Visit USA 2024 Travel Planner Intro

BRAND NEW IN THE USA

GREG-NOIRE-SONY

ISTOCK.COM/LPETTET

THE FAST TRAIN TO FUNSVILLE Brightline’s new Orlando International Airport station means high-speed trains now link Central Florida with Miami, taking under three-and-a-half hours for the 235-mile journey, at speeds of up to 125mph. It serves other Atlantic Coast destinations including Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. A privately-funded passenger railway, Brightline operates 30 trains a day, with 15 trains daily from both Miami and Orlando.

REMEMBERING THE ALAMO New at the Alamo in San Antonio, the Ralston Family Collections Centre is where visitors can see the collection of priceless Alamo artefacts gifted by musician and historian Phil Collins, and the Battle of the Alamo Diorama, which he narrates. Exhibits will move to the planned Alamo Visitor Centre and Museum when it opens in 2027. THRILLS, SPILLS AND SPLASHES Several theme parks have opened new attractions. Among them is Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood featuring the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Serengeti Flyer is a

pendulum-style double swing that is the tallest and fastest of its kind. SeaWorld Orlando opened the world’s first surf coaster, a stand-up ride called Pipeline, while in 2024 it will add another coaster, Penguin Trek, with SeaWorld San Antonio opening flume coaster Catapult Falls. KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR Music legend Bob Dylan is behind a project in Louisville’s NuLu neighbourhood that blends American whiskey and creative art. The Last Refuge is a collaboration between the star and the Heaven’s Door whiskey brand he co-created in the 150-year-old former Refuge of Kentucky Church,

PICTURED Main image: The International African American Museum, Charleston, South Carolina; Above: The new Las Vegas Sphere, an immersive entertainment venue. Below: New Brightline train services connect several popular South Florida destinations; the new U.S. Marshals Museum in Arkansas features immersive and interactive exhibits; the Museum of Broadway in New York City takes visitors behind the curtains of popular plays and musicals.

transforming it into a bar with 1,500 whiskey brands and a retail store.

ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/CZGUR

A new exhibit at Historic Fort Snelling’s Plank Museum & Visitor Center in Minnesota honors Dakota and Ojibwe people

USMM

MUSEUM OF BROADWAY

visitusa.org.uk 15