LEGOLAND Malaysia: Sneak Peek!

(Daddy anticipates)

LEGOLAND Malaysia opens its doors to the public on 15th September 2012 and suffice to say, no one else is looking forward to it as eagerly as my 2 boys.

Oh alright, I admit it - I AM anticipating it with bated breath.

So it was with great joy that I was invited down to LEGOLAND Malaysia for a sneak peek into the progress of the theme park, as well as for the chance to test out some new rides. Now that I wouldn't miss it for anything!

First up, we were treated to a tour of MINILAND, which was the showcase area where cities are recreated entirely from LEGO bricks.

The models are built on a scale of 1:20 and features 17 countries and cities from around the region including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar, Philippines, Indonesia, China, India, Singapore, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur.

Expectantly, Malaysia's landmarks feature heavily in the MINILAND with clusters from Putrajaya, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur with the Petronas Towers being the tallest MINILAND model ever built in the world of LEGOLAND.

Patrick De Maria, who is the MINILAND Project lead at LEGOLAND, says that the Petronas Towers would have taken 3 years to build if done by a single person!

All models will feature some kind of mechanical movements, which kids (& adults) can bring the models to life with the push of a button.

The Singapore cluster is inspired by some of Singapore’s most treasured landmarks, namely Singapore’s Merlion, the Fullerton Hotel and One Fullerton Pier, Singapore Flyer, Maybank Building, Bank of China Building, 6 Battery Road, Riverside Point.

Sorry, no Marina Bay Sands or Esplanade as the former wasn't built 3 years ago when the conceptualization process took place 3 years ago. The latter wasn't included because it was considered too complicated a project to take on. But Patrick did mention that space has been reserved in the Singapore cluster for future expansions!

The most unique structure in this cluster has to be the recreation of Singapore’s DUCK Tours. A LEGO replica of the DUCK Tours vehicle will travel around the city following an inductive loop that is embedded into the concrete. Once the vehicle comes into contact with water it will travel in a clear acrylic channel that has been mounted into the water body.

It was utterly amazing to see all the models up close, and view all the individual bricks being put together so painstakingly.

This is the largest MINILAND ever built for a new park and the project has taken more than three years to complete. There are other models in the various countries' clusters too, with the Angkor Wat model being the most note-worthy and awe-inducing model.

Next, it was time to ditch the sightseeing and get our hands dirty with some action!

At the IMAGINATION Zone, I had the chance to try out the Kids Power Tower.

What one essentially has to do is to pull oneself up by hauling on the rope, and drop back down again. And with a weight like mine, I reckoned I was the perfect candidate to subject the ride to a stress test and the result? It passed with flying colours!

Besides rides, this Zone also boasts DUPLO Playtown - a huge playground for kids below 7 years to revel in. And the best part? It is entirely sheltered! I can just see Ale spending countless of hours here.

Then it was time for something even more thrilling, in the form of a roller coaster!

At LEGO KINGDOM, there exists 2 roller coaster rides. The Dragon ride is for those seeking a high dosage of agrenaline (which was still undergoing testing when I was there), and the other is the Dragon's Apprentice which is for those who are feeling not so adventurous.

So for the sake of my boys, I couldn't pass up the chance to test out the Dragon's Apprentice.

You can catch the Dragon' Apprentice in action in the video below.

It was fun alright, but not as fun as I envisioned. But I put that down to the fact that this roller coaster ride is just a smaller version of the bigger, nastier and looping Dragon ride, which I can't wait to hop on!

We headed down to the LEGO TECHNIC Zone next where the Aquazone Wave Racers await.

One can maneuver the racer via a steering wheel while surfing over the waves. But that is not all. This is one ride where even bystanders can get in on the action. Watchers on the sidelines can trigger water bombs on  at the racers as well!

And when there's a stress test involved, you know who to count on. Heh.

See the racers surfing in the video below.

The last ride of the day was the Technic Twister.

This ride is essentially like a spinning teacups ride, but what I loved were the detailing that went into the design of the 'cups'. They really looked like something that can be built from LEGO TECHNIC building blocks.

So there you have it - the completion of LEGOLAND Malaysia is nearing.

And we can't wait!

See MORE photos and other parts of LEGOLAND Malaysia in album on our Cheekiemonkies' Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.342162212530721.78099.110845722329039&type=1

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Discounted Annual Passes for LEGOLAND Malaysia can be bought via SISTIC HERE. For more information on tickets and prices, please click here: http://www.legoland.com.my/Plan/Prices-and-Tickets/