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Skytropolis

Genting Highlands, Malaysia

“Pay-per-ride indoor park in need of a signature ride”

Welcome to Genting Highlands, a leisure resort that’s located approximately 30 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian capital isn’t only known for its Petronas Towers and Batu Caves, but also for its scorching heat. Daytime temperatures reach 30°C year-round. Besides, humidity is often so high that a stroll through the city rather feels like a stroll through an oven. As Genting Highlands’ high altitude creates a considerably more pleasant climate, many Malaysians consider this resort as the perfect destination to escape KL’s unbearable temperatures. Genting offers multiple hotels, casinos, convention centres and two different theme parks. The most famous one is definitely Genting SkyWorlds, but you’ll also find some thrills at Skytropolis Indoor Theme Park.

ROLLER COASTERS

Skytropolis is a weather-proof indoor amusement park that mainly offers off-the-shelf flat rides. However, coaster enthusiasts aren’t completely forgotten. The park offers two credits, but one of them was still under construction during our visit in January 2025. Bolt was built by a Chinese manufacturer and it certainly doesn’t look like a standard family coaster. The layout circles around the park at a great height, so it kind of looks like a monorail on roller coaster tracks. I don’t expect Bolt to reach spectacular speeds, but it seems quite cool to fly over Skytropolis.

The second credit is called Super Glider and once again, we don’t get to ride it. This isn’t due to technical difficulties, but rather to the bizarre opening times of attractions at Skytropolis. Although the park is open from 10 AM until midnight during our trip, most attractions are operational for a much shorter time. Nearly all kiddie rides close as early as 6 PM, while most thrills (including Super Glider) don’t open until that time. I guess they do this to keep the park’s attractions running with minimal staffing, but it’s far from ideal for visitors. Fortunately, we don’t miss out on a fantastic credit, as Super Glider is a Zamperla Volare. I’ve been able to ride several identical rides, and I found them horrible every single time. Honestly, I would be surprised if this Malaysian indoor version offered a considerably better ride experience.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

Skytropolis has about 20 rides, which are divided into three categories. These are Family Rides, Adventure Rides and Thrill Rides. The first category includes rides that are relatively uninteresting for adults. We see a train ride, bumper cars for kids, a carousel and tea cups. It’s noticeable that most of the rides were decorated with an abundance of colourful lights, creating a funfair-like atmosphere throughout the park. Still, I wouldn’t state that theming is nonexistent at Skytropolis. There are some Steampunk decoration elements and they work surprisingly well in the indoor environment.

Other notable theming objects are the simplified Eiffel Tower and Big Ben’s little brother. That Big Ben points the way to the ticket offices of Skytropolis, where you buy attraction wristbands or ride tickets. The Eiffel Tower is part of Loop de Loop, a cute-looking car ride. This is one of the Adventure Rides, described as attractions with a mediocre thrill level. Other rides in this segment include Skyscraper (a 15-metre-tall Ferris wheel with a beautiful location near the entrance of the park), Sky Tower (a family-friendly free fall tower) and Soaring Ships, a suspended monorail that flies over a large part of the hall. Unfortunately, there were only a handful of vehicles in operation and staff worked rather slowly, so the queue moved at a snail’s pace. The predicted wait time of 50 minutes made us decide to turn back.

If you’re looking for a bit more speed, then head to Skytropolis’ Thrill Rides. Those are a Power Surge, a Disk’o, a swing ride with inversions and an old-fashioned Music Express. Don’t expect any earth-shattering thrills from these flat rides, as Skytropolis opted for relatively modest and short ride programmes. However, most local visitors were already screaming as if the world was ending, so I understand why Skytropolis doesn’t make these machines spin faster or swing harder.

WORTH A VISIT?

Skytropolis’ main roller coaster is a Zamperla Volare and most other attractions look like they belong on a funfair, so this obviously isn’t a world-class amusement park. I didn’t expect anything else, though. After all, we only visited Skytropolis because entry was free and we were planning on going to Genting Highlands anyway. Skytropolis consists of simple attractions and theming is far from spectacular. When I also factor in the weird opening times of the rides, it becomes clear that this isn’t a must-visit destination.

Feel free to walk through Skytropolis when you are in the area, but I would recommend spending your money elsewhere. And guess what? There’s a considerably more fascinating theme park within a 3-minute walk from Skytropolis. Are you interested in that other park? Then I’d love to take you on a virtual trip to Genting SkyWorlds.

This article reflects my personal experience at Skytropolis during a visit in January 2025.