Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park: Hello Kitty Town Review

Media Invite

(Daddy reviews)

"WHAT??!?!?!!"

That was the response I got from both Ash & Ayd in unison when I told them that we were going to Hello Kitty Land and The Little Big Club over the weekend. I reckon they found them to be a tad childish but hey - it isn't always about them and it is about time that Ale - and the wifey too - got to visit some place that is geared towards their liking.

And it doesn't come any bigger than a white kitten with a red bow and no mouth.

Located in Nusajaya Johor and less than 10 minutes away from LEGOLAND Malaysia, the Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park houses popular global children’s characters from Sanrio Hello Kitty Town, The Little Big Club - think Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder - and LAT. And the best part?  Everything is located indoors!

No prizes for guessing which area we ventured to first then.

Hello Kitty Town Map

As we walked through the entrance of Hello Kitty Town, a whimsical spinning Tea Cup Ride caught the 2 ladies' eyes.

Compared to the usual tea cup rides at other theme parks, I spied MORE adults than kids on this particular tea cup ride. Perhaps the reason being that it is the only ride in Hello Kitty Town?

But that's not to say there are nothing else to do at Hello Kitty Town. If you a huge fan of everything Hello Kitty and love Hello Kitty merchandise, the Hello Kitty House is a must-visit place. And if you are lucky, you might even bump into its home owners!

Ale couldn't resist planting a kiss on Miss Kitty.

EVERYTHING - from the living room, 2 bedrooms, bathroom, walk-in wardrobe and kitchen, they are all decorated in Kitty-style. Definitely enough to satisfy every single Hello Kitty fan I'm sure.

I think we all agreed that the Bathroom was our favourite of the lot. Yes, me included.

And for the first time, Ale was the one who kept bugging me to snap photos of her while she pose ever so sweetly beside the numerous cute figurines.

Well, the boys were craving for some action and luckily, the Hello Kitty Black Wonder provided just that.

Conceptualised as a hi-tech interactive themed experience, we had to solve a series of puzzles in order to rescue Hello Kitty who is held captive in a castle. We were handed a Hello Kitty-shaped lamp and then sent packing to hunt for our clues.

This activity definitely perked the boys up... and you can tell that they were dead serious in wanting to free Hello Kitty. Heh.

There were 5 areas, and each contained an alphabet which we had to search for. Then, we had to piece the 5 letters together to form a word in order to complete our mission. One area had us trying to make out the letter in the barrel using our hands, while another area saw us trying to spot the differences between 2 identical rooms. The final piece to the jigsaw laid within a huge map, which we had to place our lamp over it and shine over the hidden letter.

And with that, it was mission accomplished!

The monkies even had a certificate to show for all their efforts!

I would say the boys certainly enjoyed this sleuthing bit of Hello Kitty Town the most. Coming in a close second was the 'Happy Carnival' Street Parade, which happens at 4pm on weekdays and 11.30am & 4pm on weekends.

DO NOT miss this parade because it is just so fun and colourful to watch. Try to plonk yourself near the Purrfect Stage so that you would not miss out on all of Dear Daniel's, Great Batz Maru's, My Melody's and Hello Kitty's dance steps.

During the second half of the show, kids will be taught some of the dance steps and invited to join in the fun in front of the stage. Some adults couldn't resist and actually joined in the dancing too! Heh.

And when the parade approached its end, there were plenty of opportunities for handshakes and hi-fives as well.

Though Ale appeared to be rather intimidated by the Great Batz Maru.

 I found him to be quite endearing actually.

Here's a useful schedule for all the showtimes and meet-and-greet sessions at Hello Kitty Town:

If hands-on activities are what you are yearning for, you would be glad to know that there are lots of Hello Kitty-related activities to keep you busy!

At the Wishful Studio, one can make and take home their very own Hello Kitty bracelet,play dress-up by donning Sanrio characters costumes at the photo studio as well as visit the nail salon where they can decorate their nails with Sanrio characters nail art.

There's even a cookie studio, where we had the chance to decorate our very own Hello Kitty shaped cookies with colours and sprinkles.

Adults may find this to be boring though, because all we were given was one Hello Kitty cookie, strawberry jam and chocolate sprinkles. And we had to finish decorating our cookie in under 5 minutes - which is good actually because it meant that the queue waiting time is kept short.

But what isn't fun for us adults can be very different from a child's perspective... because Ayd said he thoroughly enjoyed decorating his own cookie, even though the end result was a convoluted lump of sprinkles.

But at least the cookie tasted really good! Very buttery and oh-so-yummy.

Oh, and do note that each person is only allowed to tackle each hands-on activities at the Wishful Studio once. Ditto for the Black Wonder experience. We were each handed an activity card when we entered the theme park and for every activity we completed, we would get a stamp.

By this time, if the kids still have energy to expend, there is the Friendship Land - a padded Indoor Playgym - for them to wreck havoc in.

The good thing about this particular playgym is that the maximum entry age is 3 years old, which makes it a safe haven for toddlers as they would not get older rowdy kids like Ash & Ayd bumping into them.

There is also a Cinnamoroll Café directly opposite, and that makes it ideal for parents to keep a watchful eye over their young-lings while enjoying a Hello Kitty-shaped waffle or hot coffee.

We didn't enter the playgym though as Ale fell asleep after all the above exertions. So we did the next best thing.

We paid the Sanrio Shop on the Ground Floor a visit first. And guess who was the happiest of the lot?

I guess there isn't any need for me to elaborate what kind of merchandise the shop stocked... stuff which can make ladies hyperventilate.

My thoughts on Hello Kitty Town? It's definitely a place for kids aged 6 and below.  But obviously, the age doesn't matter at all if you are a huge fan of any of the Sanrio characters. Both Ash & Ayd had mixed feelings about it - they loved the clue-collecting Black Wonder attraction and enjoyed the Parade too, but they probably grew bored with the overly-pink decor and hands-on activities. As for Ale, needless to say she totally enjoyed it! Most importantly, we were there on a Saturday and it wasn't too crowded.

Of course, we were not done as yet. There was still The Little Big Club to be conquered, where Barney, Thomas, Pingu, Angelina and Bob awaited. Again, both Ash & Ayd had the notion that they were not going to enjoy it... but they would soon to be proven wrong!

Thanks to Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park for the kind invitation. Stay tuned for Part 2!

View MORE photos of our time at Hello Kitty Town at our Facebook page HERE!

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Useful Details

Ticket prices:
Sanrio Hello Kitty Town
Regular : RM65 - Adult and children.
Malaysian ID : RM50 - Adult and children

The Little Big Club
Regular : RM65 - Adult and children.
Malaysian ID : RM50 - Adult and children

2 Park passes
Regular : RM85 - Adult and children.
Malaysian ID : RM65 - Adult and children

To purchase tickets online, please visit www.playtime.com.my

Operating Hours*: Monday to Sunday - 10am to 6pm
*Closed every Tuesday except for Malaysian and Singaporean public holidays / school holidays.

Address: Persiaran Puteri Selatan, Puteri Harbour, 79000, Nusajaya, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

Directions:
From Singapore via the TUAS Second Link
Proceed to Nusajaya Look out for EXIT 312 (E3). Follow signs to Kota Iskandar/Puteri Harbour. At roundabout take 2nd exit onto Persiaran Laksamana At Bulatan Laksamana, take 1st exit onto Lebuh Laksamana. Look out for Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park.