The Forcce Be With Legoland

A new attraction awaits Star Wars fans across the Causeway.

The Lego Star Wars Miniland, a model display housed in a 900 sq m building, will open tomorrow at Legoland Malaysia Resort in Johor Baru in conjunction with its second anniversary on Sept 15.

Costing RM6 million (S$2.36 million), it is the sixth such Legoland attraction in the world, after those in Billund in Denmark, Gunzburg in Germany, Windsor in England and California and Florida in the United States.

Canadian Mark Germyn, Legoland Malaysia's general manager, said during Miniland's official media launch on Wednesday that the new permanent display is part of the resort's plans to "grow stronger tourism value" and draw more international visitors.

The display will feature one iconic scene from each of the six Star Wars films, as well as one from The Clone Wars animated series.

The scenes depict planets such as Naboo, Geonosis and Tatooine, and there are highlights such as the epic duel on Mustafar between Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker - who eventually becomes the notorious dark lord Darth Vader - in Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith (2005).

Well-known vessels such as Han Solo's starship, the Millennium Falcon, also make an appearance.

The starship was one of the most challenging models to construct because of its complex design, said Mr Stefan Bentivoglio, Legoland Malaysia's master model builder who leads the team of model builders in Malaysia and oversees the building and maintenance of all models in the park.

The vessel, which is made of 15,000 Lego bricks and weighs 37kg, took builders in Germany 143 hours to design and develop.

Characters such as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Princess Leia can be found in various scenes too, although fans will have to keep their eyes peeled for Darth Vader, who appears only once among the seven displays.

To boost the fun factor, interactive buttons at all the displays will let visitors activate lights, sounds and movement of some of the models.

Life-size models of C-3PO, R2-D2 and a 2.7m-tall Darth Vader wielding a lightsaber will greet visitors at the entrance of the air-conditioned indoor exhibition.

Unlike the other Star Wars Miniland exhibits, the display in Malaysia is the only one housed in a stand-alone building. Another unique aspect is the screening of a five-minute animation film, Lego Star Wars: Bombad Bounty, before visitors tour the display.

Said Mr Bentivoglio: "The film will give visitors an introduction to the Star Wars universe... and educate them on what they are about to see."

The 36-year-old German was involved in constructing the Star Wars displays in the other Legoland resorts as well.

He led a team of about 50 to create 1,122 of the more than 2,000 models at Malaysia's Star Wars Miniland. The rest were shipped from Germany and the Czech Republic, where Lego model factories are located.

The team, which started working on the display last year, took about 8,000 man-hours and used more than 1.5 million bricks in total.

One of the biggest challenges was the need to run every single element by Lucasfilm, the company that produced the six Star Wars films, said Mr Bentivoglio, who joined Legoland Germany in 2003.

"The approval processes took long and, at times, longer than expected. The approval for R2-D2 took up to two weeks," he recalled.

However, he commended Lucasfilm's high standards, which, he said, ultimately ensured that the models looked just as they did in the films.

The Geonosis arena from Episode II: Attack Of The Clones (2002) was a challenge to build.

"I had only one picture of the arena from the film and I had to build it based on just that," he revealed.

The model, which was made of 30,000 bricks, took 290 hours to build.

The largest model within the display is a 2.65m-tall building from Crystal City, the capital of the planet Christophsis from Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2014). It weighs 120kg and is made of 45,000 bricks.

A retail shop selling Lego Star Wars merchandise, including hard-to-find building sets such as the Death Star, is located within the building.

Star Wars fan Prem Raj, 44, looks forward to visiting the attraction soon.

"To see R2-D2 in Lego form will be something new beyond the films. I am a huge Lego fan too, so it will be doubly amazing," said the project manager.


Source: stcommunities.straitstimes.com

New Theme Parks in Iskandar Malaysia

New Theme Parks in Iskandar Malaysia

Iskandar Malaysia IRDA CEO Iswan said recently on 8 Nov that the authority is in the progress of seeking foreign investment from Europe Theme Park and North America Theme Park players to have their businesses setup in Iskandar Malaysia. In order to balance the development at Iskandar Malaysia area, new theme park location need to be and will be located at Mersing, Desaru or Kulai.

Iswan replied after attended to Iskandar eco-tourism submit. New theme park can be setup at area outside of Iskandar Malaysia, example like Mersing because if too many theme parks located in same location, it is inappropriate in businesses context and strategy. We will make sure transport connectivity within these theme parks accessible easily and well connected.

Iskandar IRDA CEO Iswan also noted that the new theme parks targeting to adults customers given that currently Legoland and Sandrio Hello Kitty theme park already cater and targeted customers of ages from 3 years old to 11 years old. Therefore the IRDA hopes that the new theme parks to attract customers of different range of ages.

Iswan doesn’t disclose the theme parks they are negotiated with. In the current stage, Iskandar Malaysia already has Legoland from Denmark, Sandrio Hello Kitty from Japan, and the Angry Bird theme park from Finland which will be operated next year May at JBCC, Iskandar Flagship A Johor Bahru.

There do have newspaper release previously stated that Six Flag, which headquarter in America New York plan to have their first Asia theme park foray in Iskandar area. In the near future, we can expect that Iskandar Malaysia as a new Special Economic Zone in Malaysia with Johor State government dedication to transform and attract foreign direct investment to establish their businesses present here, and its strategic location next to rich and advanced country Singapore just separated by a causeway, Iskandar Malaysia will become brilliant and vibrant city in international standing. The model of Hong Kong-Shenzhen and Macau-Zhuhai will find its similarity at Singapore - Iskandar Malaysia.

Legoland Theme Park

Sanrio Hello Kitty Theme Park

Sanrio Hello Kitty Theme Park

Flagship B Nusajaya Iskandar Malaysia

Flagship B Nusajaya Iskandar Malaysia 

Nusajaya is located west of Johor Bahru, in close proximity to Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Gelang Patah. It is also strategically located within a 45 minutes drive of Singapore’s Changi Airport, and 20 minutes from Johor’s Senai Airport. The regional city is built in an area spanning 24,000 acres, combining residential, commercial and industrial elements. Key catalyst iskandar project in Nusajaya include Kota Iskandar, EduCity, Puteri Harbour, and Medini (Legoland and Pinewood).

Nusajaya is accessible via the Second Link Expressway, connecting to the North-South Expressway at Senai and new Coastal Highway linkage Danga Bay with Medini Iskandar Malaysia.

Key Landmarks:-

Johor State New Administrative Center (JSNAC)

JSNAC will be an integrated development of Johor State and Federal government department offices that spans 320 acres of johor land. The components that will be established in JSNAC are the Johor State Assembly Building, Chief Minister and State Secretary Complex, State and Federal Government Office Complexes and a ceremonial plaza.

Puteri Harbour

Puteri Harbour is a 688 acres waterfront integrated development that offers exceptional living, office parks, shopping and recreational spots and waterfront lifestyle activities. Key components of this integrated development are the public marina and private marina that offer 286 berths including 10 mega yacht berths.

EduCity

EduCity is a 305 acres education city that will be a fully integrated knowledge-based hub comprising world-class universities, industry-centric R&D clusters, academic-industry action centre, international school and colleges, accommodation and recreational facilities, as well as conference and exhibition centres. Faculties planned in this education city are Economics, Business, IT, Medicine, Agriculture Technology, Food Sciences, Education and Fine Arts.

Medical Park

Medical Park, now being branded as Afiat Heathpark, spans 68 acres of johor land and caters to three distinctive areas under the health spectrum, namely modern medicine, traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) and wellness. Afiat Healthpark will include a private hospital, private specialist clinics, a health screening centre, a commercial village, a nursing college, a rehabilitation centre, a dialysis centre and facilities for traditional and complementary medicine.

International Destination Resort

This prospective tourism magnet is centred within 2,379 acres of johor land and will be anchored by a strong recognizable brand. Its components will include theme parks, retail and entertainment district, hotels, food and beverage districts, resort real estate and golf course. The johor land is under the ownership of Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB).

Southern Industrial and Logistics Clusters (SiLC)

Labelled a clean and green, world class managed industrial park, SiLC capitalizes on its proximity to an established network of two international airports and five seaports. An industrial zone with a unique green industrial park concept, SiLC is designed and planned to meet the current demand for environmental sustainable development that complements both the economic and quality of life.

Medini

Medini is an integrated development spreading over 2,230 acres of johor land, located between Johor State New Administrative Centre and the Second Link to Singapore.

Positioned as the central business district of Nusajaya, Medini comprises four components zones namely, Medini North, Medini Business, Medini Central (Logistics Zone, Creative Zone, Heritage Zone), and Medini South.

Medini has progresses rapidly over the past two years, with most of the critical infrastructure works nearing completion. Legoland was completed and operated in 2012 September, and Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

Medini Business will be an integrated development zone that is home to high-end office space, new housing developments, hotels and retail developments. It will also integrate parkland, tree-lined avenues, landscaped spaces and natural water features. It is developed by Global Capital & Development, which represents investors from the Middle East and Malaysia.

Flagship B Nusajaya

Medini