This is the day we have been waiting for! In a blink of an eye, we are “scooting” off to Gold Coast and Brisbane. We fell in love with Scoot Airlines and have been travelling with it for past few trips. Remember to like and check out any special Scoot’s deals. You will be surprised how much you can save. For this trip, we booked early and a great deal.
Check out OnlinesBooking.com website here.
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Before the trip, it’s important to make these preparation:
- Book hotels preferably under the same booking site (eg. Agoda) to accumulate rewards points that can be used for next trip
- Rented a car from Hertz (it offers hassle-free settlement for toll charges)
- Bring along my Singapore driving license (there is no need to apply for international driving license)
- Bring along an adaptor to charge our mobile phones
- Bought travel insurance from POSB (it offers real cheap and yet comprehensive travel insurance coverage)
- Plan my itinerary in advance and check the distance in between to save on petrol
- Bring a stroller as well especially if you have kid(s)
I will blog our trip according to the 3 accommodations which we stayed.
Check out these 20 Gold Coast Hotels with Incredible Pools compiled by HotelsCombined for more family fun-filled adventures in Gold Coast.
Near to Hertz’s counter, there is this Visitor Information booth for you to collect tourist attraction pamphlets. Look out for discounts inside. Any discount savings can be allocated for petrol expenses.
We reached Sea World Resort after driving 27km. Parking is included as part of our resort stay. Hotel room offers wifi too.
As it was still early, we couldn’t check into our room so we left our luggages at the concierge. On the left is a counter for you to retrieve the theme parks tickets. The wonderful thing about staying in Sea World Resort is that you can have unlimited visits to ALL the theme parks and attractions under their promotion deals for free! We booked their deal here: Unlimited entry to Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast during your stay
- Free entry to Paradise Country
- 25% off Kids Club evening sessions
- 25% off all food & beverage purchased at the Resort
- 10% off all food, beverage and retail merchandise at Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast
- 25% off selected Sea World Animal Adventures
- 25% off Sea World Helicopters
- Buy 1 SpongeBob Bag and get 1 free
This is how our room looks like.
Our first stop is Movie World. We did our research and once we reached, we zoomed right into the area where there were kids rides.
Try their Junior Driving School.
The Road Runner Roller Coaster ride is guaranteed to get your adrenaline pumping. And the kids loved it!
Catch the 4-D show about Rio the bird..
Take a tour around the theme park.
Photo taking session with their favourite cartoon characters.
Our second stop was Wet n Wild which was just 4km from Movie World.
Mindy wanted to swim but we wouldn’t allow her as the water was very cold since it is winter season now. This is just our first day. The last thing we want to hear was M&Ms catching a cold!
Nonetheless, we took a walk and explored the park. It is quite similar to Downtown East concept except that they have bigger and more facilities.
While on way back to Sea World Resort. back to Sea World Resort. We spotted Australia Fair Shopping Centre and had our dinner there at Hungry Jack’s. There is Coles supermarket inside the shopping centre and we bought groceries and mineral water to stock up for next few days.
We woke up early the next day and joined their “morning special” to view the dolphins.
The dolphin viewing lasted about half an hour. Sea World is connected to the Sea World Resort. Therefore, you can either choose to walk or take the monorail. The monorail was delayed that morning and we had to walk real fast into Sea World because we had booked a helicopter ride!
M&Ms were in awe when they realised what they were getting into. This was our very first time taking a helicopter and we relished every single moment! Before the ride, we had to watch a video explaining the safety measures.
After the video, we were led to this “machine”. I was pleasantly surprised and laughed to see Macy actually following the video instruction to lower her head when walking towards the helicopter.
Our handsome Pilot…
5 Minutes. 4 of Us. 1 Special Memory.
And off we go!!!!!!! Watch this short clip of beautiful Gold Coast.
We took a cable car ride after this. Mindy was exhilarated.
The view from our cable car.
Thank God the splashing of water wasn’t that bad…
This explorer was a special highlight to our Sea World trip. M&Ms simply loved it! They were dashing towards the playground.
It was a blessing to be able to play in a cool weather during their winter season. This is why we prefer to visit Australia during this period.
Magnificient view from the top of the playground.
Next on our trip – Paradise Country Farm. When we visited Perth two years ago, we visited animal farms and the kids were extremely thrilled. The experience was unforgettable. Imagine urban creatures like us without the experience of staying or visiting an animal farm. This vacation was also an interactive session for them to reconnect with nature and appreciate the natural habitats. When driving up to Paradise Country Farm, you can see horses and cows along the roads.
After we parked our car, we had to walk a bit of distance to the entrance. You can see the road was slightly steep. That was why you need to bring along a stroller. If the kids are tired and fell asleep, you can still continue with your itinerary.
e tried cow milking. M&Ms went for two rounds!
You need to pay to carry a Koala. We saved on that and taking a picture from afar will do fine as well 🙂
Catch a sheep shearing show as well.
Good Bye, Paradise Country Farm. Hope to see you again…
They were too tired after Sea World and Paradise Country Farm and fell asleep in the car. Before the day ends, we brought M&Ms to a playground located at Broadwater Parklands. This park is located at South Port and is just opposite the Australia Fair Shopping Centre. Kids being kids. I thought Mindy was tired but when she hit the greenery, she became jumpy again.
Fancy relaxing in a park during their vacation.
Great parks have great children’s playgrounds and the Broadwater Parklands is no exception. The Washington Waters Park at the southern end of Broadwater Parklands has a variety of fun play equipment – like swings, a giant lizards, bike education track, mono rail peddle bikes and a flying fox – as well as a special Liberty swing for children of all abilities. The jumping pillow is a kiddies favourite, providing hours and hours of jumping fun!
Macy loved the Flying Fox and went for many rounds!
As the sun set, that wrapped up our day.
The next day, we bade farewell to Sea World Resort and before heading for Brisbane. Before we left, some feathered friends came along to wish us bon voyage : )
Our next lap of journey to Brisbane consisted wonderful discoveries. Stay tune for Part 2 of our Gold Coast cum Brisbane blog!
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