Universal Orlando files plans for 4,000 hotel rooms on Wet 'n Wild site

When Universal Orlando announced that it would close its Wet 'n Wild water park, many fans were left to wonder what Universal would end up doing with the property. Insiders attached to Universal insisted that the land would end up being used for hotels, but Universal made no public move to commit its intentions for the 64-acre site.

Until now.

Universal Orlando has filed plans with the City of Orlando to build 4,000 hotel rooms on the former Wet 'n Wild site, which is located across I-4 from the main Universal Orlando Resort property. (The Orlando Business Journal first found the plan filing on the city's website.)

Project 566, with a case number MPL2017-00017, is a "Framework Master Plan for redevelopment of Wet N Wild property." It covers both the water park itself, which was located west of Universal Blvd and south of International Drive, and its larger parking lots, which were located on the other side of Universal Blvd, across from the water park. One block of commercial properties (north of International Drive) and Interstate 4 separate the Wet 'n Wild land from the rest of Universal Orlando.

In addition to the Wet 'n Wild property, Universal Orlando now owns 475 acres north of Universal Blvd, across from the Orange County Convention Center. That's more than enough space to build a third theme park (*okay, fourth, if you're counting Volcano Bay), as well as additional hotel, convention, and entertainment facilities. Universal has yet to file plans for that land.

NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke has said that Universal's goal is to build between 10,000-15,000 hotel rooms on the Universal Orlando property. The addition of 4,000 rooms on the Wet 'n Wild site would put Universal over the 10,000-room mark, with the expansion of the Cabana Bay and addition of the Aventura Hotel putting the current number of rooms open or under construction at 6,200. For comparison, the Walt Disney World Resort currently has more than 30,000 hotel rooms on site.

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