3. London Paramount Entertainment Resort

Location: Swanscombe, United Kingdom
Opening date: Spring 2020
Current status: In planning

After attaining government approval to start development in October and releasing its very first concept art in November – see the full report on those happenings here – London Paramount Entertainment Resort is finally ready to move full-steam ahead.

And that’s exactly what it did this month, inking a major deal with the BBC to deploy some of its most popular intellectual properties as attractions in the $3.14 billion theme park resort.  According to The Verge, the franchises possibly involved include Doctor Who, the recently relaunched Sherlock, and Top Gear, although it should be noted that previously existing deals or other legal entanglements might get in the way of their eventual arrival (such as a rumored Doctor Who ride for Thorpe Park, which has reportedly been in the works for quite some time and is believed to debut sometime in 2016).

What’s perhaps even more interesting to note is that London Resort Company Holdings, the developer behind London Paramount Entertainment Resort, has the rights to not only utilize the BBC properties as rides in the park, but also as shows, meet-‘n-greet characters, and, even, hotel themes elsewhere in the resort.  (If Universal Studios Japan just recently announced a brand-new hotel with a time-machine-themed elevator, why can’t London Resort Company do a TARDIS-branded one?)

When combined with Paramount’s own properties – everything from Mission: Impossible to Star Trek is already expected to be in the works for the park – the resulting lineup just might be enough to give the likes of Disney and Universal (and, apparently, Merlin Entertainments) a true run for their money; as The Verge noted, the latest season of Sherlock attracted roughly 69 million viewers in China alone – viewers who more than likely will be traveling to the United Kingdom and will, according to some recent tourism reports, spend some $1.5 billion by 2017.

By appealing to both the West and the East, London Paramount Entertainment Resort just may singlehandedly make the next decade the most competitive yet in the theme park wars.