I think the kids had so much fun at the resort over the last 3 days.
We deliberately chose to stay over Sunday to Tuesday to beat the crowds (what crowds?) and what a good decision that was. Legoland Malaysia is definitely not as crowded as Universal Studios Singapore, as we went on a Sunday. There was no ride that needed more than 15min of queuing. As we had the all-inclusive two-day pass, we went again on Monday and basically the whole park belonged to us, as there were so little people there.
The Good
Legoland Malaysia is only 20mins from the Singapore 2nd Link, so it is of close proximity. Some of the visitors were daytrippers although the bus timings were rather constricted. Obviously when the planning took place, the developers were eyeing more at the Singaporean crowd than the local Malaysian one. The pricing itself is reflective of that.
The kids loved everything associated with Lego, the Danish toys. The rides were very kid-friendly and there were ample staff throughout the hotel and park to help out your every need.
There is Lego everywhere. Like seriously, you almost can't find anything that is NOT associated with Lego. There're Lego play spaces all around the hotel, the park, at every ride and even in the pool! There's even a box of Lego in every hotel room!
The rooms had a very nice touch in that the kids get to sleep in a separate space with a double decker bed, a kid's TV, and even the toilet has two sinks, one for adults and one for kids!
Staff are friendly and helpful. The Malaysians staffing the resort and hotel were very service oriented and helpful whenever required. Also very often even in the mundane and repetitive park staffing experience (staff manning a ride having to rouse visitors to cheer every 5mins!), here you still see smiling faces and warm greetings even in the late afternoon on many rides. There is something about local Malaysian and Indonesian service and hospitality that is very warm and inviting.
There is a connected Medini Mall just in front of the Legoland entrance, which offers KFC and Burger King type of other food options. In the future there are further developments which will make it more connected to the Medini township (it is currently touted as a Singapore-styled hinterland in Johor). I can even see Gleneagles from afar having a building presence.
The Bad
Pricing is rather steep. Room rates for a Premium room which is just Standard room with a view, was at RM1,500. The rooms have Lego decor but isn't too far off from a budget Hotel 81 room except with a view. From dispensed soap, cheap towels, and adult beds and blankets that are too short/small, all the way to mass market breakfast buffet and crap food for kids. For SGD500, you could get a night at the W Hotel Sentosa for far better environment and more exclusive service and standards.
The Legoland Waterpark is not really attractive. Just a standard waterpark in Asia - one lazy pool, one kids' water playground, one wave pool, one family slide, several individual slides. It has a cool locker system though. Nothing particularly bad, nothing really special, so nothing to really crow about. Which means it is rather pricey.
Transport is an issue. Getting there by a Singapore-registered car is dangerous. Getting there by bus is not convenient. The drop off and pick up area by the giant carpark, a good 10min walk from the rest of the park premises, doesn't look very safe. Timing for buses are also restrictive. Maybe there's not enough demand to have more flexible timings.
Check-in and check-out timings are very rigid. 4pm check-in and 11am check-out. Any extension is another extra payment to be made. This means if you're stuck with the rigid bus timings, you're left with 5hrs to burn after check-out, with literally nothing to do except play with your phone.
The Ugly
Legoland Malaysia feels and looks like it is not doing so well. Obviously Singaporeans' perception of safety and security in Malaysia is still a big issue. The crime rate is high in many Malaysian cities, specifically robbery, snatch theft and petty crime (not specific to Legoland definitely!). You don't even need statistics when the general feel of the public situation here already puts you in an apprehensive mode. So much so that a Police Post is set up right outside the Legoland entrance. Security also does not seem very tight in the hotel, no detectors or luggage screens. The park itself also had low level security.
The poor crowds we saw on Monday and Tuesday were really dire, especially when this is already holiday period. Compared to other parks we've visited with kids in Australia, Indonesia and Singapore even on weekdays, there was some serious sense of emptiness feel about the park. On Monday, we only went back to repeat the fun rides which the kids wanted, and we hardly had to queue for any of them. On the bright side, it meant that the kids get to ride their favourite rides multiple times.
The worst part of all is that adults and parents simply run out of things to do almost immediately. This is akin to Genting Highlands but with a kids twist, where the adults never run out of things to do (casino etc) while the kids have a problem being entertained. Here, almost everything is related to kids and prying money from parents to pay for kids' stuff like toys, services, games etc. Pity that they have more potential that could be learnt from other resorts like client segregation and better catering to the paying segment. This one is almost purely attacking parents with kids, no other segments more.
All in all, the kids had a fantastic time while the parents had a so-so experience. Will we come back again? Not very likely unless there are ever any big changes.
Here are more pictures:
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