Kyle Mccoy
A/E editor
On September 20th, 2021 Universal Studios will open the Universal Studios Bejing theme park. This will be Universal studio’s first theme park in the country of China as well as their third theme park on the continent of Asia. The theme park will be located in the Tongzhou District of Beijing, China. The park will cover approximately 130 acres of land and will feature seven themed zones.
The seven Zones are as follows Hollywood Boulevard (which is themed after the real-life location of the same name and this area will also serve as the park’s entryway). Jurassic World Isla Nublar (an area theme after the Jurrasic Park movies), WaterWorld (an area themed after the 1995 film of the same name), Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness (a land themed around the Kung Fu Panda film series), The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (a land themed around the Harry Potter series of books and movies), Transformers: Metrobase (a land themed around the Transformers movies), and finally Minion Land (an area themed around the Despicable Me movies.)
Most of the park’s attractions are the same as they are in Universal’s other parks with a few exceptions. The most notable of these exceptions is the aforementioned Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness which is not present in any of the other parks. This land is also the first full land to be based around the Kung Fu Panda movies. In total, the park will feature 37 rides as well as numerous restaurants and shows. The park was first announced on October 13th of 2014 with the intention of having the park opened by 2019. However, construction on the project would not break ground until October of 2016 which forced Universal to delay the parks opening until 2020.
The Spread of the COVID-19 pandemic caused the project to be delayed even further leading to the September 2021 opening date. The project was first proposed all the way back in march of 2012 when officials from Comcast(universal studios parent company) met with officials from China in regards to building a theme park in the country. Originally Comcast wanted to build the park in the city of Tianjin but they later settled upon the city of Bejing. Comcast was inspired to build a theme park in China in an effort to combat the success of Hong Kong Disney Land. Many analysts have speculated that Universal Studios Bejing will be able to successfully steal away some business from Hong Kong Disneyland.
The Project is estimated to have cost Comcast 7.7 Billion dollars to construct. In August of 2021, the park opened up to reviewers and testers; this soft opening was by invite only. This initial opening gave the world a glimpse into the park’s layout as well as other things such as which attractions would be the most popular. Overall the park is expected to have a strong opening day and Universal is hoping the park will be able to help further establish its brand in China.
