Disneyland, Legoland, & Universal Studios – these famed themed park icons might have originated outside Asia, but in recent years, have started popping up across the region, making a visit less tedious than before. Aside from indulging in your favourite pop culture icons, movies or toys, theme parks offer a one-stop shop for visitors to not just have a blast on thrilling rides, but to also kick back and enjoy magical stage shows, take in the sights, or have lavish feasts at themed restaurants in between.
Since Tokyo Disneyland opened in 1983 in Japan, regarded as the first presence of an international theme park brand in Asia, audiences have seen many sprout out over the years by in the last 12 months, theme park superfans are spoilt for choice, as the likes of Disney, Universal and even Pokémon have expanded operations to cater to a growing number of fans here.
Here are the latest attractions to check out on your next dream holiday, arranged in order of when they opened:
1. Junglia Okinawa
Location: Okinawa, Japan
Opened: July 2025
Opening Hours: Varies by day
Ticket Price: From 4,500 yen (~S$36) [Adult] and 3,000 yen (~S$24) [Child] for Afternoon Pass
Sorry Jurassic Park, but you don’t have all the rights to all things dinosaur. Set within the lush greenery of Yanbaru, a World Natural Heritage site located in the northern part of Okinawa’s main island, Junglia Okinawa is a prehistoric adventure theme park designed to bring both thrills, relaxation and luxury in a location far from the city. The expansive site is home to 22 attractions suitable for adults and children alike, three restaurants, and 12 food carts.
Featuring both adventure-styled rides and experiences for thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies, visitors can feel closer to nature both in the present and past with numerous dinosaur-themed rides. Highlights include the “Dinosaur Safari”, a guided interactive experience where guests hop on an off-road vehicle and venture into park grounds, where they can get up close and personal with 18 different types of dinosaur animatronics. What’s more, mini stage shows are also included throughout, further immersing visitors in the prehistoric adventure.
Younger park-goers, or just those who wish for a more leisurely theme park experience, can opt for the “Finding Dinosaurs” attraction, which sees them embark on a guided walking tour as they trek into the jungle’s depths in search of a lost baby Pachyrhinosaurus. For a more fantastical experience, the “Yanbaru Friends” theatre show features adorable animal mascots, including Jan, an Okinawa rail and Shishi, a creature inspired by shisa (legendary lion-dog creatures) statues.
For the thrill-seeker, Junglia Okinawa features a host of high-adrenaline rides where visitors can take to the skies, including a 40-metre-tall Sky Phoenix zipline, a 20-metre Bungee Glider, a 20-metre free-fall Gravity Drop, and Human Arrow, a massive slingshot-like contraption that launches a rider like an arrow at high speed toward the forest. If these seem a bit too much to handle, the park also has lower-intensity, but still thrilling activities, such as multiple suspension bridge attractions, buggy or ATV courses, and even the massive Horizon Balloon hot air balloon ride.
Once you’ve had your fill of fun rides, Junglia Okinawa also offers many ways to kick back and relax, including the Panorama Dining restaurant with stunning views of the vast jungle, a massive spa facility featuring the world’s largest infinity bath, and, when the sun sets, a night festival complete with a spectacular fireworks show.
2. Jurassic World: The Experience
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Opened: 8 August 2025
Opening Hours: Daily 11AM to 10PM
Ticket Price: From THB 769 (~S$30) [Adult] and THB 579 (~S$23) [Child] for Off-Peak
If one dino-themed attraction is not enough, here’s another in Bangkok, based on the massively popular entertainment franchise, Jurassic Park. Jurassic World: The Experience is an immersive experience at Asiatique The Riverfront Destination that aims to immerse guests into a meticulously recreated “Park” where scenes from the Jurassic World films come to life.
Through this roughly hour-long experience, guests will be able to not just come face-to-face with realistic animatronic dinosaurs spanning the T. Rex, Velociraptors, or even the mutant Distortus Rex seen in the film, but they will also take part in a guided storyline tour where they can explore iconic scenes from the films, like the giant Jurassic-style gates, or interactive research lab zones where they can learn more about dinosaur behaviour and science via educational displays and exhibits.
Guests will also be doing more than just walking around, as the experience is supplemented by various interactive activities throughout, with highlights including training Blue, the famous velociraptor from the films, tracking a Stygimoloch by mimicking its call, or even escaping the monstrous Distortus Rex.
Of course, the site is filled to the brim with photo opportunities at every turn, allowing visitors to capture a snapshot of their experience with the many animatronics, giant dinosaur statues, a massive dino egg, or other movie-based jungle sets. Once the excitement comes to a close, guests can also grab a bite at the Fossil & Flame Restaurant, a themed dining spot inspired by the Jurassic World franchise.
3. PokéPark Kanto
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Opened: 5 February 2026
Opening Hours: Daily 10AM to 6PM, frequently closed on Thursdays
Ticket Price: From 4,700 yen (~S$39) [Adult] for Town Pass
For a franchise as iconic as Pokémon, it’s certainly celebrating its 30th anniversary in a grand fashion, as not only have we gotten our first cosy game title with Pokémon Pokopia, its magical world has also jumped straight out of the virtual realm into the real world with PokéPark Kanto, the first permanent Pokémon outdoor facility in Tokyo, Japan.
Situated within the Yoimuriland amusement park, the massive 26,000 square metre park marks the closest fans can get to living out their trainer dreams, and is split into main zones. Up first is Sedge Town, a main hub area that looks to be plucked right out of the games, where trainers can enjoy rides, shows, and of course, tons of shopping.
Highlights here include Sedge Gym, home to the famous daily Parade Show, which features an energetic performance by Pikachu and Eevee mascots, two kid-friendly rides named Pika Pika Paradise and Vee Vee Voyage, an interactive Pokémon Center experience, the Pokémon Trainer Market that serves a variety of themed menus, and a massive merchandise store boasting exclusive Carnival Eevee and Pikachu offerings.
Step into the great outdoors, and trainers are greeted with the Pokémon Forest zone, an outdoor exploration area further divided into different segments spotlighting various fan-favourite Pokémon, such as Pikachu and Eevee Forest, Rhyhorn’s Take Down Hill, Onix Passage, and Flower Garden. These different areas are essentially one giant game of hide-and-seek for Trainers, as they can test their knowledge and spot the various Pokémon statues spread around, some even hidden from plain sight for only the most hardcore of Trainers to find.
For a more detailed breakdown of what Trainers can expect, check out our early media preview of PokéPark Kanto.
4. Disney Adventure
Location: Singapore
Maiden Voyage: 10 March 2026
Sailing Schedule: Specific dates
Price: Varies based on duration and number of people
This combines two great loves – Disney and the sea, as one. If venturing across the open waters is more your cup of sea, look no further as Singapore is now home to the Disney Adventure, the largest Disney cruise ship in its line-up and the first in Asia.
With seven predecessors offering that curated, Disney experience out at sea, what sets a Disney Cruise apart from other themed attractions is the unique manner in which the experience is curated, as the Adventure is also the first cruise ship in the world to feature a fireworks display out at sea, and is also home to the longest rollercoaster at sea. Did we also mention that your packaged cruise comes with free dining for the duration of your cruise, including special menus items across six-themed restaurants, light bites across several restaurants, also free, as well as 24-hour room service that are also free.
Trust us, you’ve never had a fancy feast on the high seas until you tried a Disney Cruise as the amount of food on offer is staggering, with highlights that include dishes like the Miso Glazed Chilean Seabass at the grand Hollywood Spotlight Club, Duck Confit and Tandoori Habanero Bhuna Paneer Tikka at the oceanic-themed Navigator’s Club, and Palo Trattoria, an upscale restaurant offering Italian fare and wines for adults only.
With a massive capacity of 6,700, the Disney Adventure is aptly filled with dozens of Disney things to do while on board, from character meet and greets, live shows and performances, and even activities catered to your children. We’ve already covered a detailed breakdown of all the attractions guests can expect, but highlights include the Ironcycle Test Run at Marvel Landing, the aforementioned longest rollercoaster on a ship, where riders can even control its speed mid-ride, Woody and Jessie’s Wild Slides, or the Hiro Training Zone at San Fransokyo Street.
No cruise experience would be complete without magnificent stage shows, and the Disney Adventure features a Marvel-lous line-up headlined by Avengers Assemble!, an epic showdown between the heroes and villains from the Marvel Universe. Other highlights include the high-energy dance party Let’s Set Sail, and Remember, a new show developed exclusively for the Disney Adventure featuring fan-favourite characters from Wall-E, Coco, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin.
If all these aren’t enough, the Disney Adventure can be further enhanced for those who are in the know of some secret features on board. From secret off-menu food items to a secret and exclusive Disney charm collection activity or special beverages like the highly sought-after Poison Appletini, there’s always something extra available for those who know where to look.
Bonus
Ah, but we’re not done. As fun as such attractions are, fully experiencing what each has to offer can be a bittersweet moment, as some theme parks upgrade by occasionally switching up attractions and rides to keep things fresh. Which means what you enjoyed previously may no longer be around, so here are two upgraded attractions that place a fresh spin on the familiar.
1. Donkey Kong Country – Universal Studios Japan
Location: Osaka, Japan
Opened: 11 December 2024
Opening Hours: 9AM to 9PM (Park general hours)
Ticket Price: From 8,900 yen (~S$71) Standard park ticket + free Area Timed Entry Ticket via official app or 10,800 yen (~S$87) Express Pass
It’s a whole new world…. Oh wait, different brand but the intent is there as there is now a Donkey Kong-themed zone situated within Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan, recreating the game’s jungle worlds with sights, rides and other interactive experiences.
Headlining the new area is its signature ride, Mine Cart Madness, which sees guests board a mine cart and race through the jungle alongside Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, with the roller coaster even recreating iconic game scenes like jumping over broken tracks.
Apart from its main attraction, guests can also take part in various interactive mini-games such as the rhythm-based drum game, Rambi’s Jungle Conga, or collect hidden letters and secrets scattered around the area using a Power-Up Band and accompanying app, alongside meet and greets with the ape himself, iconic sights from the games, and themed food and merchandise for sale.
2. Minion Land – Universal Studios Singapore
Location: Singapore
Opened: 14 February 2025
Opening Hours: Daily 10AM to 7-8PM (Park general hours)
Ticket Price: Standard park ticket from S$76 (Adult) and S$59 (Child)
Here’s another park expansion hailing from Universal Studios, this time in Singapore as Minion Land brings the annoying but still adorable Minions from the Despicable Me franchise to life in a themed area consisting of three zones.
The Gru’s Neighbourhood zone recreates his house and laboratory seen in the films, and features a motion-simulator ride, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, where guests can experience being turned into a Minion and joining Gru on a mission. Meanwhile, the Super Silly Fun Land zone offers a seaside carnival inspired by the one seen in the films and features Buggie Boogie, a Singapore-exclusive Minion dance-party carousel, the Silly Swirly aerial ride, and interactive carnival games.
Finally, the Minion Marketplace zone is the land’s hub for all things shopping and food, consisting of numerous shops selling Minion merchandise and apparel, alongside foodstands for themed bites.
From Shanghai Disneyland to Legoland Malaysia, and Universal Studios Beijing to Ghibli Park in Japan, which is your favourite theme park or attraction in Asia?
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
Sherwin Loh
Yonk
