A Guest Article By: Michael Shorkey

For Many Years the Disney Parks have been seen as ‘THE’ Theme Parks to go to, but in the past decade Many Competitors have stepped up their game, especially Universal with their Parks in Hollywood, Orlando and Japan. They offer more “Grown Up” experiences with their attractions themed after various film franchises that Disney wishes they had access to. Another competitor is Warner Bros which currently runs Park in Dhabi and Australia and we also have Six Flags upping their budgets. But a Theme Park announced in 2012 called “The London Resort” with plans for a 2024 Opening, has Hardcore Disney Fans, at least in Europe, taking a look.

The London Resort, Originally known as “The London Paramount Entertainment Resort”, was announced in 2012.

Paramount was originally announced to be heavily involved with the project, even lending their name, but later pulled out in 2017 for unknown reasons. It’s funny that they were involved because if you remember Paramount used to have their own set of Theme Parks under the “Paramount Parks” Banner, the Parks included were King’s Island in Ohio, King’s Dominion in Virginia, Great America in California, Carowinds in North Carolina and Canada’s Wonderland Ontario. The Parks were sold to Cedar Fair after a CBS/Viacom Split in 2006, which is ironic as CBS and Viacom remerged in 2019. Imagine a Couple getting married, divorcing, selling the boat or car and then getting remarried. Go figure.

Even though Paramount has pulled their name from the Park there are still licensing various Paramount/CBS Properties for the Parks.

The Park was initially announced to be a competitor to Disneyland Paris, a park that is considered one of Disney’s biggest mistakes depending on who you ask. I personally think that a Disney park would work in Europe, but I think it should have been built in England, which is what The London Resort is doing. BBC and ITV have also agreed to feature attractions based on their properties, specifically Dr. Who and Top Gear, and 70% of the attractions are planned to be indoor attractions due to England’s Weather Conditions, allowing for Year Long Operations.

The Lands/Sections for the Park includes the Following:

Starport, The Jungle, The Isles, The Kingdom, The Woods, The Studio and High Street. The Park has 535 Acres of space dedicated to Rides, Shows, Restraints, Gift Shops, Restrooms and more with a budget of £3.5 Billion (Just over $4.6Billion USD).

This Park is a very ambitious Project that Looks to take Disneyland Paris Head On with rides/attractions based on popular Film and Television Franchises known worldwide and makes Disney’s Dominance in the European Theme Park Business look threatened by such a project. All that’s needed is a Universal Park in Europe to add further damage.

If you are a theme park goer and love to visit all sorts of International Theme Parks, Not just Disney, what are your thoughts on this new challenge to Disney’s Dominance?

Sources: Tyla.com, London Resort