All About Lego
Who doesn’t love Lego, those colourful bricks you can build up, pull apart and build up again? The appeal of playing with Lego transcends age barriers, so the Legoland theme park is a great place to go with the family during long weekends and school holidays.
Located in Johor, about 5 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur, Legoland Malaysia consists of two separate theme parks: the main Legoland theme park and the Legoland water park.
There are several different lands in the main theme park:
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The Beginning
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LEGO Technic
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LEGO Kingdoms
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Imagination
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Land of Adventure
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LEGO City
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LEGO Ninjago World
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Miniland
There are plenty of rides of rides and attractions for kids above 3 years old, and 80 cm and taller.
Lots of kids, including pre-teens, enjoy the Driving School and Junior Driving School, where you can have fun learning how to drive. These are for kids aged 3-13 years, and able to reach the pedals and steering wheel.
The Boating School, where you get to steer battery-powered boats, seems to be a popular choice. The queue is always long! This may be because kids from the age of 1 can enjoy these rides.
Rides and Thrills
While Legoland is great for younger kids, it is not really for those expecting wild heart-thumping roller coasters.
Riders seeking adrenaline-pumping thrills can head straight to LEGO Technic and get on the Project X ride which has a steep drop and jerky turns. However, it has been reported that Project X will be turned into an exciting Lego virtual reality roller coaster in November.
There are also two roller coasters at LEGO Kingdoms which my teenage child enjoyed. The Dragon’s Apprentice is for younger kids of at least 4 years old, and The Dragon has slightly more exhilarating twists and turns.
My 2-year old, on the other hand, loved the Observation Tower the best as you get to ride to the top and see panoramic views of Legoland.
Escaping from the heat
One thing about the park is that it can get super hot, and there is not much shade in terms of trees. But if you need to seek refuge from the heat, or when it starts to rain, there are many places to do so.
Legoland has a number of indoor attractions including LEGO Studios which screens 4D movies, and City Stage with characters performing live shows. There is also LEGO Mindstorms where you can build robots, Build & Test where you can test your building skills against earthquakes, and LEGO Academy with various workshops, to name a few.
Do note that some children may not enjoy a few of the dimly-lit indoor attractions. My toddler could not wait to get out of the Star Wars Miniland and Ninjago ride.
For mums who wish to nurse, pump or change their kids’ diapers, there is a baby care room in Imagination Land. The room also has cots if your little ones have simply had enough of it all.
There are not that many rides which under 3s can go on, but they can take the Duplo Express, which is a small train located in Duplo Playtown. The playtown is a covered playground area where kids can run around and let off some steam.
The Miniland is my favourite part of the park with models of Asian cities and landmarks.
On to the water park!
There are plenty here for all types of visitors. Those who simply want to relax can go to the Build-A-Raft River when you ride on a raft down the lazy river.
Little tikes can enjoy themselves at the Duplo Splash Safari water playground with shorter and safer slides. Older kids can have more thrills and spills at the bigger ones.
For diaper changes and feeds, the water park has a baby care centre next to the lockers and changing rooms after the entrance.
Visitors can choose to go to either park or both. As it can rain, especially during the monsoon season, if you are planning to visit both parks in one day, Legoland recommends that you head to the waterpark first, and then visit the main theme park in the afternoon.
There are various ticket prices, packages and promotions available. Prices start from RM84 for a one-day ticket to the water park for 3-11 year olds and senior citizens. There is also a Legoland Hotel, with several different room themes.
All in all?
My kids loved the place. We have now been to Legoland several times, but in my daughter’s words: “Everyday is a different experience.”
What could be improved? The food. The pasta was a little undercooked. The park also tends to get really hot. There could be more trees, especially at the car park.
Rating: ★★★★☆
