So, I may previously have mentioned that we’re quite keen on Lego round at our gaff – in fact we have now officially run out of storage and so I’ll have to invest in another of those slightly creepy disembodied heads very soon.

On a recent trip to Singapore, we decided on the spur of the moment to shoot for the Parents of The Year award (first prize would surely be an overnight stay in a luxury hotel without your children?) and head across the border to Legoland Malaysia in nearby Johor. I’ve always regretted not having been to Legoland Windsor, and so was pretty much as excited as Young Master T-T at the idea of a whole day of block-rocking fun in the sun. Whoop!

Getting there is surprisingly easy, with plenty of private car companies offering hotel pick up and same day return for around SGD$200. Having researched travel times and found them to be shorter than expected, we opted for the shuttle bus at SGD$60 for the three of us, aiming to spend the difference on primary-coloured souvenirs later.

The bus leaves the Singapore Flyer at Marina Bay daily on the half-hour between 8.30 and 11.30am, returning between 5.15 and 7.15pm, again every half an hour. We took the 9.30am bus, which transported us to Singapore’s immigration checkpoint in around 30 minutes. From there, you alight the bus, pass through immigration, then re-board and repeat at the Malaysian border, just up the road. This sounds like a hassle, but was actually extremely straightforward and was a pretty short process. Full details on the bus are available here.

Back on the road, we arrived at Legoland at around 11am, having taken a somewhat circuitous route via the nearby Hello Kitty Town theme park to drop off a couple of passengers. I can’t help but feel that this was slightly ill thought-out, and given that all bar two people on the bus were heading for Legoland, it would have made far more sense to drop the majority off first, but regardless, we arrived with plenty of time to enjoy a full day of angular plastic fun.

Legoland Malaysia is not just a theme park, but a full resort that comprises the main park plus a whole separate water park that we sadly didn’t have time to explore on this visit. There’s also the fabulous looking all-suite Legoland Hotel, where you can opt to stay in a knight’s castle, pirate ship or jungle for the night. Both the water park and hotel are on our hit list for the next visit as the main park kept us busy for a whole day, so if you would like to explore a little more, plan an overnight stay to make the most of your visit.

Once inside the park, we headed straight for the Lego City zone, a sure fire hit with kids from 3-7 due to the driving school (a safe go-kart that the very little ones can drive unaided, along with a bigger-kid-friendly version right next door), a boating lake and a fire station, where you race giant pump-operated fire engines against other families. I sat this one out while Mr T-T worked up a sweat, and Young Master T-T squirted a flaming building with a fire hose.

The Boy took some dragging away from this area, and was only coaxed away with the promise of lunch and a ride on the Legoland Express, a train that circumnavigates the park, making it a good option for a quick sit down in the shade while getting your bearings.

Lunch was a quick stop at the Market Restaurant, a food court offering basic Asian and Western options (think relatively inoffensive but definitely not gourmet chicken rice, chips and pasta), before the menfolk ventured onwards to further explore while I took a quick breather with a cold drink.

The boys reported back that the Land of Adventure was an ancient Egyptian zone, featuring the odd surprise dinosaur (Lego playing slightly fast and loose with historical fact, there) and that beyond, the Imagination zone offered the chance to build and race your own Lego cars and zoom around a giant Duplo-themed outdoor play area. Double (or should that be quadruple?) thumbs up.

Reunited, we pressed onward to the Kingdoms zone, where little ones saddle up on Lego horses for jousting sessions, and another castle-themed playground offers plenty of climbing and jumping opportunities, before once again seeking shade at the pop-up Star Wars exhibition. To be honest, this was more for Mr T-T’s benefit than anyone else’s, but The Boy enjoyed his fair share of button pressing and Ewok-admiring in the mercifully icy aircon.

Miniland is situated in the centre of the park and consists of some truly boggling feats of construction, with 17 major Asian attractions (including, of course, Hong Kong!) being replicated in miniature form, complete with rivers, airports, cars, dragon dances and animals that can be animated at the touch of a button.

By this stage, we were all flagging and so it was time to make our way back towards The Beginning, the main entrance and shop area of the park. Here, we visited the Big Shop, where we stocked up on a new Lego set for one very lucky and tired little man, brick-shaped ice cube trays for Mr T-T and a large yellow Lego mug for yours truly (by this stage I was fantasising about a restorative cup of tea). The Brick Shop is the place to go for individual bricks and accessories, but by this point we were all ready for the day to end, and so we trudged wearily back towards our bus to Singapore just in time for the 6.15pm departure.

So would I recommend a trip to Legoland Malaysia? Wholeheartedly, yes! It was a fabulous day out for the whole family, and we will certainly return as soon as we can. I would, however, caution that there is little in the way of shade around the park. I actually ended up having to take a little pit stop at the medical building as I got so overheated (the staff were extremely helpful and a short lie down out of the sun had me back to normal in no time), but Johor felt significantly hotter than already steamy Singapore, so do dress for the heat, lather up with sunscreen throughout the day and plan for regular drink and aircon stops.

Singapore Dollars are accepted throughout the park, but you will probably get small change returned in Malaysian Ringgit – this can always be used up on drinks and ice creams before you leave!

There are various ticket options available, depending on what you plan to visit; we paid MYR 140 each per adult and MYR 110 for The Boy. This is the rate for kids between 3-11 and over 60s, and under-threes are free of charge. Full ticket details available here.

Opening hours: Weekdays, 10am – 6pm; Weekends 10am – 7pm

Legoland Malaysia, 7, Jalan Legoland, Bandar Medini, 79250 Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia; +60 7 597 8888

 www.legoland.my