A day spent in LEGOLAND MALAYSIA!
Woke up early Wednesday (4th APRIL) morning and out the door by 8am . Took a private car rental and by road we crossed into Malaysia from Singapore. I was surprised at how short the drive was from Pasir Panjang to Lego land. 1 hour! longer depending on the traffic at the border control.
For the price of 170 SG dollars for a return trip we found ourselves at 7, Jalan Legoland, Medini, 79250 Nusajaya, Johor, at 9.30am.
we bought the tickets online 2 weeks earlier for the price of RM160per adult and RM128 for our daughter (more if you buy at the door). our son who is under 3 went in for free but you have to carry passport to confirm the age.
we picked a weekday because we thought it would be too busy over the easter holidays and we wanted a stress free less packed adventure and boy am I glad it went according to plan. For the first time, we did not have grumpy, bored, restless kids crying about having to wait so long in the line and heat to get to a ride.
There are 9 major themes you will find when you visit LEGOLAND..
THe beginning
This is the first area you see when you enter the park. Be sure to grab yourself a free map so you can check off everything you want to see first. The meet and greet area is only reserved for the beginning of the park as well. There'll be a queue to allow everyone take turns posing for photos with character mascots with a professional photographer and a volunteer employee that will take your camera and take a shot of you as well. so you have the option to buy the picture or keep the one in your camera.
There Is a lost parents section ,shops, ATM, mini-mart, stroller, wheelchair and locker rentals at this point. throughout the park however you will find rest rooms, prayer rooms, photo booths, baby care stations, restaurants, and much more.
You also have the option of upgrading your day ticket into an annual pass by visiting the guest service counter here.
THE WATER PARK
2013, LEGOLAND WATER PARK MALAYSIA <http://www.parkworld-online.com/legoland-water-park-malaysia/>
WE had initially bought tickets for Lego city for Tuesday 3rd and the water park for Thursday the 5th April but we did have a long wait getting back into Singapore by road. I discovered later on that its recommended for African passport holders to come in by plane and with yellow fever cards rather than by road. It did help that I have not been in Africa for the past 2 and a half years because i did not have my yellow fever card with me. So point to note, if you plan to travel by road, At least spend a night or 2 at the Lego city hotel that is within Legoland so you don't have to drive in and out of Singapore twice. We did not need a visa which was a good thing but we ended up cancelling our trip back to enjoy the water park and lost 75 US dollars worth in tickets as they are non transferable nor refundable. with the heat i definitely recommend checking the water park out and if you have, let me know what you think of it in the comment section below.
LEGO TECHNIC
So we did try most of the rides here. The Technic twister was for ages 4 and up.
4 year olds must be accompanied by an adult . Kids from 6 years and 120cm up can ride alone.
The Aqua zone wave racers were for minimum 6 years with an adult. 8 year old could ride alone. I literary had to lie so my almost 5 year old could ride. short ride, not scary, not so fast, my son would have loved it. my daughter wanted to go longer.
LEGO star wars Mini land was great for whole family, it was a different number of rooms displaying different setting from star wars all made of LEGOS. if you pressed the green buttons on the side you would get a little star wars action which was great to see. highly recommend for star wars fans.
Water splash: shared same space with the aqua zone wave racers, my son loved this. He got soaked from constantly splashing the water but it was a good way to keep cool in the burning heat.
LEGO KINGDOMS
We would have loved to go on the rides here but there was literary non that accepted our under 4 kid and only 3 that accepted our 4 year old so to avoid tears from our little one being left behind we decided to skip it after having a go at Merlin's challenge. we also took some pictures on the king's throne.
IMAGINATION
We found activities for kids below 1 year up . Tried out the duplo express which is a miniature train. We then went onto the observation tower (nothing much to see from it in my opinion), we skipped the kids power tower as it was minimum 4 years, we we had a great time with everything else we got to ride and watch. the Ninjago live show was a favourite alongside the Ninjago 4D movie at Imagination Lego studios. took some cute photos at the musical fountain and spent alot of time in DUPLO playtown which was under a shape, cooler and fun spot to relax while the kids ran about and played.
LAND OF ADVENTURE
I Was disappointed that the dini island and lost kingdom adventure were closed for maintanance. they looked like they would have been great fun. we only got to go to the beetle bounce which takes ages 2 up and had a bouncy fun time.
LEGO CITY
We initially started our tour here . our 4 year old was the only one allowed to go to the junior driving school (ages 3-5). We went to play in the ship yard and LEGO RESCUE Academy where we took a turn at the fire rescue bistro driving the fire truck and putting out fires. We came back later for the 5:00 pm show of the realm of shadows live (Ninja-go) , and we had a chance at the remote controlled boat race.
MINILAND
We did not have enough time to visit Mini land as we really wanted to check out Ninja go but if you do get a chance please share your experience with me. I do know it has a guided tour with the model master builder every Friday to Sunday from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.
LEGO NINJAGO WORLD
the Ride is for ages 4 and up and atleast 115cm but we were surprised they let our little one ride. we had 3D glasses on and enjoyed the ride and game which had interesting effect as well. . Cole's rock climb is a miniature wall for litttle ones, but you do get to enjoy being next to your favourite Ninjago characters here. with Nya's practice, Zane's temple build and Kai's spinners. dont forget to grab yourselff a souvenir from Sensei's shop.
PERSONAL REVIEW
For many of the rides, our almost 3 year old was not allowed to take. There were rides were the kids had to be atleast 6 years and 120 meters. my daughter is 5 in 6 days and 120 but because she was 1 year less she was denied these rides. ive been on them still... no that a big deal that a 3 year old would not ride.
I must say for my under 3 yea old, his fun was limited. There wasn't enough entertainment or shows (LEGOLAND character appearances are subject to availability), many rides were closed "for maintenance", most restaurants were closed as well, no Ninja-go or star wars mascots which i think should have been included seeing as to how much these two themes were a big deal.
Regardless of that we were in love with everything LEGO. I loved the fact that you could rent strollers at the entrance so we did not need to carry our strollers. There's stroller options for 1 or 2 kids. Our kids loved everything Ninja-go the most and i did enjoy the Lego Race VR roller coaster. it was beautiful!! the shipwreck and playgrounds, the rides and water splashes, the LEGO city stage, all colourful and beautiful. maybe it was this way being a weekday and just after the long Easter holiday so it's probably better on public holidays and weekends. For now, I will never know. But feel free to leave your comments, experiences and views below. I still give LEGOLAND A 4.5 stars rating and do highly recommend it, especially if you have kids aged 4 up.