Comcast recently held their 2nd Quarter 2018 Earnings Call, and news was positive for the Theme Park division of NBCUniversal with an increase in revenue. However, during the Q&A portion of the call, a question was asked regarding Universal filing a trademark for the name FANTASTIC WORLDS back on June 8, 2018. The trademark for FANTASTIC WORLDS describes it as: Entertainment services in the nature of amusement park and theme park services; entertainment services in the nature of an amusement park ride; entertainment in the nature of amusement park attractions, namely, a themed area.
Then on July 18, 2018, Universal filed another slew of trademarks for the name UNIVERSAL’S EPIC UNIVERSE as well as EPIC UNIVERSE. For each name, Universal filed seven trademarks and the descriptions were mostly for merchandise, clothing, souvenirs, home good, etc… One description was for: Amusement park attraction and theme park services; live stage performances, namely, presentation of live show performances; providing waterpark services; providing recreational areas for entertainment and amusement, namely, interactive play areas.
After both trademarks were discovered, speculation ran wild with some wondering if Universal’s Epic Universe could be the name of a new theme park and Fantastic Worlds would be a land in the park. Some have pondered that Fantastic Worlds could be the name of a new park at Universal’s Epic Universe could be a rebranding of the entire property. Others are chalking it all up to placeholder names and future marketing campaigns.
Universal’s official statement during the earnings call is that they are in fact still looking at a new gate in Florida AND they did in fact file a name registration for it. Universal believes that have “a lot of great IP” and they “love the theme park business” as it is one of the best and most consistent performing in their portfolio. Universal is also looking forward to turning Florida into a 2-3 day destination to a week long destination and a new park factors in heavily.
So, it appears that Fantastic Worlds or Epic Universe could definitely play into the naming of Universal’s new gate, but many things could change between now and an official announcement and the actual grand opening.
While it would be at least a few years away (even though they build faster than Disney), this would be a big step forward for Universal. Hopefully they’ll include an HP land in there as well.