The last time we went to LEGOLAND Malaysia was in September for the media preview day. Admittedly, not all attractions were open then. Just last month, we went back to Nusajaya in Johor to experience the park again; everything was on full swing this time. Read more…
BUS TRAVEL FROM KUALA LUMPUR TO JOHOR BAHRU
Buses from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru have a last trip at midnight. However, we were at the Future Music Festival Asia 2013 the night prior, so we had to sleep at my cousin’s in Serdang to take one of the first buses to Johor Bahru.
Despite taking a 18 MYR (~245 PHP) cab ride to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS), we still weren’t able to take the 7:30 AM bus, so we settled for the one leaving at 8:00 AM for Johor Bahru’s Larkin Bus Terminal. Waiting in the the departures concourse of the state-of-the-art TBS made me wish that the bus terminals back in Manila were as nice.
As always, the bus we took was comfortable and had wide seats, so we were able to sleep through the journey. The bus did a stopover at some building, but I’m not sure where it was. Anyway, we reached Johor Bahru’s Larkin Bus Terminal after exactly four hours.
I didn’t have my timetable with me, so we went directly to the Causeway Link bus dispatcher to ask when the next LG1 bus to LEGOLAND Malaysia was arriving. He said ten minutes, so we went to the tandas (toilet) for a quick break. Lo and behold, when we went down, the bus was already leaving, so we maniacally ran after it and blocked its way.
The ride to LEGOLAND Malaysia from Larkin took us about 20 minutes, and the fare we paid was 2.80 MYR (~38 PHP). When we arrived in Nusajaya, the sun wasn’t shining too bright thankfully, yet rain seemed imminent. I called up Ms. Deviga, their charming PR manager, so we could meet up at the gate for our tickets and kits.
UPDATES ABOUT LEGOLAND MALAYSIA
Ms. Deviga updated us of what will happen in the next months. She showed us the area where the construction of LEGOLAND Water Park is happening. It’s due to open this year or early next year, and we’re very excited about it! We’re also anticipating the LEGOLAND Hotel, which will either be opening sooner than or the same time as the water park.
Die-hard Star Wars fanatics will be glad to hear that LEGOLAND Malaysia will soon have an attraction inspired by the movie, but I don’t know if I’m supposed to divulge that already. Anyway, Ms. Deviga said they’re continuously updating things for the park by coming up with activities, so their guests and annual pass holders would have new experiences each time.
For one, they started the Minifigure Swap, a tradition across LEGOLAND theme parks around the world that encourages interaction between guests and Model Citizens. The time we were there, they had vouchers and giveaways. Read more in my article here.
Further, they just recently added a new feature to LEGO Studio, their 4D theatre. Premiered on April 20, 2013, LEGO Legends of Chima is an exciting 4D movie about animal warriors fighting for CHI, a mystical energy source of limitless power and destruction.
ENJOYING LEGOLAND MALAYSIA AFTER SIX MONTHS
After keeping us up to speed about the developments in the park, Ms. Deviga took us to lunch at Jungle Cafe in the Land of Adventure. The restaurant, I gathered, serves an entirely Halal menu. We had the Beef Burger with fries.
We wasted no time and immediately went to try the rides and attractions in the park that we weren’t able to do during the media preview. For the first time, we rode Project-X, Aquazone Wave Racers, Dino Island, and Lost Kingdom Adventure. We also watched a magic show up close at the City Stage in LEGO City.
Of course, we rode our other favorite rides, such as the Dragon and LEGO Studio, and enjoyed going around the park taking snapshots of the fun and the smiles. It was a chance to update my photo library of MINILAND too, this time using the Sony Alpha NEX-6.
We got hungry later in the afternoon, so we had a nice nasi (rice) meals at Robot Kitchen. They were still running some Chinese New Year specials back then, so we paid like 7 MYR (~95 PHP) each for nasi lemak and a delicious chicken curry set.
We got out of LEGOLAND Malaysia past six in the afternoon. We regrettably took the Causeway Link bus to Jurong East in Singapore via the Tuas 2nd Link and got stuck for two hours at the Singapore CIQ Complex because there was a shortage of buses. Please DO NOT take the same bus; wait for a bus going to JB Sentral instead, where are plenty of buses going into Singapore via the Sultan Iskandar CIQ.
We had a great time at LEGOLAND Malaysia, and we truly felt like kids again. We look forward to going back to that happy place soon!
LEGOLAND Malaysia opened to the public on September 15, 2012 in Nusajaya, Johor. For details on how to go, read this guide. For a tour around the park, check out my posts:
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Photos were taken using the powerful Sony Alpha NEX-6. Know more about it here. Follow Sony Philippines on Facebook and Twitter for updates!
