Can anyone tell me how far away, distance wise, this new area is compared to their other parks?
Using the Measure Distance tool on Google Maps, it's about 3.35 miles (5.4 km) if they follow Universal Blvd. The starting point is the back side of CityWalk at the corner of Hollywood Way and Universal Blvd. Then ending point is the edge of the "new" plot of land.
Link to Google Maps:
https://goo.gl/maps/xtYV19GZ4bC2
Personally, I think that Universal Blvd is going to be the chosen route between the two Universal areas...for either a bus route or elevated rail line. I think both Universal and the City of Orlando will want to avoid using Kirkman Rd (State Road 435) because far more "locals" depend on that road when compared to Universal Blvd. Theoretically, there will be fewer complaints because Universal Blvd is mostly lined with tourist-related businesses like hotels.
That will be fascinating to figure out if they try and do anything interesting. There are all kinds of ramifications of running transportation over the Interstate and it's not getting shut down for them to build a bridge. All that ignores the land use permission from the intervening landholders, which will be insane to secure.
While I can't comment on issues related to Interstate 4, Orange County has a history of partnering with private companies on transportation projects. At one point, a privately owned and operated Maglev train line was planned between the Orlando International Airport and the International Drive area. That line was to have stops at the Florida Mall and the Orange County Convention Center. I'm not really sure the reason, but the project was scrapped.
In the above map, the area north of Sand Lake Road (State Road 482) is the City of Orlando. South of that is (I think) unincorporated Orange County. I imagine both entities will be eager to help Universal. The City of Orlando has provided some sweetheart deals in the past. For example, the City paid for a pedestrian bridge over Hollywood Way. That bridge is exclusively used by guests of Universal hotels going to Universal theme parks.
If an elevated rail line is constructed, I'm sure some there will be lawsuits. But, I imagine the line will run mostly down the median of Universal Blvd. Almost the entire length of that road has an open median in the middle.
I also anticipate that if a rail line is added, it will include a stop at the Orange County Convention Center. The North Concourse is just south of the second-to-last dot on the above map. Adding the Convention Center would make City/County officials more likely to support the project. And, it would benefit Universal as they could market their hotels as having easy access for conventioneers.
Maybe they are going to try and put some sort of Subway System in (unlikely due to water table but still possible)...
As someone else noted, a subway simply isn't possible. In the entire state of Florida, I'm only aware of 4 underground transit tunnels. The oldest is just a stone's throw from my house in Fort Lauderdale. It's a tunnel under the New River in Downtown that opened in 1960. The other public tunnel is the massive Port of Miami tunnel, which opened in 2014. The other two tunnels are private and they just happen to be at Walt Disney World. One is south of Disney's Contemporary Resort on N World Drive. The other is near the International Gateway at Epcot. That tunnel contains Epcot Resorts Blvd and Avenue of the Stars (which is the backstage road at Epcot).
The key aspect of all four of those tunnels is that they travel under bodies of water. They only exist because bridges were deemed to be impossible for their sites.
While technically possible, a subway connecting the Universal areas would end up costing billions. Given that an elevated route is far easier and cheaper, any underground route isn't even being considered.
