SINGAPORE-MALAYSIA DAY 2 & 3 (LEGOLAND)

My boys are Lego fanatics.  LEGOLAND Malaysia, which is located at Johor Bahru, which is about 1 hour travel by land from Singapore was an obvious must in our itinerary. 

Although Legoland is just an hour away from Singapore, clearing immigration and  the volume of travelers going to and fro Singapore and Malaysia can be a nightmare at times, which can easily add another hour or so to your travel time.

We have 3 travel options in getting to Malaysia from Singapore: public SG-MY cab, bus or private transfers.  Again we opted for convenience and booked a door-to-door transfer from Singapore to Malaysia and back.

DAY 2 (LEGOLAND PARK)

Our Day 2 starts with an early check-out from Royal Plaza on Scotts (RPoS). We deposited our luggage and brought only our Malaysia bags (Note: I packed a separate bag for Malaysia, so we do not have to bring everything back and forth).

• 7am - Check-out at RPoS. Check out was a breeze. Before leaving I informed reception that we would be returning late the following day and requested for same room configuration (separate beds).
• Breakfast was at Starbucks, Pacific Plaza located near RPoS.
• 8am - SGMY Transfers pick up arrived and left Singapore soon after.  Travel was fast, but immigration was a bummer.  It took us about an hour to clear immigrations.
• 10am - Arrived at Legoland Malaysia.  Deposited our bags at Legoland Hotel and claimed our park tickets.  We availed of 2 days Legoland Park and Water Park combo tickets, which allowed unlimited entry to both parks for 2 days.
• 1030am - Legoland Park invasion begins.
• 4pm - Went back to the hotel to rest our tired feet.
• 6pm - Dinner at Secret Recipe, Medini Mall located right next to Legoland Hotel.
• 7pm - Return to Legoland Park for the Christmas Tree lighting.

For details of our LEGOLAND Park Adventure, please click here:  Legoland Malaysia (Dream coome true for Lego fans - for children and kid's at heart)

DAY 3 (LEGOLAND WATER PARK)

• 7am - Breakfast at The Bricks came free with our package.
• 8am - Packed our bags for travel back to Singapore (pick-up at 530pm).  One good thing about private transfers is you get to choose the time of pick up.  We were able to fully enjoy and make the most of our Legoland trip, without the hassle or fear of missing our transportation).
• 9am - Check-out from Legoland Hotel.
• 930am - Enter Legoland Park (Note:  Hotel guests are allowed 30 minutes earlier entry to the park).    
• 10am - Entered the Legoland Water Park. We got ourselves a Cabana (MYR280) for some privacy and a place to relax.  Included in the cabana rental are: 4 bottled water, 2 soda cans, 2 juice bottles, wifi access and 2 huge Legoland towels.  The  cabana also has 2 lounge chairs, 2 lounge beds, a safety deposit box, an electric fan and a mini-refrigerator to store your drinks.  There is also a roving resort staff to take-in food orders in case you get hungry.
• 330pm - Left the water park, much to my youngest son's dismay.  He really enjoyed the water park more than the theme park.  
• 4pm - Ate our Dinner at The Market Restaurant, Legoland Park.
• 5pm - Last minute Lego shopping before returning to the hotel to retrieve our deposited luggage.
• 6pm - Bye-bye Legoland, with a promise to the boys that we will be returning.
• 8pm - Arrived in Singapore and Check-in at RPoS. 

Days 2 and 3 - SUCCESS!

Check out the rest of our Singapore-Malaysia journey here:
Day 1 - Singapore City
Day 2 and 3 - LEGOLAND Malaysia
Day 4 - Jurong Bird Park and Science Center
Day 5 - Singapore Zoo (with breakfast with the Orangutans)
Day 6 - Sentosa Island
Day 7 - Universal Studio Singapore 
Day 8 - SEA Aquarium and Vivo City

Legoland Hotel ~ Lego fanatics Dream Hotel!

To complete the LEGOLAND Theme Park experience, we have decided to stay over night at the Legoland Hotel.




Legoland Park is located in Malaysia's Southernmost city Johor Bahru, which is an hour away by land travel from Singapore. 


THE TRAVEL

We went here via a private taxi "SGMYtaxi", I booked on-line.  SGMY is efficient and travel is convenient and hassle free.

Note: You need not pay anything right away. Payment is made in cash after reaching your destination.


The owner Mr. KY is very easy to talk to and very generous, if I may add.  Our ride was upgraded from a Toyota Innova to a Toyota Alphard.

THE HOTEL

The Legoland Hotel is located right next the Legoland Park and WaterPark. With a two days combo park and waterpark tickets, hotel guests can leave and enter both parks anytime for two consecutive days, so you are assured you get the most out your vacation.

The moment we entered the hotel confines, I immediately felt the
excitement from my boys eyes.  My youngest rushed to the lobby and started digging in a pool of Lego blocks to start building!


The hotel's lobby alone was enough reason to visit the hotel. 

The boys were pleasantly surprised to find Lego mascots and toy models.  The discotheque elevator was also a welcomed surprise.


The fun doesn't end there.  We have been upgraded to an Adventure Themed Premium Room.  The room is huge, with a separate sleeping area (which my youngest called the "double-decker couch") for the kiddos.

The room has 2 televisions, 1 in the adult room and another at the kid's sleeping area - so there is no fighting over the television remote.

All rooms invite kids and kids at heart to a Treasure Hunt.  My boys gamely took the challenge and immediately started with their treasure hunt.

Other plus:

• Each room also contains a Lego bucket to busy the kids.
• Aside from the basic amenities,  kids get to have their own bathroom sink.
• Splendid View of the LEGOLAND Park 

 

 

• Room packages also comes with a buffet breakfast for 4 at The Brick.

VERDICT 
(Warning:  My boys are Lego fans, my review can be a bit favorable).

My boys love LEGOLAND Malaysia.  They had so much fun at the Legoland Park and my youngest won't leave the Water Park.

That being said I think there are still room for improvements, especially on the following areas:

• Food - they serve mostly Malaysian and Indian food, which were quite spicy to for our liking. If the hotel food was a miss, you may try Medini Mall  located right next to Legoland Hotel. There are a number of Western Restaurants at Medini - we were able to try Secret Recipe.
• Check-in is at 4pm, while Check-out is at 11am. Early check-in is highly appreciated. 

Staying at the Legoland Hotel (LH) is more costly than staying at nearby hotels, but we find it more convenient staying at LH.

• LH is just a few hops away the Theme park and the Water park.
• The 2 days combo ticket is  exclusive to hotel guests.
• Guests can enter the park 30minutes earlier than other patrons.

And the experience staying in a Lego themed hotel, is really priceless.

For Legoland Hotel bookings and inquiries, please visit their webpage: LEGOLAND MALAYSIA

Legoland Malaysia (A Dream come true for Lego Fans)

Legoland Malaysia is a dream come true for Lego lovers and fanatics. The park is located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia's southern most city.  It is actually closer to Singapore than Kuala Lumpur, hence the suggested point of entry is via Singapore. 


The Park is divided in 6 major zones. These are (counter-clockwise): 

1. Lego City is where you can find most of the kiddie rides and attractions.  

• Lego Rescue Academy*. The boys love this family firemen role-play competion with other families.  My boys did all the work, as I cheer them on.  Of course, we WON!!!

• Lego City Airport. My son piloted a plane while I co-pilot.

  

• Boating School*.  The boats were quite difficult to navigate.  My eldest was very good at it, while my husband and youngest struggled a bit...

My serious boat captain.

• The Driving School* was one of my boys' favorite attractions.  My youngest was quite proud to drive his first Lego car and get his own Lego driver's license after (He wore it the entire duration of our Singapore-Malaysia vacation. Yup, even in USS - check out his USS picture with his Papa here).  

• Junior Driving School for toddlers (pass).

• The Shipyard is a playground for younger children (pass).

• The LEGOLAND Express* is a mini train that goes around the park.  It is a good and easy way to tour the park, while resting your tired feet.

2. Land of Adventure takes you to:

• Lost Kingdom Adventure* is a ride to an Egyptian-themed landscape on board a jungle vehicle, while armed with laser blaster.  Your goal: to shoot enemy mummies and tomb creatures.

• Beetle Bounce (pass)

• Dino Island* is a river raft jump ride similar to Enchanted Kingdom's Jungle Log Jump (pass)

• Pharaoh's Revenge is a play gym for small children (pass) 

3. Imagination is a place for Lego fans creative minds. Here guests can bring their imaginings to life. 

• Kid Power Tower you pull yourself up to get a vista of the park (tiring - pass).

• Observation Tower is actually an observation deck, that gives you a 360 degrees view of the park.

• Lego Studio** is a LEGOLAND's theatre showing Lego movies with 4D features.  If you have time suggest you watch all the movies.  Click here for the latest schedule - Lego Studio Shows.

• Duplo Play Town is an interactive playground for small children (pass)

• Duplo Express is a mini train for much smaller children (pass).

4. Lego Kindgoms is a legend and myths themed zone. 

• Forestmen's Hideout is a play gym for school age children (pass). 

• Dragon Apprentice* is mini roller coaster ride for school age children.

Courtesy of LEGOLAND Malaysia webpage.

• Royal Joust is a medieval contest on a Lego horse.  Boys particularly loved riding the Lego horses all dressed up in medieval outfit. 

• Merlin Challenge is a high speed carousel (pass).

• The Dragon is Dragon Apprentice's mommy.  It is a huge roller coaster for thrill seekers. None of my boys wanted to ride with me after the Dragon Apprentice experience (pass). 

5. Lego Technic has action packed rides and exciting workshops for older children.  

• Technic Twister you spin the wheel to control your ride (pass)

• AQUAZONE is a wave surf type of ride, where viewers can water bomb riders (pass - not cool, unless you want to get wet)

• Project X* is an 18 meters high crazy ride. I so wanted to ride this one, but you know about the Dragon Apprentice experience already, so I would no longer elaborate (pass).

• Lego Star Wars Miniland* is the latest of Legoland's attractions.   The park has recreated various scenes from the Star Wars  movie.  On display are about 2000+ well known Star Wars models  and iconic scenes.

6. Mini Land* is the center piece of  the LEGOLAND theme park.  We were awestruck to learn it took LEGOLAND Master Builders three years and 30 Million Lego Bricks to recreate some of Asia's best known landmarks. 

We so Love LEGOLAND where everything is Awesome!

Please check LEGOLAND Malaysia website on how to get there, pricing and latest promotions -
LEGOLAND MALAYSIA WEBSITE.

Must see attractions and rides are in "*", meanwhile we did not ride attractions labelled "pass".

Feel free to ask me questions about LEGOLAND Malaysia, I would be happy to help.

Legoland Hotel Malayia for the 2nd Time Around

 

 I cannot stress enough, how much my boys love LEGOLAND Malaysia.  We were there just last December and were recently back for more Legoland adventures.  

 

 

 

My boys will never grow tired of Lego bricks ~ you can turn into almost anything.  Your imagination is the limit. 

 

Compared to our previous stay at LLM Hotel, I could honestly say that service has greatly improved.

 

Check in was swift and fast (though check-in time remains to be at 4pm ~ real late if you ask me, but it was okay since we only deposited our bags, claimed our reserved tickets before heading off to the park).

 

We stayed at the Pirates Themed Room this time.  I liked our previous room better, the "Adventure Themed Room", but  my boys liked the Pirates Room better.  The room

 

 

 This room has the same configuration as the Adverture Themed Room.  Rooms at LLM Hotel are huge, with a separate sleeping area  for the kiddos.

There are 2 televisions, 1 in the adult room and another at the kid's sleeping area, with a good selection of kiddie and adult channels to choose from.

Food options has likewise improved.  There are now more Western food options to choose from.  Staff has also become more attentive to guest/visitors requests.  Good work here. 

 

 

 

 

My son clowning around.

 

For Legoland Hotel bookings and inquiries, please visit their webpage: LEGOLAND MALAYSIA

 

 

Please check also our previous LLM Stay, by clicking below links:

 

LEGOLAND HOTEL

LEGOLAND DRY PARK

LEGOLAND WATERPARK

 

  

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia ~ Day 1 (part 1)

We have been to Malaysia before, but only in Johor Bahru (JB). You've guest it correctly; We were there for Legoland Themepark.  My boys were huge Lego fans, back when they younger so, "Yes we've been to Legoland Malaysia a lot".

 

However, JB is located at the southernmost end of Malaysia and was actually nearer Singapore, than Kuala Lumpur (KL), so we have been to Malaysia before is really an understatement.  

For this trip (though we failed to visit the coastal states of Malaysia), I could now confidently brag that I have visited Malaysia. 

We flew to KL from Manila via Air Asia.  We got a wee morning flight and arrived at KLIA (KL International Airport at 5 am.  We figured we won't be allowed hotel check-in as it was too early so we arranged for a private airport pick up cum KL city tour.  No Day zero (0) for these tourists!

Today's order of business, upon arrival:

• Get Malaysian Ringgit (MYR). We bought some MYR from Manila, but rates weren't very good so we decided to get the rest via ATM withdrawal. Surprisingly the rates we got via ATM withdrawal was better than the rates we bought our MYR in Manila by about P0.20.  
• Pick-up our local sims which we purchased via Klook. 

Sim card pick-up was at this little store, took a while for us to find it.

We got Digi Telecomm's Pre-paid Cards.  Speed-wise good in the metro area but got a bit spotty in Cameron Highlands (CH). Although per our CH guide, signal is really bad in the area, regardless of service provider.

• Get breakfast.
• Wait for our driver cum tour guide.   

Breakfast was at Old Town White Coffee Cafe. 

Our driver/tour guide arrived at 7am, just right after we finished breakfast. Perfect timing.

Now off to our first day Malaysian adventure. 

• Batu Caves
• The King's Palace (Istana Negara)
• National Mosque (Masjid Negara)
• Independence Square (Merdeka Square)
• KL Gallery
• Chinatown
• KL Tower
• Lunch at Wanjo
• Hardrock Cafe 

*Our tour included Central Market and Petronas Tower however, the Malaysian heat was just unbearable.  The sun was scorching and so we had to skip Central Market and Petronas Tower for today.

We arrived at Batu Caves about 8am (Arriving early was a good thing as we get to see the place before the crowd flocks in).

 

Batu Caves is located at Selangor and is a place of pilgrimage for Tamil Hindus.

Batu Caves has three main caves featuring temples and Hindu shrines. 

Its main attraction is the large statue of the Hindu God at the entrance, next to a 272 steps rainbow staircase. You would see pigeons and monkeys frolic around the area.

TIPS: Remember to be careful with your things, I heard the monkeys can get pretty naughty at time.

Yup... we made it!  

Now, prepping for the walk down.  

Going up was hard, but the coming down was quite scarry.  The steps were steep and one wrong step, could cause you to tumble down or fall (Not a pretty sight at all, and no way to begin our Day 1 in Malaysia)

Next Stop is the King's Palace (Istana Negara).  

The King's Palace is the official residence of the Malaysian monarch.  

The National Mosque (Masjid Negara).

The Masjid Negara is Malaysia's National Mosque and official headquarters of Islam in country.  It is also the largest mosque in KL with a capacity of 15,000 people.

I personally find the use of mix of contemporary and traditional Islam design interesting.

With one of the mosque guides... 

Having one around to help you understand the history and uniqueness of the mosque is actually pleasant.   

Next stop is the Independence Square (Merdeka Square)

It is here at the Merdeka Square that the Malaysian flag was raised for the first time on 

August 31, 1957.  

KL kilometer zero marker...

There are many nice old buildings in the area ~ all picture worthy. 

Right beside to the Merdeka Square is the KL Gallery ~ 

a cool photo stop with a huge "I heart KL sign".  

The KL Gallery is an art gallery next to a cafe.  Would be a perfect place to cool down from the harsh-harsh sun.

We then passed by Malaysia's River of Life ~ The River of Life actually is a convergence of KL's two main rivers, the Klang River and Gombak River. It flows through KL, Selangor and into the Straits of Malacca.

The KL Tower ~ This tower is 421 meters tall and offers one of the best view of the KL. However, it was getting really hot and humid at this point and we were not in the real mood to go up (Remember? We literally just landed in KL a few hours ago, So "NO".).

Though humid, will not pass a chance to see KL's Chinatown ~ off to Petaling Street we go!  I wanted to see how it differ from Manila's Chinatown.

We saw vendors selling imitation designer clothes, bags, shoes ~ everything.

My husband got these huge mangoes, for later, but we did not do any shopping.   

We decided to postpone our souvenir hunting for another day!

Lunch was at Wanjo, Kampung Baru.  My husband was in the mood for Nasi Lemak (a Malaysian coconut milk rice served with sambal).  

 My husband got his wish!  However, I am not a real fan of anything spicy so, I did not finish my order (he finished everything for me though), however the mango shake I ordered was an absolute refreshment!

We dropped by the Hard Rock Cafe located at the ground floor of the Wisma Concorde Hotel to buy souvenir shirts before finally to our home in KL. 

Our home in KL ~ "Pavillion Hotel".

We arrived at 1:30pm, check-in was at 3pm.  We were so tired (and sleepy) at this point ~ we didn't mind waiting at the lobby.  

My big boy, readying to nap (sitting down).  I think this pressured the reception counter a bit, we were allowed to enter our room early.   But, kidding aside, the early check-in is really appreciated!   Very good customer service.

Our room facing the city streets of Bukit Bintang.  

Location is A++  so accessible and within walking distance to almost everything.  Being connected to a mall was also a big plus.

The room is moderately-sized, but clean and comfortable.   

This ends our Day 1 in KL.  

Day 1 part 2 up next.  

Our RULE: Re-energize and comeback kicking HARD!

We are meeting some Malaysian friends in a while and heading to missed attraction from our KL tour, "Petronas Tower"! 

For a quick Day Trip from KL, you might want to check out my post on Cameron Highland >>>Cameron Highland ~ Day 2