Everything Is Awesome At Legoland

My nephew's birthday came up and I asked to accompany him on a trip to Legoland. This amusement park is in Johor Bahru and not terribly accessible from Singapore without a car. My sister acquired tickets from Groupon or some other deal site for entry tickets that came with bus rides to and from Golden Mile. How ingenious of local bus operators to create day trips into Legoland. I guess Singaporeans and tourists here are a source market. So we all gathered at Beach Road at 9am on a Sunday morning for the pilgrimage. The kid was ecstatic, the adults weary and muted.

I think some Singaporeans were disappointed that Legoland decided to open up in Nusajaya instead of Singapore. It seemed more logical to open here with our more affluent customer base and 'nothing to do on the weekend' gripe. The land that Legoland sits on isn't that big - some corner of Woodlands or Tampines would have sufficed. Maybe we like to keep all the good stuff for ourselves. Well here's kicker no.1 - now it really does become an adventure. Singaporeans having to travel across the border with passports to have fun. Like a real holiday. Kids love it. Any chance for a long bus trip is my nephew's piece de resistance. When we were in Woodlands, we'd take 969 to hang out at Changi Airport. He loves a long journey.

I was partly skeptical of course. How good could Legoland be. Amusement park for kids, what would grown up do there? Dismissal, pessimism, a wet blanket. Boy, was I wrong. It's so fun!!! We started out with the waterjet cannonmobile ride. Just 60s of being pushed out by centrifugal force over water being shot at with water jets and splashed from water bomb spray. Woohoo! Nephew and I did it twice. (I think he had another go later in the evening.) Then we did the 4-seater roller coaster. The first drop was scary and it was smooth sailing after. I screamed my lungs, my defence against pent up fear and acknowledgement that I was no longer in any control of my fate. My nephew was almost scared shitless. He refused to do the next roller coaster. Well, he'll get over it.

 

I didn't do well at the spinning rides. The pseudo teacups drove me mad. I had to keep looking at the ceiling so that my brain wouldn't go dizzy. I'm also not normal with unprotected height. I compelled myself to go on a elevator ride with my nephew. It involved sitting in a pair of bucket seats and pulling oneself up with a rope some 10m up into the air. There's nothing but a bar across ones waist to prevent any unfortunate calamity. The moment the seat was jacking itself up I felt my legs go weak. It was eerily discernible fear. My nephew on the other hand was ecstatically yanking himself and our mutual seat higher and higher, sending my adrenaline levels through the roof with each centimeter higher into open air. Yikes. It was some of most terrifying moments of recent history.

All in all, it was a good day out. Bushed by the time we had to leave. The bus came back to pick us up at 5pm. The rain came in the morning and it was a torrent when we left Gelang Patah. That made for a gloomy but thankfully cool rest of the day. Otherwise I'd advise a good hat and lots of water. One downer is that guests can't bring their own food into the park. Hide your goodies! There's a mall of sorts outside Legoland with a KFC, Burger King and many other shops. We didn't venture because we timed ourselves just right for the return trip. If you're not puckered out with all the running around having fun, then perhaps the mall will do you in.

Here's the second kicker. Everything's in ringgit. I hate to rub it in but the Singapore dollar is 2.5 times stronger than the ringgit. (I guess that’s why my Malaysian relatives hardly visit us) When we go to places like Sentosa, the zoo and other local attractions, we end up paying quite a lot on food, merchandise and transport. At Legoland, lunch was RM15-20 per person. Simple but tasty chicken and fish choices. Three shots at a tin can pyramid was RM20. It made it easier not to care. I bought some stuff from the store because I felt like I was on holiday and the stronger dollar made spending less discretionary. I have a Lego mug, umbrella and stickers for my temporary carefree ways. For this I am quite glad that Legoland is in Johor Bahru.

There was a sign of a discounted price for an annual pass for Johor residents. If I stayed in JB I'd be the first to buy that ticket, and make weekly trips to ride the coasters. My only regret was not riding the biggest roller coaster, the Dragon. Next time, I shall slay the monster.