Universal Destinations & Experiences

Universal Destinations & Experiences (UD&X), formerly Universal Parks & Resorts, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.Lieberman, David. "Comcast Completes Acquisition Of GE's 49% Stake In NBCUniversal." Deadline Hollywood (March 19, 2013)

The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme parks and resort properties around the world. Universal Destinations & Experiences is widely known for its wide range of attractions, themed lands, and other experiences that draw inspiration from popular classic and modern pop culture icons and intellectual properties in various media, both from NBCUniversal and third-party companies across all Universal parks.

History The origins of Universal Destinations & Experiences date back to the 1910s, beginning as a studio tour at the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California, before expanding into themed entertainment and resort destinations worldwide. In 1915, Carl Laemmle allowed the public to enter Universal City and observe films in production for a 25-cent admission fee, representing the first step to the theme park attractions that would later develop. By the early 1960s, studio tours run by tour bus companies had become a recurring attraction.

In 1964, Universal Studios Hollywood formalized the Studio Tour as an organized visitor experience, with purpose-built trams, parking, and food facilities. The tours offered guests a behind-the-scenes look at motion picture production, setting the stage for the park's gradual expansion into a full-fledged theme park. Its success paved the way for additional parks in Florida and overseas.

In 2024, approximately 59 million guests visited Universal Studios theme parks, making it the fourth largest amusement park operator in the world. The company operates four theme parks in the United States — Universal Studios Hollywood and the three parks at Universal Orlando Resort — as well as parks in Japan and Beijing. Its brand is licensed for Universal Studios Singapore. The Orlando Resort also includes the Universal Volcano Bay water park. An additional Universal theme park is currently under construction: Universal United Kingdom, planned for 2031.

On March 8, 2023, Universal Parks & Resorts announced it was rebranding as Universal Destinations & Experiences. The company opened Universal Epic Universe in May 2025, followed by Universal Kids Resort in July 2026.

Current theme parks

Universal Studios Hollywood

Universal Studios Hollywood became the first Universal Studios theme park when it opened its doors on July 15, 1964, long after it was originated as a studio tour in 1915, after the Universal original founder, Carl Laemmle, opened Universal City, California near Los Angeles. In May 1993, Universal CityWalk opened outside the gates of the theme park, featuring 65 entertainment-themed restaurants, nightclubs, shops, and entertainment spots. It also contains Universal Cinema operated by AMC Theatres, offering 19 screens including an IMAX Theatre and stadium-style seating. Approximately is within and around the surrounding area of Universal City, including its theme park and the film studio adjacent nearby.

Universal Orlando Resort

Universal Orlando Resort (formerly called Universal Studios Florida) opened to the public on June 7, 1990, in Orlando, Florida, starting with Universal Studios Florida. It features themed areas and attractions based on the film industry.

On May 28, 1999, the Universal Islands of Adventure theme park was opened, featuring various themed islands emphasizing adventures and characters embodied in the attractions, and expanded Universal Orlando into a family vacation resort. Simultaneously, Universal CityWalk was added to accommodate the guests within the resort leading to the two parks. Loews Portofino Bay Hotel opened at Universal Orlando Resort in September 1999, followed by Hard Rock Hotel in December 2000, Loews Royal Pacific Resort in February 2001, Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort on March 31, 2014, Loews Sapphire Falls Resort on July 7, 2016, and Universal's Aventura Hotel on August 16, 2018.

In 1998, Universal Orlando acquired Wet 'n Wild Water Park (founded in 1977 by SeaWorld founder George Millay), which served as the resort's main water park until it closed on December 31, 2016. On May 25, 2017, a new water park, Universal Volcano Bay, opened. Universal Volcano Bay is adjacent to the Cabana Bay Beach Resort, and Universal refers to it as its third theme park. The new water park consists of 18 attractions, including slides, two lazy rivers and raft rides. The park includes two volcano themed rides: the Ko'okiri Body Plunge, a 70-degree-angle, 125-foot water slide; and the Krakatau Aqua Coaster, a canoe ride rapidly traveling among the peaks and valleys of the central volcano in the park. The park used a virtual queuing system for most of the attractions, working off of a wristband each guest receives when they enter the park called Taputapu, until that was discontinued in October 2025. On the former site of Wet 'n Wild, Universal built two new hotels: Universal's Endless Summer Resort – Dockside, and Universal's Endless Summer Resort – Surfside.

On August 1, 2019, Universal announced Universal Epic Universe, a third theme park addition to the Orlando resort. The company later announced the park guests would enter the park through Celestrial Park, which would be the gateway to the four additional worlds of Epic Universe: Super Nintendo World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe, based on the classic Universal Monsters. The park officially opened on May 22, 2025.

The Universal Epic Universe theme park campus is located several miles southeast of the original Universal Orlando Resort. The 750-acre (300 ha) site is situated south of Sand Lake Road and east of Universal Boulevard. The land was bought in pieces and nearly doubles the acreage that Universal owns in Central Florida. In and around Epic Universe are three new Loews hotels: Universal Helios Grand Hotel, Universal Stella Nova Resort, and Universal Terra Luna Resort. The Universal Stella Nova Resort opened January 21, 2025, the Universal Terra Luna Resort opened March 25, 2025, and the Universal Helios Grand Hotel opened April 16, 2025.

Universal Studios Japan

After almost three years of construction, Universal Studios Japan opened on March 31, 2001, in the Konohana-ku district of Osaka, Japan, and was the first Universal Studios theme park to open outside of the U.S. It was also the first Universal theme park to operate within the Asian region. The park incorporates attractions from both Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood and features a CityWalk district, a shopping mall with multiple official Universal hotels and many restaurants and shops, including stores selling Universal Studios merchandise and Osaka souvenirs. The theme park occupies an area of .

Universal Studios Singapore

Construction of the Singapore park began within Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa, Singapore on April 19, 2008. Universal Studios Singapore was given a soft opening on March 18, 2010, and later a wide opening on May 28, 2011. It was the second Universal Studios theme park to operate in Asia and also the first in Southeast Asia. Like other Universal theme parks, it features attractions from various Universal and other studio companies' properties, including Jurassic Park, Shrek, The Mummy, Waterworld, Transformers and others. The land it currently sits on is 20 hectares (49 acres) in size, which occupies the easternmost part of the 49-hectare (120-acre) Resorts World Sentosa, and is marketed as a "one-of-its-kind theme park in Asia". Unlike other Universal theme parks, Universal Studios Singapore is owned and operated by Genting Group with a license from Universal Parks & Resorts.

Universal Beijing Resort

The Universal Beijing Resort is a theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Tongzhou, Beijing, China. Once completed, Universal Beijing Resort will consist of two theme parks (Universal Studios Beijing and a second planned theme park), a water park, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex (Universal CityWalk Beijing), and six hotels. Construction of Phase 1 of the Universal Beijing Resort completed in April 2021. Construction on Phase 2 was set to begin construction by 2025. It is jointly owned by Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment Co., Ltd. (BSH Investment), a consortium of four state-owned companies, and Universal Parks & Resorts.

Universal Studios Beijing opened on September 20, 2021. It features rides and attractions themed primarily to Universal-owned movies, TV shows, animation, and music, and as well as licensed properties from other companies (e.g. Warner Bros. Entertainment, etc.). The project was announced on October 13, 2014, with more than 20 billion RMB being invested into the project.

Universal Kids Resort

On January 11, 2023, Universal also announced a "new concept"-styled theme park, geared towards families with children. The park, in Frisco, Texas, features themed lands based on Universal's brand of entertainment, innovation, and characters. On December 1, 2023, the name of the resort was officially revealed as "Universal Kids Resort", while construction began by November 2023. The park had an early preview on June 24, 2026. The park opened on July 1.

Current experiences Universal Horror Unleashed (Las Vegas)

On January 11, 2023, Universal announced a "horror experience" called Universal Horror Unleashed, which serves as the anchor tenant of the Vegas Immersive District, a expansion of Area15, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike Universal's seasonal Halloween Horror Nights events, it is a permanent and year-round fixture, occupying a 110,000-square-foot (2.5-acre) space. The attraction opened on August 14, 2025, at Area15.

Future theme parks and experiences

Universal United Kingdom Resort

On December 19, 2023, Universal Destinations & Experiences confirmed that of land had been purchased in Bedford, United Kingdom for potential theme park development. On April 5, 2024, the official Universal UK Project website revealed public engagement forms and dates to public events to gain reviews and opinions from the locals until May 3, 2024. The project, already in its advanced stage, will have two new railway stations, with Kempston Hardwick's moved further south to the entrance with its level crossing replaced with a bridge, flat car parks, a better road connection with the A421 and improvements to Junction 13 of the M1, and the location of the park with its Street Area and four original restaurants and 500-bed hotel within the southern section of the bought land, with the park starting off similar in size to Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe, but would later expand to be the size of Universal Studios Japan, which does not include the northern section by the lake which would be reserved for temporary buildings and future projects. The park will also focus more on wildlife and be more environmentally friendly. Talks were ongoing and there was no time frame as to when construction would begin.

On April 8, 2025, Universal Destinations & Experiences and the United Kingdom government revealed their plans for a theme park in Bedford, which was scheduled to open in 2031 as a part of a 476-acre entertainment resort complex. In the same statement, Universal predicted that 8.5 million visitors would attend the park in its first year, generating an expected £50 billion of revenue by 2055.

After being given the green light on December 21, 2025, Universal United Kingdom Resort began construction on January 12, 2026.

Unnamed second park at Universal Beijing Resort