8. Legoland Dubai (Jebel Ali, Dubai)

Status: In planning
Opening in: 2016

The Merlin Entertainments Group, which owns and operates the various Legoland theme parks around the world, continues its race to catch up with Disney as the largest attractions operator in the world. Like Six Flags, it announced a park for the Dubailand development, but that fell through after the 2008 financial crisis.

Determined to continue its aggressive international expansion, Merlin was one of the first to sign up once again with the newly-revived project in Jebal Ali that is being developed by Meraas Leisure and Entertainment. Expect the usual selection of rides aimed at children aged 2-12, including the inevitable clones of Driving School and Miniland.

The latest: Merlin and Meraas both seem confident of hitting the proposed 2016 opening date, and construction work is underway.

7. Ferrari Land (PortAventura Resort, Salou, Spain)

Status: Under construction
Opening in: 2016

First opened in 1995 by a consortium involving the Tussauds Group, Anheuser-Busch and Universal, PortAventura was sold to the Italian private equity group Investindustrial in November 2012. The group clearly has big plans for the resort (already one of Europe's leading tourist attractions), and has struck a deal to bring the world's second Ferrari World theme park to Salou.

While it will be modelled closely on Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, the Spanish version is set to be on a smaller scale and won't be hosted entirely indoors like its predecessor. The budget is a relatively meagre €100 million, and there's no word on yet on whether this will be a full-blown second gate or simply an additional land within the existing PortAventura theme park when it opens in 2016.

What we do know is that the area will cover 75,000 square meters, and will consist of new rides, a 250-room luxury hotel, restaurants and shops. Ferrari promises that it will be "an opportunity for the whole family to experience and discover the world of Ferrari". The headline attraction will become Europe's fastest accelerator coaster, taking the crown from the 80 miles per hour Stealth at Thorpe Park in the UK.

The latest: It appears that Ferrari Land (as it’s now being dubbed) will, in fact, be a second theme park in its own right, according to PortAventura’s official website. The resort still lists a 2016 opening date for its new addition.

6. Romon World (Yinzhou, China)

Status: Under construction
Opening in: 2014

China's latest new theme park, Romon World, is expected to open in late 2014 after several years of delays. It is claimed that the park will be similar in style to South Korea's Lotte World, which borrowed a number of ideas from Disney but has become very successful in its own right.

One of the park's headline rides will be Legendary Dragon, a Premier Rides launched roller coaster. Other suggested attractions include an indoor Intamin coaster, an indoor shopping mall and an outdoor "island" of attractions.

The latest: Recent construction images posted to Vertical Horizons suggest that, while work on the outside areas of the park is nearly complete, the indoor area still has some way to go. It could be that the park’s opening slips into 2015, if these pictures are anything to go by.

5. Cinecittà World (Rome, Italy)

Status: NOW OPEN!

Mighty Rome, once the heart of a sprawling empire, will welcome a brand new theme park in 2014. Originally scheduled to open in 2011, Cinecittà World will be like an Italian version of Universal Studios. It will feature rides and shows inspired by Cinecittà Studios movies and television shows, designed by Oscar-winning art director Dante Ferretti. In total, Cinecittà World will include 16 indoor kids' rides, three thrill rides and 19 family attractions. Alongside these will sit seven self-service restaurants, 11 coffee bars, and entertainment arena and 57 snack and merchandise kiosks.

A second phase will add "The Village", hosting shops, restaurants and movie threatres. Phases three and four are set to add a second theme park and Cinecittà Nature, a 170-acre "natural environment" that will be used as a backlot for movie production but will also be accessible to the public.

One of the headline rides will be a clone of Thorpe Park's 10-inversion roller coaster Colossus, complete with some impressive spaceship theming. The park will also be home to the world's longest Mack Super Splash ride, at more than 550 metres. The ride will feature an entrance modelled on the Roman architecture seen in Ben Hur.

Another major attraction will be "multi-motion dark ride" themed around Dante's Inferno, complete with an entrance that warns "abandon all hope ye who enter here". We know little about it, but we're intrigued. Finally, expect to see a panoramic flight simulator and an Indian-themed Intamin free fall drop tower.

The latest: This will be Cinecittà World’s last appearance in this list, as it opened to the public in July 2014. You can check out a POV video of its 10-looping coaster below.

4. Cartoon Network Amazone (Bang Saray, Thailand)

Status: Under construction
Opening in: 2014

Originally scheduled to open on July 31, 2014, Cartoon Network Amazone will be a heavily-themed water park based on licensed properties from Cartoon Network.

Among the attractions due to be included in the park's line-up are a "high-speed water roller coaster" themed around Ben 10, a "vertical" slide featuring Jake from Adventure Time and Cartoonival, the "world's largest aqua playground" with over 150 attractions.

The latest: The following message recently appeared on the park’s website. “From August, a select group of lucky thrill-seekers, wannabe-surfers and swimmers will experience Cartoon Network Amazone for the very first time. Initially, in a pre-opening period, these invited guests and annual pass holders will be the only members of the public to sample the excitement of the world's first and only Cartoon Network-themed waterpark, as operator Amazon Falls Co. Ltd continues to embed and fine-tune systems, processes and procedures at the park. The grand opening -- when all features will be operational -- is scheduled for the end of the year.”

So, to summarise – the park’s grand opening is delayed, seemingly until sometime much later this year. But there will be a soft opening period throughout August.

3. HotGo Theme Park (Fushun, China)

Status: Under construction
Opening in: 2015

China's debt-fuelled spending spree has seen a number of new theme parks spring up over the last few years, and the HotGo theme park appears to be one of the most ambitious. Part of the larger HotGo complex, it is set to sprawl across 200 acres and looks like something of a Disneyland clone.

The park's backers appear to be aiming high, having engaged the Goddard Group (one of the world's leading, and most expensive, design firms) to help plan HotGo. They are said to be aiming for "Disney standards or better" - we'll have to wait and see if they can pull it off. In the meantime, a water park is already open on the site and the castle-themed hotel at its entrance is nearing completion.

The latest: There have been few updates on this project of late, but we can take a look at some artwork for the hotel, which is well on its way to completion:

2. Primorsky Oceanarium (Vladivostok, Russia)

Status: Under construction
Opening in: TBC

Set to be a SeaWorld-style combination of a massive aquarium, other attractions and a research center, The Primorsky Oceanarium is backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Guests will be able to take tours, views exhibits, watch marine mammal shows and interact with dolphins. Work appears to be seriously delayed, though, with the aquarium's own official website still boasting of an opening date in 2012.

The scale of the aquarium, if and when it does open, will be impressive - holding around 25,000 tons of water, making it one of the largest in the world. An underwater tunnel will be 70 meters long, 2.5 meters wide and equipped with a moving walkway. 800 species of marine and fresh water creatures are set to be on show.

Concept art appears to show that 3-D shows and other theme park-style attractions will also be a part of the Oceanarium's line-up.

The latest: The project appears to be stuck in limbo at present, with many of the aquarium’s marine life residents still holed up in temporary storage tanks. The official website warns “please note that the construction of Primorsky Aquarium is not yet completed...”

1. Shanghai Disneyland (Shanghai, China)

Status: Under construction
Opening in: 2015

As with its previous overseas resorts in Tokyo, Paris and Hong Kong, Disney isn't going it alone on the Shanghai Disneyland project. Indeed, the resort is set to be majority-owned by the Chinese government, which will take a 57% stake. Given the lacklustre performance of nearby Hong Kong Disneyland, it's perhaps not surprising that Disney is looking to minimise its exposure - particularly with initial reports putting the construction budget for the Shanghai project at around $3.6 billion.

Water is set to feature heavily in the Shanghai Disney Resort, as shown in the concept art above. The entire resort will be surrounded by a 60-metre-wide river, which will be around 10 kilometres in length. In addition, a central lake has been constructed a cost of some $41.5 million.

At least for the first few years of its operation, the undoubted centerpiece of the Shanghai Disney Resort will be Shanghai Disneyland Park. Its name suggests that it will closely resemble the other "Magic Kingdom" parks around the world (Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland), adopting the traditional hub-and-spoke design with a central castle and a range of familiar sub-lands. However, there will also be some significant differences between the Chinese park and the existing parks.

Shanghai Disneyland will not feature its own version of Main Street, USA. Instead, it will host a garden area in front of its iconic central castle. Part of this will be dubbed "The Garden of the Twelve Friends", replacing the traditional hub. Sponsored by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, it will combine Disney characters and ornate mosaics to represent the twleve Chinese Zodiac characters. It will span 11 acres, and boast rows of peach trees.

We don't have a confirmed line-up of rides, attractions and restaurants for Shanghai Disneyland as yet - although we do have an unconfirmed one. We also know for sure that one of the headline attractions will be Pirates of the Caribbean - Battle of the Sunken Treasure, a high-tech update of the classic Disneyland ride that will see guests joining in an adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Davy Jones.

The latest: Thanks to our friend Stefan Zwanzger (aka The Theme Park Guy), we have some new photos of Shanghai Disneyland construction to share with you.

The first image shows work on the Tron Lightcycles Power Run coaster – a concept that has long pitched for the US parks but will finally become a reality in China.

The next shows the overall scale of the work going on, which is truly astonishing.

The final image shows sections of roller coaster track, probably belonging to the park’s clone of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom.

Skip on over to the Theme Park Guy to see more shots of Shanghai Disneyland construction work, and look out for next month’s update on the world’s most exciting new theme parks here on Theme Park Tourist!