Fox To Open Amusement Park In Malaysia

by Libby Zay on

It looks like Twentieth Century Fox will be opening a new 25-acre theme park in Malaysia. The studio plans to have up to 30 film-themed attractions, including rides based on both “Rio” and “Alien.” So far, we can only guess what the $125 million overhaul of the Malaysian park (pictured above) will look like, but here are some ideas:

  • An “Independence Day” ride that looks like a UFO or flying saucer
  • “Dude, Where’s My Car?” bumper cars
  • A “Cast Away” water park
  • “Glee”- and “Moulin Rouge!”-themed stage shows
  • A “Die Hard” freefall drop
  • An “Avatar”-themed rainforest attraction
  • “Alvin and the Chipmunks” kiddie park

Anything related to “Star Wars” and “X-Men” would also be pretty amazing, as would something related to “The Simpsons,” but Universal Studios already has that covered. I guess we’ll just have to wait until 2016, when the park is slated to open, to see what Fox comes up with.

Hangar Now Serves As A Sunny Escape (PHOTOS)

by Libby Zay on
In the middle of snowy Germany, a former aircraft hangar serves as a sunny escape from the cold. Inside the mammoth building – which is tall enough to enclose the Statue of Liberty – is a Caribbean-influenced resort, Tropical Islands.

Besides a beach, a rainforest and a lagoon, Tropical Islands has seven spa zones inspired by various regions of the world, 13 bars and restaurants, and a golf course. There are also 200 rooms, plus an area on the beach for camping. On their website, the complex claims to be “Europe’s largest tropical holiday world.”

Located about 37 miles south of Berlin, Tropical Islands has a maximum capacity of 6,000 visitors per day. The hangar is the largest freestanding hall in the world, originally designed to protect large airships from the elements. It was purchased by the Malaysian corporation Tanjong in 2003, and officially opened its doors less than a year later.

The flora inside Tropical Islands makes up the biggest indoor rainforest in the world. It it home to around 50,000 plants representing 600 different species, some of which are rare.

Although the resort first opened in 2004, these photographs were taken just last week and were first brought to our attention by USA Today. Click through the gallery to see more.

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Editor’s note: A former version of this story mistakenly referred to the hangar as Soviet owned. Although the land was owned by the Soviet Army from 1945 until 1992, Cargolifter AG bought the former military airfield to construct airships, but the company went bankrupt in 2002.

[Photo credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

Photo Of The Day: Bicycle In Penang

by Jessica Marati on

Penang, Malaysia, is an island that reverberates with art and history. Flickr user Lauren Irons captures the vibrancy of this fascinating destination in this image of a colorful bicycle taxi set against the bright blue walls of the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. On her blog, Lauren describes a visit filled with Hindu festivals and Buddhist temples. “Should you find yourself in Southeast Asia in the near future,” Lauren says, “I would highly recommend a trip to this charming little island.”

Do you have any colorful photos of exotic destinations? Upload your shots to the Gadling Flickr Pool and your image could be selected as our Photo of the Day.[Photo Credit: Flickr user Lauren Irons]

Traveling Couple Hits 20 Countries In 312 Days On 3 Minutes Of Video

by Chris Owen on




In a quest to tackle 30 must-have travel experiences before they turn 30, career breakers Gerard & Kieu of GQ trippin traveled 108,371 kilometers (67,338 miles) in 312 days through 20 countries for one adventure of a lifetime.

Shooting 1,266 videos along the way, the traveling couple ended up with 11 hours of video but has reduced it and their entire year of travel to just three minutes as we see in this video.

While traveling, the couple simply gathered video, saving countless hours of editing and production for later.

“We never claim to be vloggers, which is probably why you hardly saw any videos from our travels last year,” says Gerard & Kieu on their GQ trippin website, charged with a simple mantra: See Eat Trip. “Most are short clips of random things that don’t really make sense on their own, so we didn’t bother sharing.”

A year of travel also means a lot of meals, some not so good, prompting the couple to post their Worst In Food this week.

Video Of The Day: People Of The Coral Triangle

by Libby Zay on

In today’s video of the day, filmmaker James Morgan follows the people of the Bajau Laut, one of the last nomadic marine communities in the world who move between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. These countries are part of the Coral Triangle, a roughly triangular geographic area that is called the “Amazon of the seas” because of its marine biodiversity. As you’ll see in the video, the people of the Bajau Laut spend most of their time living in boats, but their way of life is being threatened. Press “play” to find out more.