OT reports of 'disneyland' rival in kent

[Donald D Duck]

From the pages of BBC news this morning

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-19867695

Interesting choice of location, it is pretty grim all around there, but they could tap into theme park holidays being so close to ebbsfleet, people spend a day or two here before hopping on the Eurostar ( to do it properly...)

No offence if anyone lives in swanscombe BTW

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[angel_nix]

But Disney always has the draw of the characters. Will be interesting to see if it goes ahead though.

[Happy Tappy]

It's a fantastic location.

They've already got the Eurostar and a very fast connection to London.

I'd love to see something huge in this country. Unfortunately £2bn isn't going to get you a rival to Disneyland. More like another Alton Towers.

[Iain Chapman]

Hi All,

I seen plans have been announced today to build a Paramount branded theme park and "resort" in Kent. This would be a £2bn development on a 872-acre site. In addition to the theme park, the plans include a water park, an entertainment area with hotels and restaurants, music venues and event space.

Sky News -> http://news.sky.com/story/994756/par...sneyland-paris

This is Money -> http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/n...=feeds-newsxml

Yahoo! News -> http://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-theme-pa...--finance.html

The plan would be to have opened this by 2018.

Probably just what Mickey and his friends doesn't need....

Iain.

[aj2703]

The more the merrier i say. More-so if it brings the horrendously overpriced food and items down at Disneyland Paris.

[Bexx]

I have merged these two threads about this new park. Sounds interesting - thanks for the infomation guys

[Jonjo]

I expect Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park will be worried. Are they still going head with their plans for a theme park in Spain too or was that Universal?

[jillrobinson]

We don't normally do theme parks, never been to Alton Towers, Thorpe Park etc., and it's not Disney so don't think it'll make a lot of difference to me.

[Donald D Duck]

Originally Posted by Jonjo

I expect Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park will be worried. Are they still going head with their plans for a theme park in Spain too or was that Universal?

I just read the sail mail article on this. Apparently it is Murcia in Spain where another paramount park is due to open in 2015

Funny reading the article though as they were guessing which films could be made into rides. Indiana jones because they could do something similar toBTMRR, umm I doubt it, and Iron Man, again I think Disney might have something to say. I'm not sure how the whole the,e park rights thing is over here but I doubt Disney would be letting them use them

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[cherrymarzipan]

Originally Posted by jillrobinson

We don't normally do theme parks, never been to Alton Towers, Thorpe Park etc., and it's not Disney so don't think it'll make a lot of difference to me.

My thoughts exactly!

[Jonjo]

Originally Posted by Donald D Duck

I just read the sail mail article on this. Apparently it is Murcia in Spain where another paramount park is due to open in 2015

Funny reading the article though as they were guessing which films could be made into rides. Indiana jones because they could do something similar toBTMRR, umm I doubt it, and Iron Man, again I think Disney might have something to say. I'm not sure how the whole the,e park rights thing is over here but I doubt Disney would be letting them use them

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Disney has the European rights to all Indian Jones and Marvel rides in Europe. And your right the answer would be NO!

[Jonjo]

Can Paramount afford to build two theme parks in Europe? Especialy considering the present economic conditions in Spain and in the UK?

[dlpSteve]

There is a history of Paramount parks being announced and not built, so the proof will be in the pudding. However, if it does go ahead then it's fantastic news for us DLP fans as nothing gets a park into top gear like some healthy competition. Plus the deals may be better for UK visitors with such big competition right on our doorstep.

We all love DLP and the Disney magic, but a large number of DLP visitors will be casual guests who would relish the opportunity to not have to travel and not have to visit another country where English isn't the first language.

Game on - sounds like good times ahead if it all happens. Great timing with the recent WDC debt relief for DLP too - now they have more operating budget to compete. By 2018 DLP could have added a Star Wars Land and Marvel land, as well as the in development Ratatouille area.

[MazdaUK]

Although it is billed as Swanscombe, the "back end" of the site is right opposite to Bluewater (in fact its the other half of the disused quarry Bluewater was built on) as well as being just down the road from Ebbsfleet. Given that that junction of the A2 suffers anyway and can barely cope at busy times I wonder how they will adjust the layout?

I'm not holding my breath as they've been talking about this for 15 years at least already

I'm considering Universal in Spain for a future holiday option.

[mum2threemonsters]

I do believe the more choice for us is good for consumers, prices should become more rational and the parks need to be more proactive in their marketing and offers. Disney will always have the edge as we dont go to Disneyland for the rides its more the general 'magic' atmosphere we feel each time we set off.

However, the UK is seriously lacking in anywhere that holds your appeal for very long. The Theme parks are lacking character and are lucky enough to gain your attention for more than 2 days. Centre Parcs are fantastic but somehow we get bored whilst we are there with only the pools that entertain us. Investment in the UK needs a boost and hopefully something like this will help. I therefore feel happy that this is something that 'may' come about in the future.

Europe is a very large place and I seriously think between many of the countries should work together to each gain investment for a park (within short travel distances) that would rival WDW in Florida.