Sanrio Hello Kitty Town

Okay to continue with my Johor posts. So the first stop of the day after brunch was Sanrio Hello Kitty Town!

We took some photos outside before going in:

It really was quite empty for a Saturday morning:

We made it just in time for the beginning of the Bob the Builder show! Besides Hello Kitty, there is also another theme park for Bob the Builder, Thomas the Train, Barney, Pingu, Angelina Ballerina etc.

After the show, it was time for rides. As there was hardly anybody around, the kids managed to go on each ride several times, sometimes twice or three times in a row without even having to get up, as there was no one else in the queue! My hunch on the fasting month was right.

We saw a few more shows during the course of the day - Hello Kitty Candy Parade, Thomas the Train show and of course, Barney! Barney was really the star of the day. We also took the opportunity for group photos with the characters.

There were also lots of indoor playground and play-gyms, so the little ones like Helene really had a ball (literally!)

So that wrapped up a tiring but fun-filled day for the kids! All of them knocked off around 8.30 pm that night after an early dinner, seeing they had woken up so early that morning. The next day - it was time for Legoland!

3H in Johor

Ever since that Heidi found out that Hannah had been to Hello Kitty Town and Legoland about 5 years ago, she has been pestering us to take her too. So this year we finally decided that we would make the trip, since Helene too is now already 4 years old. I was looking for suitable dates as we didn't want to go during the school holidays. It would just be too crowded and kids wouldn't be able to enjoy themselves. So I found a long weekend (26 May to 29 May) where the kids would only have to take one day off school as 29 May was a public holiday - Wesak Day. Incidentally, it was also during this year's fasting month, so we were expecting lesser people.

Once we decided on the dates, we found out that Air Asia had very reasonable prices - around RM170.00 return per person. Air Asia is the only airline which has direct return flights from Penang to JB. Timing was also good, as we left Penang early in the morning at 7.00 am which meant we didn't waste that day for travelling. The return flight timing was also good, at 3.45 pm.

After we checked out the dates and flights, we decided to ask our friends to join us, as kids will always have more fun with their friends rather than their parents! We haven't had a trip together since Hong Kong which was almost 2 years ago, so we thought that this would be a perfect opportunity for us to get together again.

So once all the logistics were sorted out, all the kids were very excited waiting for the day to arrive, especially Heidi! I jokingly told her that because of her, 16 people were going to Legoland! Yes 16 people, 7 adults and 9 kids in total!

Although we had to wake up crazy early on 26 May (which was also Hannah's real birthday!), for once there was no grumbling and requests for "5 more minutes". All were showered and changed in record time.

Excited kids arriving at Senai International Airport:

And excited adults too!

We took a Grab to our first hotel Somerset Puteri Harbour Iskandar Puteri which was about a half hour drive away. This was within walking distance to Sanrio Hello Kitty Town. Only our room was ready as it was only around 9.30 am, so the others dropped their luggage in our room. I booked a 1 bedroom premier apartment which was about 1000 square feet for only RM337 per night after taxes, and the room also came with breakfast for all of us. It was a duplex type apartment and was very nice and new.

The bedroom and one bathroom were upstairs, while the living, dining, kitchen and another bathroom were downstairs.

So after dropping our luggage, we decided that we should eat something before heading for the theme park, or else the kids would not eat anything. There were many restaurants along the way (the area is called Puteri Harbour) but only Kenny Rogers was open at that hour of the morning.

The kids were getting impatient so we had to finish up quickly and the next stop is - Sanrio Hello Kitty Town!

Funny Hannah

Hannah was scrolling through Hubby's phone when one of his contacts' profile picture caught her eye. Instantly she said, "Wah Daddy, Hello Kitty is your friend ah??"

Also, some time ago, we were having dinner at an Indian restaurant in town. Who knew that paper thosai could make such a good toy?

Funny lil' Hannah!

Hello Kitty Town & Little Big Club

Another theme park attraction which opened in Johor is the Hello Kitty Town & Little Big Club. This is a 3 floor indoor park which I felt was more suitable for younger children, perhaps between the ages of 2 and 6. But it's worth checking out if you happen to be in Johor, and have young kids :)

On the first floor was Hello Kitty Town.

Even though it was a Saturday, we were there quite early, so the queues were still manageable. We queued to take a photo with Hello Kitty and Dear Daniel at the gazebo.

There was also the usual spinning teacup ride. Quite mild though, after some of the more "exciting rides" the day before at Legoland.

This was inside Hello Kitty's house.

And there was also a song and dance show.

At the Hello Kitty nail salon, Hannah got her nails done.

After that, we headed up to the 2nd floor and 3rd floor which was the Little Big Club. This place has a collection of Barney, Angelina Ballerina, Bob the Builder, Pingu and Thomas the Train. 

The whole 3rd floor was dedicated to Thomas, so there were quite a lot of rides up there. We went on all of them, some Hannah even went twice :)

You could ride on Thomas himself :)

Hannah liked this ride the best, knowing her liking for the adrenaline rush :)

There were also shows for Barney, Angelina and Thomas. Barney was literally the kids' celebrity. All of them were so excited to see him and they could even sing along to all the songs.

My verdict - go if you have small kids who love Barney and Hello Kitty! Air conditioning was definitely a plus point as well. We will definitely go again as Heidi loves Barney and will surely enjoy the Barney show :)

Hannah is 4! (almost!)

Hannah's birthday is this Sunday, but she had set her mind on having a birthday celebration in school, so since there is no school on Sunday, we decided to have it a few days earlier for her to celebrate with her friends.

She wanted a Hello Kitty cake (again!) so we ordered from Jenni Cake House. Nothing elaborate, just a small cake to be shared among 20 little kids.

The night before, we all helped her to pack her party packs for her friends, even Heidi!

Heidi was in charge of the raisin boxes, Daddy the books, Hannah did the toys, and erm..Mummy did the photo taking! ;)

Winnie the Pooh themed party packs and party plates:

We actually took quite a lot of pictures at her kindy, but for the sake of the kids' privacy, I am not posting any of the pictures here or on Facebook. So here are just some of the birthday girl on her own and with us.

Happy birthday to our big girl! You are growing up very fast! Oh, and incidentally, today is also my father's actual 60th birthday. Happy birthday Papa/Gong Gong from all of us here!