An exhaustive afternoon actually. The initial plan was to head to Puteri Harbour to see what the indoor theme park had to offer. But we had a stop on the way. We were just curious about a public park we saw on the way to Legoland yesterday, called Taman Merdeka. More about that later.
We ended up arriving at Puteri Harbour by 3, and after fretting about where to park - the parking area was quite well away from the theme park. Puteri Harbour was still in development and not all the attractions were opened yet. In fact, only the theme park was really operational. Even Lat's Place, another attraction was still closed.
Actually, we enjoyed Puteri Harbour more than Legoland to be quite honest. And I would blog about that in length a bit later on. We finally reached the hotel after six, and starving. A quick trip to the lounge and the boys were happy. What's next? Swimming. At 7 pm? Gosh!
Puteri Harbour Visit
When we left for JB, we were told that apart from Legoland, there was another attraction nearby, mainly for children. We then found out about Puteri Harbour, and Hello Kitty Land. Oh dear! Those were for girls. Luckily, at the same venue there was the Little BIG Club, where characters like Barney, Thomas the Tank Engine and Pingu was on display. So, why not.
It was Saturday today and after a long day yesterday, I was hoping that the boys would go to bed early for an early start this morning. Well, they went to bed well last midnight. In fact, I was snoring away while they were still running around the room. And this morning, it was almost midday when they finally woke up. It was a late start to the day then. At least, they had their brunch in the room before we set off.
Puteri Harbour was the second destination for the day for us. We were at Taman Merdeka before that, an interesting walk. It was around 3 pm when we finally arrived at the theme park.
In contrast to yesterday, the park was indoors. So, the elements was not a factor. It was comfortable for everybody, meaning less number of grumpy children ..... and parents. But similar to Legoland, the place was overpriced and not yet fully completed. Signage was still a mess and parking was a pain.
Entrance fee was RM50 per head for individual tickets, or slight less than RM100 if you go for both Hello Kitty Land and Little BIG Club entrance tickets. We just went for the Club. According to Irfan, Hello Kitty are for girls. Right on!
What did we get in return. Actually, we enjoyed the Club more than Legoland. The boys knew the characters from when they were toddlers. And Irfan actually went to Pingu preschool. A visit by Barney and Pingu caused them to go berserk, quite literally. And of course they got their photos taken with them. Both Pingu and Barney. Thomas and Bob the Builder came a bit earlier and we unfortunately missed it. They went into the play areas, took on some of the rides - they were all pretty simple although a couple of them were not for the faint-hearted. Dodge-em was great fun.
The place was comfortable although the seating area for waiting parents were rather limited. Toilets were also a challenge. They could do with a fee more. The other gripe in had was buying photographs at the exit. There was only two work stations and if you were stuck behind a fussy group - like we did today - who just couldn't decide, first which photo to pick, and then what background to add, before taking another 10 minutes to decide on the frame, then you were done!
Personally, even though the place was smaller than Legoland, it was value for money for us. Puteri Harbour definitely would have more to offer when other attractions opened there, such as the Let's Place, a restaurant featuring work from the famous artist. The gift shop was already operational but one had to wait until later this month before the restaurant was opened.
If you were in JB for Legoland and have some extra time to spent after that, then Puteri Harbour would be well worth your time.