I’ve
Legolanded thrice in this lifetime so far. Before heading to Billund back in
2014, I was already Legolanding a year prior at the newly built one in
Malaysia’s Johor Bahru, a mere hour away from Singapore. What happened, though,
is not uncommon to lazy bloggers with a bad procrastination habit. I promised
myself that I would write an article about it the next day but as we all know,
we never run out of next days. It’s been almost four years now. I guess the
time has finally come with this repeat visit.
Legolanding in Malaysia is way easier and cheaper than in Denmark. Billund seems to be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Either you land there on a cheapo Ryanair flight or you go by land and suffer the exorbitant transportation costs common in Scandinavian countries. You don’t have that problem in Johor. Just ride a bus from Singapore or fly from KL. With cheap travel options abound, you’ll get there without having to sell one of your kidneys. Contrary to rumors, crossing the land border is not really a hassle.
A
day ticket for the theme park will not go over MYR150 (PHP~1,650). Add maybe
another MYR100 (PHP~1,100) to that amount if you plan to explore the water park
too. Yup, just like Tokyo Disneyland/Disneysea or the Korean Everland/Caribbean
Bay combo, Legoland Malaysia offers both, although admission to one does not necessarily
mean that the other comes free. Back in 2013, that water park was still under
construction. In any case, we totally snubbed it this time around. We shouldn’t
have.
It’s
a good decision to include a water park given the heat and humidity on this
side of Asia. Once you are done walking around Miniland drenched in your own
sweat, you might find it comfortable to wade in actual water your body did not
produce. But what are we saying. As if we’ll have time for the water park! The
theme park itself should take us forever to navigate given the huge throngs of
camwhores! Wrong answer. That’s what makes Legoland Malaysia unique. NO ONE
GOES THERE.
Okay,
that was harsh. Of course, people do go there. What I’m trying to say is that
of all the theme parks I’ve been to in the last five years or so, Legoland
Malaysia seems to be the only one allergic to crowds. Many attractions were
closed simply because no one was lining up to ride them. I felt bad for some of
the staff members performing because they looked pitiful talking to a “crowd”
of two kids with an average attention span of 5 seconds. But why are we
complaining? This should be a good thing. Well, it is!
If
you want an entire theme park all to yourself, or sharing it with perhaps less
than a hundred people, then you can Legoland in Malaysia in January. I don’t
know if it’s the same case Legolanding at Billund at certain times of the year.
Less camwhores to compete with is always a good thing. But is Legolanding in
Malaysia really worth your time? Maybe there’s a legit reason why everyone is
avoiding it, right? Well, I’d say that it is still worth the admission ticket.
The crowd favorite, of course, is Miniland.
Being
the only Legoland in Asia, this version of Miniland features all Asian
destinations, with some countries snubbed in favor of more popular ones. Southeast
Asia is well-represented, although some choices are rather questionable. Malaysia
and Cambodia have the Petronas Twin Towers and Siem Reap, respectively, while
the Philippines has this not so well known town I’m not even sure exists. It
probably does, but why choose that over Vigan or Ifugao’s rice terraces, for
example? I guess we’ll never know.
What
we are quite sure of is that hundreds of hours of labor and how many thousand
Lego bricks were involved in coming up with such mini masterpieces. Many of
them are so accurate that I was able to fool one Facebook contact years back
that Brunei’s mini mosque on display there was the real thing. It’s all about the
angle, baby! They even rely on robotics to make some of the displays more
interactive. If you love to travel, you will have a good time exploring
Miniland. It’s not just for kids!
The
park caters to children, lest we forget. They have a rollercoaster or two but
not one packs enough G-force to tickle your sense of adventure. Instead, you’ll
see many playgrounds, as well as activity centers where you can watch your kids
be creative building their very own Lego masterpiece. As a parent and kid at
heart, you are not forbidden to join. Needless to say, it’s a good opportunity
for family bonding, except if you don’t have one and you’re going to die old,
bitter, and alone. But that is SO NOT my problem.
If
you miss the good old days when your Lego collection was complete, you can also
come here to shop. They offer tons of bricks both old and new, sold by the kilo.
Of course, you’ll also find various Lego collections to add to the one you have
at home. Star Wars, in particular, is very popular now. They even have a new
attraction dedicated to it, recreating the sets used in the film with nothing
more than Lego bricks. It’s a real treat for fans and pseudo-fans alike.
We
ended the day watching the Ninjago puppet play. It was awkward AF because there
were less than ten of us inside and the three or four toddlers there didn’t
seem interested at all. But the show must go on. I actually enjoyed it, but
then again I am always amused by narratives with elements as the main
storyline. If you need to go back to Singapore, make sure the ticket you booked
was round-trip. Otherwise, spending a night at JB is not that bad, despite the
lack of attractions. When all else fails, chill.
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