Surviving a trip to Legoland Malaysia with young kids in tow

To take advantage of the Vesak Day holiday on 10 May, we decided to take a drive up to Legoland, in Johor, with our close family and friends who also have two children around the same age. We were glad that we decided to head there on a working day (rather than the holiday itself), as the drive from Singapore in the morning was smooth, with just a short wait at Tuas checkpoint. From the time we left home, it took us less than one and a half hours to reach Legoland, which was just a 20-minute drive once we had cleared the Malaysia checkpoint.

We had reserved rooms at the Legoland Hotel – more about that later. Soon after checking in, we headed to the theme park to start our visit. As our four-year-old (nicknamed Barnacles) is a huge fan of Lego City, that was the first place we headed to once entering the park and after having a quick lunch at The Cafe near the entrance.

In this area, there is a Junior Driving School for children aged between three and five years, with a “Driving School” for older children aged six to 13 years, where children can get into Lego-themed cars and drive themselves around a track. There is also a Lego Rescue Academy where parents and children manually “drive” life-size fire engines and police vans and alight to put out building fires, a Lego City Airport with ride-on planes that one can “fly” up and down, and the Legoland Express; a life-size train that looks like it is built of Lego.

Definite pluses on our trip were that we chose to go on a weekday, during the school exam period. We were pleasantly greeted with few crowds, and no queues for any of the eateries or rides. Barnacles got to sit on several rides twice in a row without needing to re-queue.

The height requirement for most of the rides is mostly 80cm or 90cm with an accompanying adult, and there are also several more exciting rides for older children and adults. While Barnacles, who is about 100cm tall, could go on quite a number of rides, our 15-month-old (nicknamed Kwazii) did not meet the 80cm height requirement for most. Not being able to sit on any rides did not quite bother him though – he had an awesome time just walking around the several kids play areas throughout the park, his favourite being Duplo Playtown.

If you are heading up with young kids, one important thing to mention is the lovely, air-conditioned baby room just opposite Duplo Playtown. It was large and spick and span, with cushioned chairs for breastfeeding in one corner, a play area with Lego and kid-sized tables and chairs, and two toilets. Speaking of toilets, Legoland has just about the nicest toilets we have seen at any park – they were clean, air-conditioned, and decked out in bright colours. We even joked about popping into the toilet for some reprieve from the heat!

How long to visit and essentials to pack

If you are deciding what to pack, do ensure you bring the following: Sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, mosquito repellent, and lots of water. Mini fans for the stroller will also come in very handy if you have young kids who need to take a nap in the afternoon. For us, mosquito repellent was a lifesaver as our four-year-old, a mosquito magnet, was bitten on his earlobe on the first day even though we applied repellent all over his arms, legs and face! We were more diligent with the repellent after that.

We would suggest getting the two-day Legoland pass, and opting to visit the water park on one of the days (it requires a separate entry ticket). With young kids, we were unable to cover the whole park in just one day, and it was nice not to have to rush through the different areas. The water park was one of the kids’ favourites. Before heading up, we had purchased water shoes from Decathlon at just S$8.90 a pair and they came in very handy at the water park as the ground was very hot. We also had peace of mind that their feet would be protected from anything rough or sharp on the ground.

The Legoland Hotel

If you’re wondering whether the Legoland Hotel is worth the slight premium over a hotel slightly further away, it certainly is. The hotel is a stone’s throw from the theme park (the Legoland entrance was literally a minute’s walk from the hotel), and it was so much easier to be able to get our children back to the hotel quickly in the evening to rest after a long day. We also brought them back to the hotel to shower after a fun time in the water park.

Apart from proximity, the Legoland Hotel was a real hit with both our kids. They had so much fun in the hotel, we joked that we did not even need to visit Legoland! With a large pirate ship and a castle replica at the lobby for kids to run in and out of, and a moat filled with lots and lots of Lego, to large Lego foam buildable bricks, to the Lego-themed rooms – they loved it. The room also had a little treasure chest game where one was required to solve the clues to unlock the chest to find a little Lego gift inside. Kwazii loves lights and especially loved the lift, which had a light-up disco ball and music playing.

It wouldn’t be a holiday without good food, right? The cafes within Legoland served decent food, but the Bricks Family Restaurant in the hotel deserves special mention. We were spoilt for choice by the breakfast and international dinner buffets. We left in the early afternoon on our third day there, with our tummies and hearts full.

Now, if you’re thinking that Legoland is just for kids, we beg to differ. There are several rides and attractions that we enjoyed. Given the chance, we would have spent much more time enjoying the intricate Lego structures in Miniland, watched more Lego 4D themed movies and definitely eaten a lot more at the sumptuous buffets. After all, there’s a child in each of us. More of that in our next post!

Mummy and Daddy Daycare are the pseudonyms of a Singaporean husband and wife who are raising two young boys aged four and one, nicknamed Barnacles and Kwazii from the children’s Octonauts series. Get into the minds of this couple who describe parenthood as a lifetime adventure – you are always learning something new! Whoever said parenting was a walk in the park?

Other articles by Mummy and Daddy Daycare:
How to guard your children against mosquitoes
Mummy and Daddy Daycare’s favourite playgrounds in Singapore
How to choose a budget family car in Singapore