The Southeast Unveiled: Top Attractions and Exciting Developments for 2024 and Beyond
The Southeastern United States is embracing a wave of transformation, innovation, and celebration with new attractions, cultural landmarks, and revitalized spaces. From the expansion of Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas to the grand opening of Universal’s Epic Universe in Florida, the region offers unparalleled experiences for travelers of all interests. Highlights include the immersive International African American Museum in Charleston, the highly anticipated Christian & Gospel Music Museum in Nashville, and Dollywood’s expanded Dolly Parton Experience. Whether you’re seeking cutting-edge theme parks, rich historical exhibits, or world-class art, this guide showcases the most compelling reasons to explore the Southeast.
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Kayaking the Arkansas credits to Visit Colorado Springs
Arkansas
BENTONVILLE – Progress continues to be made on Crystal Bridges Museum’s 114,000-square-foot expansion, set for completion in 2026. Design highlights include two new galleries that will allow the museum to display even more art; a dedicated floor with a series of educational spaces including community gathering areas, art studios and flexible facilities; a new bridge connecting the two galleries that will add non-traditional space for art that is not sensitive to light; and areas for reflection and gathering, including a new cafe and courtyard. crystalbridgtes.com
LITTLE ROCK – The reopening of the newly renovated Robinson Center, which has been billed as its “second act,” is the biggest recent development in the cultural life of Central Arkansas. The $70 million upgrade includes acoustical and technological enhancements, a grand ballroom and patio overlooking the Arkansas River, new conference spaces and expanded lobbies and public facilities, all wrapped up in a LEED-certified package that maintains the historical significance of the original structure. The renovation to the home of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Arkansas and Celebrity Attractions opens up a world of entertainment possibilities for the state and makes the center nationally competitive and capable of hosting any Broadway production. It will henceforth be home to the Miss Arkansas Pageant, which has been held in Hot Springs for the past 58 years.
The capital city’s first hostel, the Firehouse Hostel and Museum, located inside—you guessed it—a restored historic firehouse in MacArthur Park. The 1917 Craftsman-style building once housed Little Rock Fire Station #2, and the charmingly restored property is filled with artifacts from firefighting history. The hostel is close to all downtown attractions, including museums, galleries, shops, restaurants, and the vibrant SoMa and River Market districts.
firehousehostel.org.
PINE BLUFF – The Quapaw Nation, owners and operators of the Saracen Casino Resort, have announced that a 320-room hotel and 1,600-seat event center is expected to open in the fall of 2025. Since opening in October 2020, the state’s only stand-alone casino has become home to some 1,800 slot machines, 40 table games, BetSaracen (the largest sportsbook in Arkansas), a dedicated poker room and the Red Oak Steakhouse, which has received the honor of Arkansas’ best restaurant for the past three years. saracenresort.com
Sport fishing charters are popular at Hawks Cay Resort. Photo courtesy of Nancy Schretter
Florida
ORLANDO – Universal Orlando’s fourth theme park – the sprawling Universal Epic Universe – will officially open on May 22, 2025. Part of a 750-acre development, the new park will feature more than 50 experiences across five themed worlds: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, Celestial Park and Dark Universe. The park’s Universal Helios Grand Hotel, a 500-room Loews property, will offer a dedicated entrance into Epic Universe for hotel guests. Also opening in 2025 are Universal Stella Nova Resort and Universal Terra Luna Resort, both adjacent to Universal’s Epic Universe. universalorlando.com
SeaWorld Orlando will unveil the world’s first fully immersive Arctic flying theater in spring 2025. Building on the park’s new Penguin Trek family coaster, the attraction will invite guests to experience the Arctic by soaring over icy landscapes, diving beneath frozen waters and coming face-to-face with creatures found in the region. seaworld.com/orlando
Disney’s Hollywood Studios will debut a new Disney Villains show in summer of 2025. Taking the place of Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy on Sunset Boulevard, the show will feature appearances by villains like Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent. Also in the works is a new Villains Land at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park.
FORT LAUDERDALE – A major $190 million makeover of the International Swimming Hall of Fame complex is on the way, with plans for an aquarium, rooftop restaurant, new museum and a FlowRider surf simulator machine. The project will spruce up the city-owned peninsula south of Las Olas with a modern five-story building on the east side just a block from the beach and a six-story building on the west overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Completion of the project is expected in 2025. ishof.org
MIAMI – The Museum of Ice Cream in Downtown Miami is a sweet new attraction. Like its name, the happy-hued museum is centered around ice cream and unlimited samples of the tasty treat. The space is filled with interactive fun, from rainbow tunnels to a sprinkle pool you’ll want to jump into. Plus, there are plenty of swoon-worthy photo ops for those looking for social media content. museumoficecream.com
Norwegian Cruise Line has opened bookings for its newest ship, the Norwegian Luna, set to sail roundtrip from PortMiami starting in April 2026. Guests will embark on Caribbean getaways with onboard attractions like the first-ever Aqua Slidecoaster. Featuring vibrant hull art by renowned street artist ELLE, the new ship combines innovation, adventure and a deep connection to Miami’s dynamic culture. ncl.com
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Kentucky
BARDSTOWN – The world’s first bourbon-infused luxury resort, The Trail Hotel, will open its doors in spring 2025. The restored historic resort features 95 rooms, 8 suites, a 4-star restaurant and three bars. With direct access to Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail and the distilleries around Bardstown, The Trail Hotel promises an unparalleled experience for leisure visitors and a unique location for meetings and events with its expansive conference facilities. thetrailhotel.com
LOUISVILLE – American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is undertaking a $55 million renovation and expansion of its campus. The project includes The Dot Experience Museum, which is named after Braille, a written language composed of a series of six dots often used by people with blindness and low vision. The museum will have five exhibits across 28,000 square feet, sharing first-person stories of blindness and showcasing artifacts from historical figures without vision. Visitors will see Helen Keller’s desk and archives, Stevie Wonder’s piano, original Braille machines and Jose Feliciano’s guitar. The project is expected to be completed and open to the public in 2026. thedotexperience.org
The Speed Museum, the oldest and largest art museum in Kentucky, is receiving a $22 million makeover that will transform its outdoor area by adding a new park and sculpture garden. Free and open 24/7, the art park will feature 13 sculptures, 150 new native trees and picnic areas with access to the newly opened House of Marigold cafe. Set for completion in 2025, the project is called Speed Outdoors. speedoutdoors.org
Mississippi
GULF COAST – Amtrak will launch its long-awaited Gulf Coast route between Mobile and New Orleans, marking the first time in 18 years that passenger rail service will operate along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Stops will be made in Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula. The route is expected to debut by February, in time for Super Bowl LIX and New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations. amtrak.com
ROSEDALE – A new distillery, which will be the largest in the state, will be opening in the small, historic, riverfront town of Rosedale next summer.
North Carolina
RALEIGH – The most complete fossils of a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Triceratops ever unearthed made their debut at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in 2024. Excavated at a Montana ranch, the dinosaurs are displayed as they were found: locked together as if dueling at the time of their death. Named “Dueling Dinosaurs,” the exhibit, which will become a permanent one, coincides with the building of a state-of-the-art research center, SECU Dinolab, where visitors can view and meet the scientists looking to uncover these buried secrets. duelingdinosaurs.org
CHARLOTTE – Carowinds‘ Camp Snoopy will unveil two new rides in 2025 as part of the largest investment in family attractions in the park’s history: Snoopy’s Racing Railway and Charlie Brown’s River Raft Blast. carowinds.com
MOUNT AIRY – The new Siamese Twins Museum spotlights the life and times of the original Siamese twins, who lived in Surry County during the mid-19th century. It tells the story of the conjoined lives of Eng and Chang Bunker, for whom the term “Siamese twins” originated. Visitors learn about their early lives in a village in Siam (now Thailand) and their legendary career entertaining around the world before marrying sisters and settling down on a Mount Airy farm to raise two large families. The museum is located across the street from the Andy Griffith Museum. surryarts.org/siamesetwins
South Carolina
CHARLESTON – After 20 years of planning, the International African American Museum has opened at a former shipping wharf where approximately 40% of the nation’s enslaved persons disembarked. Immersive exhibits, interactive displays, and compelling storytelling chronicle the journey of African Americans, highlighting their resilience, achievements and ongoing struggle for equality. Permanent exhibitions feature 150 historical objects, more than 30 works of art, and nearly 50 films and digital interactive experiences. With a focus on the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia, the Gullah Geechee Gallery spotlights Gullah Geechee culture and contemporary issues facing their communities today. iaamuseum.org
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Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Photo courtesy of dafacct via Pixabay
Tennessee
BRISTOL – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol just opened with a casino, hotel, and Hard Rock Live entertainment and music venue. The complex features nearly 1,500 slot machines, over 50 table games, a sportsbook, a 303-room hotel and multiple dining options. The Hard Rock Live venue seats more than 2,000 people. casino.hardrock.com/bristol
NASHVILLE -The Christian & Gospel Music Museum will open in spring 2025 in downtown Nashville, one block from the Ryman Auditorium. A project of the Gospel Music Association (GMA), the 11,000 sq.-ft. museum will include interactive displays that celebrate current artists, preserve the legacies of Christian and gospel music trailblazers, and look to the future. The Dove Center will be located at the museum and will be the home of the Dove Awards, which are given by GMA to Christian music artists. gospelmusic.org/museum
At Nashville’s Frist Art Museum, the year’s first special exhibition is Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism (Jan. 31-May 4, 2025), which features works by Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Camille Pissarro and others that explore the intersections of art, gastronomy, and national identity in late 19th-century France. Its companion show, Tennessee Harvest: 1870s–1920s, has a local focus with painters taking both realist and impressionist approaches to the depiction of food and its cultivation. The cross-cultural exhibition Venice and the Ottoman Empire (May 3-Sept. 1) explores the relationship between two rival Mediterranean superpowers over four centuries (1400-1800). It draws from the vast collections of Venice’s storied civic museums. The Venetian loans are joined by a trove of recently salvaged objects from a major Adriatic shipwreck, a large Venetian merchant ship that sank while traveling from Venice to Istanbul in 1583. The items have never been exhibited outside Croatia, where the wreck occurred. The exhibition Fabric of a Nation: American Quilt Stories runs from June 27 to Oct. 12, showcasing about 50 examples of quilts and coverlets made from the 18th century up to 2021. fristartmuseum.org
PIGEON FORGE – In 2024, the Dolly Parton Experience opened at Dollywood theme park. Housed in multiple buildings, the multi-faceted experience includes exhibits that span the entertainer’s iconic career, a look at the inspiration for and results of her biggest dreams, the importance of her family and a curated exhibit that highlights Dolly’s signature style through the years. The Dolly Parton Experience is three times the size of the park’s former Chasing Rainbows Museum. dollywood.com
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