Escape Penang in Malaysia is an exciting and unique theme park with wet and dry activities that are great fun for kids and adults.
We just came back from Penang and what an awesome time we had! There are so many family-friendly places we went to that I hope to share with everyone in time but here's one I couldn't wait to write about - Escape Penang. This amazing theme park was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!
Escape Penang has both wet and dry activities - the wet ones being what you experience at water parks, and the dry ones are obstacle courses and high and low elements you see at outdoor adventure centres. But a number of its activities are definitely more unique than your usual water parks and adventure centres (more on the activities below) and your entrance fee covers the entire park!
I highly recommend this theme park if you're going to Penang. Here's our review and 10 things to know if you're taking your kid to Escape Penang.
1) What's at Escape Penang?
There are more than 35 wet and dry activities at Escape Penang. You can see every activity at Escape Penang's website, which has age recommendation, and weight and height restrictions stated for each activity. You'll see that most of the listed activities in the website says they are suitable for those age 4 years old and above, with only a few having height requirements. That said, as parents, it's also up to us to gauge if an activity is suitable for our kid as different children have different fear thresholds.
Do also note that though it's neither specifically stated in the website nor is it stated at the activity's sign at the theme park, a few activities require a certain number of participants - that is you can't go individually or you need to have at least 3 in a group - more on that below.
There are too many activities to list them one by one and you can see all of them at Escape's website, but I'll share with you the highlights of the theme park and what I reckon you definitely should not miss at Escape Penang:
i) The Longest
At 1,111 metres, this is the world's longest tube slide. You'll need to take the chair lift with your tube in order to slide all the way down. It's a long slide down and I would say the speed at which you go down the slide partly depends on your weight - the heavier your group is, the faster you'll go. My hubs and I actually caught up with our two girls when they went before us!
You can go on this individually or in a double tube float. If you have more than two in your group, you can request to have your floaties attached together and you can go down the slide as a group. This is recommended for those age 4 and above and there is no height requirements.
ii) Zip Coaster
This a one kilometre-long zip coaster, where you sit in a seat that zips you around the park past rides and trees and it's very fast and thrilling. The park says this is suitable for those age 4 and above and there's no height requirement, but personally I think younger kids like pre-schoolers might find the speed a little scary for them and at some points, there can be sudden large jerks as well. That said, this is one of the rides I enjoyed the most and there's always a queue for it earlier in the day.
This is one of the rides where you'll need to go in pairs. You need to take the chair lift in order to take the ride but there aren't any signs before you take the chair lift that says you need 2 to go. We saw some odd number groups who took the chair lift up, then had to wait for another odd number group so the odd person in the group could go on the Zip Coaster with someone else. If you have an odd number group, another solution is to wait for a pair in your group to finish the ride, then have one from the pair take the chair lift up again to sit with the odd person.
iii) Tubby Racer
This is a downhill ride in a tubby tube. You can link your tubes together and go down as a group. It's very fast and exciting too. Recommended for those age 4 and above and there's no height restrictions. I feel younger ones like pre-schoolders might find the speed a little scary for them but of course, as parents, you'll know if your kid is up for such thrill rides.
iv) Monkey Business
This is a 3-level obstacle course, with the first being the easiest and the third, the most challenging. This is recommended for those age 4 and above with a minimum height requirement of 120cm. Children age 12 and below must be accompanied by a supervising adult on Level 2 and Level 3.
My girls, at 11 and 13, have been to many obstacle courses and they are quite fearless on such things, so they went straight for the second level. Erm it's also because there were quite a number of amatuers on Level 1 who were moving slowly and my girls didn't want to wait at the various stations😄
Our girls went with their dad as the younger one needs a supervising adult, though frankly I think the younger one is probably more expert on obstacle courses than her father. Haha! They took about 45 minutes to complete Level 2 and they said it was pretty fun and not overly difficult. I asked if they wanted to go for Level 3 but they said they were too hot and tired, and rather go dip in the pool after that😅
Monkey Business is very popular with school and company groups so queues can get long in the morning as most people like to go for it in morning when it is not so hot. We also went for it in the morning because it tends to rain in the afternoon in this part of the world, so we wanted to make sure we had at least tried Monkey Business out.
iv) Kite Flyer
This is a giant swing. It actually looks rather scary when you're watching from below but after going on it, I realise it's not as scary as it looks. This is recommended for those age 4 and up and there is a minimum height requirement of 120cm.
This is also one of the rides that requires at least 3 in a group (and you wouldn't know that before you climbed all the way up to queue for the ride!). The ride actually needs 4 participants but a staff member can go with you if you have a group of three. If you have two or one, you'll need to wait for others to form a group of four with you to go on the ride.
v) Banana Flip
My husband had a lot of fun with this one while the rest of us didn't dare to go on it. It's a slide which throws you into the air before you drop into the pool. Hubs says it's a bit scary but fun. However, he said the drop into the pool can be a tad painful depending on your positioning. This is recommended for those age 4 and up, and there is no height requirements.
vi) Slingshot
Another activity that only my daredevil hubs went for. This activity shoots you skywards and hubs says it's only a little scary for him but we did hear many people screaming their lungs out while on it. This is recommended for those 13 years and above, and there is no height requirements.
vi) Wave Ball
This is the park's wave pool and unlike most waterparks which uses penumatic systems, waves at the pool is generated by a huge wave ball. So, a lot less energy is used at the wave pool, which is really eco-friendly!
The waves felt rather small at times but when there were more people, the waves were bigger and more enjoyable. This is recommended for all ages and there are no height requirements.
vii) Atan's Jump
This is a diving platform with a few levels. I guess it is just fun to be able to dive from a height into the pool. Not my kind of fun really but hubs and our girls enjoyed this one. This is recommended for those age 4 and above and there is no height requirements.
vii) Atan's Leap
This is a bit like bungee jumping but with a controlled drop. My girls said the first step off the platform was a bit scary but thereafter it was ok because the drop is like how the auto belay lets you down at wall climbing venues. This is recommended for those age 4 and above and there is no height requirements. Those age 12 and below can only jump from the 12-metre platform, while those older can go for the 20-metre platform.
viii) Speed Racer
My younger one really liked this one, which is a water slide that you go down supine with a mat. It's quite fast and thrilling and I liked it at first go, but on my second go, I somehow forgot to breath out when I hit the end of the slide and so much water went into my nose I almost felt like I was drowning. Bottomline, remember to breathe out when you are near the end of water slides! This is recommended for those age 4 and above and there is no height requirements.
ix) Super Looper, Tubby Rapids, Tubby Tunnel
I grouped these slides together because they are all at the same place and quite similiar, except one is a tunnel slide while the other two are open slides. The slides are really long, not overly fast and are very enjoyable. We went a few times on these. These are recommended for those age 4 and above and only Tubby Rapids has a minimum height requirement of 120cm.
x) Flying Lemur
This is a zipline but we didn't go for it because you have to climb really, really high for this and it does look rather scary from the height you go down from. So if you're game for it, I would say go for it! This is recommended for those age 4 and above and there is a 120cm minimum height requirement for it.
You can also look up Youtube for more POV videos of some of the rides - it's how we decide on whether this theme park is suitable for us and our kids. Somehow FB won't let me embed our video here but if you wanna check it out the highlights, here's the link to our video with the highlights:
2) Are the activities suitable for younger kids?
As mentioned above, most of the activities are recommended for those age 4 and above and most do not have minimum height requirements. When my girls were younger, they were never much for thrill rides, so I probably wouldn't bring them here if they were pre-schoolers as they wouldn't want to go for most of the rides I listed above. But if you have kids who are game for thrill rides, why not?
There are also a number of activities younger ones can enjoy too like the wave pool and Play House, a water playground.
Gecko Tower, a climbing wall...
...and AK Academy, an inflatable obstacle course, are also pretty fun for younger ones.
There's also a Monkey School, which is a simpler obstacle course for those below 12 years old and Lazy River, where they can try rowing a boat.
Most of the slides using floats/tubes are also quite tame and should be alright for younger ones.
3) Is one day enough for Escape Penang?
We went for 2 days and had initially planned to go to the wet area on the first day and the dry area on the second as covered shoes are required for some of the dry activities - we went in slippers and didn't want to bring covered shoes. But later we ended up buying water shoes at the theme park (more on that later!), so we went for some of the dry activities on the first day as well.
If you and/or your kids like the activities at the theme park, I think 2 days would be great. As there are many activities there, you might not be able to cover everything within a day - especially if there are queues - and you probably won't have time to go again for certain activities that you really enjoyed. For instance, we went for The Longest a couple of times and got to go on the Zip Coaster a second time on our second day - we probably wouldn't be able to go on the latter a second time if we were only there for a day due to the longer queues for it.
If you're going for a day, be prepared to rush and/or miss some of the activities there.
4) Is it crowded?
We heard the park can get crowded on weekends, so we went on a Thursday and Friday and the park wasn't crowded at all. From our experience on both days, the water park area was really quiet in the mornings because most people go for the dry activities earlier in the day. But in the afternoons, people would go for the wet activities.
Generally, you can expect queues for dry activities like Monkey Business, Atan's Leap and Zip Coaster in the morning - these are very popular for school and company groups too. That said, the queues on weekdays are generally not too long.
5) What to wear?
Escape Penang has its own swimwear policy. Do check their website on that but it's quite standard for water parks. For the dry activities, comfortable sports clothing are recommended but we just went for them in our wet suits and board shorts.
One thing I would highly recommend you bring is water shoes. There are certain areas where you need to walk barefoot for some distance to get to the activity and the sand/rocks on the ground is really rough and uncomfortable. We actually tried to endure without water shoes for much of the first day, that was until we saw water shoes being sold at the theme park's shop and we realised we wear these for the dry activities too. So we decided to buy water shoes from the shop and believe me, it made a whole load of difference in our enjoyment of the park. You can also wear the water shoes up on slides, so you can keep them on all the time and don't have to keep taking them off like slippers.
The water shoes we bought at the shop costs RM25 each, which would cost about the same if we were to buy in Singapore (which is where we are from), so we decided to get them. They were really comfy too!
However, there is one thing I would recommend you NOT buy from the park and that is their waterproof pouch. I bought it on the second day we were there as I wanted to take first person POVs on some of the rides and at the end of the day, some water got into the pouch despite it being locked all the time. My phone wasn't damaged but its camera lens had condensation for a few days.
6) What happens during wet weather?
I couldn't find any wet weather policy on Escape Penang's website and the weather held on the first day we were there. But on our second visit, it rained during late afternoon. I had initially thought the rides would be suspended but they went on as usual - we even went on the Zip Coaster in the rain. While we were queuing for it, I saw lightning twice and people were still arriving on chair lifts. In Singapore, I'm pretty sure outdoor rides at theme parks and water parks would be suspended in such weather but I guess practices are different in different places. After the zip coaster ride, we avoided the uncovered rides that were high up. I'm guessing unless it's a a bad thunderstorm, the rides will continue to operate, so it's up to you to do what you're comfortable with while the park remains open.
7) Is dining available at the park?
The only dining place we saw there was A&W and some vending machines selling coffee and cotton candy. Not many choices but the A&W was pretty decent with a set meal costing around RM20.
8) Should you stay in Batu Ferringhi if you're visiting the theme park?
The theme park is in the Batu Ferringhi area. It's closer if you stay in the area - it was about a 20 min Grab taxi ride from our hotel, Double Tree. If you go from George Town, it can take you from 35mins to an hour, depending on traffic. As we had planned to go for 2 days, staying in Batu Ferringhi definitely made it more convenient. We also wanted to stay near the beach for a couple of days, hence we decided to stay a couple of days at Batu Ferringhi before moving to George Town.
If you're planning to go to Escape Penang for only one day, I think it's okay to stay in George Town - just avoid travelling during the Penang peak hour traffic of 7-9am and 5-7pm where traffic jams can get really bad.
9) How much is Escape's entrance fees?
At time of writing, you can get tickets from Escape Penang's website at RM85.40-122 for those age 4-12 years old, and RM128.80-184 for those age 13-60 years old. I believe these prices vary depending on visiting dates. Those outside these age ranges can go in for free when accompanied by paying guests.
We bought our tickets from Klook. You can check out the Penang Pass on Klook which gives you access to a few attractions in Penang with one pass - you can choose the pass with Escape in it. The Pass is cheaper than buying tickets individually at the attractions and it's likely that you'll want to visit some of the other attractions in the Pass when you are visiting Penang.
When purchased individually on Klook, tickets for Escape Penang costs S$31.59 for those age 4-12 year old, and S$47.60 for those age 13-60 years old, at time of writing.
When we were there, one of the Escape staff mentioned that they have a base camp experience where you can camp one night at Escape and go to the park for two days and apparently it's cheaper than buying two day passes. If you like the idea of camping there, this is one option to check out at Escape's website.
10) What are Escape Penang's opening hours?
Escape Penang is located at 828, Jalan Teluk Bahang, Teluk Bahang, 11050 Tanjung Bungah, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. It is open Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-6pm.
I will be sharing more about the family-friendly places we visited in Penang, so you can consider Penang for your next family holiday. Do watch this space!😉
Disclaimer: We paid for our tickets, and my opinions and reviews here are strictly my and my family’s own. quaint
©Vivian Teo. All content and photos are copyrighted to Vivian Teo unless otherwise specified.