Everything is Awesome! (At Legoland Malaysia)

I had almost given up on theme parks (let's just say we don't consider Disney World the happiest place on earth, and I would never return over and over again year after year to wait in the long lines, trudge through the masses of people and strollers and noise, and spend thousands of dollars to do it --- even though I know that's some people's idea of a good time), but since our whole family loves Lego, we decided to give Legoland Malaysia a try.

We kept our travel plans a secret from the kids until the night before.  We'd seen the Lego movie the previous weekend, so I led the kids on a little "treasure hunt" to a note that said we're going to a place where "Everything is Awesome!"  I had even attached a Lego man to the note.  They didn't get it.  Well, eventually they did, but it took several guesses, which I was not anticipating.  Kind of anti-climactic.  But then they were super excited, jumping around, hugging us, and thanking us.  Then it was time to pack!

Legoland is about a 2 hour flight away from Miri, Malaysia (which is anywhere from a 1.5- 3.5 hour drive from our house depending on the border crossing.)  We allowed plenty of time, and stopped for lunch at the boat club in Miri before catching our flight.

As a normal person, I am very frugal.  I really don't like to spend money, and I always look for the cheapest options.  As an expat (which is obviously NOT a normal person), I am slowly learning that I need to use the travel budget because that's a huge part of why we're doing this expat thing!  So, we splurged on 3 nights in the Legoland Hotel.  A lot of thought and effort has obviously gone into making the hotel a fun experience for the entire family.  A pirate ship and castle are in the lobby, with lots of play areas for the kids, and plenty of Legos to build.  The elevators have disco balls and music, so every trip to our Kingdom-themed suite on the 7th floor was a dance party.   The suites have Lego sculptures everywhere, Duplo to play with in the room, and a safe with Lego prizes for the kids when they figure out the code to unlock the safe.  So much fun!   My only complaint was that they played the most horribly annoying children's music in all the common areas!  Seriously, that part was awful.  I would have rather had "Everything is Awesome!" playing on repeat.  Must let management know.  Other than that, it was fantastic!

This dragon at the hotel entrance is made out of Lego!

The kids had fun building on this Lego wall in the lobby

In the elevator

More Lego fun in the lobby

In the Bricks Restaurant where we ate breakfast

All of these things are made out of Lego!  We never ceased to be amazed.

All Lego!

The park itself (relatively inexpensive, about $40 US per person for 2 days access to both Legoland and water park) is just across from the hotel, which was very convenient for us to rest during the heat of the day.  Unlike every other theme park I've ever been to,  Legoland and the water park were not crowded at all.  The longest line we had to wait in was about 10 minutes.  We had to do that 2 or 3 times.  Otherwise, we could walk right on and ride over and over again without even getting off!  When does that ever happen at Disney World?  Same with the water slides.  THIS is the way to do a theme park!  I will never go anywhere else!   Ha!  The weather was perfect too, with lots of wind to help even when the sun was shining bright.

For us, Legoland Malaysia was ideal.  Not too big, rides at just the right levels for our age range of kids, clean, safe, and fun.  Plus, being Lego fans, we were all fascinated by Mini Land with Lego replicas of many famous Asian landmarks, including one from Brunei!

Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque -Brunei

Angkor Wat - Cambodia

China

Taj Mahal - India

Thailand

KL

I just kept thinking how long it must have taken to build these out of Legos.  They are truly amazing.  To think that these could be created out of little plastic toys...  We were in awe.  Of course, the real-life versions are pretty awesome themselves!  

All 6 of us ended up riding this "Beetle Bounce".  Lacy was so cute giggling as it went up high and then dropped several times!

Landon & Lacy had the train to themselves!

Lacy was all smiles on this one that went really fast!  In fact, later on she rode it completely alone.  Not a single other person was on the ride!  Ha!  

Lacy's favorite ride was this one... the Knight's Joust.  She rode it about 10 times at least!

Natalie participated in a magic show.  Pretty funny!

Just before she went on this, she said, "But Mommy, I don't know how to drive."  So cute.  I told her she would figure it out.  She only ran into the curb a few times.

The older kids enjoyed driving on a larger track

This statue was so tall, probably about 18 feet

Didn't know it could be plural!

I didn't get many pictures of the water park because we were too busy going on all of the slides!  There was one where all 6 of us could ride together in a large tube.  It was really fun, and again, I loved hearing Lacy's squeals of excitement!  The older kids went on every slide there.  The Lazy River was a big hit too, as always.  At one point I was in the Lazy River with Landon and Lacy, and we were able to wave to Keith, Natalie, and Harton who were riding a roller coaster just across the way in Legoland!

Natalie and Harton in the front row!   I didn't get pictures of their favorite ride though... a Lego Technic roller coaster that they rode at least 20 times!   I did get a video, but can't seem to post it on here.  Keith and I also enjoyed going on the rides, although 2 times in a row is my max before I get sick! 

The kids enjoyed participating in the hotel's daily model-building contest.  Harton won this one for his floral bouquet.  Natalie won the next day.  Landon wants to go back for his chance to win!

 All in all, a great little getaway!  Maybe we'll make it back again before we leave this side of the world... I don't know... should we give Hong Kong Disney a try?