Universal Studios theme park in Frisco has been kept under wraps since it was announced on Jan. 11, 2023. Despite the lack of news from Universal, there might be a connection to the recently announced theme park in Orlando, Florida.
Fans speculate DreamWorks characters and properties will be the central theme of the park. Local Profile previously reported that Mayor Jeff Cheney posted a guide for what we know about the new park on Facebook. Yet, no plans for the interior of the park have been released to the public. The only hints available come from the graphic released by Universal and fans think the picture is full of easter eggs. If the immersive worlds in the layout of the park are accurate, the park may contain properties like Trolls, Shrek, Camp Cretaceous and Madagascar. And they may be on the right track.
On July 19, 2023, Universal announced that in 2024, Universal Orlando Resort will become home to a new set of popular stories from DreamWorks Animations’ franchises, which is part of the NBCU family of companies, in an all-new themed land — similar to Frisco, it’s focused on younger children.
Concept art for the new Universal Orlando shows characters from Trolls, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda. So, this is confirmed. Fans speculate the parks will share the iconic characters but also have their own unique features, but we don’t know that for sure. Also, there’s no announcement (yet!) for the same characters at Universal Frisco. Still, the Universal Orlando news could be a hint at what’s to come here in North Texas.
Here’s what we do know:
The Universal Studios Frisco theme park is expected to open sometime in 2026 on the northeast corner of Dallas Parkway and Panther Creek Parkway.
The park will sit on 97 acres of land, with the park itself taking up just 30 acres. Additional acres will be used for parking and hotel space. The hours for the park were confirmed during a city council meeting to be 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. But, actual hours will vary throughout the year based on demand, seasonality, holidays, peak periods and weekends, but the park will never open before 9:00 a.m., except for hotel guests or annual pass holders, for which the opening time may be 8:00 a.m.
The park’s closing time will not be later than 9:00 p.m., except for up to twenty days during the calendar year when the park can be permitted to have a closing time of 10:00 p.m. to facilitate holidays and special events. The park is expected to attract up to 20,000 visitors a day and more than 1,100 vehicle trips an hour during peak times.
On the city’s Universal page, all plans and studies are available to the public in order to give residents an idea of what to expect from the theme park, as well as stay updated on the latest Universal plans.
