Story highlights
Wet n' Wild Sydney will feature the only wave machine producing 10-foot barrel wave
Dubai Adventure Studios says its high-tech rides won't exist anywhere else
Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Japan to feature replicas of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade Village
World's largest interactive play fortress planned for Amazone Cartoon Network, Thailand
Wondering where to get your next adrenaline fix?
We’ve rounded up the most exciting theme park openings taking place within the next two years.
Aquatica, San Diego
Opening date: June 2013
Highlight: Tassie’s Twister – a 75-foot water slide followed by a six-story funnel.
SeaWorld’s Aquatica water park opened this summer.
In addition to the heart-jumping water rides, there are various animal habitats: the lazy river snakes through a flamingo enclosure and the wave pool borders a freshwater turtle habitat.
Converting this neglected corner of San Diego into a tropical paradise was no mean feat. The white sand used to create the 43,000-square-foot artificial beach was shipped in from the coast and thousands of trees and shrubs were also planted.
Springfield, Orlando
Opening date: Summer 2013
Highlight: delicious Krusty burgers
Visitors to this Simpsons-themed amusement park, located within the Universal Studios theme park, will be able to stock up on basics at Apu Nahasapeemapetilon’s Kwik-E-Mart, relax with a refreshing pint of Duff beer at Moe’s Tavern and chow on a Krusty burger.
The last two activities are best avoided before a spin on Kang and Kodo’s Twirl n’ Hurl, which promises to take “foolish humans on an intergalactic spin designed to send them into orbit.”
Wet n’ Wild Sydney, Australia
Opening date: December 2013
Highlight: rainbow-hued, eight-lane, speed-racer slide
Wet n’ Wild Sydney will feature one of the world’s largest wave pools, the only wave machine capable of producing a 10-foot barrel wave, the world’s tallest water coaster and a water slide with eight lanes.
This water park will be the largest in the world, and will join forces with Australia’s Surf Life Saving New South Wales organization.
The color scheme of one of the rides is based on the colors used on the NSW surf lifesaving cap.
Marvel City Theme Park, Dubai
Opening date: December 2013
Highlight: educational exhibitions – ideal for anyone who’s ever wondered how strong Spidey’s web really is.
Calling all geeks!
The guys behind Marvel City Theme Park have made the most of the space on offer (it’s an indoor theme park) by relying heavily on projections and 3D effects.
However, there will also be plenty of white-knuckle rides along with various educational exhibitions that explain the real-life scientific principles behind superhero life.
Amazone Cartoon Network theme park, Bang Saray, Thailand
Opening date: late 2013
Highlight: vertigo-inducing speed-racing slides
Amazone will be Cartoon Network’s first water park, with rides inspired by the channel’s most popular characters, including Ben 10, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny and Johnny Bravo.
Younger visitors can play on what will be the world’s largest interactive play fortress, while elsewhere there’ll be a lazy river, speed-racing slides and an enormous wave pool.
IMG Worlds of Adventure, Dubai
Opening date: early 2014
Highlight: Marvel Zone, where visitors can meet their favorite fictional heroes, including Iron Man and Spider-Man
There will be roller coasters, a 12-screen cinema and four themed zones at IMG Worlds of Adventure, the world’s largest indoor theme park, covering 1.5 million square feet. Developers have predicted that 20,000 people will visit every day.
Jurassic Dream, Daqing Dream City, China
Opening date: mid-2014
Highlight: brachiosaurus-themed half-pipe ride
Jurassic Dream will become one of the world’s largest indoor theme parks when it opens in 2014.
Highlights will include an enormous, walk-through attraction where visitors will be confronted by animatronic dinosaurs, a fire and water show based on Chinese mythology and dinosaur-themed thrill rides.
Dubai Adventure Studios, Dubai
Opening date: late 2014
Highlight: high-tech rides. The team behind the park claim several will be unique, next-generation rides that won’t exist anywhere else in the world.
Dubai Adventure Studios will be a movie-themed park that will also host various film premieres.
Details are hard to come by but the park, which will cost over $598 million to build, will comprise five zones and cover 8 million square feet.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Osaka, Japan
Opening date: late 2014
Highlight: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey will be one of the park’s scarier rides.
Japanese muggles love Harry Potter and the country is going all out to promote this new park – earlier this year a train on Japan’s JR Sakurajima line was given a Harry Potter-themed makeover.
The park will cost $482 million to build and feature replicas of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade Village.
Paramount theme park, Murcia, Spain
Opening date: mid-2015
Highlight: Paramount Live! An all-singing, all-dancing tribute to Paramount’s greatest musicals.
Murcia was chosen as the location for this theme park because of its sunny climate – on average the area gets 300 days of sun a year.
The park, which will be divided into different zones, will contain several hotels, shopping malls, an auditorium and convention center.
Other highlights will include a 4D Mission Impossible ride and an attraction inspired by spaghetti Westerns.
Visitors will be tasked with restoring law and order to a fictional city and kicking out the bad guys.
Adventure World, Warsaw, Poland
Opening date: August 2015
Highlight: Castle Island, where you’ll be able to ride on a wizard’s broomstick, meet Merlin and fight fire-breathing dragons.
There will be five zones at Warsaw’s Adventure World theme park, along with a water park (Poland’s largest), several hotels, restaurants and nightclubs.
There will be a huge, bazaar-themed shopping area and a 5D (?!) cinema in the Lost Valley area.
The Old Town brings to life various creatures from Polish folklore, and the Legends area, which has a Mayan theme, is where visitors will find the white knuckle rides.