For the first time, we self-drove into Johor Bahru, and made
our way into LEGOLAND Malaysia!
We were contemplating on whether to self drive or go by
coach, which could save all the hassle in finding our way and all the insecurities,
after having heard so many stories about cars being hijacked, dangerous driving
on the roads, etc. etc. Well, in the end, for the sake of convenience, we
decided on self-drive, with my sister's car leading the way, that is.
Booking the tickets
Booking the LEGOLAND tickets was a breeze. We did it online
via the LEGOLAND Malaysia Hotel website. All you need was a credit card to
guarantee the booking.
We booked two hotel rooms (Kingdom themed) for on night and
tickets to the theme parks (Water park and LEGOLAND theme park) for 2 days as a
combo package. The tickets to the theme parks could be collected at the Front
Office earlier in the morning when you do the pre-check-in at the hotel. Just
remember to bring your confirmation letter.
Driving to LEGOLAND Malaysia
Despite having told that it was a short and easy drive to LEGOLAND,
and with the convoy of my sister and her family, a lot of research has been
done prior to driving on our part. The husband studied the Google maps
intensely, even down to the terrains and stuff like that. We borrowed the
"Touch and Go" card for fast entry, we got a steering wheel lock, and
other equipment for the car in case it broke down on the road... we even
checked with friends and relatives on the step by step procedures at the
customs... Well, anyway, we thought that going to LEGOLAND Malaysia via Tuas
Second Link was the most straight forward. After going through the customs, all
you need was to drive until you see the Nusajaya Exit 312. Next, you will see LEGOLAND
Malaysia signage and we followed the signs (or rather my sister's car) all the
way... hee.
Checking-in to LEGOLAND Malaysia Hotel
The official check-in time for LEGOLAND Malaysia Hotel was
4pm! Yes, I heard lots of grumblings... and to make things worse, the check-out
time was 10am the following day! (more cursings..) Well, I heard of stories of
how some lucky people got to check in as early as 10+am. We weren't that lucky
but we were told that once the rooms were ready, the hotel staff would give us
a call. And they really did! We got one of our rooms at 2pm after we had eaten
our lunch at Medini Mall right opposite the Hotel. So we went straight to
deposit all our belongings in the hotel room, got changed into our swim wear
and flew right to the Water Park!
LEGOLAND Malaysia Hotel
The kids were exhilarated once they stepped into the hotel lobby! There were many stations and pits with Lego bricks for the kids to build their masterpieces. There was also an interactive XBOX Kinect machine for kids to dance crazy. Even within the elevator itself there was DISCO! Almost every display in LEGOLAND Hotel were made from Lego bricks!
At the LEGOLAND Hotel, every single room is themed. Each floor of the hotel has a different theme: Adventure, Kingdom, and Pirate. We had the Kingdom Themed room which was equipped with a separate sleep area for children with bunk beds and a trundle bed to accommodate up to three children, plus a king-sized bed for parents. The two areas were separated by a sliding door. It was thoughtful for the hotel to even equip every room with two sinks - one for adult and the other lower one for kids to reach!
The rooms were fancifully decorated with Lego bricks and stuff, of course. Another fun thing that got the kids high in the Kingdom room was that they got to embark on a Treasure Hunt in their own room. There was a Frog Prince Treasure safe box waiting to be unlocked. In order to unlock the safe, they will have to look for clues in the room by answering 4 questions. Much to the delight of the kids, they uncovered two small packs of Lego creator, which they opened and fixed immediately.
LEGOLAND Malaysia Water Park
The weather was kind on us. It wasn't hot. In fact, dark clouds hovered in the skies but it didn't rain. We were blessed. There were cabanas for rental around the water park. But it was too expensive (RM300 for full day rental and RM150 for half day rental starting from 2pm). We didn't have to rent anyway since we didn't bring any cash (err... remember to bring RM10 if you have a baby child under 2 years of age for some swim diaper before you can be admitted) or important documents, just our towels and bottles, which we left under the big shades and lounge chairs. We had a whale of time at the Water Park until 5pm. The park closed at 6pm. Please visit the water park website for more information and FAQs. If you have read the FAQs in detail, you'd find out that there's no re-entry to the park unless you are an annual ticket holder. But, no, that was only in FAQs, in reality, the kind souls there allowed multiple entries as long as you showed them your tickets. So no worries if you need to step out of the park for meals, etc.
LEGOLAND Theme Park
The day was hot. Nevertheless, we were well prepared with
our sunglasses, hats, umbrellas and sun lotion. We stepped into the park only
at 11am. We had checked out from the hotel by then. At the theme park, the kids
went for the driving school car drive, train ride, playground, and we managed
to get a quick glimpse of the Miniland before heading for lunch at the cafe in
the park. Thereafter, we proceed back home! The anxious husband said that there
might be jams at the customs unless we leave before 4pm. So at around 3pm, we
left the park, leaving half of the park unfinished!!! What a waste. Sigh! So we
didn't get to enjoy all rides... in fact we only complete 25 per cent of the
park.
Overall, the trip to LEGOLAND Malaysia was fun despite not having played the entire LEGOLAND theme park. We might visit LEGOLAND Malaysia again for the purpose of completing the theme park. After hearing stories of kids being kidnapped at LEGOLAND Malaysia, we made it a point to hold their hands every second! And for cars being hijacked, we were told to park the cars head in. With these safety measures in place, we had successfully gone to LEGOLAND Malaysia and came BACK (in one piece)!