Asia's first Legoland to open in Malaysia this year

Young families in Asia, or grown-ups with an uncontainable inner child, may want to pay a visit to Malaysia this October. Legoland Malaysia has announced plans to open in Johor Bahru in September or October 2012. The 30-hectare, RM720 million (US$239 million) park will be the first of the Legoland theme parks outside Europe or the United States and will feature 40 rides, shows and attractions and plenty of opportunity to build things with small bricks and take them apart again.You can dodge water blasts on the Aquazone Wave Racers in the Lego Technic area. For those worried about the Malaysian heat, the park will also include some specially designed features, such as more undercover shelters to provide shade from the ever-shining Malaysian sun. "Being located in the tropics helps too because it is very beautiful and green with 3,500 trees to create the natural park environment," says Matthew Law, public relations representative for Legoland Malaysia.The park, when finished, will include seven themed areas. "Miniland" is the highlight of the park, featuring towns and landmarks from around Southeast Asia, all built from 25 million Lego bricks on a 1:20 scale. "There will be some of Asia's icons such as Merlion (Singapore), Angkor Wat (Cambodia), Taj Mahal (India), Petronas Twin Towers (Malaysia) and many more," says Law. "Miniland also features animated models that interact with each other."The "Imagination" area allows visitors (called "heroes" in Lego-speak) to build and play with Lego; the Lego Technic area features roller-coasters and challenges while Lego City allows kids to captain their own boat and drive Legoland cars -- but not before they get their Legoland driver's license, of course. "Nearly all of the rides are hands-on, so you can push, pull, pedal, program, steer, squirt, splash, crawl, climb and yes -- build your way through a full day of non-stop fun," says the Legoland Malaysia website. The "Imagination" area allows visitors (called "heroes" in Lego-speak) to build and play with Lego; the Lego Technic area features roller-coasters and challenges while Lego City allows kids to captain their own boat and drive Legoland cars -- but not before they get their Legoland driver's license, of course. "Nearly all of the rides are hands-on, so you can push, pull, pedal, program, steer, squirt, splash, crawl, climb and yes -- build your way through a full day of non-stop fun," says the Legoland Malaysia website. The "Imagination" area allows visitors (called "heroes" in Lego-speak) to build and play with Lego; the Lego Technic area features roller-coasters and challenges while Lego City allows kids to captain their own boat and drive Legoland cars -- but not before they get their Legoland driver's license, of course. "Nearly all of the rides are hands-on, so you can push, pull, pedal, program, steer, squirt, splash, crawl, climb and yes -- build your way through a full day of non-stop fun," says the Legoland Malaysia website.