Mall

The resort in Turkey’s Antalya region covers 639,000 square meters and includes a royal-themed hotel with 401 rooms, a theme park right on your doorstep, and even an impressive shopping mall

All-inclusive hotels can be a convenient way to enjoy a family holiday. You don’t need to bring any spending money along, and there’s no need to cook or wash a single plate for the entire stay.

But one drawback can be a lack of things to do. Not everyone enjoys spending every day by the pool or beach, and there’s only so many games you can play with the animation team. But there’s one giant resort in Turkey where you’re almost guaranteed not to run out of activities, as you’ve got a theme park just steps away from your sun lounger.

Land of Legends is located near the city of Antalya, one of the most popular Turkish destinations for British tourists. It’s just minutes away from beautiful sandy beaches and the lively town of Kadriye. It’s possible to get a day pass for Land of Legends, but it’s best explored when staying in the hotel, as there’s just so much to see.

Theme hotel

The Kingdom Hotel has 401 rooms, which have been perfectly designed for family stays. Rooms and suites come with fun features such as TVs with 3D glasses, a PlayStation 4, and a minibar full of soft drinks, which is refilled daily. Each room also features fun, cartoon-style decor and has been designed with thoughtful details, such as rounded edges on the furniture, making it safe for little kids.

You can choose from one-bedroom rooms, interconnected rooms to give you more space and privacy, and a range of different suites. Many rooms also include either a balcony or a terrace where you can soak up some sunshine. There’s even a drying rack for your swimwear when you’re back from the waterpark.

Waterpark and theme park

You’ll likely spend a lot of time in the water if you stay at the Kingdom Hotel. You’ll have access to a range of pools, from the lively to quieter spots. At the activity pool, there’s plenty of space for the kids to splash around, while the infinity pool has warm seawater for a refreshing dip.

Guests have access to Aqua Land, which features a wave pool, rapids, a wild river, and the gigantic Magicone waterslide. Up to four people can ride the Magicone, which leads you through a giant funnel before you drop down below. These rides are open until 7pm in summer, so there’s plenty of time to enjoy them. There’s also the Anjana spa and fitness centre – complete with a sauna, steam room, Turkish bath and whirlpool – so you can relax after a long day at the park.

Of course, if you’re visiting a theme park, you’ll want to know about the rides, especially the rollercoasters. The Hyper Coaster is one of the park’s main attractions, hitting heights of 61 metres and speeds over 70mph. There’s also the Typhoon Coaster, which ends in a drop of 43-metres, straight into the water, so you’ll need to dry off afterwards.

There are also gentler rides, such as the Family Coaster. For little kids, Masha and the Bear: Land of Laughter features rides like the Zippy Zappy Coaster, which even the smallest guests can enjoy. There’s also Bear’s Fun House and kids’ shows in the circus tent.

Food and drink

Depending on who you book with, Land of Legends offers all-in or all-inclusive packages, so make sure you double-check before you confirm your booking. The former includes food, snacks, and soft drinks, but may only cover select local alcoholic drinks, and may be limited to alcohol at meal times. Not all restaurants in the park are included in these packages, so it’s worth checking.

Some popular spots for dining in the park include the Eternia restaurant, a huge buffet with dishes from around the world, and the Nyssa Bar, which is perfect for families with kids, as it has giant screens where they can play Xbox. There are also some 24-hour spots open, such as the Legends Pub.

Shopping Avenue

You won’t even need to leave the resort to buy souvenirs or pick up the essentials. Land of Legends’ Shopping Avenue features over 60 stores, including numerous clothing shops, pharmacies, fast food outlets, cafes, and toy stores. This stylish shopping area also has huge fountains, with colourful fountain shows in the evening, and Venetian-style canals, with regular boat parades. During the summer, many stores open from 10am to midnight, so you can shop at night when it’s cooler.

Find out more about Land of Legends and book a stay or day pass through their official site.

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Faith Dunn, clad in a green tracksuit, entered the cavernous room full of bunk beds with hundreds of contestants in the highly competitive second season of “Squid Game: The Challenge.” The home health nurse — a huge fan of the popular Korean dystopian series — was Player 361.

Dunn, 29, flew to England for the first time in January to take part in the reality competition series filmed at Shinfield Studios near Reading.

“‘Squid Game’ is the best series I’ve ever watched,” said Dunn, who lives in Springfield, Ore. “They’re really going the extra mile, letting us try this in person. I was extremely excited to go.”

Dunn, along with 455 other contestants, competed to win $4.56 million in prize money in games inspired by “Squid Game.”

The nine-episode second season, which premiered this week, is just the latest example of Netflix’s foray into the world of reality competition shows that cater to the rabid fan base of its most popular programs.

The streaming giant has announced several new reality competitions this year including “The Golden Ticket,” inspired by the world of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and a reality contest based on the mystery game “Clue.” There are also plans to adapt the cutthroat real estate board game “Monopoly” into a reality series.

Another game show in the works has the working title “Win the Mall.” Billed as the next generation of “Supermarket Sweep” and “The Price Is Right,” the new show will test the knowledge of consumers, Netflix told The Times.

“We look for unique worlds,” said Jeff Gaspin, Netflix’s vice president of unscripted series. “How can we do something that we haven’t seen many times before?”

In all, Netflix has commissioned 34 reality competition seasons this year, according to Ampere Analysis, a market research firm. That represents 9% of TV show seasons ordered — the highest percentage that Ampere has seen since it started tracking Netflix shows commissioned globally in 2020, the firm said.

“They’re expanding the universe of big-budget, high-profile, high-concept reality series because their research tells them that’s what the audience wants,” said Tom Nunan, a former studio and network executive.

It helps to have a hit. “Squid Game: The Challenge” was inspired by Netflix’s most popular show, “Squid Game,” which garnered 265.2 million views globally in its first season in its first 91 days on Netflix in 2021, according to the streamer’s data. That fandom carried over to the reality competition spinoff that launched in 2023. More than 95% of Netflix customers who watched “Squid Game: The Challenge” also watched “Squid Game,” according to Netflix.

“It was so huge globally … finding a show that resonates in just about every territory is rare,” Gaspin said. “So translating it to a reality format seemed like a no-brainer.”

Unlike big-budget fantasy or sci-fi series, reality competition shows usually have lower budgets and many of them are filmed abroad, primarily in the UK and Canada, to take advantage of lucrative financial incentives.

Gaspin declined to disclose the budget for “Squid Game: The Challenge,” but he said the first season’s budget was substantially above $10 million.

“It is by far one of our biggest competition reality shows, and the budget supports that,” said Gaspin, a former executive at NBC Universal Television Entertainment.

The series was filmed on six soundstages in its second season. A large rotating platform was built to depict “mingle,” a game where players must gather a certain number of people in a room under a deadline in order to survive to the next round. Ninety cameras were used to track their movements.

Players also went head to head in teams of five, with their legs tied together, as they raced on a track to complete various challenges, including building a house of cards fast enough to avoid elimination.

Netflix has been taking steps to diversify its business into new areas, such as video games and even mall locations where it can create immersive experiences with fans. Next week the Los Gatos, Calif., company will launch Netflix House in the Philadelphia area where people can go to buy Netflix-themed merchandise or pay for experiences based on Netflix programs.

Unlike other TV networks, which have faced steep budget cuts, Netflix has deep pockets to try new types of programming.

“The fear factor is lower at Netflix than it is anywhere else,” Nunan said. “In other words, they seem much more confident in themselves and then taking a swing with things.”

That’s why Jimmy Fox, head of unscripted development and sales at Fremantle’s U.S. operations, took “Win the Mall” to Netflix.

“Most networks you pitch a highly ambitious show to, they will immediately try to bring you down to earth and strip your idea down to the most basic premise,” Fox said. “At Netflix, you pitch them an ambitious idea, they will stare you in the eye and ask how, together, can we make this even bigger?”

Netflix expanded its push into reality TV in 2018 with the launch of cooking competition shows like “Nailed It!” and “Sugar Rush.”

Since then, the company has developed popular franchises including reality dating shows such as “Love Is Blind,” and created fandoms over reality contestants like Harry Jowsey from “Too Hot to Handle,” who will launch his own show similar to ABC’s “The Bachelor” next year.

Dunn, the “Squid Game: The Challenge” contestant, got the opportunity to apply for the second season of the reality show after she had won a “Squid Game” experience event in Los Angeles.

To prepare for the show, she re-watched “Squid Game: The Challenge” Season 1 and documentaries related to body language and communication.

“I couldn’t believe I had this opportunity of a lifetime and I became obsessed with ‘Squid Game,’” Dunn said. “I got a puppy afterwards, and his name is Squid.”