Brick-or-Treat Party Nights @ LEGOLAND Malaysia

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Definitely not the first time that the kids went over to LEGOLAND® Malaysia Resort (except for Louie), However this is the first time the family is attending their spooktacular Brick-or-Treat Party Nights (Fridays and Saturdays) with its host of Halloween-themed activities held at LEGO® Kingdoms, happening from now till Sat, 29 Oct 2016.

Tip: The parks hours will be extended to 8.30pm on Brick-or-Treat Party Nights and any kids (3 - 11 years old) who come dressed up for their part in Halloween, gets free entry from 4pm!

So what exactly are the Brick-or-Treat Party Nights? Well to explain it simply, these are Friday and Saturday nights when the theme park has extended operating hours till 8.30pm (instead of 6pm), where most, if not, all attractions are decked in full Halloween glory, where the outdoor LEGO® Miniland is lighted up beautifully and with a host of Halloween activities taking place at LEGO® Kingdoms. All these are extras for day-ticket holders. But for those who wishes to join in for the Halloween night only, you can purchase the night-tickets here too.

Brick-or-Treat Trail

What is Halloween without treats for the kiddos? There is of course Brick-or-Treat Trail consisting of 10 different stations for all kiddos and here is a rundown of what you can expect when you bring your kiddos over.

1st Hut: This is very important. Hand over your Brick-Or-Treat trail card (try to get it the moment you enter the park, from the Guest Services) for your first stamp, collect 9 different colored bricks + a paper bag to start your journey to the unknown! Only kiddos will be issued the items.

Kinda scary ya?

2nd Hut: Canon-sponsored hut, hand over your trail card + 1 brick for stamping and get a voucher + notebook!

Hut 3: Hand over required brick and get your trail card stamped.

You can also donate $1RM for a try at screaming at the snakey, which will record your scream and indicate the decibel. Top screamer of the day will get to win a prize.

Hut 4: Get your trail card stamped, surrender one brick and receive a Milo pencil case!

Hut 5: First get into the castle that is just opposite the booth, go through Lord Vampyre's Ball Room Maze and count the number of bats in total. The ghoul will ask your brick and the answer before stamping and giving you a box of color pencils!

Go through the door to find the maze on your right.

There is also a cute giant LEGO® ghoul inside!

Hut 6: Give your brick, get your trail card stamped and collect a pack of Julie's biscuit! Great for the rumbling tummies after walking!

Hut 7: Give your trail card + 1 brick and receive a stamp + 1 pack of tissue in exchange.

Hut 8: Kids will love this station for the Ribena sweets they will get in exchange for their brick. Remember to get the stamp too!

Hut 9: Sweets again! This time gummy bears from Haribo. Give your 2nd last brick to this lady for a stamp and a packet of yummies.

Hut 10: And finally, hand over the last remaining brick for your grand prize of a limited-edition Halloween 2016 Duplo brick!

 

The kiddos will be so happy with their loots after the trail!

Note: As much as we all would like the booths to incorporate fun activities for the kiddos to take part in before getting their stamps, it is not always possible in view of the long queues that will form and inadvertently affect the experience for everyone. There may also be some who just wanted stamps and be done with too. Hence the staff may tweak the activities based on the situation on the ground. 

Monster Catcher Mayhem

This will be the other highlight for the entire event and the other reason why your kiddos should be dressed up for the event (besides the free entry). Your kiddos will enjoy the humorous skits by the two very animated performers / monster-catchers and will be encouraged to take part in the play and get rewarded with prizes too. And of course, there will be a best-dressed section where they will invite a few well-dressed kiddos up stage to perform their screams, with attractive LEGO® sets to be won! Lord Vampyre, Green Witch and Frankenstein will also be making their appearances!

LEGO® Pumpkin & Bat Mania

There is also a play area (under shade) in front of the stage where anyone with the urge to build something, can take part in the building of pumpkins or bats! The kiddos had a go at it of course.

Spooky Miniland Tour

When the sun has set, you can also join the ghouls for a frightful tour of Miniland where you’ll enjoy LEGO® Fun Facts and spine-tingling storytelling sessions at selected clusters. But don't worry, it's not that bad since kiddos do join in the tours too! 

There are roaming monsters everywhere along the trails.

Little Louie dancing cha-cha with LEGO® mummy. Lots of photo opportunities everywhere.

A very tall Pumpkin Scarecrow indeed.

The party only ends at 8.30pm and by the time the family finally leaves the theme park, I bet your kiddos will be (or almost) knocked out, just like mine. Good luck to bringing all of them back home. Maybe you would like to consider a night's stay at LEGOLAND Hotel?

LEGOLAND Hotel Promotion

From now till - 31 Oct 2016, they are having a special Halloween promotion for their room packages that comes with -

• Daily breakfast
• Dinner for 2 adults and up to 3 children below 6 years old (3rd adult or child above 7 years is chargeable at RM95/adult & RM50/child)
• Halloween Brick-Or-Treat Commemorative Brick (one brick per child in room, while stocks last)
• Day & Night Hotel Halloween activities hosted by the hotel such as LEGO® Colouring, Witch Cat Building Speed Challenge, Ghostly Bowling, Three Magic Witches musical performance, Little Chef Pastry Making and lots more.

Do check out their promotion here.

Thank you for inviting the kiddos over LEGOLAND Malaysia, it will definitely be an experience that they will remember for the longest time!

The Magnificent Seven Review

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I understand that The Magnificent Seven was actually a remake of an old movie but I had not watched it before and hence I couldn't compare. Basically the movie was about human greed, and how an evil tyrant took over control of a town through brute force and firepower. There were so much deaths throughout the movie and even right from the start, that I think my kiddos was kind of desensitized. I am guessing that must be how they kept human population in check back then.

Other than Chris Pratt who carried his playboy-ish heroic Starlord personality over from GOTG playing Josh Faraday, the only other person I knew was Denzel Washington who played the bounty hunter Sam Chisolm [Edit: And also Ethan Hawke after I found him really familiar and googled, Looks a little like Capt Jack Sparrow doesn't he?]. In any case, the band of the seven unlikely heroes was a quirky mix of characters from very diverse backgrounds but they all had their own way with weapons of their choice. With their superb marksmanship, using weapons ranging from arrows, axes, knives, guns and rifles, they would seem almost invincible but unfortunately they were still human after all.

The pace of the movie was really good and there wasn't any hint of boredom for the whole family, which they do get at the movies at times. Even the missus approves and enjoyed the movie thoroughly, although she lamented that some of the movie characters should have better endings. She was right, because I was also secretly hoping that all the magnificent seven would overcome adversity and triumph over the evil guys, even though they themselves were not that holy too. Not all heroes survived, but at least they went out with a bang! Lots of action, gunplay and funny scenes as well. Thank you Sony Pictures for the invite!

So should you watch? I would say, ANYTIME! 

Operation Chromite Review

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The theme for most, if not all war movies, would revolve round love (for the family and country) as well as courage, bravery and self-sacrifice. This movie is no exception.

There was obvious language barrier since I hardly understood Korean, but the movie didn't fail to bring me on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, ranging from fear, anger, sadness and to hope. Despite knowing that it was a suicide mission from the start, I was still holding on the little glimmer of hope till the very last moment, that somehow things might turn out a little differently.

Being a father to young kids and also a son myself, I can totally feel the emotions going through the characters as they bade their loved ones goodbye. The feeling was so intense, I would probably have cried if I was alone. Wait, I think I did shed some tears.

It is action-packed but without the excessive exaggerations, and there was never a dull moment. I am not even obligated to write this review but since it managed to tug at my heartstrings, I thought it would be good for me to let you know that this is indeed another movie worth paying money to watch.

Sorry if you ended up reading this review only to know zilch about the storyline. This is because I merely wanted share with you know how I felt about the movie and reckoned that you can just do a simple online search if you really wanted to know the full story. Besides, I went not knowing what to expect but I still came home satisfied. Thanks to sister CK Chai from Puzzle Of Life 谜图人生 for the invite! Oh, I think the lead actor looked rather like Jet Lee. Same surname some more.

Father and Son Bonding on Superhero Level

The closest encounter he ever had with a Spider Man was when we won some tickets to a red carpet event for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and he got sit beside Andrew Garfield for his press conference back in 2014. But the thing is, he came unmasked and Leroy didn't have a clue he was actually Spider Man himself! Check out his experience here.

Now fast forward to April this year, we happened to pass by MBS when they had the Marvel's Captain America: Civil War event going on and we got to meet up with a Spider Man in costume, a cosplayer who was really friendly, and didn't minded the kiddos' incessant questioning! That really sparked Leroy's interest and he asked me if he could get a real suit too! 

Hey there @omgmartinspidey, it's been awhile! The first Spider Man cosplayer that Leroy had close contact with.

And last weekend, was the first time we attended a comic convention of any sorts. Even though I loved superheroes, cartoons and anime too, I was simply too lazy to attend any. I knew people attended the conventions to get exclusive merchandises (to keep or to flip) or meet artists for their autographs and photos, there are many others who go as cosplayers.

Practicing his poses!

@SpiderboySG was given training by the seniors!

I never quite understood why anyone would go to that great extend of transforming oneself into a fictional character, with nothing much to gain except for that brief moment of "perceived" fame when someone asks for a photo together. The elaborate suits will mostly cost a fair bit of money if bought online, or requires a lot of time and effort to fabricate or customize. Either way, it costs.

But after spending my Sunday at STGCC 2016 with Leroy cosplaying as little Spider Boy, I now understand. Some may feel that it is a form of escapism from the real world, but there is real friendship and camaraderie between members of the various cosplaying groups. And under the masks and costumes, deep inside many of them simply loves making other people happy! Even Leroy understood that, and was truly happy to oblige anyone with a photo request, from the smallest kids to the biggest adults. It made him happy, to see others happy and that me really proud of him! 

Walau Capt America can be lazier or not?

Big shout out to all the cosplayers, Spider Mans from #SpiderverseSG, all the Dead Pools as well as the many many other characters for being so nice and accommodating to @SpiderboySG and for teaching him the ropes of cosplaying Spider Man. He had the wildest time ever and never wanted to go home. Poor me, the long hours of keeping an eye on him, bending down to take photos of him from his level and standing almost the entire event took a toll on the old body. I am still aching as I type this. But no regrets, I am sure the wonderful memories of the day for Leroy will be worth any bodily sacrifice. I am his biggest fan.

Was still into his character even when on the way home after a long day!