New, Heart-Stopping Bungee Catapult Launches in New Zealand
Posted on 08/29/2018, 4:15 PM
New Zealanders are like Elphaba in Wicked—they're obsessed with defying gravity. The world's first permanent commercial bungee operation was established by AJ Hackett Bungy (that's how Kiwis spell it) in 1988 over a gorge near Queenstown on the country's South Island. In the three decades since, many more places for playing human yo-yo have been set up over New Zealand's lakes, dramatic mountain...
Partially Underwater Artwork Welcomes Snorkelers in the Maldives
Posted on 08/02/2018, 3:30 AM
The world's first semi-submerged sculpture park is now open for snorkel-equipped art lovers off the coast of the Maldives in the southern Indian Ocean. Dubbed Coralarium, the over-/underwater project was dreamed up by British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, who, according to Smithsonian magazine, has worked on similar installations off coasts in Grenada, Mexico, and the Canary Islands. Those were ...
Route 66 and Puerto Rico Among USA's Most Endangered Historic Sites
Posted on 06/28/2018, 3:30 AM
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Route 66 all appear on 2018's "Most Endangered Places" list, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual roundup of important architectural and cultural sites in peril. The purpose of the list, the group says, is to raise awareness and spur action to protect landmarks—and in some cases landmasses—"facing a range of challenges and threats, from d...
James Bond Museum Opening in Austrian Alps
Posted on 06/26/2018, 11:45 AM
You'll have to wait until the fall of 2019 for the next James Bond movie, which is being directed by Danny Boyle and stars Daniel Craig in what is reportedly his last outing as 007. Starting on July 12, though, the debonair British spy's fans (Live-and-Let-Diehards?) can visit a new Bond-themed museum set at one of the shooting locations for the previous installment, 2015's Spectre. The 007 Ele...
New Great Wolf Lodge Water Park Opens in Chicago Burbs
Posted on 06/22/2018, 11:30 PM
Midwesterners in search of chlorinated fun have a new destination in the Chicago suburbs. Great Wolf Lodge Illinois, the 17th outpost in a chain of Northwoods-themed indoor water park resorts across North America, has opened in Gurnee, the same town (located about 40 miles north of downtown Chicago) where you'll find Six Flags Great America. The new Great Wolf occupies space once belonging to ...
Plans for Cartoon Network Cruise Being Drawn
Posted on 02/01/2018, 1:30 PM
The first fully immersive Cartoon Network cruise ship is currently in the works. We'd like to tell you the plans are being cooked up in Dexter's Laboratory, but in fact the project is a joint effort of the Turner company, which owns the animation-dominated cable channel, and the Singapore-based Oceanic Group. Dubbed the Cartoon Network Wave, the 11-deck, 2,000-passenger ship will have colorful ...
Spectacular Holiday Show Added to Universal's Hogwarts Castle
Posted on 11/22/2017, 5:45 PM
Harry Potter is getting into the holiday spirit at Universal theme parks in Orlando and Southern California for the first time this year. In Central Florida, seasonal features at Potter-related attractions were unveiled on November 18 at both of Universal's Florida parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. In the latter, a yuletide spell has been cast on Hogwarts Castle, where, after da...
WATCH: Drone Footage Takes You Soaring Over the Swiss Alps
Posted on 10/17/2017, 8:45 PM
As any Instagrammer will tell you, it's not easy to capture the majesty of the Swiss Alps with a camera. But a new short film made from drone footage sure comes close. Dubbed "Elevations," the roughly 3-minute video zips up and down snow-capped peaks, past waterfalls and jagged cliffs, to eye-popping panoramas you'll wish were your screensaver. The film was created by Gabriel Kocher, a Montr...
Hotel Chain Brings Real-Time Sign Language Interpretation to Guests
Posted on 10/11/2017, 8:30 PM
Travelers who are deaf or hearing-impaired can now make use of a cool new free service at Room Mate Hotels, a Spain-based chain with 22 properties in cities around the world, including Madrid, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Florence, and, in North America, New York, Miami, and Mexico City. Developed in collaboration with a company called Comunicados en Lengua de Signos, Room Mate's new program offers real...
Airline Releases White Noise Album of Jet-Engine Sounds to Hum You to Sleep
Posted on 08/24/2017, 12:00 AM
Do you sleep well on a plane? How? The seats are so cramped, and the temperature is never right, and you can't recline more than a couple centimeters, and the lack of neck support means that you either get a cramp from going chin to chest or your head continually does that thing where it nods and then involuntarily snaps up, waking you with a start. About the only thing snooze-inducing about th...
Rental Car with Upholstery for Kids to Color On During Road Trips
Posted on 08/22/2017, 12:00 AM
On long car trips, many parents end up becoming the highway equivalent of cruise directors, arranging an endless program of games and activities designed to keep their restless passengers from staging a mutiny. Hertz UK is helping out those beleaguered drivers with a brand-new offering: a rental car with special upholstery for kids to color on. Dubbed the Colouring-In Car (complete with superfluo...
Toppled Rock Formation in Malta Now a Popular Scuba Diving Site
Posted on 08/16/2017, 12:00 AM
The Mediterranean nation of Malta lost one of its most recognizable—and most Instagrammable—landmarks in March, when the Azure Window, a 92-foot limestone arch(pictured above) on the island of Gozo went tumbling into the sea after heavy storms. But the natural icon didn't just vanish into thin air. It now lies in enormous boulders under the surf at depths ranging from 16 to more than 100 feet. T...
8-Year-Old Becomes Youngest Female to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro
Posted on 07/31/2017, 12:00 AM
AUGUST 1, 2017 FLORIDA GIRL SETS KILIMANJARO RECORD (Travel + Leisure) An 8-year-old Florida girl has made history as the youngest female ever to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. After a weeklong ascent, Roxy Getter reached the summit of the 19,341-foot Tanzanian peak alongside her 10-year-old brother, Ben, and their parents, Sarah and Bobby. The family trained by trudging up and down stairs at parki...
