My boy has an aversion towards waiting and queuing since young. Learning how to regulate his dislike about it in school and at home, he is getting better over the past year. This is a factor that we take into consideration when planning for overseas trip. While we want to expose him to more situations where he needs to wait and queue, we do not want to over do it.
An hour flight to Kuala Lumpur and an hour ride up to Genting Highlands the next day seem do-able. Also, since daughter has not been to Genting too, she is happy with the choice too. Watch the one minute video for the highlights of the trip.
Brief review and Breakdown of cost
Accommodation
Decided to stay at Aloft Sentral KL as it is on the Marriott Bonvoy Group and we had a good experience with its hotel during our June Desaru trip. As for Genting, I went for Skyworlds Hotel since it is just next to the theme park. Both cost about $150 per night with breakfast included for Aloft but not Skyworlds.
It’s not that applicable to us but Aloft is situated just next to KL Sentral, so it is really quite a convenient place to stay if one would like to explore KL for a few days. There is a link bridge that connects to Nu Sentral Mall which consists of seven storeys of shops. We spent some time at MPH before having a good meal at a Japanese restaurant.
It was also a pleasant stay at Skyworlds Hotel. Staff is friendly and assisted with the self check-in. Room’s safe was not working but was rectified in good time. Room is minimalist but suits us. The only downside is the room we stayed is near the lobby, so it could be a bit noisy at times.
Transport
We took the afternoon flight on Air Asia and that cost us a good $820. Probably can save a bit if we had gone for an earlier flight but we do not want to rush in the morning, so the afternoon flights suit us. What I did not expect was the long immigration queue at KLIA2. It took us about 45 minutes to 1 hour to clear the immigration! Boy was definitely upset about it but glad that he could overcome his anxiety after a while.
As for land transfer, I had a contact from my brother-in-law. It might be cheaper if I have gone on Grab, but having a designated driver for the whole trip provides certainty and removes one thing that I need to worry about during the trip.
Experience
I am a sucker for experience. I do not mind paying for it, especially when it is within my budget. The two experiences that cost me more (especially the later), are Twin Towers visit and the VIP Experience at Skyworlds Theme Park.
I was choosing between KL Tower or Twin Towers and finally decided to go for Twin Towers as I could book a time to visit. You could book the ticket directly from their website which is cheaper than what Klook or Pelago is offering.
I made a blunder and booked the wrong date for the visit. I am really grateful that the staff was kind enough to let us continue to visit when they realised that we are only there for a day. My crying boy might have an influence but whichever the reason, I am grateful for their kind gesture.
The VIP Experience for SkyWorlds Theme Park is a 3-hour guided tour with priority to the rides. You can read up more about its other benefits on their page. The experience was slightly off from what is written on their page, as the guide just brought us around without asking for our preferences. She probably based it on her experience and I would say her recommendations was spot on.
Worth the money?
It really depends on how crowded the place is and the rides you wanted to do. The theme park was less crowded than I expected, so except for the more popular rides, there is little waiting time. Also, there are three complementary virtual queues and that would allow you to reserve the more popular rides.
As for me, I did not regret paying for it.
Food and Shopping
We are not foodie nor avid shoppers. So we visited food courts, restaurants or even just take away small bites. Having said that, we like this shop call Beena’s Signature.
We chanced upon it one evening and had a simple dinner there. There wasn’t much of a queue when we reached the shop but it got busier just 10 minutes later. They served simple yet delicious food, and the price is affordable.
A book and calendar for the boy, some stationary for the girl, and spent the remaining ringgit on biscuits at the airport are what we bought from the trip.
Despite the various hiccups and tiredness (getting old), we enjoyed the time together as a family.
Hong Kong or Taiwan could be the next year’s destination.
Referral
These are the referral links for the services and platforms I used. If you would like to use any of them, do sign up my referral links.
Trust Bank (code: 1X9DDP1V, additional $10 Fairprice voucher)
Keppel Electric
FSMOne (code: P0003528)
StocksCafe (code: TFI)
Moomoo
Webull