Legoland Malaysia is one of the most-hyped theme park openings of the year, even more so than the Marine Life Park at RWS! I've never been to any of the other Legolands around the world, so my family took a trip across the causeway for a quick peek. (So this isn't technically on our red dot, but it's really close ^_^.)
I had a hard time putting up this post because Legoland isn't really suitable for my target age group (twenties, no kids), and while I want to be fair to the appeal of the place, it also wasn't exactly the most exciting. There are only about 4 rides which might appeal to the young adult category, though Mini Land - where they recreate famous world landmarks using Lego - is quite impressive.
Ironically, you cannot see this from outside the park.
The main entrance.
The Lego Christmas tree for the holiday season!
The first section of the park (walking clockwise) is Lego Technic, which has the Project X ride, and Technic Twister (aka Lego spinning tea cups). There's also a ride called Wave Racers which is like a merry-go-round on water, and the most entertaining part of this is that there are water guns along the side for spectators to shoot riders with.
Just as you leave Lego Technic, there's the Lego Mindstorms building with a big Einstein face on the outside, where you can learn to build Lego robots. If you've never tried this before and it's not too crowded, it's one of the coolest things about Lego these days. You can build almost anything with Legos and automate it, even a 3D printer! Personally I'd rather buy one and play with it at home - a set goes for slightly over $300, compared to the $600+ set my mum bought for me when I was ten - than fight with the crowds. And it does a LOT more now!
Project X, probably the biggest roller coaster in the park, and the one with the longest queue.
Technic Twister Teacup Ride.
Lego Mindstorms. Hmmm....
The next section is Lego Kingdom, a medieval-themed land with carnival games, dragon-themed roller coasters, castles and catapults! Aesthetically I liked this bit of the park best, but that's probably due to my Harry Potter bias. Lines were crazy long for the roller coasters (about 1.5 hours... I went on a Saturday), so my little bro and I didn't really think it was worth it to wait in line. While wandering about the land, we came across a catapult thing that made creaky noises if you sat on it, then a loud springing sound as if you'd been thrown. The park is full of random little easter eggs like that, probably for the benefit of those like us who refuse to wait in line.
Left: The view of the observation tower from Lego Kingdom.
Right: The little dragon ride meant for kids. There's a larger dragon ride across from it meant for adults.
Left: The creaky catapult!
Right: My brother is easily convinced when it comes to hilarious poses for photos.
Carnival games with really over-the-top prizes. A friend of mine won a giant stuffed cow early on in the day and had to carry it around for many hours afterwards.
Moral of the story: play these last.
I kind of skipped over pictures from Imagination Land, which held the Observation Tower, Lego Studios and the Kids Power Tower. More importantly though, it also housed the largest food court in the whole park, with typical theme park food like pasta and pizza. Useful for taking shelter from rain. If you have the choice of eating outside the park, please do, especially since there's the Medina mall right outside.
Once again I failed to go on any of the rides / watch the Lego Studios show because waiting times were insane, and this theme park has clearly not mastered the Disney Queuing Psychology.
Dino Island, the only truly water ride in the park until the Legoland Waterpark opens in 2013.
Next was Egyptian-themed Land of Adventure! Again, my Indiana Jones bias automatically makes this place more interesting than it probably was. Dino Island (the water ride) and Lost Kingdom were probably the only rides worth queuing for, though I didn't do the former in the end.
Lost Kingdom was a fun line to stand in because it was filled with Lego characters doing weird stuff, and Egyptian hieroglyphs abound. It's a shooting game where your cart goes through a few enclosures and you and your friends compete for the highest score. Naturally as the only person in the family who plays Time Crisis, I won by shooting with my left hand while taking pictures with my right =D.
Weird Lego people in the Lost Kingdom line. One could almost imagine a whole plot about a nutty archaeologist and a cunning trader fighting over ancient Lego Egyptian artifacts.
Tsk. And this is the boy going for NS next year. Clearly a trip to the rifle range is in order.
I largely skipped over Lego City because it started to rain on us, but the Rescue Academy looked highly entertaining - your family is supposed to pump a fire engine handcar style down a track, then aim a water gun at a 'burning building'. This is also where the Lego train that goes around the park starts from!
The restaurants are very amusingly decorated.
"Driving School" for the little tots!
There's also a little quirk in our Merlion, where if you press a button outside the enclosure, the fountain of water out of its mouth starts squirting sideways towards you ;-). Also notice how Maybank is the only building prominently featured... out of the whole skyline of buildings they could possibly have picked from...
All in all not the most exciting day out, but good to know that we have yet another choice of theme park close to home. That said, I recommend going to Universal Studios @ RWS instead, if you don't have kids, or if they're over 7 years of age. Perhaps the place will deserve a re-look in 2013 when the water park is up, and 2014 when the full resort (i.e. hotel) is built.
Next: Arcade-hopping! (Inspired by Wreck-it Ralph)
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Budget!
Transport + Ticket via WTS Travel (leaves from Singapore Flyer):
Adult - $68/pax (weekends), $63/pax (weekdays)
Child/Senior - $58/pax (weekends), $53/pax (weekdays)
*rates are even higher during super peak season, like weekends of school holidays
*Note that the first bus back to Singapore is at 5.15pm, so if you foresee getting bored, don't go there too early or you'll be stuck.
Adult - $68/pax (weekends), $63/pax (weekdays)
Child/Senior - $58/pax (weekends), $53/pax (weekdays)
*rates are even higher during super peak season, like weekends of school holidays
*Note that the first bus back to Singapore is at 5.15pm, so if you foresee getting bored, don't go there too early or you'll be stuck.
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