Some new details have emerged about The London Resort, a massive theme park still in the planning stages that's already being compared to Disneyland-minus the whole Disney element. The $4.8-billion project is being called Europe's most ambitious new attraction and the only one developed on this scale since Disneyland Paris in 1992.
Akin to Downtown Disney and Universal Studios' CityWalk concepts, The London Resort's overall offering will be more than just the park itself, with an entire resort, shopping and entertainment complex to be built just outside the park gates. And, the plan is to eventually have two parks on-site, with the first to open in 2024 and the second slated for 2029 completion.
According to The Sun, designs featured in London Resort Company Holdings' planning application, which was submitted for government approval at the end of December, depict an 800-room hotel adjoining a waterpark with interlinked swimming pools, plus water slides and wave machines. Aquatic elements, as well as 70 percent of the overall theme park, will be undercover-a practical necessity in view of the often-rainy English weather.
Reportedly, there will also be three more on-site hotels, plus the waterpark, a convention center, live-music venue, a two-story food market, a preview center with interactive exhibitions and a 360-degree e-sports arena for gamers. Guests will enter the resort via a grand plaza, dubbed "The High Street."
Located on the Swanscombe Peninsula in Kent, just 17 miles by train from central London, the project will include a new dedicated access road from the A2 that connects to the capital. Since The London Resort will be situated right on the River Thames, two ferry terminals will be constructed-one on each side of the water. The resort will also be easily accessible from the Ebbsfleet International railway station.
A key element of creators' vision for the project is making it the first operationally carbon-neutral theme part, also building local biodiversity by creating wildlife habitats beside the River Thames, and creating a green network of amenity areas and parkland to both enhance and support the natural environment.
The entire complex will span nearly 1,150 acres and, when complete, will be three times larger than any other park in the U.K. It's also forecast to become one of the largest single-site employers in the country and, as a global destination, stands to make a significant contribution to the local and national economies.
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