An Afternoon at Legoland

On the day that Noey turned 4, we made an impromptu spur-of-the-moment visit to Legoland. We wanted to do something fun together as a family, and it was the obvious choice.

The boys were terribly excited. "Wow, is it MY birthday?" asked my lego-loving husband. 

We had a quick lunch before we set off. Unbelievably, it only took us 45 mins to travel from the Botanic Gardens in Singapore to Legoland Malaysia. Yes, including clearing immigration through the Tuas checkpoint! The kids barely had time for a proper nap in the car. We put it down to it being a weekday afternoon, but it is also because Legoland is only 10 mins away from the checkpoint. Just follow the signs to Nusajaya from the checkpoint, and Legoland will pop up on the signages soon enough.

We've arrived!

Noey was super excited when we arrived and DD also danced a little jig of joy. Haha. We made it through the gates as quickly as we could, and couldn't wait to explore the colourful town that stretched before our eyes. We wandered to the right of the entrance and found ourselves in the first land: Lego City. Cars, Boats, Trains galore!

Noey made a beeline for the Driving School. He didn't make the age requirement of the Driving School proper (6 to 13 years), but he qualified for Junior Driving School (3 to 5 years). Here, the kids get to climb into a child-sized Lego car which they can drive on their own by stepping on a pedal, just like a typical electric toy car. They can then drive and steer themselves around a circuit. Noey had a ball of a time! 

Trying some dangerous overtaking move.

Really really enjoying this! (Can you tell?)

Naomi, who didn't make either the age or height requirements, had to be content with sitting in the display unit outside.

Hey, so how do you make this thing move again

Sadly, the Boating School was not operational on the day of our visit, because it would have been a ride that Nomi would have been able to take accompanied. Not wanting her to feel left out, we headed for the train station to catch the Legoland Express.

"Express" is quite a misnomer. This is a calm train ride that chugs around the park and is appropriate for everyone. This was the only ride we really had to queue for the whole day because we just missed the previous train. But on the plus side, it did mean that we got to sit up front.

"Train, Mama! Train!" was her refrain.

The ride gave us a glimpse of the different lands in the park, in particular Miniland. We adults got excited about that and made a note not to miss it later. The kids enjoyed waving to folks on the paths as the train trundled by, and they were mostly good natured enough to wave back.

After hopping off the train, we went to the Rescue Academy. My MIL originally joined DD and Noey in the queue for this, but after listening to the instructions, she decided against it and asked me to take her place instead. Not knowing what it was about, I joined the two boys on this ride, only to realise that it was a lot of work! Here, you race against other families to put out a fire in a building. The tiring part is that you have to pump a lever to get your vehicle to move forward towards the building. It takes quite a bit of pumping to get the vehicle moving! Noey merrily sat at the driver's seat in front and left his poor parents to do all the work. Once you reach the building, you then get out of the vehicle and pump a fire hydrant to shoot water into the windows of the building. Task completed, you then get back into the vehicle and PUMP your way back to the start line. Whew! DD and I were a bit breathless after that!

Noey can't wait for the picture taking to be over so he can go on the next ride!

It was off the Lego City Airport next. With planes that go round and round which you can bring up and down with a lever, this is a sure winner with the children. I was quite disappointed that Nomi again had to sit this one out as she JUST didn't make the height restriction, being a wee bit shy of 80cm tall. Thankfully she was content waving to us as we went by.

Off we go!
Lego City Airport has a height restriction of 80cm when accompanied by an adult.

We skipped the Land of Adventure as Noey wasn't very keen to try any of the rides. He did love a ball playground there, which had many compressed air canons. You pressed a button and the foam balls would shoot out. He spent quite a bit of time there before we pried him away. Nomi? She preferred sitting on a camel instead.

She didn't want to get off!

We went to the land of Imagination next, and this one was the best one for tiny tots.

Nomi's favourite play place: Duplo Playtown! Literally a large covered playground with slides and other play structures, a mini train ride and lots of Duplo bricks (of course), it's a toddler's wonderland.

Cutest ambulance driver around.

Noey bemused at being inside the mouth of the lion.

Duplo bricks and more bricks!

Alas, Nomi was AGAIN too short to take the Duplo Express. The minimum height was 80cm here too (which seems to be the lowest they went) so Noey went on his own. He even had the whole train to himself because there were no other children in line! 

Noey on board the Duplo Express all by himself. 

While Nomi was happily occupied in Duplo Playtown, Noey and I also went to try the Kids Power Tower. Sitting in pairs, you pull on a rope while brings the chair up to the top of the tower. You can also let go at any point and whoosh safely (and not too quickly) to the bottom.

After we managed to extract Nomi from Duplo Playtown, we went to check out Build & Test, which was a family favourite! Admittedly, the biggest plus point for me was the AIR-CONDITIONING. It was a relief from the swelteringly hot weather outside. At Build & Test, you pick up 2 sets of wheels at the counter, then use the Lego bricks provided to build yourself the ULTIMATE RACING MACHINE. You then get to test it in a race against your friends!

Noey built the quickest car he could, joining the two sets of wheels to a long strip, then added a spoiler to his car, since he is of the view that "all fast cars have spoilers". I half-heartedly threw together some blocks and made a clunker of the car. "Your car is so ugly, Mummy," Noey said disapprovingly.

Left: Noey working on his car; Right:  My ugly tank

But DD, oh he took it seriously! He sat down and patiently searched for appropriate parts and designed himself a nice, rather aerodynamic vehicle that he was pretty proud of.

Our family's lego fanatic, working on his masterpiece.

And when it came time for the race, it was a no-brainer who the winner was! (Yes, DD won, and we have videos to prove it!)

Aside from the car race, there was another section of Build & Test which was more popular with Nomi. In this section, you are given Duplo bricks and tasked to build a stable structure that you can test on base plates which shake to simulate an earthquake. Build well or your building will topple!

The testing station.

I'm not sure Nomi understood the concept. She was however, quite happy building her "Bot-Bot", and we were having fun watching her expressions!

Little Miss Drama working on her creation.

We regretfully left the cool comfort of Build & Test after a while to take a spin in the Observation Tower. From 50m up, you can get a good view of the park and the surrounding area. Mainly just an opportunity for Nomi to get some action.

Getting ready to go on a spin!

By the time we were done with this, it was fast approaching park closing time. We squeezed in a couple of rides at Lego Kingdoms: Royal Joust, a cute horse ride for Noey...

Only for kids -- no parents allowed!

And Merlin's Challenge, a high-speed carousel ride, which surprised all of us with it's speed. It wasn't as kiddy as we expected it to be!

We also spent sometime browsing Miniland, which was filled with replicas of famous structures in Asia. We had a good time identifying those we have visited before, and the kids were quite tickled by the reproductions of famous places in Singapore which they were able to recognise.

Can't quite believe the structures were built with Lego bricks! DD was rather inspired.

Clockwise from top left: The Singapore Flyer, Singapore's Boat Quay, Cambodia's Angkor Wat, India's Taj Mahal.

We couldn't leave the park without my husband at least taking a look at the biggest Lego store in Asia, and that was our last stop, even as the security guards went round telling everyone that the park was closed. There's certainly lots for the Lego enthusiast, but the prices weren't cheap, so we left empty handed. This time.

Before I end off, I've got to show you something that nursing Mums and Mums with young kids would love: The Baby Care Room. Located in the land of Imagination, it is a huge space, with toilets and baby changing facilities, a big sitting area with Duplo blocks for kids, two cubicles for breastfeeding, and armchairs and baby bouncers too!

The sitting area, with a play area for the kids.

Arm chairs and baby bouncers. These were facing two cubicles for feeding, which I didn't photograph.

We had a fabulous time! We didn't get to visit Lego Kingdoms in detail or Lego Technic at all, but I guess there's always next time! 

Some tips for families with young kids:

1. Bring hats for the whole family. And don't forget the sunblock! It's VERY HOT in the park.

2. If you have young children, Imagination is the most ideal land, followed by Lego City. Head right from the entrance to get to Lego City.

3. If your child is below 80cm, there aren't too many rides he can take, though he can certainly have fun in the playgrounds they have scattered around. If he's over 90cm, there are actually a good number of options when riding accompanied by an adult. Above 110cm, your child can pretty much take any ride when accompanied, and above 120cm, he can go it alone.

That's it from me! If you have been to Legoland Malaysia, drop me a note and let me know which were your favourite activities!