January 13, 2016
Planning a Family Vacation? 9 Must-See Attractions Opening in 2016
With the holiday season behind us, the timing couldn’t be better to start thinking about your next family vacation destination. From a visit to the largest modern art museum in the U.S. to a stroll through the Disney theme park in Shanghai, CNN compiled a list of the 9 must-see attractions opening in 2016. Check out the list below:
Dubai Parks & Resorts (United Arab Emirates). This $2.8 billion wonderland, 25-million square-foot theme park complex will open in October 2016 with a watepark and three themed zones based around the Lego franchise, Bollywood films, and Hollywood blockbusters such as Shrek and The Hunger Games. Developers believe 6.7 million visitors will test out some of the complex’s more than 100 attractions in the first year.
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Shanghai Disneyland. In early 2016, Walt Disney and his cast of beloved characters will arrive in mainland China for the first time with the opening of Shanghai Disneyland.This long-overdue $5.4 billion resort will feature six themed zones, positioning familiar favorites like Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, alongside newer additions like Treasure Cove and Gardens of Imagination.
FIFA Football Museum (Zurich, Switzerland). The FIFA World Football Museum will debut in Zurich in early 2016. The $177 million facility is set to house more than 1,000 exclusive exhibits dedicated to the sport; not to mention the world’s largest collection of soccer books.
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. More than 20,000 square feet larger than the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in Manhattan, New York, and with three times the exhibition space, SFMOMA will become the largest modern art museum in the United States when it opens to the public on May 14 in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood.
Ark Encounter (Kentucky). If a simulated Biblical disaster sounds like your ideal vacation, then northern Kentucky’s forthcoming Ark Encounter might just float your boat.This divisive theme park — which proselytizes the theory of creationism — will open to the public on July 7 with a full-scale replica of Noah’s Ark that’s said to be the largest wooden structure in the world.
Doha Festival City (Qatar). Scheduled to open in September 2016,  this miniature village has 2.6 million square feet of lease-able area with 550 shops, 100 cafes and restaurants, a hotel and convention center, and two entertainment zones. There’s also an outdoor amusement park and indoor snow park for skiing and sledding.