Universal Kids Resort Is Opening July 1 in Texas — Here’s What’s Inside

Universal has spent decades building massive destination parks for thrill-seekers. Now it’s going in a different direction — and smaller. Universal Kids Resort, the first theme park Universal Destinations & Experiences has ever built specifically for young children, opens July 1 in Frisco, Texas.

The park is designed for families with small kids, full stop. Seven themed lands bring familiar Universal IP down to a scale that actually works for its audience: Minions, Shrek, Trolls, Gabby’s Dollhouse, Jurassic World, and SpongeBob SquarePants are all represented, with rides, interactive attractions, and character experiences built around children rather than adults who want to get their picture taken.

Per Deadline, a 300-room Universal Kids Resort Hotel is part of the complex, giving families the option to make it an overnight destination. Tickets and hotel packages went on sale Thursday, May 28.

A New Concept for Universal

The resort represents something genuinely new in Universal’s portfolio. The company’s existing parks — Orlando, Hollywood, Japan, Beijing, Singapore, and the upcoming Epic Universe — are built around big-ticket rides and broad appeal. Universal Kids Resort is a regional play, a smaller-footprint concept targeting the part of the family vacation market that has always had to compromise at traditional theme parks because the rides are too big, too fast, or too scary for the youngest guests.

Per The Wrap, Universal is framing the opening as “inviting a new generation to embark on kid-sized Universal thrills made just for them” — language that points directly at parents of toddlers and elementary-age kids who want the Universal experience without the logistics of a full Orlando trip. Frisco, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, puts the park within driving distance of one of the country’s largest population centers. The July 1 opening drops it squarely into peak family travel season.