, right? Now imagine entering through there.

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

I would think a dedicated bus lane would be a good possibility since the buses will be electric and probably self driving at some point anyway.

Nope. Unless they build an entirely new Road or use Kirkman. Universal Blvd and I Drive currently are too crowded to take away any vehicle road space. They can't really widen the road(Well hell I said the same thing about the 528 and thats about to become a monster) but it'll make more sense if it's above grade transit, despite cost. We'll see.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

The city knows whats about to happen. They have to have started on long-term growth plans to improve roadways for the increase of traffic on I-Drive and Uni Blvd.

Very exciting times.

 

[Wes]

Bring in theBoring company and make underground tube transport.

Musk has already slated florida as one of his top 10 pics for hyperloop, why not a mini loop, from park to park, to take you to another "fantastic world"

 

[OLSinFLA]

Bring in theBoring company and make underground tube transport.

Musk has already slated florida as one of his top 10 pics for hyperloop, why not a mini loop, from park to park, to take you to another "fantastic world"

In that short a loop, the cars wouldn't even get about 10 mph.

 

[ChrisFL]

If the new park had Lord of the Rings, Super Nintendo World, Jurassic World, Fantastic Beasts, HTTYD, Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Godzilla, and an original icon, this entire forum (including myself) would collectively lose their minds.

It’s possible, but it’s a wait and see. I personally doubt that it could ever happen. But just to think about what it would be like if it did....

I'm thinking we'll see Super Nintendo World, Fantastic Beasts, HTTYD, Kung Fu Panda and a few other things not in your list. I don't see LOTR or Jurassic World happening but that's 100% speculation

 

[Magic-Man]

I'm thinking we'll see Super Nintendo World, Fantastic Beasts, HTTYD, Kung Fu Panda and a few other things not in your list. I don't see LOTR or Jurassic World happening but that's 100% speculation

I do not see LOTR, but Jurassic World is a given at this point. It’s not going into IOA.

 

[Wes]

In that short a loop, the cars wouldn't even get about 10 mph.

Depends on where the loop starts and stops. And it doesn't have to be maximum speed or anything, just something smooth and quick,not to mention having an innovative thing like that would bring in other people just for the experience.

 

[OLSinFLA]

I do not see LOTR, but Jurassic World is a given at this point. It’s not going into IOA.

I'm not writing off LoTR anymore. The new runners of TE seem much more willing to franchise out, so long as they have final input.

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm not writing off LoTR anymore. The new runners of TE seem much more willing to franchise out, so long as they have final input.

With the kind of money being thrown around, I'm not surprised. $1 billion from Amazon as a start? crazy

 

[GoUCFKnights]

Nope. Unless they build an entirely new Road or use Kirkman. Universal Blvd and I Drive currently are too crowded to take away any vehicle road space. They can't really widen the road(Well hell I said the same thing about the 528 and thats about to become a monster) but it'll make more sense if it's above grade transit, despite cost. We'll see.

I believe I've been told it is county policy that no roads may exceed 6 total thru lanes (both directions, typically 3 lanes each) with at-grade intersections/pedestrians permitted. Much of I-Drive and Universal Blvd is either widened to that limit or scheduled to be. I certainly can't think of any exceptions to that rule within Orange County.

 

[Happytycho]

Finally got a chance to study the various plans from the last few weeks...

The mass grading plans from earlier this week still don't feel like anything close to a final arrangement of water features. I have to believe that the new park will have some sort of water involved, and the eventual layout of transportation, citywalk, and hotels will certainly create some idea locations to have ponds/water storage, but nothing of the sort is shown on these plans. The one thing that does stand out is that all of the ponds are being pushed as close to the outer edges of the property as possible, presumably so that they can develop the interior. The two ponds in the northwest corner also seem worth acknowledging, because the decision to locate one of them on the north side of the future Mandarin extension indicates some forethought and likely plans to be developing that part of the area in one of the earlier phases.

Based on the updated back of house development plans from a few weeks ago, I am feeling more confident that the Mandarin and Kirkman extensions will actually be happening. The most recent plans for the area closest to Sand Lake
Rd. no longer have any small buildings, just the 2 large main warehouses, one large office building south near the Mandarin extension, and a massive amount of parking. The parking almost seems like it could be large enough to be sufficient future employee parking with no garage needed for TM's, at least initially. The new development plans for the ~20 acres to the south of the warehouses and east of the future Mandarin Drive extension look very intriguing. To me, the grouping of small buildings and various concrete pads looks the start of what will eventually be the directly park related/support backstage area. The logical thing would then be for the first new park to have its northern edge adjacent to the south, with a northeastern edge towards the treatment plant and a northwestern edge towards the mandarin extension, but where it would go from there is anyone's guess. The only clear thing is that this theory explains why the center lake has been filled in - the 4th gate is likely going to go right where it was.

 

[Magic-Man]

Finally got a chance to study the various plans from the last few weeks...

The mass grading plans from earlier this week still don't feel like anything close to a final arrangement of water features. I have to believe that the new park will have some sort of water involved, and the eventual layout of transportation, citywalk, and hotels will certainly create some idea locations to have ponds/water storage, but nothing of the sort is shown on these plans. The one thing that does stand out is that all of the ponds are being pushed as close to the outer edges of the property as possible, presumably so that they can develop the interior. The two ponds in the northwest corner also seem worth acknowledging, because the decision to locate one of them on the north side of the future Mandarin extension indicates some forethought and likely plans to be developing that part of the area in one of the earlier phases.

Based on the updated back of house development plans from a few weeks ago, I am feeling more confident that the Mandarin and Kirkman extensions will actually be happening. The most recent plans for the area closest to Sand Lake
Rd. no longer have any small buildings, just the 2 large main warehouses, one large office building south near the Mandarin extension, and a massive amount of parking. The parking almost seems like it could be large enough to be sufficient future employee parking with no garage needed for TM's, at least initially. The new development plans for the ~20 acres to the south of the warehouses and east of the future Mandarin Drive extension look very intriguing. To me, the grouping of small buildings and various concrete pads looks the start of what will eventually be the directly park related/support backstage area. The logical thing would then be for the first new park to have its northern edge adjacent to the south, with a northeastern edge towards the treatment plant and a northwestern edge towards the mandarin extension, but where it would go from there is anyone's guess. The only clear thing is that this theory explains why the center lake has been filled in - the 4th gate is likely going to go right where it was.

The Kirkman and Mandarin Road extensions make a ton of sense in my mind. That way you can build the roads your way and not have to worry about any pre-existing traffic problems.

Is there a map showing where the road extensions will go?