Finally we brought our children overseas, not just over the sea to Sentosa! Their first overseas trip is to - LEGOLAND Malaysia!
Ok, please don't laugh at me, I know some of you go to Malaysia as if you are just going downstairs. Even a one-night-staycation was a big deal to me (read my post on
Planning Staycation with Young Children), so you can imagine my excitement about bringing them out of Singapore! We are thankful that the children's grandparents came along with us, so that my alert level only needed to increase by 100% instead of 200%.
We booked our tickets and coach online a few days before the trip, but we only told the children about it the night before. That was a smart move, as they kept asking millions of questions the moment we broke the news to them!
Things to Do at LEGOLAND for PreschoolersMinifigure SwapOther than the rides, do you know that there is one must-do when you are at LEGOLAND? Yes, bring along some LEGO minifigures to trade with Model Citizens (LEGOLAND employees)! Look for Model Citizens with a tag "Trade with me", and if you are interested in the LEGO minifigure on the tag, just approach him / her!
We traded two of our old minifigures with new ones! The staff were friendly and exchanged with us without a frown or rolled-eyes even though ours were really old!
Ok, now let us share with you about the park rides.
We would suggest families with preschoolers visit LEGO City first (turn right after The Beginning) as it has more activities suitable for preschoolers as compared to LEGO Technic (turn left after The Beginning).
LEGO City - Junior Driving School Age: 3 - 5 years old only
Pei Pei is overage for this, so Hao Hao went in himself. There was a staff taking photo for the children, but we gave it a miss, as the photo was meant for the "driving licence" which came with a fee.
LEGO City - Driving SchoolAge: 6 -13 years old only
When I asked Pei Pei who taught her how to drive, she said it was a video. As a novice driver, she found it a bit challenging to step on the accelerator. Or probably the breakfast couldn't supply sufficient energy for her to step on it.
LEGO City - Boating SchoolMinimum age: 8 years old (1-7 years old must be accompanied by an adult)
Three people (2 adults + 1 child) can be accommodated in a boat. It was just nice for us - Grandparents and Pei Pei in one boat, while DaDi, Hao Hao and me in another boat. Grandparents and Pei Pei were in front of ours at first, but with Hao Hao's speed-boat driving skill, we overtook them!
LEGO City - LEGO City StageAfter sun-tanning for a while, the fully air-conditioned place was much appreciated! The show "When Santa got stuck up in the chimney" was quite entertaining. The "snow" at the end of the performance gave us a pleasant surprise!
LEGO City - LEGOLAND ExpressMinimum age: 8 years old (0-7 years old must be accompanied by an adult)
The queue was rather long, we had to wait for two rounds for our turn. We could see Miniland from a distance, without getting melted under the burning sun.
LEGO City - Rescue AcademyMinimum size: 90 cm (90-109 cm must be accompanied by an adult)
Warning - this activity requires a lot of muscle power! Once we got on the rescue vehicle, we had to pump to make it move forward. And when we reached the houses "on fire", we had to pump again to operate the water jet. Since there were not many people in the queue, the children requested to play one more time. You can imagine how tired DaDi and I were after two rounds of pumping. Nevertheless, it was a great bonding activity for the family to build team spirit.
LEGO City - LEGO City AirportMinimum size: 80 cm (80-119 cm must be accompanied by an adult)
Two people were allowed in a plane, so DaDi partnered with Pei Pei, while I partnered with Hao Hao. Once Hao Hao realised that he could control the up and down motion of the plane, he kept making the plane go up and down until I suffered from motion sickness!
Land of Adventure - Lost KingdomMinimum size: 80 cm (80-119 cm must be accompanied by an adult)
On the carriage, we used the laser gun to shoot at the targets. I suspected that my laser gun was faulty, I still couldn't believe that I scored a grand total of... ahem... zero!
Land of Adventure - Pharaoh's RevengeYou may consider wearing a helmet before you go in. The balls flew into my face from all directions. But the children had great fun shooting the balls.
Imagination - DUPLO PlaytownThis sheltered playground is suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. The highlight of this playground for the children is DUPLO Express.
Imagination - DUPLO ExpressMinimum size: 80 cm (80-99 cm must be accompanied by an adult)
The siblings had a relaxed time on the train ride. Grandparents also could take a break from running after and "eyeballing" the children.
Imagination - Observation TowerMinimum size: 120 cm (no requirement if accompanied by an adult)
Somehow I was a little scared when we were going upwards. However, the children simply enjoyed the 360-degree view of the park.
Imagination - LEGO StudioThere are four 4D shows at different timings - LEGO Racer, Spellbreaker, Clutch Power, Legends of Chima. We watched LEGO Racer, we could feel the strong wind as the racing cars were accelerating, and got wet in the snow land!
Imagination - Kid Power TowersMinimum size: 100 cm (100-119 cm must be accompanied by an adult)
Another exercise for the muscles. DaDi and Hao Hao vs Grandpa and Pei Pei, guess which pair reached the top first?
Imagination - Build and TestUnleash creativity to build the sturdiest building and the fastest racing car, and put them to test. It happened to rain when we were there, but the children's excitement was not dampened at all, and they played for an hour there.
LEGO Kingdoms - Royal JoustHeight: 92 - 150 cm
As it was still raining, the children didn't have a chance to try this. But I thought the children would be thrilled to ride the LEGO horses.
LEGO Technic - LEGO Star Wars MinilandSomeone should not be part of Star Wars? (Santa on the right bottom!)
LEGO Technic - LEGO AcademyJust build anything you like! This reminds me of the Master Builders in LEGO Movie, they can build anything with any LEGO parts!
MinilandIt was such a pity that the rain did not stop, so we didn't have opportunity to have a good look and take photos with the amazing LEGO buildings.
Survival Guide to LEGOLAND Malaysia with PreschoolersTips #1: Visit on weekdays to avoid the crowd. Take note that the weekends in Johor Bahru fall on Friday and Saturday. We visited on a Thursday, the waiting time for each activity was about 5 to 10 minutes.
Tips #2:We considered driving initially, as we heard that driving to LEGOLAND via Tuas Second Link is very straight forward, just drive along the road and exit at Nusajaya Exit 312. But we eventually took a coach from Singapore Flyer, and it was the right choice because it took shorter time at the checkpoints on the day we went there!
Tips #3: Bring hat / cap, umbrella / rain coat and sunblock lotion. You may consider bringing extra set of clothes too. We nearly melted under the hot sun. However, when it rained heavily in the afternoon and all outdoor rides stopped operation, I appreciated the hot sun! Ponchos are also available at the shops, I think it is about RM19 each if I remember correctly.
Tips #4:Take the map at the entrance. This is especially important to locate the washrooms! Take a few copies, just in case your children tear the map when they are fighting on where to go next. You can use it as a fan too!
Tips #5: Check the waiting time and height & age limit before you join the queue. Don't queue happily for 10 minutes and then realise that your children do not meet the height and age requirement.
Tips #6:Bring plenty of water, or buy from Mall of Medini (just a few minutes walk from the entrance) before you enter LEGOLAND. Do note that if you are holding day ticket instead of annual pass, it is a single entry, so you cannot go out to buy things from Mall of Medini and then go in again.
Tips #7:Re-charge yourself and your children with food. We had our lunch at Market Restaurant (at LEGO City). Chicken rice set (with a fruit and a bottle of drink) is RM25, and the Special Roast Chicken set (with soup and a bottle of drink) is RM28. The chicken legs in both dishes are the same, the difference is the former is served is rice, while the later is served with gravy and fries.
Before we left, the children had donuts from The Cafe (at The Beginning), the plain one is RM3, while the chocolate one is RM6.5.
Even if it did not rain, I don't think we can cover everything as we have two seniors and two juniors with us. Hope to visit the rest of LEGOLAND and LEGOLAND Water Park next time!
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