Malaysia and Singapore Parks!

Cheryl and I have now devoted our lives to trying to maintain our status on Delta even though we no longer have that trans-Atlantic commute. In service to that quest, we did the Malaysia/Singapore thing, which turned out to be a very fun trip. Just an FYI, getting out to these locations is a LONG freaking ride. Be prepared not to be able to feel your ass for a few days after the flight, unless you're flying in Business, where you can at least lie down and let other parts of your body take the punishment of approximately 20 hours of flying (from the East Coast). I believe that the Singapore Airlines all-business-class flight from EWR to SIN is the longest commercial flight currently offered, but we couldn't afford that and we need Delta miles, so this was JFK-NRT-SIN-KUL-SIN-NRT-JFK with the SIN-KUL-SIN segments on Air Asia (thanks for the rec, Elissa!) and the rest on Delta.

We were a little nervous because Malaysia was our first Muslim country (We know, not necessarily a big deal except that we happen to be ethnically, if not religiously, Jewish). Malaysia also doesn't recognize the State of Israel, which we find bothersome, but we swallowed our Jewish pride and went for it anyway. It turned out to be a great experience.

This is how I roll.

This is the Crowne Plaza at Changi Airport in Singapore, the only hotel on airport property. We got in at about 02:00 and had a flight at 08:00. At least we got to shower and sleep for a few hours.

Woe be unto those who forgot that they had a joint on them.

Then it was on to Kuala Lumpur via Air Asia. Elissa recommended them and they were great.

After getting picked up by our very cool guide, Zach, we headed to the premier KL amusement park, Sunway Lagoon.

You have to rent this little wristband to get in. If you don't use it to store cash, it's pretty much otherwise useless. When you return it you get a deposit back.

It really doesn't look like much when you walk in, which is deceptive. It's a pretty big tract of land.

Here's the one credit (not counting a powered). It's a Soquet mine train. They're surprisingly smooth, IMHO.

Another pic of the credit. I seem to not have gotten any good shots.

There are also some tigers near the entrance, which hint at the park's zoo section. While there is a steep moat separating the tigers from guests (Cheryl thought that Richard Parker was going to roll off the cliff in his sleep), this is one of those places where you know that a reasonably motivated tiger is going to one day get loose and kill a guest or two.

There are some so-so flats (teacups and a pirate ship) but then you see this.

This is really really cool!

It's not that high up, but Cheryl actually got a touch of vertigo.

To the left you can see the massive Tornado they're building for their waterpark section, called Vuvuzela. I'm working on finding out if it's ProSlide or not. I'm pretty sure it's not, due to some unfamiliar markings on the tubes.

Some decent theming on the right.

Here's the view looking back the way we'd come.

Here are more pieces of Vuvuzela.

An archery booth. We've seen these before in our travels, and it's one of those attractions that you're unlikely to ever see in the U.S.

And for the go-karters...

There was also a short but fun ATV course, which we did. For some reason, the most challenging part of the course is right at the beginning. I wanted to suggest changing the order of sections so that the difficult part came at the end, when people have become a little more used to the machine, but I kept my mouth shut.

They make you wear hairnets and elbow and knee pads.

All of this stuff except for a slingshot and a zipline are included in the entry price.

We saw a lot of Malaysian women wearing hijab type headscarves, but occasionally we would see niqab clothing with veils covering all but the eyes. There is a lot of tourism from the Arab countries to Malaysia.

This further confused me regarding the need for the waterproof bracelet.

Flow Rider, again, I think included.

Lazy river. The weather was hot and muggy, but we hadn't planned on doing the water park.

More slides, including a Burmese Python.

And the real thing. I think. This could have been the boa.

American prairie dogs in the zoo!

Crocs.

Some great hornbills. I mean, they weren't that great, but that's their name.

So it's not a great traditional amusement park because of the dearth of coasters and flats, but there is a little bit here for everyone. Thanks for visiting. Next up will be Berjaya Times Square.

Some great hornbills. I mean, they weren't that great, but that's their name.

So, they were just "average" great hornbills?

Some great hornbills. I mean, they weren't that great, but that's their name.

 

So, they were just "average" great hornbills?

lol

They were OK.

Man I love this park when I visited back in '09. The setting for it is so awesome!

And to answer you're question, the new slide is an Abyss, built by Whitewater (it's Superior to the tornado's).

Did you do the theme park in the Times Square mall as well?

The wave pool under the suspension bridge is actually the largest in the world, beating out the one at Disney with something like 500 square feet if I remember correctly.

Did you do the theme park in the Times Square mall as well?

Next up will be Berjaya Times Square.

the new slide is an Abyss, built by Whitewater (it's Superior to the tornado's).

Did you do the theme park in the Times Square mall as well?

I actually strongly disagree that the Abyss is better than the Tornado. The Abyss, while larger, lacks the circular shape of the Tornado. Instead, the Abyss just has two gently slanted walls that do not feature any angle change. It is really a shame considering how impressive they look. Having been on both as well as the majority of both ProSlide and White Water West products, I can say that ProSlide generally wins innovation, slide design, appearance, and thrill level over White Water.

I actually strongly disagree that the Abyss is better than the Tornado. The Abyss, while larger, lacks the circular shape of the Tornado. Instead, the Abyss just has two gently slanted walls that do not feature any angle change. It is really a shame considering how impressive they look. Having been on both as well as the majority of both ProSlide and White Water West products, I can say that ProSlide generally wins innovation, slide design, appearance, and thrill level over White Water.

Well then, let's agree to disagree

Very cool report; thanks! And what the hell is a "Waterplexx 5D?" If it is what it looks like in this banner, then the 5D thing has gone completely out of control.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iEANlHs8zE

5D

^Thanks for that link... Yeah, the 5D thing has gone completely out of control. Because that's just what every waterslide park needs: a virtual waterslide.

I actually strongly disagree that the Abyss is better than the Tornado. The Abyss, while larger, lacks the circular shape of the Tornado. Instead, the Abyss just has two gently slanted walls that do not feature any angle change. It is really a shame considering how impressive they look. Having been on both as well as the majority of both ProSlide and White Water West products, I can say that ProSlide generally wins innovation, slide design, appearance, and thrill level over White Water.

 

Well then, let's agree to disagree

No. Instead . . .

Just kidding.

^Thanks for that link... Yeah, the 5D thing has gone completely out of control. Because that's just what every waterslide park needs: a virtual waterslide.

Now watch as Six Flags Malaysia makes a 23.6D virtual watercoaster.

Loving the setting for this park. Who made the coaster there? Kind of looks like a PAX but I can't be sure...

Now watch as Six Flags Malaysia makes a 23.6D virtual watercoaster.

Six Flags is not building in Malaysia

Loving the setting for this park. Who made the coaster there? Kind of looks like a PAX but I can't be sure...

The manufacturer was stated by the original poster, it is Soquet.

Yaaaayyyyyyy!!!! I love it when we make the front page. Thank you TPR God and Goddess and the Moderator Angels!

After Sunway Lagoon, we headed to the other park within the city's confines, Berjaya Times Square, which is located inside a big mall. According to our guide Zach, Malaysians are totally into mall culture, hanging out in a mall for hours and hours. So it seems that it's a natural place for a fun park.

(Scroll down after Times Square pics for the Genting Highland Photos!)

Apparently Borders isn't bankrupt everywhere? We didn't go looking for the store, preferring that its status remains shrouded in mystery.

Welcome to BTS!

There's the sign for the park, and this would not be the last time that we would see Kenny Rogers Roasters in Malaysia.

Lots of places were decked out for Chinese New Year.

WTF? Awesome.

Yay!

This is what we're looking for, Supersonic Odyssey.

The place is a bit of a maze on several levels, with rides and stuff distributed in seeming random fashion. I started to appreciate that there was some pretty decent theming.

There was a lot of good theming around the park. It didn't look splashy new, but you could see that they'd brought in some pros to do it.

Of course, it didn't cover every inch.

Character Meet and Greet

This was a kiddy area, which had really dense, busy theming.

There's a glimpse of Supersonic Odyssey. Those bee things were everywhere.

Supersonic Odyssey was FUN! Nothing too extreme. Just a fun, 3-inversion lift hill Intamin. This was pretty much the only coaster in Malaysia that we rode more than once.

More Supersonic Odyssey.

This reminded me of a Condor but I'm not sure what it is, exactly. Note Supersonic Odyssey below...

...and above.

Into the brake run.

We saw these weird wax hands for sale in various places.

Some other cheesy crap.

I had some quasi-bubble tea stuff that was pure flavored powered sugar, kept in these containers. They add stuff called "jelly" which sort of tastes and looks like artificial mango. There was "jelly" in a coffee I bought in China.

Cheryl could not resist a sweet, crispy, spicy treat of some sort.

The next day we did a little sightseeing, including a visit to the Petronas Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world 1998-2004. They are now the 3rd tallest after Burj Khalifa and Taipei 101.

In the evening our guide took us to this famous hilltop, site of some 19th C. battles...

...and we subsequently watched other tourists, who purchased food from the vendors, being attacked by monkeys.

The "friendly" monkeys jumped on you for food. The unfriendly monkeys were to be avoided altogether.

Then we did this beautiful thing at dusk in Kuala Selangor. We got into a boat with a guy rowing it from the back, and we rowed onto this river into the darkness, and you see these trees on the banks all lit up with twinkly white Christmas lights, but it's really fireflies! It was otherwise pitch black, and then we heard the call to prayer from a mosque in the distance. It was just a really cool experience. Unfortunately my camera couldn't get the fireflies in the dark. But it was a very memorable experience.

Thanks for visiting Berjaya Times Square and KL with us! Next stop: The Bizarreness of Genting Highlands! (Scroll down for Genting pics!)

I love it when people do updates of that park. It still looks really cool!

This reminded me of a Condor but I'm not sure what it is, exactly.

That's an Intamin Spinning Star flat ride. You don't know much about them because...that one is the only one in existence.

You were so brave to go out in that boat, at night, with monkeys and insects, in Malaysia!

^But was he brave enough to eat at Kenny Rogers Roasters?

^^^

I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to eat Kenny Rogers' Roasters in the States!

And the monkeys were definitely some of the most disturbing..er..entities in Malaysia. I wish there was a Taiko monkey smiley for this moment.

The whole night time boat thing sounds really cool! I'd love to visit there one day. Thanks for the nice report Martin!

Drat, the first week of Spring Semester was this past week so I had to turn my attention away from this trip report, but we're back for more fun.

Thanks to everyone for checking it out! We hope you're enjoying it!

The next day was our trip to Genting, and if you're going to Genting, you might want to stop at peninsular Malaysia's most important Hindu shrine, Batu Caves. Then head into the big mountains, and you're at one of the most popular resorts in Malaysia. Check it out.

It's barely outside of the city.

We were there shortly before the Hindu festival of Thaipusam. Apparently the Hindu community shows their religious devotion through the adoption of kavadi, or "burdens", namely by putting metal spears through their skin and using hooks in their skin to carry fruit and other other offerings 15km from the city to the shrine. Just google "kavadi" for the images and you'll see what I mean. A million people show up for this thing.

Then you have to walk up the 513 steps to the shrine at the top. Yes, you will be attacked by monkeys at the top.

Then it was back into the car with guide Zach to Genting.

Genting isn't far from the city, but it's up at the top of the mountains.

You don't want to drive all the way up, but the Genting Skyway was closed for its quarterly maintenance.

This forced us to take the far older and less modern Awana Skyway.

Of course they jam way too many people into this skyway car, and there's no air conditioning.

The tradeoff is some nice views. You can see the switchback hairpin turns on the road below.

Resorts World Genting is a massive resort on the mountain top, including hotels, casinos, a golf course, shopping...

...and dining!

A maze of escalators and corridors brings you to the amusement park outside.

There's the Outdoor Theme Park, then a credit outside the gates of the Outdoor Theme Park, then an Indoor Theme Park.

Unlimited corridors and escalators to get to unlimited fun.

Finally, the impressive gate area.

Unfortunately the Cyclone is one of those credits that never seems to come back online.

The Malaysian parks (with the exception of Legoland) don't really seem to do a good job with the opening plaza, but there were construction walls that maybe lend hope for a better future. The park could use some updating.

Zamperla swings. It's worth noting that it's a lot chillier and rainier at the mountain top resort than down in KL, which is one reason it's so popular, because people can go any time of the year to escape the oppressive heat.

Lots of construction walls.

Here is Cyclone, listed as SBNO on rcdb.

Unilever ice cream ferris wheel

First credit!

Nothing too special here. I wish I could show some of the headscarves that had to be removed or adjusted in order to ride.

There's the other credit, your favorite coaster and mine, a Zamperla Volare. The First World Hotel is supposed to be the world's largest hotel by number of rooms. Elissa's sage advice was to avoid the Genting hotels altogether. Elissa's usually right about these things, and the absurdly low prices for rooms at this hotel pretty much confirmed what she said.

Not a single working gag.

I asked our guide Zach if any of the parks had fast pass products. He didn't know what I was talking about, but after hearing my explanation, he said that he didn't think such a thing would fly in Malaysia. I still haven't told him about this.

Occasionally a little micro-front would bring clouds, cold, and drizzle.

I love this. We've seen queue benches, but they're pretty unusual. These seats weren't particularly well-designed, but wouldn't you like to see this kind of thing everywhere? I would. It's wasted on a Zamperla Volare, obviously, but on rides that routinely have 1-3 hour queues, it makes a lot of sense, if you have the extra space.

This is the scene looking back over the lagoon. All of that track is actually two coasters. The track to the right with the brown "wooden" supports is Rolling Thunder Mine Train, which is SBNO. The coaster to the left with the green supports is Flying Dragon, which was also listed as SBNO, but we found it operating and rcdb has since changed the status. Too bad we don't count powered.

Here's an attraction I wish we had skipped.

We were lured in by cheesy animatronics.

Two empty boat arrived very 10 minutes or so, and it took 3 cycles for us to get on.

Wow.

You enter a cave, the entrance closes, the boat stops, and you are miraculously transported to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Afterwards we saw Flying Dragon operating, but we couldn't find a station, so we headed into the Indoor Amusement Park.

The indoor amusement park is in a giant mall with shopping and dining, with a bunch of theming.

It's called First World Indoor Amusement Park. Here is the powered Euro Express, which was fun.

Another Kenny Rogers Roasters? I finally read up on the chain, which had up to 1,000 restaurants at one time. The last North American one closed in 2011, and the chain now only operates in Asia, owned by the Malaysian Berjaya Group.

This bizarre indoor gondola ride was down for refurb.

There were two more track rides above, a Peter Pan type of ceiling-tracked rides (which was in an earlier shot) and this reindeer ride.

Somewhere in there was the indoor skydiving thing. Has anyone ever done one? We always pass them by.

We walked around a bit and found the ginormous lobby and hotel check-in area. It was a bit overwhelming.

Then we snagged our ride on Flying Dragon, which had been closed for a worker break. This track actually goes outside into the Outdoor Park, and through a closed station. Apparently, that used to be the main station, which is why the coaster is listed in the Outdoor Park.

We have learned to trust Pizza Hut in Asia.

Here's the huge bus and taxi area for the resort. We met Zach the Guide and headed back down the mountain.

Coming down the mountain from Genting back to KL. Scary.

We're going to say goodbye to KL and head back to Singapore. Next Up: Universal Studios Singapore!

Did it clear at all while you were on the corkscrew? The only redeeming quality of that coaster was that you could see the Petronas Towers from it!

Otherwise looks like you had pretty much the same day we had at the park. It may have even looked 'slightly' nicer!

Did it clear at all while you were on the corkscrew? The only redeeming quality of that coaster was that you could see the Petronas Towers from it!

 

Otherwise looks like you had pretty much the same day we had at the park. It may have even looked 'slightly' nicer!

No, we were pretty much socked in all day. The only thing I didn't include was our visit to the (enormous) casino, but the table minimums were a little too high for us. I also didn't tell stories of horrifying accidents that have occurred coming down that those mountain roads!

Thanks again for all of the great advice, SharkTums!

I'm really forward to your feedback on Universal Studios Singapore, especially now that I've seen your Genting Report. Resorts World Sentosa, which includes Universal Studios Singapore, is a subsidiary of Genting. It's very interesting just how very different the two resorts are.

nice reports I can't wait for the Legoland Malaysia report

We're on to the big highlights of our tour! It's back to Singapore and the wonderful island of fun, Sentosa!!!

We said goodbye to our awesome guide, Zach. I still have to write a nice review on Trip Advisor. I know that I look weird in this picture, but it is 05:00 or something and in fact my brain is still back at the hotel.

An hour flight later and we are soon at Asia's Favourite Playground.

We're being watched by a red and blue beast from behind those trees!

One of the six Resorts World hotels. Resorts World is the same company that owns Genting, by the way. I know they have a casino in New York now too, and something in Miami.

We're staying at the Hard Rock.

Pretty nice! Our room's not ready since it's still really early, but we check the bags and head out.

You walk through this giant mall complex area.

And KAPOW! You're at Universal Studios Singapore!

It's after park opening, but it's not too too busy on a Tuesday. We do end up getting a Universal Express pass that is useful on several lower capacity attractions.

Betty Boop is in the house!

And these tuneful, clean cut Beach Boys impersonators.

As with many Asian parks, there is a large covered area near the entrance. We would get a little rain later and this was invaluable.

Elmo! Are there Sesame Street characters at the other Universal parks? I know Busch parks license Sesame Street characters too. I never really thought about it but I guess the Sesame Workshop characters are a separately licensed property from the Disney-owned Muppet show/movie characters. But what about Kermit, who does both?

Elmo has unlimited applications!

They served a giant home-made Chipwich which was not as good as a Chipwich.

Cheryl is amused to find that we have traveled 21 hours, obviously circumnavigating the globe in that period. Except that it got much warmer.

It's the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge!

We went after the credits first. What is this Vekoma goodness?

Holy frack! Cheryl and I are big BSG fans.

Human is a red inversionless sitdown.

Cylon has blue inverted track with 5 inversions. You can just barely see that the nose of the human ship looks like a Viper fighter.

They were pretty strict about loose objects, so go grab a locker. I think they were free for a limited period.

We went hunting for another credit in the Lost World section.

This little theming detail caught my eye.

Yay, it's Canopy Flyer, and yes, we're going to use Universal Express!

Similar to Pteranodon Flyers at USF, the capacity is quite low, but at least there is no requirement to ride with a child.

Pet triceratops Diane. She blinked and opened her mouth. I think I just realized that the interpreter's arm must be fake.

We were kinda running all over the place. Now, back towards the front of the park to Mummy.

Mummy was awesome. I'm very unclear on the different Mummy versions, but the FL and CA versions are different, right? This was more like Florida. Please let me know if I'm mistaken.

One final credit to get and I don't have a single picture except for this sign. What is wrong with me?

This was over in the Shrek-themed Far Far Away land.

We'd finished the credits so we were able to start checking out some other attractions, like Shrek.

And the oddly entertaining "Donkey Live".

We back-tracked a little to Madagascar: A Crate Adventure, which is an old-school boat dark ride. Fun!

I followed the rules and didn't take pictures.

Then we just *had to* pop out of the park for lunch! At Din Tai Fung!!!! We love these dumplings. We discovered Din Tai Fung accidentally when we were in Taiwan, and we were so happy to see it here!

Back to the park!

Some of you know what this means...

Definitely one of the best dark rides ever, even if it does use exactly the same ride system as Spider-Man. It was awesome. Florida is lucky to get this.

After that ride, you're relieved that these things aren't walking around the park.

Ultimate patch jacket score!

Gotta love these things.

This was a really cool raptor animatronic in the back of a truck. It was hissing and blinking and moving. You thought it would jump out and attack. Totally awesome.

The marquee Jurassic Park attraction was not a shoot-the-chutes as at the US Universal parks, but rather a river raft ride, which was extremely well-themed and exciting. Since we put our stuff in the storage thing, I didn't have a camera to get any good shots, sorry.

That was the view of the Madagascar area across the lagoon.

We didn't see the Waterworld show, but while waiting for Cheryl in the restroom, a slew of western guys came out, obviously cast.

Treasure Hunters was our last ride of the day.

So *there's* my pictures of Enchanted Airways! A Vekoma junior, I believe.

We leave you with this view of Mummy in the background, then Battlestar Galactica, then Transformers in the foreground. Hope you like the report. Next up is: Legoland Malaysia!