Gilroy, California

Gilroy Gardens

Renowned for its circus trees – sycamores seamlessly woven into the shapes of baskets and lightning bolts – this theme park also features rides like the Mushroom Swing (the biggest mushroom you’ve ever seen) and a greenhouse tall enough for a train and monorail to travel through it.  

3050 Hecker Pass Hwy., 408-840-7100, gilroygardens.org

Singapore

Gardens by the Bay

Made up of three waterfront gardens ruffled like Elizabethan collars, this park (which is scheduled to open in 2011) will hug Singapore’s Marina Channel. Fifty-metre-high “super trees” – rainwater catches disguised as giant shrubs – will create shady canopies and house restaurants and bars for visitors after a strenuous dragon boat race.  

1 Cluny Rd., gardensbythebay.org.sg

Angers, France

Terra Botanica

Journey to the centre of the Earth in 4-D with a movie that takes you on a voyage of two water droplets travelling from a magnolia’s leaves to its roots. The park also boasts a special-effects botanical odyssey across the Atlantic through violent storms and an extreme greenhouse, complete with four ecosystems that illustrate how plants survive intense conditions.  

A11, exit 16 to Cantenay-Épinard, 33-2-41-25-00-00, terrabotanica.fr

Te Puke, New Zealand

Kiwi360

Celebrate the national fruit at this 135,000-square-metre park. A 40-minute ride aboard a KiwiKart (think giant kiwi trolley) takes you on a tour through the lush fruit orchards, ending with a glass of Gold Kiwifruit Liqueur at the café. Then go all out with a helicopter ride over the park’s landmark: a four-storey-high slice of kiwi.  

35 Young Rd., 64-7-573-6340, kiwi360.com

 

New Theme Parks

Thrill seekers: Get ready to ride.

1 Battlestar Galactica scales new heights as Humans and Cylons battle it out on the world’s tallest duelling roller coasters, headlining the 20 rides and attractions at Universal Studios Singapore.

Sentosa, Singapore, rwsentosa.com/Attractions/UniversalStudiosSingapore

2 Wander around Hogwarts Castle, drink a pint of butterbeer and experience the turmoil of a young wizard’s life first-hand on the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

Orlando, Florida, universalorlando.com/harrypotter

3 Speed along at more than 200 kilometres an hour on the world’s fastest roller coaster at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the first Ferrari theme park.

Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, ferrariworldabudhabi.com

Photos: Ray Bouknight (Gilroy Gardens); Gardens by the Bay (Gardens by the Bay); Thierry Huau / Interscene (Terra Botanica); David Yeo T. B. (Kiwi360)