The pattering of little feet around the house before the alarm had a chance to go off meant only one thing– family excursion day!
Our 6 and 7-year-old were super excited, they dressed themselves and made their beds; not wanting to waste anymore time than we already had.
With chatty kids and 2 day-packs (one with towels and change of clothes, and the other with sunblock, water bottles and other knick-knacks) in tow, we made our merry way to the Singapore Flyer. With only 40 minutes to spare, the worry of missing the 9 am pick-up to LEGOLAND began to set in.
WTS Travel and Tours provide a direct bus service from the Singapore Flyer to LEGOLAND Malaysia for a small fee of $20 per person (adult/child) return.
Thanks to smooth traffic, we got there on time. And found the queue to the coach service quite easily. As soon as we departed the Flyer we realised, in the midst of all the rushing around, we had forgotten to pack the Kindles!
A 1-and-half hour journey without some form of children’s entertainment, spelled trouble. And true enough, within 10 minutes, the kids were restless.
Each child with an iphone in hand, playing YouTube videos of funny horses and ‘Nugget in a Biscuit’– we successfully put off World War III for another day! On long journeys such as this, packing handheld games, books or anything to keep the kids occupied is paramount.
The whole journey from the Flyer to LEGOLAND in Johor Bahru on the coach was approximately 1.5 hours, including the stops at both immigration checkpoints.
If coaching is not for you, there are alternative ways to get there, but we were glad we opted for the direct coach service.
The pros: Not having to drag the kids and bags through the crowd to get on and off public transport.
The cons: If someone travelling on the same coach as you has a problem at immigration, it holds everyone back.
We cleared the Malaysian immigration quicker than we did at the Singapore checkpoint. Our rumbling tummies led us to the convenience store just across the coach pick-up zone. It was a well-stocked store and the goods are reasonably priced, so if there’s anything you’ve forgotten to pack, this would be your last chance to get them.
Next page for more of the LEGOLAND adventure..
Another 15 minutes on the road, and a 15-minute walk later, we reached the foot of mount LEGOLAND Water Park!
The sight of the towering tube rides and scorching heat got us through the entrance faster than you can say ‘wow’!
We walked past the main LEGOLAND theme park and LEGOLAND hotel to get to the water park. We were welcomed by human-size LEGO figures!
We were pleased with the changing room and locker facility, especially the keyless locker system. Hallelujah! It accepts only cash though, and at MYR$20 (approx. S$10) per day. It uses a system which allows you multiple accesses. Just need to remember the colour it assigned to you and the date of birth you entered.
We managed to squeeze both small day-bags with all their contents into a small locker. The interesting keyless locker system takes away the worry of loosing your locker key.
If you have money to spend, the other option to hiring a locker is renting a cabana. Situated within a close vicinity of the wave pool and Beach ‘N’ Brick Grill cafe, the cabanas are suitable for families who’d want their own sheltered space and yet be where the action is.
Privacy can be attained by simply drawing the curtains, and have the tent fan on to keep cool.
Full day rental fee MYR$300 (approx. S$150). Half day (from 2 pm onwards) rental fee MYR$150 (approx. S$75).
Two deluxe chaise lounges, two seating chairs, two complimentary towels, safe deposit box and one table with DUPLO bricks for play. 10 complimentary mineral water bottles provided in the mini-fridge.
And the adventure continues on..
Bags put away and armoured with sunblock, we made our way to the first attraction.
The vibrantly-coloured map caught our eyes and we planned which rides to go on first. I find the illustrated maps make map-reading easy for kids.
The traffic of people they get here on weekends maybe terrific, so it’s advisable to walk your kids through the map. And pick a meeting point, in case they get separated from you.
Informative maps with easy-to-read legends are scattered around the water park. The kid-friendly maps are useful for the bigger children to find their way back if they stray too far.
Dangling items or ones which could easily come off you– hats, sunnies, slippers, etc– are not allowed on the rides as they could get damaged, and for safety reasons.
Pigeon holes for slippers can be found near the entrance of every ride. Big enough to hold slippers of a family of 4. Leaving valuables in them is not advisable.
We were on a mission– to go on ALL the rides!
Click LEGOLAND waterpark snapshots for pictures of the awesome rides we got on!
BUT then, hunger struck us!
Beach-N-Brick Grill Cafe. Choose from a selection of chicken with nasi lemak, chicken with chips, hot dog, chicken or beef burgers, just to list a few.
Rest assured your rumbling tummies will lead you to any two of the cafes: Beach-N-Brick Grill if you’re by the wave pool, and Brick Bay Cafe if you’re by the lazy pool.
But do anticipate a massively long queue on weekends! Bring your own food in an esky aka cooler bag if you prefer, but we couldn’t justify towing it around. Plus, you’ll have to hire a $40-locker to put it in, assuming it’ll fit in a large locker.
So we got to end of the line, and by then had decided what to have. We each got a set meal at MYR$25 (approx. S$12.50). You get a choice of a main meal, a drink and fruit-in-a-cup.
Chicken with nasi lemak set meal. I had eaten half the rice before the picture was taken. Very impressed with the flavour and serving size!
At the end of the day..
We walked past a couple huge sci-fi looking yellow boxes.
Had a good look at it on the way out. It’s a dryer! For MYR$10 (approx. S$5), you get to get water blown off you, and hopefully semi-dry your bathers.. We didn’t see a need for it at that time as the day was stinking hot.
Haystack dryer: It accepts only MYR$10 note.
By the end of it, we were knackered and very brown, but content.
Made our way back to the drop-off point, ready for our 5 pm coach pick-up back to Singapore. The kids were delighted and definitely keen to come back again. Well, we still have a few more rides to tick off the list, don’t we kids?