Universal Kids Resort - Frisco, Texas

[Diservations]

I forget most parks out side of the Florida bubble and CA close most winters

Also its February.....I guess march is when I can buy my tickets? I'm hoping its sooner then later, I plan to be there in June which feels safe but...man I would like to have my hotel room at least bought soon

It's gotta be soon, right?!

 

[Stitch_101]

I forget most parks out side of the Florida bubble and CA close most winters

Also its February.....I guess march is when I can buy my tickets? I'm hoping its sooner then later, I plan to be there in June which feels safe but...man I would like to have my hotel room at least bought soon

Most Texas amusement parks (Like Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Over Texas, Seaworld, ect) are open year round as well, but with limited weekends only in January and February before expanding in March for the rest of the year through Christmas. I wouldn't be surprised if we ultimately see Universal Kids follow the same route.

 

[UmmYeahOk]

This park will receive one expansion. A water park. Which will be in the works soon after the park opens and the locals are “used” to Universal’s presence.

Anything beyond that is very wishful thinking.

There is already a water park not too far from there already in The Colony. …and parking is free.

An indoor waterpark would be even better. That would allow for year-round occupancy in the hotel when the park closes in the winter. Grapevine's Great Wolf Lodge is very popular and well-known to locals. It wouldn't take much convincing.

Is Great Wolf Lodge far enough away? UKR would need to be more affordable to compete. We looked at possibly doing a staycation, and it was just too expensive. My husband equated it to the price of going to WDW (minus travel).

That’s what happened to Grapevine’s Grapefest and Main Street Days. Before COVID, it was free admission on Thursdays before 5pm. You could buy an unlimited ride wristband for $25, and pick it up at 5 too. I’d pick up my kid from school, drive straight there, park for free due to availability, walk past the two $10 lots, enjoy the actual event that promoted local businesses, eat a meal, then have my daughter spend hours playing and riding. When they got rid of the wristbands, hardly anyone was there, the event was 3 days instead of 4, and I overheard a mom tell her husband that it was just as expensive as going to Six Flags. She was absolutely right! It was! And we haven’t been back since. A nice town festival my family got to enjoy for three generations now too expensive.

I'm not talking about an indoor water equal to the scale of Great Wolf. I just noted it for its popularity with locals. I'm talking about one geared for the park's demo. Smaller slides. No wave pool. Smaller lazy river.

UKR is going to close every winter. I won't link to our article, but here's the important bit:

"John McReynolds, SVP of External Affairs at Universal Orlando, told city residents that the park will likely be closed for a long period during winter months. He said that it’s more cost-effective to do maintenance during a longer break rather than each night as they do at the company’s larger parks."

But Six Flags is open in the winter for Holiday in the Park. I could see it becoming a weekend only place.

 

[PurpleFrog]

I’ve seen a ton of travel agents posting the same type of blurb in the last week or so, about Universal Kids opening later this year, info on the lands, get on my list now for bookings, that sort of thing. So many that it started to get eerily repetitive. A few have mentioned they’re finishing up training modules from Universal about UKR, and at least one mentioned they have some details about tickets and pricing but they’re not cleared to share it publicly yet.

So surely ticket info will go public soon, if it’s already being shared with agents?

 

[Diservations]

Great Wolf Lodge is about 30 minutes away. I think DFW can easily support a second, smaller indoor park.

There are a lot of differences between Six Flags and Universal Kids Resort, but the biggest one is the hotel. Six Flags is a theme park. If we get one of our lovely ice storms, they can just shrug and say, “We’re closed.” Problem solved.

UKR doesn’t have that luxury. Even if a weekend-only operating schedule makes sense (and based on McReynold's comments, I doubt that's happening), they’ll still need a plan for hotel guests on weather days: entertainment, dining, character experiences, something.

 

[PurpleFrog]

UKR doesn’t have that luxury. Even if a weekend-only operating schedule makes sense (and based on McReynold's comments, I doubt that's happening), they’ll still need a plan for hotel guests on weather days: entertainment, dining, character experiences, something.

I could see them following Dollywood - closed entirely in Jan, Feb, and half of March. Then open for local spring break in Mid-March and stay open through the holidays in December for “holiday in the park” events. Our weather in TX is similar (but less cold) than in TN.

 

[Stitch_101]

Great Wolf Lodge is about 30 minutes away. I think DFW can easily support a second, smaller indoor park.

There are a lot of differences between Six Flags and Universal Kids Resort, but the biggest one is the hotel. Six Flags is a theme park. If we get one of our lovely ice storms, they can just shrug and say, “We’re closed.” Problem solved.

UKR doesn’t have that luxury. Even if a weekend-only operating schedule makes sense (and based on McReynold's comments, I doubt that's happening), they’ll still need a plan for hotel guests on weather days: entertainment, dining, character experiences, something.

It's just as easy for them to keep the park open weekends only in winter and simply have the resort hotel closed those times. The Hotel would be closed with the alternative anyways. And even Universal Orlando has to deal with the occasional weather closures (Hurricanes and Tropical Storms) while having many more hotels. Texas sees less ice storms than Orlando has to deal with tropical weather.

 

[Diservations]

It's just as easy for them to keep the park open weekends only in winter and simply have the resort hotel closed those times. The Hotel would be closed with the alternative anyways. And even Universal Orlando has to deal with the occasional weather closures (Hurricanes and Tropical Storms) while having many more hotels. Texas sees less ice storms than Orlando has to deal with tropical weather.

You don't have to convince me that a weekend schedule would be cool! I'm just bringing up why UKR doesn't fit any North Texas theme park mold and reminding everyone what McReynolds said. Remember, it's about more than just weather. It's about maintenance.

 

[Stitch_101]

You don't have to convince me that a weekend schedule would be cool! I'm just bringing up why UKR doesn't fit any North Texas theme park mold and reminding everyone what McReynolds said. Remember, it's about more than just weather. It's about maintenance.

Oh I get that, but I also urge caution in taking a comment in an interview at face value when things are almost certainly in flux and no actual official announcement has been made. If we took every off the cuff pre-opening comment at face value about Epic Universe there are quite a few things that should be very very different. And this is a company known for operating exclusively year round theme parks... They know how to maintain attraction maintenance on a year round operating schedule.

 

[Diservations]

Oh I get that, but I also urge caution in taking a comment in an interview at face value when thinks are almost certainly in flux and no actual announcement has been made. If we took every pre-opening comment at face value about Epic Universe there are quite a few things that should be very very different. And this is a company known for operating exclusively year round theme parks... They know how to maintain attraction maintenance on a year round operating schedule.

This wasn't in an interview. It was in a town hall chat with locals. That's what gives it more weight in my opinion. McReynolds has been very deliberate and honest in dealing with Frisco residents. He went so far as to meet anyone living in Cobb Hill for coffee to talk about their concerns.

I know Universal can maintain rides. Again, I'm just relaying what an exec said about ops. We'll find out soon enough.

 

[Andysol]

There is already a water park not too far from there already in The Colony. …and parking is free.

Not just The Colony- but there are HOAs with Wave pools and sand/beach entries, city aquatic centers that have surf riders and tower slides, etc.

Texas isn’t short on water parks.

Great Wolf Lodge is about 30 minutes away. I think DFW can easily support a second, smaller indoor park.

Heck- like I said just above; they could support 10. It’s DFW. People love to spend money and are constantly looking for weekend things to do with their kids since we have zero of the natural elements other locations have (beaches, mountains, forests, etc). We don’t even have hills.

Not only do we have great wolf lodge; we have Epic over in Grand Prairie and even The Cove right next to Frisco in Little Elm would be your closest example. Two lane Surf rider, a couple slide towers, climbing wall, small lazy river, etc. The Apex over in McKinney has a couple slide complexes and lazy river too. So plenty of indoor options.

I just honestly don’t see universal doing indoors for the cost and maintenance vs benefit. But if what you say about maintenance ends up coming to fruition, a case could be made for sure.

I could see them following Dollywood - closed entirely in Jan, Feb, and half of March. Then open for local spring break in Mid-March and stay open through the holidays in December for “holiday in the park” events. Our weather in TX is similar (but less cold) than in TN.

This seems like a very good option as well.

Even the first winter will likely be very different than what we end up with in winter #2, 3, 4, 5, etc as they get their numbers, maintenance necessities, and crowd trends. If there is enough demand for keeping the park open in the winter, I could easily see them finding a way to. And even if they planned on being open at certain times but the money just isn’t there; then I can see them not opening. It will take a while to see where we finally end up.

Which means I could also see them waiting 1-2 years before moving forward with one of two plans (and indoor or an outdoor based on what they see).

Gonna be fun. Personally, I’m hoping for an outdoor. I loathe the chlorine smells of indoor parks. And they just seem so much grosser.

And if we get anything on the scale of runamukka reef, it’s going to be awesome.

 

[Diservations]

The SpongeBob mural is almost complete, and it appears crews may have started drywall finishing and painting inside the hotel rooms.