Universal Orlando to share 'major news' - the fourth park?

Could we getting next week the long-awaited confirmation that Universal Orlando is building a new theme park?

We've detailed the site plans before, and crews are working on site for the new park, though Universal has remained mum about the project to outsiders until now. Universal Orlando is planning a press conference on August 1 at the Orange County Convention Center to make an announcement to reveal "major news" about the resort.

Remember that the construction site for Universal's new park is across Universal Blvd. from the Convention Center, so that might explain the choice of a non-Universal facility for this press conference.

Of course, there's always the chance that this has nothing to do with the new park. Perhaps Universal is going to announce that Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure is ramping up to full-time operation and the Convention Center will be the new location of the queue's entrance, given the ride's popularity.

Or... not.

The new theme park — Universal Orlando's fourth or third, depending upon how you count Volcano Bay — is tipped to include attractions themed to Dreamworks Animation franchises including How to Train Your Dragon, perhaps Illumination franchises including The Secret Life of Pets, another Wizarding World of Harry Potter land — likely from the Fantastic Beasts era — and Orlando's installation of Super Nintendo World. The name has been leaked as "Universal's Fantastic Worlds," but a trademark dispute might take that name off the table.

Universal has developed a reputation for holding off until the last possible moment to announce new attractions, even after construction is well underway, leading me to joke that Universal wouldn't actually confirm this park until after it had been open for at least a year. But Universal Creative has been bringing personnel into Orlando for the project, and contracts will be going out for location construction, so it is about to become impossible to keep any type of lid on this news much longer.

And with Disney using its upcoming D23 Expo to crank up the hype machine for new developments at Walt Disney World over the next few years, it makes sense for Universal to get into the game by enticing people to plan their upcoming Orlando-area vacations around a new Universal Orlando park rather than new rides at that resort down south.

We will be on top of all the news on the first, so stay tuned for all the official information from Universal Orlando.

Buy Tickets: For discount tickets to Universal Orlando's theme parks, visit our officially authorized Universal Orlando tickets page.

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