LEGOLAND Malaysia 2012

Coolsplash

Just heard the news that TLG will kickstart LEGOLAND Malaysia by end of 2012. Really good news! But I wanted to know, does it also means that LEGO will also launch its own flagship store in Malaysia or other areas closeby? And will we the people from this region be able to get all the LEGO's coming out more quickly???

Silber334

More Legos is what we need in Asia. It's a shame they don't have major markets in the region. And thanks to the low sales, we have to pay a lot for a set to compensate for the profits. Simple supply and demand.

Speaking of Legoland, we'll be having an indoor Lego amusment center opening in Tokyo around June of next year. Total area should be about 3300 sq meters. Although it's only "a" place in one country, I still hope it would spur on more demand for Legos, kids and adults alike.

Coolsplash

My sentiments to be exact @Silber334. Being a regular fan of LEGO sometimes the price I have to pay :( But that is a big drawback being in a country like mine. Though I feel proud to be the only one from my country boasting a good sound collection :) And I buy and sell LEGO on the side as well as collecting for my own collection. I guess with a LEGOLAND in Malaysia, we would see more LEGO in circulation BUT I don't think we can ever become a market like the US, UK or Canada. Time will tell :)

Silber334

Well most of the western countries have quite a market for Legos. I also think it might be attributed to our tariff systems besides just popularity. We do pay a rediculous sum for any given set. Only way to pay less is through auctions, or find a good discount store.

Coolsplash

Where are you from @Silber334? I can help you get good enough deals in LEGO since I am working my butt off day/night to feed my LEGO hobby :P and I agree with what you said. The logistics makes things expensive and then overall market is shattered thanks to China and all those Chinese copies of Lego and then overall purchasing power of people. The dynamics are quite weird in our region.

Legogeek

Speaking of Legoland, we'll be having an indoor Lego amusment center opening in Tokyo around June of next year. Total area should be about 3300 sq meters. Although it's only "a" place in one country, I still hope it would spur on more demand for Legos, kids and adults alike.

You got my interest when you mentioned LEGO and Tokyo. My wife & I try to visit Japan once a year (she is from Yokohama). I did a quick search and found this...

"U.K. leisure giant Merlin Entertainments Group is expanding to Japan with a Lego-themed attraction to be built in Tokyo's Odaiba waterfront district, the company announced Thursday.

The 1.2 billion yen Legoland Discovery Center will open next June at the Decks Tokyo Beach mall. It will feature 4,000 sq. meters of Lego games and exhibits geared for families with children age 3 to 10."

I always stop by Odaiba to visit Toyota Mega Web and the History Garage. Last time there I decided to explore and went to Decks and the TRU there. I look forward to visiting the Discovery Center on future visits. :o)

Silber334

Coolsplash,
I'm from Kawasaki, a tiny but overpopulated city just south of Tokyo. And thanks for the offer. I'll give you a holler when there's anything I want from abroad.

Silber334

Legogeek,
Glad you like Odaiba! It's one of the most popular places to go on a date in Tokyo:) ! If you ever come to Japan again, you should also visit the Kansai areas, which are less crowded than Tokyo and have a lot of historic sites.
It's interesting to check on the local Lego prices. But it's definitely not a place to buy them, unless you're looking into getting the Shinkai, which can be acquired for as low as about 4,000 yen a pop ( yes about $52, but lower than retail ).

Coolsplash

It will be my pleasure to help you out @Silber334 :)

Legogeek

Thanks for the tips @Silber334! I've been to a few toy stores and even one Click Brick store, and yes, the prices weren't very good.

My wife just told me that her sister read something about a LEGOLAND being built in Nagoya... heard anything about that? Just Googled it & it looks like it may be a few years away still...

Coolsplash

TLG has planned some LEGOLANDs. One of them will be opening up in Dubai by 2013 and when that happens, people like me from Pakistan will be able to visit it easily enough. As for prices, LEGO is expensive everywhere in this region i.e. Pakistan, India, Thailand, Singapore, Hongkong, Malaysia and so on, and availability is rare as well. I always ask my friends or family to check out Toy stores in these countries only to find out the sets on available are like range from early 2010 to early 2011 models.

Silber334

Possibly, Mike. But I'll keep my eyes open. Aside from the theme parks, I just wish they'd have a bigger adult lego community in Japan, since a lot of people here are pretty creative and into any hobbies related to making things ( ie; model kits, drawing anime characters, architecture, etc. ). I think Lego will be an excellent influence here.

LostInTranslation

One of my best friends moved to Tokyo last year and I'm debating whether to visit in the spring (was booked to go this year but earthquake got in the way) so an LDC there will be an added incentive! If I make it over @silber334, I'll give you a shout ;-)

Legogeek

@Coolsplash - it's good to see thatLEGO is a worldwide "hobby" and I hope it is a promising sign that there are LEGOLANDs planned in other parts of the world. Please keep us posted as to any LEGO happenings in your region! ;o)

@Silber334 - How's your Japanese? (mine is terrible). I've always assumed LEGO had a big adult following in Japan, but then my Japanese language skills are around -5%, and I've never even tried to check online (as I do my other hobby of collecting minicars). I've seen some specials about LEGO on TV Japan, and it appeared there was/is quite some interest. I've also seen some very remarkable builds. There was a disussion with some links somewhere on the Brickset forum recently with some excellent stuff from a Japanese builder that won some of these events (have to see if I can find it again).

@LostInTranslation - go if you get the chance. I highly recommend it! It might not be cost effective to buy sets you can get closer to home, but if you can find something unique to a Click Brick store you should be happy! Besides, there is plenty to see & do in Japan!

Legogeek

Ah, found the site I was talking about:
Sachiko Akinaga's Let's LEGO - http://www.lets-brick.com/index2.html

Coolsplash

@Legogeek, will definitely do so as I am getting trying to get more and more comfy on Brickset. But there won't be much LEGO related news in my region sadly :( as I have heard from a very reliable source that TLG is not interested towards this region due to less sale volume. Even in my country I am the biggest LEGO presence and combining neighboring country India and then jumping to Middle East region. It is sad.

I am still looking for a someone/channel to which I can rely and get all the latest stuff for myself and to sell to the few selective customers I have over here. Lets see.

Silber334

LostInTranslation.
Hey, that'd be great! Now that everything's settled down, it's safe to visit Tokyo. But there are people still getting paranoid about wee levels of radiation contaminating the Tokyo area. But as long you keep yourself updated with all the latest information, it shouldn't be a problem. The Kansai area ( western Japan ) should be safer, and has more places worth seeing :)

Legogeek,
My Japanese is near perfect. The locals sometimes make fun of my imperfect Japanese. But hey, I don't consider it an insult. I grew up in the US so I'm not a Japanese native.

BTW, is this what you're talking about?
http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/contents/newtitle/105942.html
I posted about this in the events thread when I joined around June. It's about a Lego building contest which Sachiko also participated in.

Coolsplash,
That's a shame they don't have much demand in your region. But it'd be cool if you can help contribute to more Lego sales and popularity in your region:) You have any friends in your area that are into the hobby?
If they plan to build a Legoland in Dubai, I'm sure you will have chances to get more Lego products into your country. It's just a matter of time and how much influence it's going to have on the region. Lego is just something to die for.

Coolsplash

@Silber334 I do agree about the love of Lego. And LEGOLAND will kickstart in Dubai around 2013 or so. Then we might get easier access to Lego but it all depends on the sales volume.

And I am helping to contribute in this, by getting anything Lego related and handing them over to people who do not have access to get Lego. Mainly kids under 14 year old. It is slow but its better than nothing :) One of my dream is to form a small Lego Club in my country, gathering fans and hobbyists and offer them a platform to discuss and bounce ideas and to grow together, like its meant to be done. But for that, I need a better, prompt, and humble channel to get Lego easily. Lets see what happens.

Legogeek

@Silber334 - I may have to try & meet up with you on my next trip to Japan too ;oP
RE your BTW - yes, I think that may be the same 'contest' I watched earlier this year (or more likely a newer one). I recall the contestants (4 or 5) visited the zoo and had to build an animal - I think one person built a white tiger and another built a Secretary bird (head only). Another part of the contest had the contestants building face masks. Although I couldn't understand most of the dialog, it was fun to watch.

@Coolsplash - just want to wish you the best of luck in your endeavor to acquire & distribute LEGO in your region!

Silber334

Legogeek,
That's be great! I can take you to some of the popular tourist sites or restaurants in the area. I know some good izakayas, or Japanese traditional bars.
And speaking of the Lego GP, some of the contest "entries" were displayed at my local toy stores. They were impressive to see up close.
I think we also got the Hayabusa close to becoming a product here. Japanese exclusives are fine. But I think they should also market them outside as well

Coolsplash,
Yeah, if you ever manage to help promote Lego sales in your region, not only will the local fans and children thank you. But you'll also feel great in achieving your accomplishments :-)

Coolsplash

@Silber334, thank you for your kind words and yes I do feel so happy handing Lego to the fans over here and its a great joy to make a kid go Woop Woop :P I am being labelled The Lego man over here in my country and the feeling is amazing. I just need to make friends with people who are humble and able to help me sell the sets and who are not profit hungry as whatever I make selling Lego, it goes to buying more Lego.

katyahiggs

Hi Lego fans,

I was wondering if anybody here knows exact locations of Legoland parks set to be open in near future.

I am working on a list of all current and future Legoland parks and Legoland Discovery Centers http://www.tripomatic.com/trip/where-is-legoland/ with map locations and need to place the parks on a map.

Not sure about locations of these:
Legoland Malaysia http://www.tripomatic.com/Malaysia/Legoland-Malaysia/
Legoland Discovery Center Tokyo http://www.tripomatic.com/Japan/Legoland-Discovery-Center-Tokyo/

Does any of you here know? GPS coordinates would be a great help.

Thanks!