IF PICTURES CAN SPEAK A THOUSAND WORDS

An adventure to the land of million bricks.

I’m going to share my family experience in Legoland, Malaysia. Seriously, our visit was right on time. We went on January 8, 2013, while everyone (well…almost) has gone back to work and school. So the park was quite empty, there were no queues at any of their rides and attractions.

Legoland Malaysia which opened last September 2012, is a theme park located in Nusajaya, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It is the first Legoland theme park in Asia, and my youngest son is such a big fan of Lego bricks, so (like any loving parents) we decided to take the boys there for their school holiday.

Since we visited from Singapore, our plan was to take a shuttle bus straight from Changi Airport to Kota Raya Terminal in Johor Bahru, then continuing by taxi to our hotel (Thistle). It turned out to be a cheap yet complicated one hour transportation. Due to immigration purpose, we had to drag our luggage down from the bus to the immigration two times. And the bus will leave us no matter what, if we didn’t show up at the appointed stop within 15 minutes. Guess what? The immigration process took longer than 15 minutes.

Of course, we got left behind by the shuttle bus. Two times, on the way to Johor Bahru and on the way back to Singapore. Such no luck with shuttle busses, we ended up paying more for cab fares.

I hope my pictures (for more, click here) can tell a lot about our one day visit to Legoland. We had fun, nevertheless all the transportation and immigration problems.

INFO

–       There are seven themed areas, named The Beginning, Lego Technic, Lego Kingdoms, Imagination, Lego City, Land of Adventure and Miniland.

–       Miniland, where all the Asian landmarks (such as Singapore Flyer and Petronas Tower) at, have been recreated using more than 30 million Lego bricks, on a scale 1:20.

–       Some attractions like Legoland Express, Dino Island and Pharaoh’s Revenge will close at sunset due to safety reason (aka darkness). So make sure you plan wisely.

–       Maximize your Lego’s craving in “The Big Shop”. Literally the biggest shop at the whole park (there are 5 in totals), it offers the largest selection of Lego toys in Asia.

–       There are three restaurants indoor and four open air restaurants to choose inside the theme park. From western meals like pizza, pasta and chicken wings, right down to local delicacies like prawn mee and nasi lemak.

–       There’ll be Legoland hotel, but it’s still in progress, reportedly open in 2014.  Check out other hotels nearby. We stayed at Thistle Hotel, which have free shuttle to Legoland, a very nice pool and spacious room. It takes 30 minutes from our hotel to Legoland.

TIPS

–       If you can manage your time freely, visit the park at the low season.

–       Check their website regularly, as they might have ticket discount for early birds (which only available for online purchase).

–       Use the strongest SPF that you can find.

–       Bring hats, sunglasses, umbrellas (anything to protect you and your family from the blazing sun and thunderstorm).

–       Even though you might not get lost (trust me, it’s so easy to get around), get a map when you first entered the gate.

–       Don’t bother to bring your baby stroller, just rent it there.

–       Too much to bring? Rent a locker. It’s located at the gate as well.

–       Bring extra clothes, just in case you got soaked from all the fun (but wet) attractions.

–       If you decided not to eat inside the theme park and opt for fast food feasts, the Medini Mall which located just outside the theme park, has Burger King and KFC. Make sure you told the friendly people at the gate that you’ll be coming back to get a stamp on your hand.

–       Wow, mall outside the theme park? Don’t get too excited, dear. It’s not what you think it is. The stores were BLAH (I wish they move the Johor Premium Outlet there). Trust me, nothing exciting, except Burger King and KFC. LOL.

–       Go early, be there when the park opens at 10AM. If the park is not crowded, you’ll be finish at approximately 4PM (rode all attraction one time). They close at 6PM.  

–       Instead of going adventurous like us, I recommend to take a complete tour package, especially if you’re travelling with babies or toddlers. The transportation from and to Singapore sucks.