I’m Duncan Baxter, and this is The Park File: an independent news and fact site about theme parks, written for a UK audience.
The centre of the site is Universal United Kingdom Resort — Universal Studios UK — the first Universal-branded theme park and resort in Europe, now being prepared in Bedfordshire with a target opening year of 2031. Around that I also cover the other Universal parks, and other destinations where it is useful, starting with Disneyland Paris. If I go to a park myself, I’ll say so, and I’ll file that as a trip report rather than as official news.
The Park File is not affiliated with Universal, Disney, Comcast NBCUniversal, the UK government, or any other park operator, agency or supplier. I don’t speak for those organisations, and they don’t review this site before it is published. Official names, ride titles and trademarks belong to their owners and are used here only to describe the parks and the news around them.
How I work
A park that has not opened yet attracts a lot of rumour. Some of it will turn out to be right. Some of it will not. My job is to keep those things apart.
- Confirmed means the fact has been announced by the park operator, the government, or another official body, or clearly reported from those bodies by a reputable news organisation, and I can point you to the source.
- Rumoured means it comes from trade or fan reporting only. I may still tell you about it, because you’ll see it elsewhere, but I will label it as a rumour and I will not write it as if it were a fact.
- TBC or unknown means it has not been officially announced, or reliable sources disagree. In those cases I would rather leave a gap than invent a date, a price or a ride detail.
Facts are stated directly, with a link to the source, and evergreen pages carry a last-updated date. If two official sources give different figures — site size, visitor numbers, journey times — I will record the disagreement rather than pick a winner.
Corrections
If I get something wrong, I will correct it. The correction will be clear, and I’ll date the change rather than quietly rewriting the record as if the mistake never happened. If the error is serious, I’ll add a short note on the page explaining what was wrong and what has been changed.
If you spot a mistake, please tell me. I’ll check it against the original sources and update the page if the correction is right. I can’t promise to answer every message, but I will not leave a known error sitting on a fact file.
This site will grow as the Bedford resort does, and as I visit other parks. The editorial standard should stay the same: sourced, dated, and honest about what is still unknown.