Mark Woodbury outlines strategy for Universal destinations worldwide

Before being named Chairman and CEO in 2021, Woodbury served as Vice Chairman of Universal Creative (Universal’s version of Imagineering), which designs attractions and experiences worldwide; during the 2025 Bank of America Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, he outlined plans for Universal destinations in the U.S. and U.K.

An epic expansion

Naturally, the question everyone wants answered is when we can expect the first Epic Universe expansion, which most people are betting will be themed to the hugely successful “Wicked” franchise, rumors fueled by Woodbury himself, who said the “Wicked” movie sets were “a theme park waiting to happen.”

“If you fly over Epic or look at Google Earth, you’ll see greenfield space between the existing worlds,” he said. “That is strategically positioned to give us flexibility to expand a world or create a new world—and so that’s how we look at it.”

While being careful not to announce anything even remotely specific, Woodbury did say “there are multiple attractions in the works”—and not just at Epic. With three theme parks in Orlando, he implied there’s a “round-robin” approach that determines “the cadence of product delivery across the resort,” meaning Epic will definitely be getting something new; however, the latest park to open may not be next in the queue.

Enlarging the Universal Destinations footprint

Universal already has theme parks in Florida, California, and across Asia, but Woodbury said the current strategy is to bring the brand to new audiences—and new markets. That’s why we’re seeing the Universal Horror Unleashed experience in Las Vegas (which is also coming to Chicago), as well as the upcoming Universal Kids Resort in Texas and the company’s “next major destination resort” in the U.K.

While not “cannibalizing” what he calls the “big destinations” targeted at families with kids age eight and above, Woodbury says Universal Kids Resort provides the opportunity to court a new audience—namely, families with kids ages three to eight.

“We have a terrific pipeline of intellectual property in the form of DreamWorks, Trolls, and Gabby’s Dollhouse to build around,” Woodbury said. “Our first Universal Kids Resort allows us segment the audience and segment our portfolio of properties to build a regional product that is much more accessible for young families in a regional form.”

The Texas resort is Universal’s first kid-focused theme park, but Woodbury hinted that it likely won’t be the last, describing it as a “feeder” experience to introduce little kids to Universal IP before they grow into the big parks.

But let’s not forget about Universal’s original theme park.

Unlike Epic Universe, Universal Studios Hollywood is geographically challenged, which makes the upcoming hillside Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift roller coaster even more impressive, but Woodbury says there’s “a pipeline of new product coming to Los Angeles,” although he didn’t name names. However, with the arrival of the new coaster, the space on the Studio Tour formally occupied by Fast & Furious: Supercharged is up for grabs, making this the most likely place for the park’s next new attraction.

According to Woodbury, Universal was also looking for the opportunity to “plant the [Universal] flag” in new geographic locations, which brings us to the upcoming Universal park in Great Britain, expected to break ground in 2026 and open in 2031.

While we still have very few specifics about the attractions and experiences planned for the U.K. park—gleaned mostly by social media sleuths from concept artwork—Woodbury described the project as “a full-blown Universal theme park with an [integrated] 500-room hotel,” similar to Epic Universe. But, he notes, to prevent “cannibalizing” (there’s that word again) Universal’s strong U.K. visitation to Orlando, the new park will feature “a different mix of attractions” featuring stories that will appeal to the U.K. market. That certainly explains the James Bond stunt show rumors.

One interesting piece of non-news was in response to a question about Disney’s recent announcement for a park in Abu Dhabi.

“The Middle East has been sort of on a boom for a while,” Woodbury said. “It’s a place that you look, investigate, and make decisions about where your priorities are. Our priorities right now are driving Epic to full throttle and to execute on U.K., and then our mid strategy. And at the same time, looking ahead for other places and opportunities.”

So, it seems, those priorities are not located in the Middle East… at least not yet.