Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park: The Little Big Club Review

Media Invite

(Daddy reviews)

If you are not familiar with Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine, Bob the Builder, Pingu or Angelina Ballerina, then you are probably not a parent yet. Surely kids nowadays would have grown up coming into contact at least one of those characters... so if you have a preschooler who is still infatuated with either of these famous five, then you are in luck.

The Little Big Club at Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park gathers all these characters under one roof complete with a series of 6 themed interactive play zones - with games, rides, soft play areas, live shows and meet & greet sessions!

As I had previously mentioned in my previous post on Hello Kitty Town, both Ash & Ayd were not exactly keen on paying this theme park a visit as they deemed it to be too childish. But they quite enjoyed Hello Kitty Town, so they were game enough to give The Little Big Club a shot.Okay, so they had no other choice really.

As we entered The Little Big Club on the second floor, there was the Barney's playhouse beside the entrance which is essentially a re-creation of the familiar set in the Barney series.

This mini-playground is targeted at younger kids aged 4 and below, and consists of low slides and climbing structures. But we didn't get a chance to try out the playground as something else purple clearly distracted Ale.

From the friendliest T-Rex to the coolest Penguin, we headed to the North Pole next where we paid a visit to Pingu's igloo.

The igloo housed different types of arcade machine such as air-hockey, basketball-throwing and mole-whacking games. Pretty simple stuff but the kids did have fun inside, probably because they could play for as long as their hearts desire as there was no need for any tokens!

The host dropped by as well, and somehow all 3 monkies were uber delighted to see him.

And so, yet another photo opportunity.

By now, Ale was itching to shuffle her feet and what better place to do so that at Angelina Ballerina's Dance Studio?

This is the place where girls can put on a tutu, don a set of mouse ears, wave a pink wand in the air while dancing alongside Angelina Ballerina. Even the wifey gamely put on a tutu and joined in the ballet lesson!

I think I can safely say that this is almost every little girl's idea of fun. After all, how often can one get to hold hands and take ballet lessons from an oversized mouse? I mean that in a good way of course - I could see Ale thoroughly enjoyed her 20 minutes of dancing.

As for the 2 boys, they were utterly bored. I think they were secretly hoping that I will be asked to don a tutu too so that they can derive some entertainment at my expense. Luckily for me, they had no sizes for me.

Well, they did get some entertainment next at Bob the Builder's Playzone next where yet another indoor playground awaited.

Compared to the Barney's one, this playground is geared towards older kids with all the usual suspects of climbing structures and even a wave slide.

The Playzone also consists of a 'Build It' Zone which I particularly liked. This was where aspiring little builders can join Bob's 'Can-do Crew' and chip in to build a house.

Kids can use various soft interlocking bricks of different shapes and sizes to construct walls in Bob’s house. Or in Ayd's case, he took greater joy in demolishing them.

Or kids can also help to transport the bricks via a conveyor system - and this was a huge hit with all the kids present.

And with that, we were about halfway done with The Little Big Club and we had another level to conquer.

The other level was devoted entirely to Thomas & Friends, and this was where both Ash & Ayd had their greatest share of fun.

Because if you are looking for rides, then this is the level to come up to. There are a total of six Thomas-related indoor rides!

Ride #1: Windmill Ride.

It's the typical mini-Ferris Wheel ride for kids, which Ash & Ayd got disinterested with it rather quickly. On the other hand, Ale enjoyed it quite a fair bit.

Ride #2: Harold's HeliTours. Again, the 2 boys only went on it once. For Ale though, after having experienced the LEGO City airplanes ride at LEGOLAND Malaysia, these kind of rides rank as one of her fave rides currently.

Ride #3: Colin's Crane Drop. A common sight in most theme parks, Ale was slightly below the required minimum height so it was up to her 2 brothers to experience the drop.

Ride #4: Bertie the Bus. This bus ride brings its passengers on its rounds but in a vertical circular motion. Again, a familiar sight at most theme parks but it was fun enough to warrant 3 sittings from the 3 monkies.

Ride #5: Bumper Buffers. Essentially bumper cars. this attraction has kids (and adults) trying to bump each other off in diesel engines and troublesome trucks.

And this, was both Ash's & Ayd's fave ride of the lot. To think they went on it 10 times! But I have to agree with them - the bumper engines were really well done, and the movement and steering were very smooth and effortless.

Ride #6: Thomas Imagination Station. This is the Thomas train ride to drive your little ones nuts if they are crazy over Thomas. It is just a simple train ride that goes round the indoor play area, but I think it will be enough to make them want to go on again and again.

The 6 rides were good but personally, the highlight of the Thomas & Friends zone has got to be this - Sodor Playground.

If you have older kids, then this is the playground that they will love you for. There are lots of climbing structures, slides and even trains which double as tunnels that kids can crawl through.

And the playground is rather huge - I would say the play experience is a cross between Kids Amaze @ SAFRA and Amazonia but infused with Thomas elements of course. I would have loved to show you more photos of the internal workings of the play structures... but I couldn't squeeze through the first obstacle.

No matter, oversized adults like me can just lounge comfortably in the huge sofas just outside the playground and yet still keep a watchful eye over the kids. Although it will be perfect if there's WIFI.

Of course, what's a theme park without some live shows? So while the boys were busy alternating play between the Sodor Playground and bumper cars, Ale was lapping up the live show by Barney at The Little Big Club stage.

The show is rather similar to those at shopping malls during school holidays and Christmas season, with familiar ditties like 'If You Are Happy', 'Mr. Sun' and 'Lemon Drops & Gumdrops'. But the premise isn't as crowded so kids were able to stand up, participate and dance freely together with Barney on stage.

Ale even sat through the Thomas live show too!

With so many characters and shows to see, here's a useful schedule for all the showtimes and meet-and-greet sessions at The Little Big Club:

Food-wise, if you are looking to lunch within the indoor theme park then the MC BUNN cafe at the Thomas & Friends zone (third level) is your best bet.

Other than the usual fast food of burgers and nuggets, it serves roast chicken (RM38.90 for half-chicken with 2 sides and a drink), lasagna (RM12.50) as well as kids meals (RM9.90) ranging from fish fingers, nuggets to hot dogs.

Do note that if you order the roast chicken, the gravy is a tad peppery. So you might want to ask for the sauce to be separated if kids are consuming it.

As for the taste test, the food was nothing to shout about but decent enough. At least the lasagna proved to be the greatest draw as all 3 monkies vied for it.

After-thoughts 

Ale definitely had the greatest share of fun in both Hello Kitty Land and The Little Big Club. Compared to LEGOLAND Malaysia, she could venture on most of the rides here, join in the activities and also come face-to-face with some of her favourite characters. The 2 boys admitted in the aftermath that they too had fun (thanks to the bumper cars and playground!) but they would of course pick LEGOLAND Malaysia any time.

For me, I like it for the simple fact that it is entirely indoors and our experience isn't at the mercy of the fickle weather. Okay, so the air-conditioned environment is a big plus... but I would think that this place would clearly be a dream come true for most kids aged 6 and below. We took about half a day to cover both Hello Kitty Land and The Little Big Club and that was just about right I would think.

Considering we went on a Saturday, the place was not crowded at all. In fact, we didn't have to queue at any of the attractions which was major plus. Here is something that I had noticed - we were there right on the dot when the theme park opened at 10am and there was hardly a sizeable crowd but, more people started coming in after lunch time.

Other stuff to take note:

Child-friendliness - There are toilets for families with young kids, with flip-down changing tables.
Food - Beside the MC BUNN cafe at Level 3, there is a Red Bow Cafe on the Ground Level as well as 2 other smaller cafes on each of the first and second level.
Parking - Parking is free at the underground car park.
Air-con environment - It may get a bit cold a times, so bring along a jacket if your child is afraid of the cold.

Thanks once again, to Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park for the kind invitation!

View MORE photos of our time at Hello Kitty Town AND The Little Big Club 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.