LEGOLAND® Malaysia Celebrates National Day

Today is a national public holiday to coincide with Malaya's 55th Independence and Sabah Sarawak 49th Independence which sum up to Hari Kebangsaan Ke 55. 

As usual the centre of attraction was at Dataran Merdeka on the eve of National Day but unfortunately,  Malaysians coming for the countdown was not allowed to enter the square as had been done since 54 years ago. However thousand of loving and caring Malaysians did gather around the square as a show of love for the country. 

Besides gatherings at squares and parks all over the country, history was also created by LEGOLAND Malaysia when they organised their first ever family day at the Theme Park scheduled to be officially open to the public on 15th September, a day before Malaysia Day on 16th September 2012.

Legoland Malaysia will receive members of the media for the Media's Family Day on 1st September 2012 and today on Merdeka Day, the staff took time off to celebrate for the first time as a family. employeess were invited to bring their friends and family and enjoy an exclusive preview of the park's 40 rides, shows and attractions. 

In accordance to mark the anniversary of Malaysia's Independence, the Jalur gemilang was raised at the LEGO® replica of Merdeka Square. The iconic landmark of Malaysia is one of many to be featured in Miniland, the area of the Park where Asian countries and cities are recreated on a scale of 1:20 using more than 30 million LEGO bricks.

LEGOLAND® Malaysia Celebrates National Day with Employees and Their Families 

• LEGOLAND® Malaysia holds its first ever Family Day at the Park to mark the 55th National Day celebration.
• The Park’s 40 rides, shows and attractions, 18 F&B outlets and six speciality shops are now fully operational.
• 600 staff are currently completing the final phase of their LEGOLAND® training.

Asia’s first LEGOLAND® is now fully operational and ready for the Public Opening on Saturday 15th September 2012. As the countdown to the big day continues, the 600-strong LEGOLAND team are also completing the final part of their comprehensive training. Experts from LEGOLAND Parks around the world have been providing additional specialist support since July 2012.

Siegfried Boerst, General Manager of LEGOLAND® Malaysia, said: “We have built and trained an excellent team here in Malaysia and I am delighted to welcome their friends and family to celebrate National Day with us and enjoy a special preview of our Park. We are using the next two weeks to fine-tune every aspect of the Park because we want to ensure that everyone has the best possible experience when we open our doors. I am pleased to say our rides are running, our chefs are cooking, and our shops are fully stocked.”

Tonight I and my family will leave for Nusajaya to attend the Media Family Day and experience first hand what the first such theme park in Asia has to offer. 

Please visit this blog again or ....as I Travel to read my review of the park. 

How To Go To LEGOLAND® Malaysia

Come mid September Legoland Malaysia will open its door officially. Many are aware of the new Theme Park at Nusajaya, Johor.

Nusajaya is a newly developed area and thus public transportation would be a bit of a problem. However visitors to Legoland can shelf that problem because Legoland Malaysia has arranged public transport to the park and vice versa from strategic locations in Johor Bahru.

There will be direct bus services operating from Larkin Sentral (every 30 minutes), and additional services from JB Sentral, Gelang Patah Sentral and Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) . Bus services operates everyday.

BUS AND SHUTTLE SERVICES TO LEGOLAND® MALAYSIA STARTS 15 SEPTEMBER

Konsortium Transnasional Berhad (KTB), operates daily every 30 minutes:

Larkin to LEGOLAND®  between 09.00am and midday

LEGOLAND to Larkin from 04.00pm until 06.30pm from Sunday to Friday

On Saturdays, school holidays and public holidays they will run until 08.30pm.

Each round trip will cost RM12.

Causeway Link will operate two new bus services: 

There will be a total of 6 trips each day between Johor Premium Outlets (JPO), LEGOLAND® and the Tuas 2ndLink. 
Visitors can expect up to 15 trips on the second Causeway Link route: JB Sentral - Larkin Sentral - LEGOLAND - Gelang Patah.

For those keen on self-drive, the Park has over 3,500 car parking bays on site and over 100 spaces for

buses and coaches. It will provide visitors with access to both the Park and Mall of Medini. To further help

navigation, the route to LEGOLAND is also well signposted.

“Our aim is to make the journey to the Park as easy as possible especially for families with children. With the door-to-door service, visitors can get to the Park comfortably and be assured that their journey will be less tiring,” said Siegfried Boerst, General Manager of LEGOLAND® Malaysia.

The schedule blow is provided by Legoland Malaysia

ROUTES
Konsortium Transnasional Berhad (KTB) Public transport from Larkin	Larkin - LEGOLAND® Every day: 0900 to 1200 (every 30 minutes) LEGOLAND - Larkin Sun – Fri: 1600 to 1830 (every 30 minutes) Sat, School Holidays & Public Holiday: 1600 to 2030 (every 30 minutes)
CAUSEWAY LINK Public transport from JPO, JB Sentral, Larkin and Gelang Patah Sentral.	1. JB Sentral - Larkin – LEGOLAND- GP Sentral Weekdays (Mon - Fri):10 trips per day(0800-1800) Weekends (Sat, Sun & PH):15 trips per day(0800-1730)

For more information on routes, schedules and prices please also see www.LEGOLAND.my

 TOP: Bricky, the LEGOLAND Mascot with one of the new buses that will be serving LEGOLAND Malaysia

 TOP: Siegfried Boerst, General Manager LEGOLAND Malaysia and Bricky the LEGOLAND Mascot.JPG

About LEGOLAND® Malaysia

LEGOLAND® Malaysia is the sixth LEGOLAND to be built in the world and the very first in Asia. Targeted

at families with children between the ages of two to twelve years old, LEGOLAND Parks are based on the

universally popular LEGO construction toy product. They offer families the opportunity to bond, learn and

push the boundaries of their imaginations through LEGO experiences. At LEGOLAND, families can practice

their imagination and creativity, have fun while learning, and understand the importance of caring and

quality. Families will be immersed in a unique mix of kid-powered rides, building challenges, spectacular

LEGO models, interactive attractions, family-friendly coasters and shows that pull the audience into the

action. LEGOLAND Malaysia will feature more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions when it opens.

Other LEGOLAND theme parks across the world are located in Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany and

California and Florida in the United States. There are LEGOLAND Hotels in Denmark and the United Kingdom; with a hotel scheduled to open in California in 2013.

LEGOLAND Malaysia is located at Iskandar Malaysia and is made possible through IDR Resorts and Merlin

Entertainments Groups, the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator.

Visit www.LEGOLAND.my for more information.

For Media Enquiries:

LEGOLAND Malaysia

Pelham Bell Pottinger Asia

Matthew Law / Priscilla Loh

DD: +65 6333 3449

Email: MLaw@pbp.asia / PLoh@pbp.asia

Start Voting For LEGOLAND® Schools LEGO Building Contest

Legoland Malaysia is counting its days before the main gate will be officially open to visitors on 15 September 2012. Bracing for the day, Legoland Malaysia is keeping the excitement and the latest activity was the Schools LEGO Building Contest launched by Its General Manager, Mr Siegfried Boerst, on 17th July at SK(P) Sultan Ibrahim in Johor Bahru. 

Fifteen teams out of 66 participations from schools in Malaysia and Singapore were selected as finalists in Round 2 after the dateline to upload their creation on a dedicated micro-site before on 17th August.

Voting officially starts on 19th August after the finalists and photo of their creation was uploaded to the dedicated section of the parks official website. 

A winner will be selected from each of the three categories: Category A: 4-5 years old; Category B: 6-10 years old; and Category C: 11-14 years old.

The winning teams will be picked based on the designs with the highest number of votes per contest category. The winners will be announced on 3^rdSeptember. This will be followed by an official prize-giving ceremony where the winning teams will receive free passes to visit LEGOLAND^® Malaysia. As part of the contest, the first 25 schools that registered for the contest in Malaysia also received three sets of LEGO^® Education Sets. Two lucky schools also received invites to the Park for a sneak preview. 

CAST YOUR VOTES

Top 3 teams from Category A (4-5 years old) can be viewed HERE.

Top 6 teams from Category B (6-10 years old) can be viewed HERE. 

Top 6 teams from Category C (11-14 years old) can be viewed HERE.

Some of the finalists

Eureka 2 - Team Eureka from SK Perdana Jaya SS19 replicating Rumah Melaka's artistic architecture in LEGO^® bricks (Cat B)

Brainiest Kids Team - The Brainiest Kids Team from Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Universiti 1 (Cat C) 

LEGOLAND^® has seven unique themed areas developed especially for children. Each area promotes fun in learning and combines the experience with interactive features. For further information on the contest and the Park, please click here: www.legoland.com.my/.

LEGOLAND® Malaysia Launch LEGO® Building Craze Competetion

The last time I had the opportunity to go for Legoland Malaysia site visit was in April 2012 when Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia, announced the official opening day that is on 15th September 2012. Then the construction of the first such theme park in Asia is moving smoothly and that leads to Legoland bring forward previous schedule to open the gate to visitors to an earlier date. Many rides had arrived and ready to be fixed while landscaping and other preparations are moving. 

While counting down to the day when her gate is opened to visitors,  Legoland Malaysia runs activities to stir interest of the public and feel their presence. Legoland in Malaysia launched an innovative LEGO® building competition challenging school children nationwide to build national icons out of LEGO bricks and it was launched on 17th July at SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim School in Johor Bahru by LEGOLAND®. This is the first LEGO building contest of its kind in Asia and it is set to take Malaysia by storm. The contest aims to inspire creative learning and develop national education values amongst pupils. 

While Lego bricks are child play, adults too can be engrossed manipulating the coloured bricks constructing things according to their imagination, this building competition is expected to move along the line. While capturing  the imagination of children, the contest is expected to be widely supported by teachers and parents alike, amidst the growing recognition that children primarily think and learn through experiences rather than through abstract calculations and generalizations.  

Performers from SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim School with Mr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Rahim (JPNJ Johor Education Department), Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia and Mr Johari Bin Suhadak (District of Education Johor Bahru).

THE COMPETITION


LEGOLAND® Malaysia Launch LEGO® Building Craze To Construct National Icons For Malaysian Schools.


Participation - all school children in Malaysia and Singapore aged between four and fourteen years old. Each school is allowed to register five teams and each team can consist of up to a maximum of 10 students. 

Categories - A: 4 - 5 year old,  B: 6 - 10 year old, C:  11 - 14 year old.

Objectives - to foster student interaction and teamwork by inviting schools to register teams. 

Judging - The contest will have two rounds and the winners of each category will eventually be picked based on a voting system. 

In Round 1, schools register their teams, design and build their icons and upload the image to a dedicated microsite by the 17^th August to be judged by a panel. The microsite will go live on contest launch date, 17th July 2012.

In Round 2 beginning 19^th August 2012, once the selection process is complete, ten finalists will be announced and they will be asked to promote their designs online. 


Public voting will close on the 31^st August 2012 to decide the winners . 


Result Announcement - 3^rdSeptember 2012 the teams with the highest number of votes per contest category will be announced and every member of each winning team will receive 5 day passes to LEGOLAND Malaysia.


Panel of Judges -  The professional judging panel will comprise of LEGOLAND master model builders as well as selected senior management from the company.

“Education has always been an important agenda for LEGOLAND. Creativity, imagination, fun, learning, care and quality are pillars of the LEGOLAND brand. Legoland believe in play as an effective way of teaching children and our brand has always engaged in encouraging creative learning,” said Siegfried Boerst, General Manager of LEGOLAND Malaysia.

 He added “we believe LEGO bricks are a great tool for improving learning as it helps students to be dynamic and it helps harness problem solving skills. LEGO bricks can help children develop life-long skills such as out-of-the-box thinking. Besides that, we also want to inspire children to develop love and ownership for their country from a young age and this is a great start.”

LEGOLAND is set to open its doors officially on 15^th September 2012 and has seven unique themed areas developed especially for children. Each area promotes fun in learning and combines the experience with interactive features.

Further details about the competetion can be obtained from LEGOLAND Malaysia official website HERE.

 Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia) presenting token of appreciation to Mr Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Rahim (JPNJ Johor Education Department).

  Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia) presenting token of appreciation to Mr Johari Bin Suhadak (District of Education Johor Bahru).

Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia) discussing LEGO® building with SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim School pupils.

Mr Siegfried Boerst (General Manager, LEGOLAND® Malaysia) discussing LEGO® building with SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim School pupils.

  LEGOLAND®  Master Modeller demonstrating to the children from SK (P) Sultan Ibrahim and visiting schools.

 School pupils with “Buddy”, one of the LEGOLAND® Mascots.

About LEGOLAND Malaysia 

LEGOLAND Malaysia is the sixth LEGOLAND to be built in the world and the very first in Asia. Targeted at families with children between the ages of two to twelve years, LEGOLAND Parks are based on the universally popular LEGO construction toy range. They offer families the opportunity to bond, learn and push the boundaries of their imaginations through LEGO experiences. At LEGOLAND, families can practice their imagination and creativity, have fun while learning, and understand the importance of caring and quality. Families will be immersed in a unique mix of kid-powered rides, building challenges, spectacular LEGO models, interactive attractions, family-friendly coasters and shows that pull the audience into the action. LEGOLAND Malaysia will feature more than 40 interactive rides, shows and attractions when it opens.

Other LEGOLAND theme parks across the world are situated in Denmark, United Kingdom, Germany and USA with Florida and California locations.   There are LEGOLAND Hotels in the Parks in Denmark and the UK; with a hotel scheduled to open in California in 2013.

LEGOLAND Malaysia will be located in Iskandar Malaysia and is made possible through IDR Resorts and Merlin Entertainments Groups, the world’s second largest visitor attraction operator.

Visit http://www.legoland.com.my/  for more information.