Madagascar

Madagascar turned out to be a sleeper hit. The stage was huge and from far away you can see the hull of a ship. Similar to the one in the famous movie.

Into the belly .....

They were all excitedLook at the size of that .....Time for a breatherBut Irfan wanted to get on with things ....There were a couple of rides here, and we took the softer - but relatively wetter - option. The ride took us into the belly of the ship using a vessel, complete with splashes and puppet show. The rocking soundtrack on the background of course and before you leave at the other end, your whole family would be singing - "I got to move it, move it!, MOVE IT!"

Catchy indeed. And then we had popcorns and soda before we made our way to Hollywood for more food and gifts ……

Egypt!

After the Scifi area, it was Egypt. A huge indoor complex, with an indoor roller coaster, reputed to be the scariest. I wouldn't know because we did not step in. Instead, we lingered at the entrance and took another ride. It was an outdoor one, akin to the journey of Indiana Jones. A journey in a car, into caves and tunnels, with creepy crawly aplenty.

Nothing to shout about really, except that the queue was long, and the ride was short. Luckily with our express passes, we did not have to queue. We were led straight onto the car at the front of the queue. Well worth it.

Women has this effect on Idlan .... Goof boy!He was kinda popular with the ladies .....Waiting to get into our vehicle .... Let's roll!Indiana Jones time ....While there, we came across the Queen of Sheeba and a Prince. Tough looking guy, and rather popular with the ladies. I didn't understand why ....

Because the day was hot and the walk was long, Anita decided to have a change of footwear, and we also got a fan for each of the boys. It was filled with ice cold water which they spray onto their face.

Authentic stuff ....The guards .....Definitely not my kinda ride ....After a quick drink, it was time to move on. The Lost World beckoned ......

New York

The first area you enter when you get into the Universal Studios is appropriately called Hollywood. We shall leave that for the last entry as that was the exit as well. We decided to take a clockwise turn, and the first stop would be New York.

There were mainly cafes here and cinemas. Cinemas with live and movie shows. Not much in the way of rides, but there were sing-along in the afternoons as well as the main site for the parade. We did not stay until the evening, so missed that.

A long walk, but luckily it was shadedBeware of the pot holesThere were authentic memorabilia here, with diners, true to the American ambiance. You can't help but to wonder if the mob would get you round the next corner. Gift shops aplenty, and it was a nice place to sit down for a coffee and plan for the day.

We decided to breeze through here as the boys were excited about Egypt and the Lost World.

Subway?An authentic-looking yellow cabCinemas at every cornerWhere's next?The next area was the Sci-Fi. The main attraction here was Transformers ride. Unfortunately, Anita was not keen as she is prone to vertigo. That was a shame, as I was really looking forward to this one. It was endorsed by the movie director as well and it was opened to much fanfare last year. If you get to the park, make sure you queue up for this one. I am sure it would be worth it.

Instead, we took the "Accelerator". Mainly we were sat in a cup and flung across the platform. Kid's tolerated that one OK. Next stop …. Egypt!

The Universal Studios

Everyone has been asking me, was the trip to Universal Studios worth it? Of course! Most definitely. I initially had problem convincing my children to go. After all, there was a huge billboard along the MRR2 near my house in Gombak which said, "Sunway Lagoon, Asia's Best Attraction." And they swore by that!

Now, they kept telling me that Universal Studios couldn't be as good. After the trip, they changed their mind.

But, if you don't believe the boy's endorsement, you should go there yourself. It was electric. From the moment you enter the park, the excitement was palpable.

By the main entraceGift shops everywhereTime for a breatherMore photos ......We went there on a Monday. The crowd was apparently lighter, but still a bit more than a typical Monday since it was a public holiday in Malaysia. I could tell that the majority of the visitors - as well as the staffs - were from Malaysia. We got purr tickets beforehand via the internet, so all we had to do was start straight at the entrance queue. We reached there shortly after 10.30 am, and there was already a crowd. Despite that, everything was orderly. The next step was to pick up the park map. They were everywhere and easy to get hold off.

The park was basically devised into 7 areas, all with a unique theme. In the end we spent more time at the Lost World - a Jurassic Park-based attraction - and Far Far Away where Shrek lived. The main dining area was by Hollywood area. 

Rather than dwell on in one long entry, I might as well write on the individual area separately. So, watch this space …..

Genting, here we come!

The Genting Highland Hotel - the first hotel there, before the now bigger First World was builtGohtong to Genting took us 20 minutes. I did not want to drive too fast for fear of the passengers throwing up. Even on a weekday - a Thursday with the public school open - the place was full of people. We parked at the First World Hotel - touted to be the biggest hotel in the world - we did not stay there, so I can’t comment. There was a multi-story shopping plaza there, complete with an indoor theme park, shows, casino and ‘Snow-world’ at the hotel. Hence the first order of business was lunch. They have them all - McD, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and if you feel like it, there were also mamak stalls, hotel buffet etc. There were plenty of choice when it come to food. But for Moslem, be careful and read the signs carefully. Some of the shops were non-halal.

There was also a multiplex cinema and bowling alley if you were into them. There were rows of gift shops, and this was only at one single hotel. I wonder what the other hotels were like. There was an auditorium at the plaza doing nightly shows, and sometimes concerts. There were certainly plenty of things to do there, even if you were not there for the gambling - Moslems were not allowed into the casinos. 

After lunch, I went around looking for informations about the rides. They do day passes there, but it was rather confusing since there were so many kinds of them - there were he ones for indoor rides, outdoors only and also the one that was good for the whole place. Since it was past 3 pm by the time we bought the tickets, we decided only to stay indoors. Since we did not plan the trip up properly, the boys were not really properly dressed. There were not even wearing shoes - hence Snow-World was out of the question.

We took the ferris wheel, gondolas, skytrains etc. Idlan went on the bumper cars. Unfortunately due to height restrictions, Irfan was not able to. There were also other family rides but the boys were too grumpy to go on them. It was almost 6pm by the time we left. The kids were exhausted. Puan Anita was exhausted. I was knackered. It was a grand day out however. We sure will pack up proper shoes and jackets the net time we go up there, because Idlan and Irfan wanted to have fun in the snow!