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BREAKING NEWS According to Greg (aka Bigbear), Battlestar Galactica will reopen on the 21st February 2011 edit: This is officially confirmed by RWS. edit 2: Annual Passholders Preview Nights

Updates from the park Work has been done at the mysterious columns installed at the Hollywood-Madagascar area. It is a sheltered walkway that leads.. to the restrooms..?? (My guess is, for the patrons of the China Bistro? Perhaps the restrooms are not linked indoors for some reason?) okay back to Battlestar Galactica: Both sides are currently testing, but without the weight dummies and plastic wrap/tapes now. Human side is testing quite often, perhaps every 5-7 minutes or so. Cylon side launches more occasionally. So no, they are currently not dueling. CYLON (More photos at the previous post here. HUMAN: Exposed seat post on one of the HUMAN seats. Could this be "the one"? We wouldn't know. Some mysterious construction work at the entrance of the HUMAN queue. No such work on the Cylon side though.

Madagascar: A Crate Adventure Update Photos of the indoor ride section were posted on Screamscape and a fellow park fan cross-posted onto RWS Facebook page. RWS has removed the post though.. Source: C.W. Driver

On New Year's Eve, RWS held their Countdown 2011 party at Universal Studios Singapore. Four zones in the park were open - Hollywood, New York, Madagascar, Far Far Away - and the attractions in those zones were also running (except Donkey LIVE! but no one really needs to watch that). I've also spotted BSG:Cylon doing some rounds of test cycles occasionally. Interestingly, Annual Passholders were not invited, but fans and loyal customers of Resorts World were part of the crowd of 5000. It is quite obvious that the attendees were "Theme Park virgins" and the park programme (which is basically normal attractions with new year greetings and generic live band/street performances) is not really a theme park countdown, but more of a "preview of Universal Studios Singapore on new year's eve" sort of thing. While I'm disappointed with the not-exactly-very-exciting programme and long queues for everything, I can't say I didn't enjoy myself - it was fun to stay at the park after midnight and well, the event was FREE, and it came with free food and party goods after all. (Honestly, anything that's FREE or involves queuing up will work on the local crowd) If you are interested you may want to read Joseph's review of the event. Mini-Photo TR of the event: Long queues for party pack redemption.. The park opened at 9pm and from what i've heard there was a LONG queue at the gates hours before the park open. Thankfully I arrived 30 mins after 9.

That's right. Although... I've seen the Human ride vehicle installed onto the tracks for quite some time now. The Cylon vehicle wasn't on the track 2 weeks ago:

Battlestar Galactica Update The park has started daytime testing for Battlestar Galactica. This is currently for Cylon side only (although the RIDE TESTING signs are placed at both attractions) and according to the crew member, test cycles will only be conducted in the afternoon. Just like back in March, there are growing crowds in the Sci-Fi City zone, all dazzled by the movement of the ride vehicles. The signature shrill launch noise is still there, though it seems to be, as much as I could recall, not as loud as several months ago. There seems to be a lengthy affair between each test cycle, and the speakers in the ride queue will announce something like "This attraction will be commencing its test cycle, please stay clear of the ride path now" or something like that. Here are some photos, I'm not really sure what has been modified for the ride vehicles, or even all that mummified test dummies and duct tape thingamajig on the OTSRs are done for ride testing elsewhere, could the experts please step in?

Alright. I've uploaded a segment of my ride recording if you're curious about the LIM noise (and other SFX changes) in Singapore. After "Behold your fate!" is the moment where the car leaves the turntable and moves onto the bottom of the launch hill. RoTM_SingaporeLaunch_dejiki.mp3 Ride Audio Recording: RoTM Singapore Also, here's a photo of the top of the lift hill (showing the array of motors) with the giant skull created by Adirondack Studios. There's really nothing at the launch hill in Singapore except for this prop, unlike in Florida where the hill is designed to be cave-like as seen here.

I was at the park last night for After Hours. After a few months, this programme is getting very popular. For just S$5 (USD3.80) you get to explore some zones in park (from 7-10pm) and watch Lake Hollywood Spectacular at 9:30pm. Update: Battlestar Galactica Seems like the paint-job has been COMPLETED! RWS announced on their official Facebook page that from today, Battlestar Galactica will be starting day-time test cycles. It appears that they will be on track for reopening in early 2011. I'll be at the park sometime this week for photos, a lil' curious about the "updated" seat design.

There is a strong pull but like all magnetic launch rides, the car reaches top speed about 1/2 way up on the hill. I've recently been on a backstage tour of the Singapore RoTM, if you've got any questions feel free to ask away Sure, I have tones of questions about the Singapore Mummy's performance. Reason why I ask is because the launch of the Florida version has gone down a great deal. Not sure why, but the launches aren't nearly as fast as they use to be. Does the launch on the Singapore Mummy give you a strong pull on the launch hill? Or does it kind of feel as if it's struggling to pull you up? I've not been to USF so I can't really compare, but it is strong enough to "push" riders back towards the seat/head-rest. In my opinion, it IS a strong pull (though not as violent as Battlestar Galactica, haha) Interestingly, I've watched some ride videos over the past few years of the Florida version and realized that the LIMs in Singapore make a noticeable loud hum. Not sure if it's the cameras, does the Florida version make such noises? (Most apparent at the backward pull, and of course the launch hill) Well, I guess the Florida ride is built in 2004 and might be showing it's age. Hopefully it's due for a refurb soon.

There is a strong pull but like all magnetic launch rides, the car reaches top speed about 1/2 way up on the hill. I've recently been on a backstage tour of the Singapore RoTM, if you've got any questions feel free to ask away

Managed to snap this photo a few days ago: The insides of the Transformers attraction queue/pre-show building. Seems like it's not being developed yet, just used as a storage area for RWS.

I was at the park today and saw workers painting the Human section of BSG. What I don't understand is, why bother painting now? Assuming the ride does have to be re-certified - which, according to rumours, only possible after 6000 test cycles - wouldn't the paint wear off even more and need to be repainted again? By logic/common sense, "touching up" (what RWS announced on their Facebook page) should be the final thing to do. Unless this means that the ride can reopen after repainting, which... also doesn't make any sense anyway. It also bothers me that they are only re-painting the Human section. What might this mean? The Cylon side is testing at night? The peeling paint look is part of the Cylon's psyche? Blue paint lasts longer? Forgot to order?? I also noticed something - the ride info board has been redesigned - it does look better and uniform with the layouts used for other rides in USS. Not sure when this exactly happened though.

from http://sentosathemepark.blogspot.com/2010/11/look-inside-que-area-madagascar-ride.html#links

Genting released their Q3 results recently and also mentioned vague schedules for USS attractions: Mid 2011 Battlestar Galactica: Human Battlestar Galactica: Cylon Madagascar: A Crate Adventure Late 2011 Transformers Greg took a video of Madagascar, unfortunately it still looks like a mess and major construction is still ongoing. In other news, all Annual Passholders received 90-day extension. This was announced back in October, for all passes purchased before a certain date.

Yep, they've been offering those $10 ($5 x2) meal and merchandise vouchers since park opening, although it was $15 total value in the first few months.

Yes, but only in the New York Zone. I'm not attending the event but Greg (Bigbear) willl be covering it at his blog. You can also check out RWS Facebook page for their photos.

From what I understand of the entire project the park was never designed to bring in huge numbers. It fulfilled the high quality family entertainment zone Sentosa needed to also be allowed to build a money making casino right next to the park. Very true. That is why every zone has a family-friendly attraction. The star attraction of Resorts World Sentosa is, in reality, the Casino. As a local, I'm curious about the park's long term plan, as there isn't much (or any) space to expand. The park is surrounded by the main road that serves the whole island (although this brought about some interesting details about the park design, like for Jurassic Park Rapids - the vegetation outside blends in nicely with the ride's "set" and the waterfalls form the park's berm) 4rturo, I've only been to the park once when it's "sold out" in June, but it got quite crazy, especially when a lot of rides went down together [Once, the entire stretch from Sci-Fi City to Jurassic park!]. There were reports of wait-time up to more than 2 hours and hour-long for F&B.

All of the pre-show areas are still blocked off today, but the props/lighting were actually turned on. The peeling on the wall hasn't been fixed yet, I've taken a photo today: (It has been like that since August!) 2-3 weeks ago the park was quite empty. Today there were many tourists at the park and for some reason, travel in "swarms". Often the crew members were overwhelmed suddenly and struggled to open up the switchbacks in the midst of the crowds because the lines were too short for the large number of guests. Towards November, we will see a lot of children and teenagers in the park as their final year exams will be over.

Back from the park: "Excavation" work that was happening around Sci-Fi City has been completed. Something new at park gates: The future entrance/exit to Transformers ride. "Excavation" happening around Ancient Egypt.. and more.. and more.. EVEN HERE?? It made the zone quite cramped to walk around. Still have no idea what these structures are for, but they've added plants.. hmm.. Superstar Candies is closed. Hopefully they will bring it back and carry relevant merchandise (they were selling random sweets and snacks available everywhere in Singapore.) I've recorded Lights, Camera, Action! today and was pleasantly surprised to see the "falling ceiling" effect working again!

I'll be at the park tomorrow, anyone with requests for photos of specific areas, do let me know here or via PM. Greg recently took a video of the construction progress at Transformers. Seems like they're building foundation for the tracks.

Earlier this year when the Annual Passholder Programme was announced by Resorts World Sentosa, it was mentioned that there will be Halloween Horror Nights (and Superstar Passholders will receive one complimentary ticket). However, it was secretly removed and the park kept quiet about it until some Annual Passholders went to complain to RWS. The result? Still no Halloween Horror Nights (well realistically there is no way it could just *happen*), but the park will host a "party" at the end of the month, that is: A Night In The Netherworld - Free for Superstar Passholders - S$38 (USD29) for Fun Passholders - ONLY for Annual Passholders, so you can't bring guests - Event held only at the New York Zone in Universal Studios Singapore - Event held from 8pm til 11pm - All Annual Passholders have to reserve their tickets early and may not even be able to attend on their preferred date, or at all. (???) - No attractions will be operating. RWS is withholding information regarding the programme of the event itself, but from the mailer, it looks to me that there will only be: - 1 scare zone, at the alley in New York Zone (Water St.) - 1 outdoor performance of "MONSTER ROCK" show - Food & Drinks

Currently the ride is still not operating - They're redesigning some components of the ride vehicles. According to their press release, they are supposed to be commencing its test cycles soon, probably at the end of the month. No one knows exactly when it'll reopen to public, but it's looking close to early 2011 according to hearsay.

I just did a quick search on Great Nor'Easter and the seats look really similar to BSG/Battlestar Galactica (except the trains for BSG are 4-across), with the whole "freedom seat" design, so I'm wondering what is really wrong with BSG since the seats looked like they're attached to the train the same way. When I rode BSG before it closed, there wasn't much headbanging but the ride (especially BSG: Cylon) was really rough and noisy, as if the vehicles weren't made at the right spec for the track or something. And yes, there's also the signature screeching launch sound which used to be exhilarating to hear in the park.

Updates from my trip today: - Revenge of the Mummy: Queue area has been dramatically shortened - essentially guests will bypass ALL interactive areas and the small pre-show zone... and head straight to the stairs. Not sure what's happening, but there's severe damage (large chunks of it chipped off but not the intended effect) on the walls at "The Key in the Wall" interactive prop area. It has been like this since my last trip in Mid-August.. For the ride, there hasn't been any major changes except some enhancements to the flashing images. Nothing has been done to the (still empty) hands of the warrior mummies in the treasure hall and also no storyline effects for the final turn before the brake run. - Battlestar Galactica: It's already the third week of September and the ride hasn't been going through day-time test cycles (or any cycles?? can anyone confirm the night cycles?) The metal/wooden boards covering up the fence of the ride has been taken off at some areas. Here's a photo of the pit (without fog!): The lоcker area at BSG has been cordoned off, meaning the two lоcker areas at Ancient Egypt are now the only free places offering free lоckers in the park: Seems like they're redoing the floor for some reason: At the other side, there's some "Excavation" going on to cover up the work on the floor too. I'm surprised they made the effort to theme it, because previously they only used those normal rope barriers. Over at the Hollywood/Madagascar border, there's some pillars being installed (for some sort of shelter perhaps, but leading to... the washrooms?) Lastly, no photos but there's a lot of construction noise coming out from the Madagascar ride area. They've blocked off the area where people used to be able to sneak in..

Resorts World Sentosa has finally released a press release regarding the status and recovery schedule of Battlestar Galactica Source: http://resortsworldsentosablogs.blogspot.com/2010/08/preliminary-findings-on-battlestar.html