8 Family-Friendly JB Shopping Malls With Playgrounds (2024)

We all know how hard it is to keep our little ones entertained. I mean, they never really seem to run out of energy, do they? If you’re planning a short trip to Johor Bahru soon and are out of ideas of where you can bring them, you’ve come to the right place. These JB shopping malls boast kid-friendly activities like indoor playgrounds, arcades, go-karting and more, especially if you need a break (and some peace and quiet) after you do your shopping.

Here are the top Johor Bahru malls with the best amenities for your children to create a memorable trip for the whole fam!

Best JB Shopping Malls With Playgrounds

1. Paradigm Mall

Just a 20-minute drive from Woodlands Checkpoint lies Paradigm Mall. Located in Skudai, Paradigm Mall spans over 1.3 million square feet, so you can expect a deluge of things to do here. From beauty and fashion to home decor and tech, you’ll find a shop for every kind of shopper!

But what stands out from the rest is its large offerings catered to kids, like the Blue Ice Skating Rink and Utopia Jungle World, which can accommodate the little ones and older kids, or even adults.

📍 Paradigm Mall
🕒 10am - 10pm, daily

Paradigm Mall — Utopia Jungle World

Utopia Jungle World is a multi-coloured jungle-themed playground — and every kid’s dream come true.

Let your kids train their basketball skills at the basketball hoop, dive into the giant ball pit, train their core muscles at the hanging contraptions and whizz down the slides! They also have ample room to explore and crawl around tunnels and nettings.

The prices are not stated on their website, so you should contact them for the latest rates.

📍 Utopia Jungle World
🕒 11am-9pm, daily

Paradigm Mall — Blue Ice Skating Rink

If you have older kids or wish to partake in an activity for the whole family, try ice skating at Blue Ice Skating Rink! It doesn’t matter if you’re a newbie or an expert. In fact, it becomes a better bonding activity for the fam if everyone learns (and falls) together, am I right?

Prices start from RM40 ($11.50) for a two-hour session, with a pair of rental skates included. For all timed sessions, check out their website here. Be sure to bring your own socks and gloves. Otherwise, you can rent them for RM7 ($2) each. There’s event Bobby, their helpful skate seal available for rent at RM20 ($5.70) per hour if the little ones need the extra help. 

📍 Blue Ice Skating Rink
🕒 10am to 10pm, daily

2. Toppen Shopping Centre

Considered one of the new-ish opened malls in the area, Toppen Shopping Centre is four storeys high and sports a unique rooftop complete with a large community piazza and a garden. Home to the only Ikea in JB, you probably won’t miss this mall if you drive past it.

A shopping haven and entertainment hub for Singaporeans and locals alike, this mall has shops like Daiso, Decathlon, Harvey Norman, J.Co Donuts, a cinema with in-built speakers and more! It also has a variety of kid-friendly amenities, like rock climbing, a skate park for skating and even an outdoor splash park. FOR FREE.

📍 Toppen Shopping Centre
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

Toppen Shopping Centre — Active Zone

If you’re a sucker for free things, then this place is definitely up your alley. At the Active Zone, you get to do a bunch of activities without paying a single cent. This includes rock climbing, skating, and shooting hoops at the multi-purpose court!

If you want to skate at the skate park, you’ll have to bring your own skateboard or skates. As for rock climbing, there is a deposit you’ll have to give to borrow the equipment, which will be fully refunded when you return them. Offering five routes of varying intensity and difficulty levels, the rock wall is great for climbers of all ages and experience levels.

📍 Active Zone
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

Toppen Shopping Centre — TGV Cinemas

Catching a movie in JB is always a great idea because you can watch the same shows screening in Singapore at a fraction of the price.

With five halls to choose from, TGV Cinemas is like no other in terms of comfort and amenities. Think built-in speakers and comfy lounge chairs in the Flexound Hall for the ultimate movie experience at just RM 17 ($7.20).

There are also family-friendly halls that feature the Lounger. It costs RM65 ($18.70) and can accommodate two adults and two kids. If your little ones are feeling restless, they can head to the children’s playroom behind, which sports a projector for kiddy shows and a small playground.

📍 TGV Cinemas

Toppen Shopping Centre — Rooftop Playground and Splash Park

Is your little one always running high on energy? Let them go wild at the rooftop playgrounds, featuring both a dry and wet area. With slides, bridges and mini obstacle courses for them to explore, they will never get bored!

Expect water fountains and big buckets filled with water that will splash down after it’s full so the little ones can beat the heat! Don’t worry about washing up after; there’s a shower area available for use. Just remember to remember to bring a change of clothes.

📍 Rooftop Playground and Splash Park
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

3. City Square Mall

If you’re coming in from Woodlands Checkpoint, this is the best mall to visit as it’s located right beside the checkpoint. This means you can access the mall without having to take a cab!

For your shopping fix, you’ll be thrilled to know that you can find retail shops like H&M, Guardian, Cotton On and more. There are also plenty of dining options here, including the crowd-favourite Din Tai Fung, Canton-i, and Oriental Kopi (which has the best chicken horfun, by the way!).

You can also get your groceries at Kapitan Grocer, though it's a bit lacking compared to bigger chains like Jusco and Econsave in terms of the size of the area and variety of products.

📍 City Square Mall
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

City Square Mall — Laser Battle Johor

For bigger families with older kids, it’s time to gear up and engage in laser tag combat at Laser Battle Johor. It features a variety of game modes, including capture-the-flag and team deathmatch, and even a midnight solo or team battle where the whole session will be carried out in the dark!

From Mondays to Thursdays, two games of 10-minute sessions each will cost RM45 ($13) per person, while three games will cost RM55 ($15.80) per person. From Fridays to Sundays, it costs RM50 ($14.40) for two games and RM60 ($17.20) for three games. 

📍 Laser Battle
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

4. Komtar JBCC

A lesser-known mall right beside City Square Mall, you’ll find Komtar JBCC, which is smaller in size but still offers many things for all to do. Whether you’re looking to shop or dine, this mall has got you covered with its numerous shops and restaurants, including Brands Outlet, Marks & Spencer and more.

If you’ve got kids that love playgrounds, they will absolutely enjoy Kidz Republic — a large indoor playground where the Angry Birds theme park used to be.

📍 KOMTAR JBCC
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

Komtar JBCC — Kidz Republic

An indoor theme park featuring a ton of stations for the little ones to explore, Kidz Republic is the best place to bring your kids for a whole day of afternoon fun. Let them play in the beads area resembling a sandbox, dive into the giant ball pit and navigate through the obstacles and tunnels. 

Tickets are sold as entry tickets, meaning you pay a fixed price and can leave and return as you like within the same day until closing. Prices start from RM40 ($8.50) for kids aged from 2 to 12, RM30 ($6.40) for older kids aged between 13 and 17, and RM20 ($4.30) for adults above 18 years old. If you purchase after 6pm, you can get them at discounted prices.

📍 Kidz Republic
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

5. Tebrau AEON Mall

A 20 to 30-minute drive from Woodlands Checkpoint lies Tebrau AEON Mall.

If I could describe it, I would say that it is essentially the VivoCity of JB. And when we say it’s huge, it’s really huge, to the point where you can literally get lost while trying to find your way. If you just want to station yourself at one mall for the entire day, I would highly recommend this mall.

Tebrau AEON Mall has a ton of retail shops, including famous brands like 6ixty8ight, Adidas, Cotton On and local favourite F.O.S. In terms of food, you’ll be spoilt for choice, with offerings like Ayam Penyet Express, Arashi Shabu-Shabu, and Ichiban Ramen.

If you need groceries for your short staycay in JB, pick up all your necessities at JUSCO, with its endless rows of food products. There’s also a cinema where you can catch the latest blockbuster films.

Kids will be equally satisfied with the mall once you bring them to FANPEKKA, and you’ll see why below:

📍 Tebrau AEON Mall
🕒 Sun-Thu 10am-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-11pm

Tebrau AEON Mall — FANPEKKA

Get in your child’s good books by simply bringing them to FANPEKKA for a whole day of magical fun.

Sporting a giant ball pit complete with a slide, your little one will spend hours here. This area itself is huge, even offering a mini obstacle course to allow your kids to navigate the elements in a safe area. There are also other areas where they can pretend to be a shop owner mending their own booth or hide in a castle as a fairy princess.

Prices start from RM70 ($14.90) on weekdays and RM78 ($16.60) on weekends for kids aged 12 years old and below. Adults can also enter from RM12 ($2.60) on weekdays.

📍 FANPEKKA
🕒 Sun-Thu, 10am-10pm, Sat-Sun 10am-10.30pm

6. Mid Valley Southkey

Only a 12-minute drive from the Malaysian Checkpoint, Mid Valley Southkey serves as a popular destination for Singaporeans as it's a new-ish mall with a large variety of shops.

Sports junkies can find their fitness apparel here from various outlet stores, along with the usual suspects like Watsons and Guardian.

Dining options are aplenty too, with eateries and restaurants like Marrybrown, ThaiExpress, and Meng Meng Roasted Duck. 

Children will especially love it here for their kid-friendly activities and shops like go-kart and Mr. Toy, a toy store selling very affordable playthings for kids.

📍 Mid Valley Southkey
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

Mid Valley Southkey — Kiddy F1 Circuit 

If your kids aren’t big enough to try the standard go-karting, you can drop by Kiddy F1 Circuit to channel their inner Louis Hamilton.

The place features a 200m indoor track, where prices start from RM35 ($10) for a single 8-minute ride. Safety isn’t an issue here as seatbelts have to be fastened at all times and the maximum speed for the karts is 8km/h, ensuring a safe and fun environment for your kiddos.

Children below 100cm have to be accompanied by an adult on the kart, but you are still encouraged to ride with your kids on their first try.

📍 Kiddy F1 Circuit
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

Mid Valley Southkey — Mr. Toy

Toy stores are every kid’s dreamland, and this includes Mr. Toy, which offers a wide range of toys. From educational toys and mental stimulation games for toddlers to advanced building sets and intricate motor cars for the older ones, your child will definitely find a toy of their preference. 

The best part? Its toys are very affordable, so you won’t have to worry about burning a hole in your wallet when they break your heart with their dramatic cries and whines (we get it!).

📍 Mr. Toy
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

7. KSL City Mall

An all-in-one hotel and mall, KSL is a popular haunt for Singaporeans because of the convenience it offers since it’s just a 10-minute drive from the customs. It’s also a huge mall, offering all sorts of entertainment like karaoke, massages, and movie screenings. 

It’s also a great spot to do your nails, hair, and even lashes! There’s also TESCO, a large supermarket chain where you can buy snacks and personal necessities.

This mall has nothing short of things to do for kids as well, as it features both the Dinosaur Alive Water Theme Park and Funtopia.

📍 KSL City Mall
🕒 10am-10pm, daily 

KSL City Mall — Dinosaur Alive Water Theme Park

So where is this Dinosaur Alive Water Theme Park? It’s conveniently situated at level 7 of the KSL Hotel, allowing your kids to splash around and cool down from the scorching heat. And as its name suggests, you’ll see many larger-than-life dinosaur installations that will surely wow your kids and even yourself!

Equipped with water guns, splash pools, water drop buckets, slides, and even a giant trampoline, your kid will definitely have a splashing good time at this water park.

The entry fee is not publicly available, so do contact them to enquire for more information.

📍 Dinosaur Alive Water Theme Park
🕒 9am-6pm, daily

KSL City Mall — Funtopia

Newly opened in 2023, Funtopia is an indoor playground and games arcade that guarantees endless fun for your children.

Funtopia has a large ball pit for all kids to thrash around in. This place also allows your little ones to explore their creativity and role-play in different occupations at the supermarket station, police station, fire station, hospital station, and more! There’s also a trampoline area and a “sand area” with beads to stimulate sand.

Entry tickets during the weekends start from RM20 ($5.80) for one hour for kids below two, and from RM48 ($13.80) for 1 hour for kids aged two and above. If you’re already paying that price, it is more value for money if you purchase the full-day entry at RM30 ($8.60) and RM68 ($19.60) respectively. Every entry ticket you pay for comes with one free adult entry, with every additional adult guardian costing an extra RM10 ($2.90).

📍 Funtopia
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

7. Sunway Big Box Retail Park

Located nearer to LegoLand and Tuas Check Point, Sunway Big Box Retail Park sports a minimalist, industrial box on the exterior and is Malaysia’s first hybrid retail park that combines online and offline shopping.

Featuring a wide range of dining options, you can find Kenny Roger’s, LS Seafood Restaurant and Burger King to satisfy your cravings. While there aren’t many places to shop aside from stores like Padini and Younghearts, there are numerous forms of entertainment here, including a cinema, claw machines, and a large play park for the older kids.

📍 Sunway Big Box Retail Park
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

Sunway Big Box Retail Park — EnerG X Park

If you've got slightly older kids and can't seem to think of an ideal place to entertain them, there's no better place than EnerG X Park. It features a wide variety of activities and games, including Electric Go-Karting, Tower Jump, Ninja Obstacle Course, Zi-Line, Trampolines, Cage Ball, Tubby Ride and so much more! An all-in-one indoor park, this place makes it impossible for you to run out of things to do!

To enter, you can purchase a 2-hour or 3-hour session at RM38 ($10.90) and RM48 ($13.80) for off-peak and RM48 ($13.80) and RM58 ($16.70) for peak periods. Every additional hour is charged at RM15 ($4.30). Alternatively, you can purchase a Universal Pass starting from RM48 ($13.80) for off-peak and RM58 ($16.70) for peak periods, which, if you ask me, is such a steal considering that you're paying more for a 3-hour session. Besides that, the price is still super affordable!

Those interested in go-karting will have to pay a separate price of RM30 ($8.60) for a 10-minute session. Grip socks and gloves are sold separately at RM5 ($1.50) each.

📍 EnerG X Park
🕒 10am-10pm, daily

8. Sutera Mall

Sutera Mall is your one-stop shop for fun, shopping, and delicious eats! This spacious mall boasts over 500 stores offering a diverse mix of products for all ages.

It caters to all appetites with a wide range of cuisines — From local Malaysian flavours and Chinese cuisine to Hong Kong classics and Taiwanese fare, they’ve got it all! Even picky eaters will find something to love, with options like Swee Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice and Old Town White Coffee. 

In terms of shopping, parents can browse through the latest fashions at stores like Pierre Cardin or Renoma, while kids can pick out new outfits at stores like 96 Kid Closet or Lee. The mall even features a supermarket on the second floor, making it convenient to grab groceries or household essentials after a fun day out.

For kids, there’s also the newly-opened Noble Kids Playland that will keep them busy for the whole day!

📍 Sutera Mall
🕒 10.30am-10.30pm, daily

Sutera Mall — Noble Kids Playland

An all-in-one indoor play park and an arcade, Noble Kids Playland is the crown jewel of the mall for families. Let your child dive in the multi-coloured ball pit, whizz down exciting slides, crawl through the tunnels, play make-believe at the stations and even play interactive and educational games.

If your kids are slightly older, they’ll have a blast at the arcade section offering numerous arcade classics. There’s even a mini water area, so bring along a poncho to shield them from the water fountains.

The prices are not available online, so contact them to enquire.

📍 Noble Kids Playland
🕒 10.30am-10.30pm, daily