Photo TR: Adam's Malaysian 2024 Adventure

[jedimaster1227]

I never thought I'd have a chance to go to Malaysia but when life throws you an opportunity that is so unexpected, you lean into it and live in the moment. I knew virtually nothing about Kuala Lumpur before I found out I would be traveling there, but once I dug in, I found a variety of unique and personally appealing experiences... I even had the chance to visit two theme parks that I was always interested in, but had long resigned myself to the notion of never being able to see firsthand. 

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport was large and airy, which was welcoming after being in transit for a full day.

In transit to my hotel I found a nice looking water park that I unfortunately wouldn't have time to visit on this trip.

This looks familiar, rail style and all.

First stop, Din Tai Fung!

It was my first time eating at a location in person and it was well worth the hype!

Fortunately enough, this one was in a shopping mall connected to my hotel so I'd end up visiting multiple times during this trip.

Sadly, the Nando's in the same mall had closed for refurbishment just days before my arrival... But hope on that front was not all lost.

Don Don Donki looked and felt familiar... It was only once I was back home in the States that I realized that it was a part of the Don Quixote company in Japan. We rode the Don Quixote ferris wheel at their store location in Dotonbori, Osaka back in 2019 so it was neat to find an outlet from the company here. They also have an infectious theme song playing on loop in the store...

 

 

So excited to be here!

I passed out early on my arrival day and it took me several days for the jet lag to wear off. My hotel had an awesome buffet restaurant included in our stay which included a variety of Malaysian and Southeast Asia options (along with some more traditional Western offerings). When in Kuala Lumpur, curry laksa for breakfast was my entree of choice.

The restaurant also had an incredible "prawn bisque omelette" that they claimed was their speciality. I'd have several throughout the trip.

Some of the freshest fruits I've had anywhere were consumed on this trip.

Our hosts brought us to Restoran Siu Siu Sungai Besi, a local chinese restaurant known for indulgent meals, a variety of choices and a lazy Susan turntable for ease of sharing.

Some of the best pork belly I've ever consumed.

Coca Cola Rasa Asli (Original Taste) was, as expected, both delicious and refreshing.

I could have eaten here every meal for the rest of the trip and been in heaven.

The next morning on my way to work I found Spider-Man serenading the travelers at KL Sentral station.

Dolly Dim Sum nearby offered some different flavors compared to Din Tai Fung, though I'd still choose the latter as my favorite of the two.

Entirely coincidental, my interest in all things "tiki" was stoked when I discovered that the hotel I was staying at had an entire bar dedicated to the Jungle Bird drink, which I had no idea was first developed at its predecessor property nearby. 

Subtle in its vibes, it matched the decor of the hotel...

But the drink was pure tiki bliss in a cup.

On one of my few days off, I ventured around Kuala Lumpur to see some famous sights, check off a bucket list experience and more, starting with a visit to the famous Batu Caves. 

The artistry is distinctly unique to this region and feels very different than what I've seen in Japan or China.

Most people have seen the rainbow steps of Batu Caves before (I had) but never realized where it was or what it led to...

The level of detail on these shrines is incredible.

What an incredible setting!

Up we climb!

Almost there!

Batu Caves is home to several shrines built within the cavernous mountains of the area. 

It astounds me that someone found this place centuries ago and had the vision to leverage it as a place of worship. There's something incredible about the natural architecture that makes this space seem so much more sacred.

I made some friends during my visit.

Just don't feed them.

"Sponsored by Pepsi." And I was having such a good time too...

Time to move on to our next adventure...

We took a Grab (the Uber/Lyft equivalent in Malaysia) to the Awana Skyway station at Genting Highlands...

It's like Sprite... Plus lemon!

Why take the cable car you ask?

Because not only would we be treated to a picturesque journey into the foggy mountains of Genting Highlands but...

It would give us our first look into our next destination, Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park.

Just a few months prior to our visit, the park's Central Park-themed area experienced a fire that tore through the facade and impacted at least one restaurant and several backstage facilities. The adjacent Night at the Museum interactive dark ride was not damaged (aside from the facade), but given the extent of the damage to the land, this section of the park has remained closed for reconstruction.

I was a little disappointed we wouldn't have a chance to ride this attraction as I do like the franchise, but considering how I never thought I'd have a chance to visit this park at all, it was a loss I was willing to accept. 

The cable car drops you off directly into the Resorts World Genting complex, a massive combination of casinos, a shopping mall, dining, entertainment, the Skytropolis Indoor Theme Park, Genting SkyWorlds, a Ripley's attraction and much more.

In addition to Night at the Museum being down, Rivet Town Roller (a unicoaster) and Independence Day: Defiance (a flying theater attraction) would both be closed during our visit.

In our next update, we head into the park!

[Hilltopper39]

Looking forward to your report on Skyworlds. That park has fascinated me from it's inception and through construction with the Disney/FOX IP issues and all of the changes. Feels like the park has been open for a few years now but I don't think I've seen very many reports or videos about the park itself so curious to see what you thought of the place.

As always, great pictures, you always do a great job with these, and all of that food looks incredible!

[Garet]

We used Grab in Vietnam. One thing we noticed though was almost every driver constantly wanting to swap details and make cheap deals under the table outside the app, was it similar in Malaysia? However, after a few drivers, we settled on one since he had a big chunky car (in a country with v low road safety) and he was fantastic. He ended up almost doubling as our tour guide: great restaurant recommendations and really helped optimize our itinerary with his knowledge of when to visit places and beat the crowds.

[jedimaster1227]

^We had a few that offered to serve as private drivers but given the nature of our trip and timing not being something to plan around, it made more sense to just keep ordering new Grabs. 

[jedimaster1227]

Genting SkyWorlds is a park with an incredibly unique history, a very unique setting and in a lot of ways, it is a really solid park. It sits atop Mount Ulu Kali in the Titiwangsa Mountains in central Peninsular Malaysia, not far from Kuala Lumpur. The park sits on a plot of land occupied by the previous Genting Outdoor Theme Park as part of the Resorts World Genting complex. It was originally intended to open in 2016 as 20th Century Fox World, the first theme park themed to Fox-owned IP. Plagued by project and construction challenges and only compounded by the acquisition of much of Fox by The Walt Disney Company in 2018, the project was subject to countless delays. With a planned opening in 2019, Fox (in progress of being acquired by Disney) invoked the right to pull much of their branding and license rights out of the park, which resulted in a lawsuit and settlement, enabling the park to operate with some of previously agreed upon IP (Ice Age, Robots, Independence Day, Night at the Museum, Epic, Rio, Blue Sky Animation and Planet of the Apes while losing the rights to other key properties such as Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator and Sons of Anarchy. The loss of these properties required that many of the nearly-finished or under construction attractions and areas would have to be stripped of their theming and reworked to operate without their original intent. COVID-19 only worsened the situation, further delaying the park's opening to early 2022. Two of the park's major attractions never opened with the park and have yet to operate, one of which hasn't even completed construction--both of which developed by the now-bankrupt and recently-acquired Dynamic Attractions. 

All of that said, the park has some interestingly bright spots. In ways, it almost teeters on greatness at a standard that you'd find at Universal, maybe even Disney in some rare cases. But in a lot ways, that shine is surface-level. Once you get into it, you find that this is comparable to a Merlin-level park with a slightly higher opening budget that has since been operated poorly. The park itself is smaller than it appears, but has a decent amount of offerings packed into the compressed space. But for this reason, the lands and attractions butt up against each other without the natural transitions you come to expect from other parks of this caliber (or the caliber at which this park aspires to be). It doesn't help that a portion of the park is closed following the fire that took place in June 2024... Or the fact that several of the attractions inexplicably are not operating "just because." 

But as someone who has watched this park's evolution from afar, getting the chance to see it up close, and to observe what I saw firsthand, knowing in many places what the lands and attractions were meant to be with the 20th Century Fox IP still attached, it is a really unique experience to visit Genting SkyWorlds. 

Not unlike other parks in Asia, park maps make it a point to highlight every element in the park, right down to the restrooms, to speak to the volume of things covered by your price of admission.

The entrance of the park (seen in my previous update) feeds directly from the Resorts World Genting complex into the park's covered entryway. 

It's a decently sized set of entrance corridors leading to the two ways of getting around the park, but there isn't a lot found within this space besides shops, quick service options and games. 

Indepedence Day Defiance is a flying theater attraction inspired by the film franchise (more specifically, Independence Day: Resurgence). Sadly it was closed, "just because." 

Invasion of the Planet of the Apes might be the best example of how this park teeters on greatness...

The queue design is absolutely wonderful from the moment you step in. The tone is set that you're entering the post-Simian Flu-riddled world of the modern Planet of the Apes films.

I was blown away by how much detail was put into this worn down queue.

Brilliant.

You head into a pre-show grouping room where a pre-show sets the stage for where you are in the story.

Set in the aftermath of the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes film (with a plot oddly similar to the start of War for the Planet of the Apes), you meet Malcolm (the protagonist from Dawn, recast here for the ride) who explains that the General and his army are coming to try to restore power to the humans using a generator that is home to Caesar and his ape brethren. Malcolm needs your help to warn Caesar of their impending attack in the hopes of staving off war between the two species...

Clips from the films are used in the pre-show...

You board trackless hovercraft vehicles and go along your journey wearing 3-D glasses. Not unlike similar rides of this sort, you are moved through scenes of water, fire, bullets, explosions and jostling motions. The animation in the ride looks like something out of Time Crisis 2, which takes away much of the positive momentum from the queue and the pre-show, but graphics aside, it is a really solid attempt at translating such a well known franchise into a ride. 

Robots Rivet Town is based on the hit, one-film franchise Robots, starring Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Robin Williams and Amanda Bynes. The movie came out in 2005.

This is the whole of Rivet Town. Two stacked flat rides and a quick service kiosk behind me.

 Big Weld's Zeppelins (a Dumbo-like ride) and Rivet Town Roller (a Unicoaster) were both not operational today ("just because").

Not sure why they even let people into the land, considering there wasn't a single thing open in it during our visit. 

A land with nothing open is kind of fitting for such an obscure property...

Due to its mountaintop location, Genting SkyWorlds experiences rolling bouts of intense fog that give the park the eeriest of feels. 

Walking through Andromeda Base, you pass by "Descent into Darkness," one of the park's two incomplete Dynamic Attractions coasters. This one was supposed to be themed to Alien vs. Predator (as the rest of the land was themed to Alien vs. Predator and the franchise's Weyland-Yutani corporation. Ride vehicles, animatronics and a complex series of show elements were all designed but never installed in the massive show building. The coaster's outside track was put in place but the interior layout was never completed. The inside of the show building continues to be a massive, dark and empty box. And there is no real expectation that the coaster will ever be finished. To read more about what was meant to be, I highly recommend visiting this site for a full look at the land's original design, ride details, art and more.

Alpha Fighter Pilots was originally meant to be Colonel Fighter Pilots, themed to the Colonel Marines from Aliens. 

While the fog was still rolling through we moved on to the Ice Age land, by far the largest and most spread out section of the park.

Ice Age: Expedition Thin Ice has a massive indoor queue, not because it is that popular, but because it is so low capacity.

Even with only 50 people ahead of us in line, we waited almost an hour for this Oceaneering trackless dark ride to load.

The ride features the characters from the popular Ice Age franchise (probably the park's most valuable IP they were allowed to retain), both on screens and in the form of a few animatronics.

The ride was very short and only had a handful of vehicles in operation... It's obvious why this reminded me so much of Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin at SeaWorld Orlando.

Acorn Adventure is the land's signature rollercoaster. 

The queue is basic but winding with a few neat elements along the way.

The park went with Beijing Shibaolai as the manufacturer. The coaster, while fun, was exceptionally rough, to the point that I was convinced it was a re-themed remnant of the former Genting Outdoor Theme Park, but alas, it was just poorly designed.

The park could benefit from some sprucing, despite only opening a few years ago...

Samba Gliders from the Rio section of the park soars over portions of the Ice Age land.

Acorn Adventure's mountain is the largest structure in the park and can be seen from most lands in some way or another.

Ice Age also has a pretty large child's play area... With not a lot to do inside.

We moved back towards Andromeda Base as the fog rolled out to take a closer look.

It's not hard to see how this land was meant to feel like something out of the Alien films.

The story behind this coaster is such a shame.

It looks like it had such potential.

Andromeda Canteen is the land's quick service eatery. It has yet to open at the park to date.

Terraform Tower Challenge was originally going to be Alien: Terrorforma. It is a unique S&S combo tower with a pre-drop sequence that lowers riders beneath the loading area for a show scene (that was originally going to involve Alien eggs, facehuggers and the xenomorphs attacking) before shooting you up the tower to drop back down.

Boot Camp Training was meant to be Marine Boot Camp Challenge. The traditional ropes course (with a zip line coaster at the finale) had a strict, no-camera policy so this was as close as I could get to taking a photo before being turned away. After loading our items in lockers, we waited in line to harness up, only to find that, with Guests in the structure, almost all employees left the complex for 30 minutes, preventing the zipline from operating (or enabling guests to enter or exit the structure). Seeing this, we gave up before we started for fear of becoming stuck inside.

The exit portal between Andromeda Base and the Eagle Mountain section of the park is easily the best transition between lands that the park has.

The scale of the portal is huge.

And the pathway through the tunnel is quite fun for lighting junkies like myself.

You emerge from the tunnel in the more modern-era Eagle Mountain side of the park.

Sadly Eagle Mountain is, in essence a mini land with one non-functional attraction, a few shops and dining options.

Due to the park's tight footprint, it is nearly impossible not to see the attractions from several other lands from within view.

This is really nice rock work though.

Eagle Mountain is home to Mad Ramp Peak - Full Throttle Racing, a duel powered high speed motorcycle coaster that has never operated, also produced by Dynamic Attractions.

Don't mind my finger, this is one of the best photos I have of one of the few areas of the coaster you can get close to.

If you look closely, you can see the coaster track that sits beneath the ride's "pavement." The coaster trains would have motorcycles that rode above the pavement while a chassis was powered along the rails below.

The ride's initial launch segment...

You can kind of make out the coaster track-versus-pavement setup when looking at this bridge.

Without the coaster, Eagle Mountain is a pretty shallow land.

The coaster's gift shop contains some interesting items...

It appears that the park produced a high volume of merchandise for when it was meant to operate as 20th Century Fox World...

How do I know, you ask?

Logos like this are not uncommonly found on the merchandise sold (at discount) throughout the park.

From the side of Eagle Mountain, the path to the back half of Central Park is closed off.

The Night at the Museum interactive dark ride was unharmed by the fire aside from damage to its facade, but the entire land has been shut down due to the extent of the rest of the damage.

See what I mean?

A look at the Mad Ramp Peak station...

Independence Day: Defiance is pat of the Central Park section of the land for some reason.

The shop has everything the two fans of Independence Day: Resurgence would ever need.

ESD Global Defender here exists, for some reason.

Glad to see Setpoint continuing to find ways to build low capacity coasters around the world...

Sid's Rock 'N' Slide is a Zierer Kontiki that I missed seeing during my earlier laps of the park.

The Blue Sky Carousel is ornate and centered in its own plaza.

You can ride on the back of "recognizable" Blue Sky Animation characters...

Ah yes, the hit film "epic" is featured here too.

Epic Voyage to Moonhaven was so tucked in the back of the park, I nearly missed seeing it.

Some solid queue design to set up the ride's story.

This is a themed ABC Rides flume with dark ride segments. After seeing the state others were in, despite ponchos, after riding, we opted out.

Epic Hummingbird Flyers is the land's other attraction.

The design of the land is nice, but like other parts of the park, feels more like a mini land due to its small number of offerings.

Of all of the bubble waffles I've consumed, this was certainly one of them.

Oh look, a character.

Samba Gliders dominates the skyline of the Rio section of the park.

I will say, the Rio land was actually one of the better looking sections of the park.

Rio Carnaval Chaos! is a Zamperla Demolition Derby but it wasn't operating during our visit "just because."

Artsy fartsy. 

Another look at Acorn Adventure... This time from the Rio section of the park.

Very nice.

They even had the Rio characters in a show!

A look back at the Awana Skyway passing over the park.

The park has a pretty nice exit plaza...

I spy a retired logo...

Time to head out and do some more exploring of Genting Highlands!

[SharkTums]

When you really lay out the timeline of what happened to this park, it's amazing they even opened at all!  Such an ongoing disaster.  I really hope they can finish some of those signature attractions.  It's crazy how I don't recognize a thing from when we visited way back when!

[Hilltopper39]

It's a shame that Night at the Museum ride was closed, I feel like I saw some videos of that one and it looked pretty good. It's really a shame that they were never able to get those two dynamic attractions rides operating, even if they had to retheme Alien vs Predator to whatever. After the SFX coaster at Ferrari World opened I thought this one had a chance but I guess not.

That park as whole is a pretty interesting place, amazing it ever opened at all honestly. Not exactly somewhere I'm looking to go out of my way to visit but I guess if I was ever in the region I'd check it out. Great report as always. Interested to see what the rest of Genting Highlands was like.

 

[edels]

Amazing report! Thanks a lot for sharing. It really got me thinking about all the places I want to travel once things settle down. I can’t wait to get back out there and explore new destinations. But first things first—right now, I’m swamped with college work. I’ve been spending a lot of time chatting with the team at https://ukwritings.com/write-my-essay to figure out what kind of help I can get for my assignments. They’ve been a huge help, and once I get all my tasks sorted, I’ll be much more flexible to focus on other things, like planning my next trip. I’m definitely looking forward to that moment when I can just relax and enjoy traveling without the weight of assignments hanging over me

[larrygator]

Glad you got to take one of those unexpected trips that life throws your way, I've had two of them and even if everything doesn't work out perfectly they are the most memorable trips.  Hopefully, you can make it back in 15 more years when the park is more fulfilling. 

[jedimaster1227]

After our time at Genting SkyWorlds, we decided to roam the rest of the Resorts World complex, grabbing a bite and checking out the Skytropolis Indoor Theme Park. 

Madam Kwan's called to us as we were in the mood from some Malaysian cuisine.

We did not regret our choice!

Some amazing satay served here.

Skytropolis Indoor Theme Park is, as the title suggests, the complex's indoor theme park. Several of the attractions found within used to operate in the outdoor theme park that preceded Genting SkyWorlds. 

Many of these attractions are covered in lighting so help the attractions glow in the dimmer building that houses the park.

The surprisingly high ceilings enable the park's rides to reach impressive heights.

There's a lot going on in this park... It can almost be overwhelming at times.

They have a Disk'o here.

Super Glider, a Zamperla Volare that previously operated in the outdoor park, is one of the largest attractions in Skytropolis. It was closed during our visit, which was not disappointing at all.

Designed by the company behind Top Thrill 2.

Skytropolis also features a light canopy, clearly inspired by the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas, right down to the zipline running down its length.

The blue coaster with red supports is set to open later this year. 

Back down the Awana Skyway we go!

Next up on our agenda was to check out the Petronas Twin Towers.

While we couldn't get a reservation to go up to the incredibly popular observation deck, the towers and surrounding complex offer lots to see and do.

The Suria KLCC mall beneath the towers offered a variety of shopping and dining options. One of my favorite things to note while traveling is the unique offerings that local Starbucks have. 

These are definitely different flavors than those you'd find at home.

The towers look gorgeous at night!

"The world is a carousel of color..."

Another successful day ended with a Jungle Bird.

Breakfast of champions!

And dessert for good measure!

After a full day of work, I stopped by Pavilion Kuala Lumpur to roam... And to satisfy a craving that I had since I arrived in town.

Pavilion is an absolutely massive mall with shops, dining and entertainment across every floor.

They even have an entire section dedicated to Japanese shops (including Daiso)!

I wasn't going to pass up a chance to indulge myself in a melon custard bread and melon pan.

Yes, they have Pizza Hut here.

But this is why I was really here.

And it was absolutely worth the trip!

[jedimaster1227]

Later in the second week of my trip, I planned another bucket list stop for after work. This one, in many ways is more recognizable and even more rare than Genting SkyWorlds... Times Square Berjaya Theme Park, and most notably, Supersonic Odyssey was within reach. I had watched Robb & Elissa's POVs of this coaster and I had long since ruled out the possibility of ever getting a chance to ride it myself. But when I found out that I would be working in Malaysia for a few weeks, this concept was instantly revisited and I started to plan...

While not nearly as grand as Pavilion or Suria KLCC, Times Square Berjaya is a pretty nice mall... That just happened to be hosting a half court basketball tournament in the main atrium.

Getting ready to be enveloped in a fever dream. 

Times Square Berjaya Theme Park is the stuff of theme park game fantasy (pick your poison, RCT, NoLimits or Planet Coaster).

Paths intertwined with rides. A coaster weaving in around around other attractions and structures. Over the top theming. A totally indoor theme park with the scale of an outside amusement park. This place has it all.

Supersonic Odyssey is the park's Intamin looper, which sports an incredibly unique layout that spans the entirety of the indoor park. 

Every angle (and there are many to be found) yields a very different perspective of the coaster's layout. I spent much of my time just walking around, staring at it in awe.

They have a cute, mini Top Spin nestled underneath one section of Supersonic Odyssey. 

Not a single net underneath any of the track.

Oh there's more... Lot's more.

The theming is cartoon-like and otherworldly. It's almost overwhelming. 

Where my initial photos were on the ground floor, there's an entire section of the park dedicated to rides for younger guests, that Supersonic Odyssey weaves through. 

One of my favorite elements of this unique coaster.

The trains look and feel similar to California Screamin'/Incredicoaster with traditional over-the-shoulder restraints. Rider's in the front row have the option to pay for a GoPro-recorded ridercam (which, of course I bought). 

Absolutely incredible.

So few words are adequate to describe how over-the-top this park is.

Somewhere amidst all of this theming is a small carousel.

The lighting and the shine on almost everything in sight makes this feel even more unreal.

It's pretty impressive just how much there is to do at Times Square Berjaya.

Getting photos of Supersonic Odyssey in motion was difficult given the park operating one train every ten minutes or so, but I tried to grab as many as I could.

Another angle found.

The park features a giant panaromic window view out into the city...

Intamin knows how to design an element.

Just take it all in.

This robot stairwell design had me floored.

Even the floor design continuing in the ride area's flooring is a level of detail that I wouldn't expect.

Gorgeous.

I really didn't want to leave but the park closed as I was finishing my photo lap. I was able to ride Supersonic Odyssey six times (and nothing else) during my visit. I still can't believe that I made it to this park after years of watching the TPR POVs. 

I had to commemorate the visit with a ride photo (and video) as proof that it actually happened.

I celebrated the evening's milestone with a variety of fresh sushi.