Universal Studios Singapore Discussion Thread

[RCFreak]

^I don't know if I'd say it looks better as it's basically the same ride as the other Jurassic Park rides, but I will agree that the ending is pretty lackluster.

[knottslover77]

^ yeah it seemed more alive to me. Little more action, I really liked all the mist, but the t-rex needs fog or something covering it until the last moment.

 

--Jay

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 20, 2011 by themeparkman25

[rosscoe]

I know a video can never do it justice, but I was really thinking this would be more kick arse, more wet, more wild.

[jedimaster1227]

http://sentosathemepark.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC100317-0000305/A-wild-ride,-never-mind-the-creative-tweaks

 

The world's tallest duelling roller coasters zipped up and down at breakneck speed, the middle-aged staff at the Madagascar attraction were all sunshine and smiles, and the pizza at Loui's NY Pizza Parlour was delicious.

 

With less than two days to go before Universal Studios Singapore's (USS) soft opening tomorrow at 8.28am, it was evident at yesterday's preview that the theme park's infrastructure and staff were ready for the big day, which will see 18 of the 24 rides in operation.

 

But also evident were some kinks - dubbed "creative adjustments" - to iron out, and this was something Resorts World Sentosa acknowledged. For instance, the Revenge of the Mummy indoor roller coaster ride was temporarily closed to tweak the exact moments at which real fire was expelled and fake mummies popped up to scare visitors. Such tweaks may be needed even after USS opens - when the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure river ride is running at full capacity, sensors may have to be adjusted so dinosaurs rear up at the right time, and not two seconds late, explained RWS spokesman Robin Goh.

 

"We might have to close the ride for half an hour, one hour, as long as it takes to re-tweak that," he said. Visitors can meanwhile check out USS' other attractions and return later to try their luck. Temporary closure of rides is not uncommon, even at established theme parks, added Mr Goh.

 

To make up for any glitches, USS visitors will receive $15 in shopping and dining rebates with their entry tickets, which start from $66 for a one-day off-peak adult pass.

 

Yesterday, invited guests consisting of the media and RWS' business partners were mostly impressed. Said freelance tour guide Eric Seetoh, who tried the duelling roller coasters dubbed Battlestar Galactica, and will be leading tour groups to RWS in April and May: "The gap between the rows of roller coaster seats is wide, so you feel like you're dropping when it is going down. It's much better than (theme parks I've visited) in the United States and Japan."

 

There were also amusing moments that elicited chuckles. In the midst of the splashing Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure ride, an announcement rang out in the darkness to a water-shy visitor: "You have to close your umbrella at once."

 

Tickets for USS' first two days are sold out, with sales for the next two days moving fast, said Mr Goh, who did not reveal absolute numbers.

The junior roller coaster Enchanted Airways is the one of the 24 rides you can enjoy at the new Universal Studios Singapore (USS) in Resorts World Sentosa.

Frankenstein, the mascot of Universal Studios Singapore, interacting with visitors during a sneak preview of USS at Resorts World Sentosa. USS will open this Thursday 18 March 2010.

A child enjoying herself at King Julien's Beach Party-Go-Round carousel.

Edited March 17, 2010 by jedimaster1227

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 20, 2011 by themeparkman25

[Airtime&Gravity]

More Information has been released on the food and retail options at the park.

 

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park opens to the public on Thursday. Many of the rides are making their world debut.

 

At Universal Studios Singapore, it's all about the movie experience. You can take a picture with your favourite star or take home your very own Oscar.

 

With over 6,000 products to choose from, visitors are spoilt for choice.

 

Said one man in the street: "There are tee-shirts, mugs and just so much that I want to come back again!"

 

70 percent of the items for sale can only be found in the Singapore theme park such as the Betty Boop pins with the Chinese Zodiac or a clapperboard photo-frame.

 

Resorts World Sentosa said only the Singapore theme park has the full range of the clapperboard merchandise.

 

There are 30 food outlets in the theme park alone, serving burgers and fries along with briyanis and chicken rice.

 

Noel Hawkes, vice-president, Resort Operations, Resorts World Sentosa, said: "We've got our very own nasi lemak, beef rending and chicken rice. We also have beef burgers, milkshakes and our Mel's Diners and all that. We're catering to just about anybody.

 

“Many of these restaurants are in fact Halal because we recognise the importance of looking after our Muslim guests who dominate this region. Let's face it, Indonesia and Malaysia are at our doorstep and we expect those markets to become very important to the success of Universal Studios in Singapore."

 

There are six Halal food outlets in the theme park.

 

The theme park also expects tourists from the Middle East to take up a growing slice of the tourism pie. - CNA/vm

 

Link

Edited March 17, 2010 by Airtime&Gravity

[SharkTums]

Universal Studios is going to open with a huge sale on park merchandise - 70% off. The article also talsk about some of the food options.

 

SINGAPORE: Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park opens to the public on Thursday. Many of the rides are making their world debut.

 

At Universal Studios Singapore, it's all about the movie experience. You can take a picture with your favourite star or take home your very own Oscar.

 

With over 6,000 products to choose from, visitors are spoilt for choice.

 

Said one man in the street: "There are tee-shirts, mugs and just so much that I want to come back again!"

 

70 percent of the items for sale can only be found in the Singapore theme park such as the Betty Boop pins with the Chinese Zodiac or a clapperboard photo-frame.

 

Resorts World Sentosa said only the Singapore theme park has the full range of the clapperboard merchandise.

 

There are 30 food outlets in the theme park alone, serving burgers and fries along with briyanis and chicken rice.

 

Noel Hawkes, vice-president, Resort Operations, Resorts World Sentosa, said: "We've got our very own nasi lemak, beef rending and chicken rice. We also have beef burgers, milkshakes and our Mel's Diners and all that. We're catering to just about anybody.

 

“Many of these restaurants are in fact Halal because we recognise the importance of looking after our Muslim guests who dominate this region. Let's face it, Indonesia and Malaysia are at our doorstep and we expect those markets to become very important to the success of Universal Studios in Singapore."

 

There are six Halal food outlets in the theme park.

 

The theme park also expects tourists from the Middle East to take up a growing slice of the tourism pie. - CNA/vm

 

Link

 

I think you misread the article, there is not a 70% off sale, 70% of the items are unique to THIS Universal.

[Airtime&Gravity]

^

Reading the article again, I don't know how I misread it. I thought it seemed strange at first, and now it makes sense.

 

Can we ignore by brain fail and focus on the food that was mentioned instead?

 

 

Airtime-wow my brain failed-&Gravity

[tiger01]

That looks awesome! I love the mist in the loop i thought it was concrete at first for some strange reason. That has to be an amazing zero g roll and the airtimee at the top of the lift. This is one amazing coaster but i haven't ridden it yet. I don't think it will beat dueling dragons!

[deathbydinn]

^ I thought it was concrete too. I think BG looks pretty good but the blue side was a bit slow and some parts but maybe it will get a little faster once it gets worn out. I didn't even know they had the Canopy Flyer. It looks pretty dull. I know its meant for familys but I've seen video of the one at USF and it seemed a lot longer with better theming. Does anyone else think thst the four pictures look like they're really old?

[themeparkologist]

It's digital picture modification. They do that on purpose.

[stringfellow]

Here a link to my own trip findings, spent 3 days 2 nights at Hard Rock Hotel, and 2 days in the park. Also included in the findings are pictures and videos, including how the Battlestar Galactica waiting line interiors look like, particularly the Cylon side.

 

ADMIN EDIT: LINK REMOVED

 

Enjoy!

Edited March 21, 2010 by jedimaster1227

[Gav]

Yup, the feet dangling type. You can always tell if the coaster is "aggresive" or not by its device that straps you in. Lap bar = boring, tame and lame, shoulder harness = aggresive, stomach turning, hell yeah!

Really? What about hyper coasters, large wooden coasters etc? They use lap bars and aren't boring...

[stringfellow]

It's a personal preference. I rode El Toro and Colossus, and find them janky and not smooth. I end up bumping my head around a couple of times, with bruises all over. End up coming out of these two rides with a mixture of adrenaline rush and pain. I'd rather have the former only, and not the latter.

 

As for hypercoasters, if you're a fan of speed and airtime, sure, they provide lots of those qualities, but I'm not looking for those qualities on my rides, I like more manouvres than airtime. Speed comes in both those with lapbars and shoulder harnesses, like Kingda Ka, but I have yet to find rides that I remember or return again and again fondly for, that uses lapbars.

 

Again, all these are personal preferences. No offense.

[Adriel]

HELLO PEOPLE! I have just gone home from the 4th day of soft opening of Universal Studios Singapore.

 

I must say that I had a blast in the park!!

 

I promise I'll put up the trip report, along with the photos I took, to TPR's website

 

Here's what you can expect from my trip report...

1. Battlestar Galactica isn't my favorite ride in the park.

2. Can you believe that the longest wait I had was 25 minutes?

3. How does the extreme weather changes affect the operation of Universal Studios Singapore?

4. Why it's not a good idea to ride a coaster in the rain...

5. Interesting facts about Madagascar: The Ride

 

Here's the link to the off-ride video of the world's tallest dueling roller coaster, recorded by me!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IGsOviKczM

 

ENJOY!!!

Edited March 21, 2010 by jedimaster1227

[stringfellow]

*PM me for the link for pics and video clips in HD that I took for the parks and the video of inside the waiting area of the Cylon side of BSG. Haven't that privilege since my post numbers are less than the required number to post those.*

 

It is not a good idea to ride a coaster in the rain, because I had the first had experience riding it 7 times in the rain on the Cylon side, raindrops attack you like bullets when you're sitting on a coaster moving at high speed. Even more so when you're seated at the front!

 

Same here, wait time NEVER more than 15 minutes. The BSG coaster do get stopped for "readjustments" , and quoted by the staff there as put on hold for 30 minutes,but after 10 minutes it's back up and running again. All the rides are operational, except those which has yet to open, namely the Madagascar Crate Adventure and Transformers of course.

 

Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure is a no-go for me. I initially thought that the drench factor is gonna be like the LA or Orlando's version, but it is worse than Popeye's Bilge Rat Barge ride in Orlando! You get THOROUGHLY SOAKED AND DRENCHED if you ride without a poncho. What's worse, the weather does not allow quick drying, and yesterday's weather was "moody" all round with rainclouds hanging overhead almost from opening till closing of the park!

 

The staff are friendly and very accommodating, I got my permission to record that waiting line area interior of the Cylon side when I asked them. In some areas where it is not canopied or covered, staff were hovering around, putting umbrellas over your heads when you traverse the open area parts so you dont get wet!

 

They need to brush up on their command of English, I had to endure embarassing moments of Singlish (broken English) during the "Lights Camera Action" show with the preshow announcer trying his best to get the hype going but failed miserably because we were aghast at his broken English sentences. Perhaps it's the bouts of nervousness, but I applaud his for giving it a try!

 

I stayed at Hard Rock Hotel for 3 days 2 nights, and it is within walking distance, on covered grounds, and in some parts, underground, when you travel between the hotel and to FEstive Walk and to the gates of USS itself. Their aesthetics choice of building leaf-like canopies around the Lake of Dreams area may bite them in the rear as the rainwater are dripping around endlessly and when it pours, patrons were dodging rain-waterfalls left and right!

 

I initially wanted to get an Annual Pass but decided against it until they fix some of the mess and missing effects I saw around the park. The park is functional, but they could touch it up for aesthetics reason. I forgive them for this because the park is newly open. However, there is no excuse for the Revenge of the Mummy ride MISSING the clay mummy reveal when "Imhotep gives you the ultimatum of joining him or die" part, you can clearly see the mummies lying on their backs but only the flame effects are present. Talking about flame-effects, the flame-dome effect before the end of the ride, is pitifully minimal, almost look like a griddle-burner flame. The ride congruency is also broken, unlike the Orlando or the Hollywood version, especially the abrupt ending.

 

Also missing, and this is sorely apparent to those already seen the Orlando or Hollywood's version, is the seaplane crashing through the walls in the Waterworld show! On my showtime, the head baddie Deacon even entered by a stage door, not regally through his own boat! I was anticipating his arrival and the seaplane bursting through, only to be commented "Oh, the seaplane hits the outer wall" dialogue by the actor playing the Deacon, before he moved on with the show. Appalling!

 

Far Far Away is decent, although I can confidently say the projector effects complementing the 3D movie on screen during the Shrek 4-D show is sorely lacking in luminence, focus and does not complement the action onscreen properly. Donkey LIVE show is cool, think of it as the "Monster's Inc Laugh Factory" version for USS. A live voice actor voices out Donkey in an auditorium and invites participants to participate with him with trivias, and questions, based on Singaporean details like the ERP, the Merlion spitting water while Singaporeans are not allowed to spit, things that are locally familiar with the visitors. A good effort for a first try, but pales in comparison with the Monster's Inc version.

 

There is also an exact replica of Shrek's tree stump cabin next to the castle.

 

As for BSG, I personally love the Cylon side more than the Human side for its multitude of manouvers. There aren't any REALLY close or narrow misses per se, unlike the real misses on the Dueling Dragons, but the two coaster tracks and coaster types are different enough to warrant riding them both. After riding them both, I still prefer the Cylons. Watch the clip I took for the waiting area interiors, the Cylon side feature rows of Cylons made to look like they are thousands of them via mirror effect, probably to mimic their numbers in the Resurrection Ship, with the Cylon side also has this nice flesh-like designs with steel tubes as blood vessels. The Human side is spartan, and quite empty, save for the lone Colonial Viper plane. The audio commentaries are also varied, with the Cylon side having the many different Cylons coming onscreen while bridged by the incoherent babblings of the Mothership Hybrid issuing commands to the Cylon Heavy Raiders (the coaster you're riding) to attack. The Human side has an unrecognizable announcer (not from the show) with the occasional videos of Adama and Starbuck wishing "Good Hunting".

 

I skipped the Madagascar area totally, as its star attraction isnt ready until June 2010.

 

All in all, a good effort. It is a soft opening after all, but they need to ramp up the effort to beautify the rough patches and the missing show effects.

 

And oh, the staff will gather at the entrance during closing time, to cheer and thank you for coming for spending your day with them. A very good touch there indeed.

 

ADMIN EDIT: The links have been removed as they are in violation of our Terms of Service.

Edited March 22, 2010 by stringfellow

[Adriel]

21 March 2010, 7 a.m., I was up already from my bed. My heart pounded so fast. It was the day that I've been waiting for: the 4th day of the soft opening of Universal Studios Singapore! As a newly opened theme park, Universal Studios Singapore is having their soft opening session for approximately a month, or until they're satisfied with the technical and service adjustments. As such, the number of tickets are very limited during this "sneak preview" session. Thing is, I had even no idea that this "sneak preview" thing means that I'd have a blast in the park that day.

 

During this soft opening period, there were no same-day tickets sold. Everyone has to buy the tickets in advance, either from telephone, website or straight from the ticket booths. As this was the soft opening period, the park is giving 2 additional vouchers, a SGD10.00 food voucher and a SGD5.00 retail voucher, to be spent at the park.

 

I went to the theme park with public transportation. Unlike the ones in USA, Universal Studios Singapore is easily accessible through the extensive transportation means in Singapore. For this trip, I used MRT (the subway system) and Sentosa Express (the monorail service from mainland Singapore to Sentosa Island). And do you know how much does it cost? SGD5.00! Which roughly translates to USD3.50!

 

The weather was mostly cloudy when I arrived at the park's main gate at 8.30 a.m. Surprisingly enough, there were almost no one there! I roughly estimated there were probably only 120 people there! Even more surprising, there were WAY more seniors than teenagers or young adults or families. Oh for your information, tickets for seniors are half the price of the normal admission rate. Thus, I kinda understand why seniors are visiting the park. So at exactly 9 a.m. sharp, the security guards opened the gate and everyone who had been waiting for 30 minutes bursted into the park. What I meant by "bursted" in was bursting in Singapore manner: no running, no yelling, no trampling, etc. It was done in a very orderly manner. Nice

 

My first destination of the day was of course the Sci-Fi City. Come on, everyone headed that way anyway! Why? Because everyone was dying to try the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA dueling coaster. As the world's tallest dueling roller coaster, it has been hyped as one of the best roller coaster experience in the world (although I highly doubt this since I went to Cedar Point last summer). At first look, Sci-Fi City is very neatly made. Sponsored by Panasonic, Sci-Fi City is probably one of those areas where Universal Studios Singapore excels. They even have signs in language that I don't understand (like the cylon language) everywhere. It's these small details that really count.

 

Now let's head up to the main highlight of the park: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. No carry-on bags were allowed, so everyone had to leave their bags with non-riders or lockers. Lockers were free for 30 minutes. After that, users will be charged SGD3.00 for every 20 minutes. My first ride was the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: CYLON as the line was 5 minutes. Looking at the theming in the queue line, I hoped the very best for this ride. The queue line was extensively designed as if you're going through the headquarters of the Cylons. With this "carnivore-looking" design on the wall and the cylon armies, the queue line generally gives the feeling of cyclon-pride. Then, I was directed to go upstairs and then... the ride itself. I was lucky to get the first row. All I can say for this coaster was that it's so much fun! The launch uphill was incredible, probably better than Islands of Adventure's Incredible Hulk Coaster. The airtime at the top of the hill was a bit disappointing though. The inversions were very smooth. My favorite element for this ride would be the vertical loop. Close to the end of the ride, the riders would go through a 5-meter-deep pit and do the vertical loop through the water mist. It was a fun experience. Well... pretty much.

 

Next stop, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: HUMAN! As I had done the more intense side of the coaster, I expected this to be rather more relaxing. The queue line was quite empty compared to that of Cylon's. There were propaganda posters on the wall, the airplane as well as other computer stuff filling up the queue line as props. Once again, I headed up for the ride, and I was once again lucky to get the first row (duh, another 5-minute wait). I must say I was so surprised by how fun this ride was. Battlestar Galactica: Human actually has much more airtime at the very top of the hill, immediately after the launch. The airtime pop was so crazy that everyone who previously put their hands up grasped the lap bars immediately to keep themselves on the seats. Unlike Cylon, the Human side of the coaster focuses more on the G-force. As such, people will find it typical to have some "grey-out" or "black-out" during the ride, especially on the tight turns. By the end of the ride, I concluded that BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: HUMAN is better than BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: CYLON. I'll give HUMAN a 9/10 and CYLON a 8/10.

 

Located next to the Sci-Fi City is the Ancient Egypt area. The area is very extensively themed with the Egyptian statues that stand approximately 15 meters up to the air. The main highlight of this ride was of course the Singapore's version of REVENGE OF THE MUMMY. Now I know what does this mean: a carbon copy of Orlando's? Well here's what I think of it. Unlike the USA's version of the ride, Revenge of the Mummy in Universal Studios Singapore is much more serious. There's no Brendan Fraser in this ride. There's no prank where the cast member is eaten by the Mummy himself. In this ride, the riders are absolutely in a tomb and they're trying to escape the curse of the Imhotep. The ride's backward motion took everyone on the train by surprise (since this is probably the first coaster in Asia to have backward motion, excluding Vekoma's Boomerang). At the end of the ride, everyone on the train that I rode clapped, while the 2 children cried as if they've just been really cursed by the Imhotep. As a studio theme park, Revenge of the Mummy would sure be the main highlight of the park. Everyone will spread the word. I'm pretty sure the line for this ride would be very long when the park is having it's "real" opening. A perfect 10/10 for Singapore's Revenge of the Mummy.

 

Located at the very north of the park, it's THE LOST WORLD area. As the biggest themed area in the park, Jurassic Park actually looks very small compared to that of Orlando's. This, however, was due to the extensive area coverage of the main attraction of this part of the park. The ride is called JURASSIC PARK RAPIDS ADVENTURE. Unlike the Japan's and USA's version, Singapore's version uses the tubular rapids system. Not only it's aesthetically more beautiful, but it's also much more thrilling! The rapids ride was very wild. There are parts where the currents are so fast that the rapids would spin uncontrollably and hit the wall very hard (I'd say it's twice as fast as that of Popeye's & Bluto's Bilge-Rat-Barges). And then comes the dark part... I must say the dark-ride section of this ride is much scarier than those of Orlando's, Hollywood's and Osaka's. It was completely dark and you can't see anything. Not even the flash lights that are attached to the rapids. And when you think it was about to be over, the rapids stop! You go up vertically using the elevator system (I think there's one other rapids ride in Europe that uses this elevator feature) and then... the T-Rex is right above you. As you go closer and closer to the T-Rex, your rapids suddenly stop. That was when I realized that apparently the T-Rex is so small compared to the ones in USA and Japan Well... it's a rapids ride anyway. So never mind about that. Then the door opened and... SPLOOOSH! The drop for the ride isn't that big. Approximately 25-30 feet tall. Surprisingly, the boat managed to get a much bigger splash at the end of the ride compared to the typical river boats in the original version. Everyone in the boat was wet, 3 of them completely soaked to the skin. And that was it. Jurassic Park The Ride would absolutely be the most popular attraction in the park. It's family-friendly, fun and most of all... it's gets you soaked (very very soaked). In case you're wondering how wet is this ride, I'll just give you this: riding Dudley-Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls twice in a row. I'll give this one another perfect 10/10. So much fun!

 

The next ride was the CANOPY FLYER, an inverted coaster designed for kids located opposite of the Rapids Adventure. By then, the crowds have reached the Jurassic Park and the line was 20 minutes for the ride. I decided to go on it, though. The ride itself was pretty much thrilling. While the 1st half of the ride was pretty much all about "flying above the Jurassic Park and look at the nice views", the 2nd half of the ride was all about speed, force and small drops. I'm quite surprised by how nice this small coaster was. The only problem that people have with this ride is... well, guess what? There were a lot of people who didn't want to be on the backward seats of the coasters. So, the cast members were unfortunately forced to let the train go with unfortunate 2 seats empty, which decreases the capacity by 50%. I'll say Canopy Flyer is a great small coaster that not only the kids will enjoy, but also the whole family as well. A 7/10 should be fine for this ride.

 

Done with the Jurassic Park, I headed for the Far Far Away section of the park. This part of the park was very nicely themed. And it has the Far Far Away Castle! Inside it is the ultimate attraction of the area, SHREK 4-D. Pretty much, the attraction is a complete copy of USA's version, with the exception of having a more extensively themed queue line. When I was in the ride, the visual of the movie wasn't focused enough. The images of the movie were quite blurry. But I understood this as it was still in "soft opening" mode, thus I got away, pretty much... satisfied. I'll give this one a 8/10.

 

Next, the ENCHANTED AIRWAYS. This is a junior coaster based on the dragon's flight from the movie Shrek as well. For a junior coaster, this one packs a lot of thrill. It has a lot of near-misses with the stations, a lot of tight turns, head-chopper and pretty tall first hill. But what really surprised me was how fast this ride goes! Maybe it's like... 30mph, I guess? It was pretty cool to have a thrilling junior coaster! Finally! A 7/10 for this little coaster. Everyone loves this ride!

 

After that, I went to the Madagascar section. Pretty much it was empty there. This was because the highlight attraction of this section of the park hadn't been opened yet. MADAGASCAR: A CRATE ADVENTURE would be opened in June 2010, as it wasn't ready for operation. This ride would be located in a huge cargo ship, that is about... 6 to 7 stories tall. At first, I thought it's gonna be a flume ride which has a 5-story tall main drop like Splash Mountain. But then I asked the cast members that were waiting in front of the ride.

"So what kind of ride is this?" I asked.

"Oh, it's a flume ride. It's going to be opened in June. We're sorry about this."

"Oh it's all right! So how tall is this ride going to be. Like um... 6 stories tall?"

"Oh no no. It's only 2-story tall!"

I was utterly disappointed. Oh well, the drop would be only 2 stories tall? 20 feet tall? Wow, what kind of flume ride is that? For your information, though, the ride is going to be 9 minutes and 30 seconds in duration. So yeah... Splash Mountain with a 20-foot drop? Hm... weird.

 

It was 11 a.m. and I was already back at the main entrance of the park. By then, I was extremely confused on what I was going to do. Thankfully, I wasn't aware that there are 2 additional attractions in the New York section of the park.

 

The next attraction was LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! HOSTED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG. With a 15-minute waiting time 2 hours after the park opened, I was quite surprised. So I went in and... oh, there were probably 50 to 60 people already, so it was very good. Apparently, most people wanted to be in the first row. That was until the cast member told them that the people in 1st row would get wet and about 30% of them move back to the 2nd row. Hahaha. Typical Singaporeans. They don't like to get wet in air-conditioned building. The attraction basically gives us a behind-the-scene look on how to create visual effects. This time, it's all about how to create visual effects for a level 5 hurricane in New York City. It was done with a preview presentation by Steven Spielberg himself, followed by the main presentation. I was very impressed by the attraction. All effects worked wonderfully and everyone was totally impressed by the effects. Those who stood on the first row got wet... very wet. I got very wet as I was in the first row. And I was completely unaware of this! So yeah... too bad. As a studio theme park, I personally think this attraction would be a popular one in the future. This is what Universal Studios is all about! This what makes the Universal a studio theme park. A 9/10 for this Steven Spielberg attraction.

 

By then it was 11.15 and I went to lunch at the Mel's Drive In. Ordered a double burger combo for only SGD9.80, which I paid with my meal voucher (so I got my lunch for free). After that I went circling the park to ride the rides again. I was very surprised to see that most rides have very short waiting time. For example...

Battlestar Galactica: Cyclon --> 10 minutes

Battlestar Galactica: Human --> 10 minutes

Revenge of the Mummy: --> 5 minutes

Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure --> 10 minutes

Canopy Flyers --> 25 minutes

Shrek 4-D --> 15 minutes

Enchanted Airways --> 10 minutes

Lights, Camera, Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg --> 15 minutes

So I was like, "Where is the crowd?!" Shocking!

 

Returning back to the Hollywood section of the park, I decided to go circling the park once again, this time looking at the shops and small details. I found out that Universal Studios Singapore has very nicely themed shops. The best one that I found was the Fairy Godmother's Potion Shop. Very extensively themed with colorful potions and candies. They even have a ferris wheel ride inside the shop, which is amazing!

 

By the time I finished my 3rd circle, it started to drizzle. Everyone was heading for covered areas. I was very lucky to standing in front of the Pantages Hollywood Theater that was showing UNIVERSAL MONSTER HORROR ROCK SHOW. Well, actually, a lot of people went into the theater to watch the show just because it was drizzling. While the theater wasn't full (it was only half-filled with audience who watch it because of the weather), the show was a hit! The people actually did their very best to impress the audience and it paid off greatly. As one of the two PG-13 shows in the park, the musical successfully changed the once-not-so-eager audience to so-eager-I-wanna-watch-again-and-do-standing-ovation audience. It was very surprising that this show is a hit amongst Singaporeans, who are unusually not very reactive towards the Western culture. As such, I valued highly the efforts of the musicians of the show who tried their very best to impress. A 9/10 for this amazing show. Would be a chart-topper when the park really opens.

 

Going out of the show, the sun was shining in all of its glory. Well, Singapore has very extreme weather changes... By 12.45, I could've called it a day! But I didn't. I kept circling around the park to look for some more small details that I had missed before. Also, I rode the rides twice or three times more. So, pretty much I'm an expert right now on the park.

 

At 5 p.m., it started to rain heavily and everyone was trying to get out of the park. All rides were closed, except Revenge of the Mummy, Shrek 4-D and Monster Show. They're very popular when it's raining! The rain was so hard that everyone decided to go to the shop to get ponchos, umbrellas, etc. And guess what? I was forced to spend my SGD5.00 retail voucher for a SGD5.90 blue poncho because I was at a section of the park that has no covered areas. So I was like, "Oh no!"

 

By 5.10 p.m., I was outside of the park. It was a blast! It was a nice day, considering that the park wasn't jam-packed as I thought it would be. By the end of the day, I count the number of times I rode the rides and it came out like this...

Battlestar Galactica: Cyclon --> 6 times

Battlestar Galactica: Human --> 6 times

Revenge of the Mummy --> 8 times

Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure --> 2 times

Canopy Flyer --> 1 time

Shrek 4-D --> 1 time

Enchanted Airways --> 1 time

Lights, Camera, Action hosted by Steven Spielberg --> 1 time

Monster Rock Show --> 1 time

Nice, eh? I kept rocking back and forth between Sci-Fi City and Ancient Egypt.

 

During the visit of the park, I learnt a few things as well...

1. NEVER RIDE A COASTER DURING THE RAIN. I rode Battlestar Galactica: Human right before it was suspended due to the weather. I rode it when it was drizzling and oh boy, I felt as if my face had just got pinched by 1,000 needles or something like that!

2. ALWAYS GET READY FOR SINGAPORE'S EXTREME WEATHER CHANGES. Let's say it rains heavily. 10 minutes later, the sun is shining so brightly you'll feel as if you're gonna get sun burns. This is a very typical weather change in Singapore. At around 3 p.m., I almost got sunburns due to exposure to sunlight. Sun-block is highly recommended. And never bring umbrellas. Singapore is the capital of thunder in this world. Umbrellas would be deadly to have in this park. In addition, a lot of rides are often closed when the bad weather occurs. Given the fact that weather changes a lot of times in Singapore, rides can be closed-opened-closed-opened a couple of times a day.

3. ALWAYS GET A PONCHO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET WET ON JURASSIC PARK RAPIDS ADVENTURE. Like seriously, this ride will get you soaked if you don't wear poncho. Some people even reported that they still get wet even when they wear their plastic ponchos. So yeah...

 

I also have my top 5 attraction list...

5. Battlestar Galactica: Human

4. Universal Monster Rock Show

3. Lights, Camera, Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg

2. Revenge of the Mummy

1. Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure

 

Things that I was ultimately disappointed with was the UNIVERSAL EXPRESS. Unlike the other Universal theme parks, this fast-pass systems is sold as another sets of tickets in Singapore for SGD68.00. This was useless during my visit though. I mean... 10 minutes for Battlestar Galactica?! Come on! Who need a fast pass for that?!

 

Overall, I think Universal Studios Singapore is a great addition to Singapore's tourism. I'm strongly sure that this would be a slap in the face for Hong Kong Disneyland. I actually think Universal Studios Singapore, despite the fact that the park is the smallest of all Universal theme park, has the potential to be one of the most popular parks in Asia (considering the fact that they'll have 2 new rides in the next 12 months, Madagascar and Transformers). I'll highly recommend Theme Park Review to come to Singapore and visit this small, packed theme park. I'm sure you guys will have a blast in this park... well... only if the rides don't have long lines.

 

P.S. If it's all right, may I upload the photos on Theme Park Review's Facebook profile? All of my pictures are in 1600 x 1200 format.

[Nosferatu]

Nice trip report! Seems like I will have to try to get out there I've ridden Mummy in Hollywood, and everyone say that this and Orlando is better versions, so that is promising!

[taytig]

From what I could see, BG looks like a good ride! It is two well laid out twisted hunks of metal. I think that Vekoma has finally hit the mark with this one. If they launched the red side just a tad earlier, there would be some even more awesome dueling moments. I hope we can see something like this in North America. The GP would eat this up at a park like Canada's Wonderland, King's Island etc.

 

David

[DarkStitch626]

Great TR over all but about the Madagascar flume. Think about Pirates of the Caribbean? a long flume ride with a small drop. Its about a family ride experience. That is just my take on things. Revenge of Mummy sounds pretty freakin sweet!

[jedimaster1227]

Edited March 22, 2010 by jedimaster1227

[jmicha]

^That version of Mummy looks pretty cool. Very similar to Orlando's with some fun changes. I like the idea of actually being in a tomb looking for gold better than the Orlando storyline. The ceiling fire looked pretty lame though...hopefully that'll change with time as that's one of the coolest special effects on any ride I've ever been on. I love that part of Mummy in Orlando. Overall this park is looking like a really cool park with some nice new rides that will maybe spawn some nice new rides at the other Universal parks.

[stringfellow]

This is a carbon copy of my own trip report and impression posted on another local site I frequent. Please bear in mind that some of the content are directed and addresses the concerns of the audience I'm talking to in that local forum, hence the points catering more towards the Malaysian crowd.

=================================================================================

 

Hi there!

 

In this I shall chronicle my own experience planning, and what I have experience so far at Sentosa Integrated Resort Universal Studios Singapore. It is my hope that this may help others have a general idea of what to expect, what to plan for, and what to experience to enjoy the most of their trip to the USS.

 

The itinerary goes:-

 

Venue: The Hard Rock Hotel Sentosa.

Length of stay: 3 days 2 nights.

Cost: SGD318 per night for a standard room, two single bed.

 

The journey began with MH601 from KUL to SIN. I opted for this for several reason, mainly because I work with the airlines, and the option of travelling to Sentosa from the airport is the easiest yet.

 

There are several options to get to Sentosa.

 

1. Via the airport for those arriving by plane. From the airport, there are several options themselves.

2. Via driving your own car, 30mins from Causeway link SIN-JHB, 30 minutes from Tuas Second Link

3. Via MRT if you're planning to stay within the city and taking the MRT as the mode of travel.

4. Via the Singapore Cruise Center situation in Sentosa.

 

NEW EDIT: Here's a handy PDF explaining how to get to Resort World Sentosa and to Universal Studios Singapore. PDF size is huge. Print for easy reference.

 

Option 1 is further subvidided into the option of taking a cab, MRT from Terminal 2 or complimentary shuttle service. Cab is self-explanatory, however if you do not accommodation arrangements within Sentosa hotel areas, you are REQUIRED to pay for the Sentosa Entry Fee at Sentosa Gantry. MRT option is sound if you're located close within the proximity of an MRT station and wish to take that as the mode of transport. MRT users will have to stop at VIVO city, alight here and switch to Sentosa Express, a monorail service connecting VIVO City and Universal Studios Singapore. But by far the easiest and cheapest mode of transport is via the complimentary shuttle bus. It departs from the bus lane stops outside of the respective terminals in Singapore airports (T1/2/3, sorry no budget terminal stops). From the arrival area in T2, head right till the exit and keep right till you see lanes of bus stops servicing private and public needs to the city center. The bus is hard to miss, is huge, well maintained and air conditioned. The bus shuttle trip takes 30 minutes and is FREE!

 

The rest of the options, I list down only, I dont know their prices and their details.

 

Upon arriving at Hard Rock Hotel, check-in is technically not available until 3pm. You then have the option of luggage-keep from Front Desk and head to the park and enjoy your entire day there and check back in after your day at the park is done and your room will be ready for you.

 

I chose that, and headed to USS. The close proximity of USS and Hard Rock Hotel allows me to walk to the USS gate within 10 minutes. The route is covered almost entirely under canopy, so that you can make your way to USS should the weather turns bad. "Festive Walk", USS' version of Universal City Walk, starts from Festive Hotel next to Hard Rock (these two hotels are practically next door to each other), and will connect the six different hotels in the Integrated REsort Area to USS via underground shopping known as Festive Walk. What's different from the other Universal City Walks around the world, is that Singapore's Festive Walk serves high end, posh and branded items from brands like Hermes, Certier and Burburry, within Festive Walk itself, making this another high-end version of Orchard Road. Other Universal City Walk in Hollywood, Orlando and Osaka only sports cheap souvenir and gift items, compared to Festive Walk's high end items and luxurious dining options.

 

Upon arriving at the end of Festive Walk is the Lake of Dreams and the adjourning open court area leading to the Universal Globe and the gate of USS itself. This area serves as a street performance/atmosphere area with bustling carnival like activity during night time.

 

A word of warning, PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS WELL EARLIER BEFORE HEADING TO THE PARK. USS is tightly packed and compact park, but still houses up to 24 attractions within its walls, and due to this space constraints, USS management decides to allocate specific quota amount of tickets for the day before closing the ticket sale for the day. I have seen people get turned down after arriving at the ticket booth because ticket allocation is full and only ticket for the next follwoing day is available for sale. Also, wait until the very last minute and survey the crowd before deciding to purchase an Express Pass. Express Pass allows you direct front of the line spot on many rides and attractions, but can only be used once a day per ride. Looking at my own crowd traffic when I arrived at 1030am this morning, it is literraly a walk-in straight to the front of the line, without the need for the Express Pass.

 

For week day tickets, the price is SGD66, and the weekend tickets are SGD72 a pop. However, being the park may close its attractions for a short period of time before reopening it later in the day for "creative adjustments", they have complimented early patrons with SGD10 voucher for food/beverage and SGD15 merchandise voucher for patrons of the first opening week. In essense, my ticket today is priced at SGD41, and is SGD47 tomorrow.

 

Upon entering, these are the attractions I went in chronological order:-

 

1. Sci-fi City. Battlestar Galactica rollercoaster. This is a dueling coaster, meaning both tracks of the coaster pass near misses with each other, with each tracks snaking around one another to simulate a duel. There is the Human side, colored Red and the Cylon side, marked Blue. Both have different entrances and differnet interior design. The Human side is more mundane and features light furnishing, to supposedly complement the Galactica spartan design, with only Kara "Starbuck" Thrace briefing you on the mission before blast-off. The Cylon Side however is more lavish and intricate, with the interiors fashioned to look like the infusion of flesh, metal and steel, with thousands of Cylons hanging off coathooks just like inside the Resurrection Ship. While surveying this interior, you will hear the creepy voice of the Cylon Mothership Hybrid spewing incoherent mission objectives just like in the TV show.

 

To further differentiate between the Human and Cylon side, the tracks and the coaster cars are different too. The Human coaster is a floor design with the track running underneath the floor of seats, but with open sides. This does not provide the openness feeling, compared to the Cylon coaster design. The Cylon coaster is FLOORLESS, wth the tracks running above the rider's seat, allowing that dangling and free sensation. The tracks too are different. While both tracks are snaking around each other with narrowly missing one another, the Human track is has more steep turns and on the first section, feature a huge stomach churning drop. The rest of the Human track is relatively mundane, to a coaster vet like me. The Cylon track however is more exciting, with it being floorless, allows makes the rider feel like he's about to fall off. The Cylon tracks also feature double inversion/loop, with each loop dipping BELOW ground, and riders are sprayed with water misters on each dip below ground. I ended up sputtering and choking water on the second loop, before spitting it out for a gulp of air to scream as the next corkscrew section arrives. Verdict? Cylon is always COOLER than Human.

 

It is at this coaster that I learn the lokcer system in USS. In other Universal Studios in Hollywood and Orlando, they use fingerprint recognition to rent out lokcers to patrons wanting to stow away their loose items while they ride. This method introduces complications as biometric scanners are not always accurate and that ended making a huge line of impatient riders wanting to retrieve their stuff from the storage but have to wait their turn while the guy infront is struggling to get the biometric scanner to work and recognize his print. In Osaka, it is slightly bearable with using coinslot and key. In USS, the system uses birthday as password (DD/MM/YY) and favourite color of the patron to assign lokcer and without the need to remember which lokcer he uses as it displays which lokcer the user left his stuff based on that unique DOB/color combo.

 

Patrons are only allowd a free 30 minutes rental of the lokcer before charges are imposed, SGD2 until the next hour and so on and so forth.

 

*Why does the post auto-replaces the word L O K C E R (rearrange that for "lokuh"), with "fluffy fluffy bunny medicine with goo"?*

 

2. The next area is the Ancient Egypt area. The entrance to the Revenge of the Mummy ride is guarded by two mammoth Anubis figures with a nice miniaturezed representation of Karnak at the front. Single Rider lane is available here. The theming is on par with the Hollywood and Orlando version, but the ride is a different story altogether. The ride is MISSING the Imhotep's warning to accept his offer or a row of his claw-ressurrected mummies with flame jetting up beneath them. I can see those statues in hiding beneath the viewing area, but the mechanism to bring them up is probably acting up. Secondly, the ride is MISSING the beetle-scurrying motion around your ankles when the ride hits the "dead end wall". The ride just continue displaying the thousands of scurrying beetles and goes into reverse. Thirdly, the Flaming Dome effect is greatly reduced, from the usual furnace like intensity in the Orlando version, to a "cooking grill" kinda weakness. Fourthly, the ride feel disjointed, with Imhotep appearing without any coherency and ride music building up the music in suspense without anything happening. Verdict: Orlando's version is the best.

 

3. The Lost World. Jurassic Park Rapid Adventure. This ride tries to be different by introducing for the first time, a circular raft instead of the normal raft cars on a rail track used in other JP attractions. The end result, it becomes an messy, off-focus ride with riders often straining their necks to see the animatronic dinosaurs because the circular raft has spun them around in an awkward angle to see them better. The ride is also CONFIRMED to make you soaked, instead of the possibility of being soaked like the other JP ride in other Universal Studios, because of the nature of the circular raft, the low floor and the water sloshing around. The last drop WILL GUARANTEE everyone getting wet, with the rider on the bottom-most area getting the wettest. That happens to be me, and I had to slop around the park in a drenched shirt and cargo pants. The ride also allow riders to take their belongings with them into the raft, but you run your own risk of drenching them if you decide not to rent a lokcer. The lokcers here are NOT FREE, they are SGD2 for the first hour, there are no free option.

 

4. Time approaches 12pm, went for the first showing of the hit Waterworld show. Google up the show, it is on par with the rest of the other Universal parks around the world in term of scale and quality. The only downside here is the audience participation. Asians are predominantly shy and takes a lot of coaxing to participate in the show. Also, most if not all of them are mainly fluent in Chinese, not English. They did not get the cue on the part where you're suppose to take part with the cheering, or the booing when the baddies appear on the show. The performers are sporting and did their best to get the show on par with what I remembered, it is still in essense the same Waterworld I saw in Orlando and Hollywood. Only the lukewarm, ignorant audience participation ruins it.

 

5. Head to the Discovery Food Court, Jurassic Park's own dining place. This is the only Universal park in the world where you can get cheeseburgers sold alongside Chinese noodle with meatballs and Nasi Lemak with otak-otak, Beef Rendang and bubur kacang hitam or sweet green bean porridge with sago for dessert. EXCELLENT! Pricewise it is SGD12.50 for a Nasi Lemak set with the usual condiments, extra otak-otak or gado-gado, a regular Ice Lemon Tea and a bowl of green bean porridge with sago. With the previous SGD10 voucher used, I only pay SGD2.50! :clap:

 

6. Far Far Away Lang. Farquaad Castle looks surreally huge here. Shrek's version of Rodeo Drive is also made to satisfactory perfection here. Shrek 4-D is as how I remembered it in Orlando and Hollywood, but the projector work enhancing the 3D movie onscreen need serious work. They are either out of focus and/or dim. Donkey LIVE is available here although I chose not to go.

 

It is at this time that I could not stand the soggy clothes I was in, thanks to that JP raft ride, that I had to call it quits, head back to the hotel where I am now, and change clothes. I'll be heading out in a few minutes to be in the park till it clothes and get that awesome WTF!(What The Frak!) T-shirt I saw in Galactica PX store at the ride.

 

More impressions,, videos and pictures on attractions to come later. Until then, I leave you guys with the video I took of the interior of a typical room in Hard Rock Hotel USS.

 

 

Enjoy! Stay tuned!

 

============================================================================================

 

Yup it was raining cats and dogs when I left at closing time 6pm. I wasn't in the park when it rained heavily, but when it was drizzling, they still open the Battlestar Galactica coaster. I can tell from experience that it is not pleasant riding a fast moving coaster while your face gets pummeled by raindrops like bullets.

 

The indoor attractions like Revenge of The Mummy, Lights Camera Action!, and the rest are open, but patrons took refuge in gift stores, meaning more profit to Resort World I guess.

 

I purchased a WTF! (What The Frak!) tee myself, two in fact. Pictures to come if this thread survives the moderating scrutiny.

 

Regarding its patrons, I sincerely hope USS doesn't turn out to be another Genting. Judging from the look AND sound of the chatter around the visitors, the crowd patronising the casinos are certainly pouring into USS. Majority includes those from Mainland China.

 

Brings back shuddering images of the type of "folks" patronising Genting. I hope they dont tarnish the good name of Universal.

 

=============================================================================================

 

If you are talking about the ticket packages or the hotel packages, they are either booked online at http://www.rwsentosa.com or via phone booking. Also be advised that at the time of this this post, tickets must be purchased at least the day before your preferred date of attendance. There are no tickets available for the same day entry purchase.

 

As promised, more details! This freshly baked new Youtube video depicts the walk from Festive Hotel next to Hard Rock Hotel right up to the USS itself. Video is scalable up to HD 720p, so pick your preferred resolution. Apologies beforehand for the shaky cam, I was walking while filming this.

 

 

Pretty lavish, and much more upscaled and posh than your standard Universal City Walk version on other Universal Studios.

 

========================================================================================

 

The ubiquitous Universal Globe. The mist effect is sometimes overdone here.

 

Told ya the mist effect was overdone, it fogged up my lense! The Ticket Booths at USS with a shot of the USS gate.

 

Another shot of the booths.

 

Getting in for a tight low shot of the gate.

 

The turnstile aread where you scan your ticket for entry. Staffs are all super polite! :clap:

 

And we're IN!

 

The canopied area of Universal Plaza leading to the central lagoon. This copies Universal Studios Osaka and provides the much needed shades from the sun and refuge from the tropical downpour.

 

Your customany stop for souvenirs and gifts for friends and family back home. Was trying to look for the USS equivalent of the grey Universal Studios tee, but they dont have that same print I got from Orlando.

 

Lights, camera, action! The staple three statues seen on other Universal Studios, depicting a working film studio. Battlestar Galactica coaster looms on the right and Ancient Egypt leading to Revenge of The Mummy ride to the left.

 

The Madagascar Tree

 

Farquaad Castle at Far Far Away

 

Ancient Egypt front facade leading to the Mummy ride

 

New York, New York!

 

Lights Camera Action! hosted by Steven Spielberg.

 

Old New York facade needs and old NY Yellow Cab Co. taxi.

 

Sci-Fi City themed settings leads to........

 

...the glorious Battlestar Galactica coaster!

 

Ready? BSG 75 awaits!

 

The Human side entrance.

 

The Cylon side entrance. The best part of this pic? the waiting time is 10 minutes, which means straight to the front line, baby! :clap:

 

Watch your neck! The BSG insignia, as well as the two duelling tracks above it.

 

Another shot of the Human side entrance. Wait time is lesser on the Human side when patrons realize how much more fun the Cylon track is.

 

Not a very good shot of the two sides duelling, though.

 

Lagoon Overlook of the BSG side. There is a bigger side of the Lagoon behind me overlooking spectacular vistas.....

 

Canopied Hollywood area, with that Madagascar ship looming larger than that canopy itself! The Madagascar Crate ride is housed inside that ship, but the ride is expected to be operational by June 2010. Pan the camera further right and you'll see......

 

The Far Far Away Castle! Larger than the LA version of Disneyland Castle, with working interiors.

 

Moving on to the next "land", the Ancient Egypt!

 

Huge Anubis statues guarding the area entrance.

 

The front facade of the Mummy ride. Much more elaborate than the LA or even the Orlando's version! :clap:

 

Interesting lined-up perspective of the front facade.

 

Enter at your own peril. Told ya it's huge!

 

Another shot from the side.

 

Check out the size difference. Puny human!

 

On to the next! The Lost World themed area and its main attraction, Jurassic Park!

 

T-Rex(JP1,2) versus Spinosaurus(JP3), who will win? Fight!

 

Approaching the two dueling beasts closer.....

 

......right up to their faces! Lucky they're frozen in time.

 

The Jurassic Park Rapid Adventure itself.The locker is located to the right, but it's not free. You're allowed to bring your stuff to the ride, but drench it at your own risk. And oh yes, you WILL DEFINITELY GET WET!

 

Only in a theme park, you will see a fairy tale land connected to a prehistoric dinosaur zoo. From Jurassic Park, to the land of Far Far Away!

 

The archway leading into Far Far Away

 

Beautiful, intricate, and huge!

 

Let's pull back a little....

 

...and check out the Romeo Drive (Shrek's version of the actual Rodeo Drive). There is an actual Fairy Godmother Potion Bar inside the castle, where you can purchase exciting concoction and juices to refresh your day! Yummy "Happily Ever After" potion! :drool:

 

Thirst quenched? Let's check out the ride, Shrek 4-D! The fourth sense is the sense of touch by the way. Yes, you get squirted and blown.

 

Pull back a little to get the whole shot of the castle...

 

Pull back in to see what citizens of Far Far Away see when their King Shrek addresses them.

 

On the opposite side of the entrance, the fountain dedicated to "the King who croaked".

 

They even built a working replica of Shrek's Tree Stump cabin in the swamp. Avoid going into that toilet though.

 

Leading away from Shrek's cabin, is Madagascar itself, well, at least the Madagascar version of the Dreamworks movie.

 

Welcome to Madagascar!

 

Gloria's Snack Shack. Voracious little lady hippo!

 

Hauling the crate up for the next headliner ride?

 

Hey, the whole gang is here!

 

Check out the SIZE of that ship!

 

Make sure you get rescued when you "drop by" Madagascar!

 

......which leads back to the Hollywood Plaza and time to go!

 

Last parting shot of a less "misty" Universal globe:-

 

 

Off to my second day into the Studios today. More impressions, this time concentrated on the shows like "Lights Camera Action" and "Waterworld", and the pros and cons of this park. See ya'll later!

 

Today's traffic is starting to test the staff members, particularly because families does not get deterred by the day-long rain to go to the attractions. They are super-friendly and very accommodating, I was even held under the umbrellas by them as I pass through the areas without canopy. They try their best, and certainly earnest in dong so. I've even made friends with 2 of the staff member manning the Battlestar Galactica ride, becuase they kept seeing me riding the BSG ride over and over again. When you're there, look for Sam and Christine. Sam starts his day either manning the Human-side lokcer, or the Human entrance of the BSG ride. He always gets "disappointed" (kidding actually ) that I chose the Cylon side more than his Human side! Christine was the supervisor of the day at the Cylon side, and later, I will post how the interior of the Cylon side design looks like, from the human-flesh-blending-with-steel-tubings-and-metal, to the rows of Cylons hanging inside the waiting area. All this thanks to Christine! Stay tuned! eace:

 

After much deliberation, (I kept walking back to the Hollywood Plaza where the Annual Pass Center was located, but didn't enter, something kept me back! ), I chose not to buy the annual pass. I will come here again next month, and that will be when I buy the annual pass. I'd like to see them improve on their current performance,(I'll list down their letdowns later), I'll be buying a two day pass next month, and if I feel that they have improved much, I will grant them my money to buy the Annual Pass on the second day. Take it as a probation period.

 

To put things simpler, here are my ratings based on "out of 5 stars" I would give to the rides:-

 

Light Camera Action - 3 stars ***

 

Stage 28 Monster Rock Revue - did not go, should be similar to the Behind the Scene SFX attraction in LA

 

Accelerator - did not go, I hate Mad Teacup style rides, I can ride aggresive coasters, but spinning cups makes me puke!

 

Battlestar Galactica Human side - 4 stars ****

 

Battlestar Galactica Cylon side - 6 stars ****** YOU MUST RIDE THIS AWESOME COASTER!

 

Revenge of The Mummy - until they fix the ride's broken incongruency and the missing effects , 3 stars ***

 

Treasure Hunters - did not go, this is a kiddie based ride with jeeps on tracks. Yawn!

 

Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure - 3 stars ****, would have got 4 stars if they tweak it so that it did not drench the riders SO MUCH!

 

Dino Soarin' - did not go, this is a kiddie-style florrless hanging ride. Another Yawn!

 

Amber Rock Climb - did not go because you have to pay additional for this, plus the surface to climb is slick because of the heavy downpour of rain

 

Canopy Flyer - did not go, another kiddie ride. ZZZZZZ

 

Waterworld Show Spectacular - 4 stars ****, but today's performance is only worth 3 stars, because of actors missing the cues, and the seaplane and Deacon's entrance is missing his Chugboat.

 

Donkey LIVE! - This is the LIVE version of Disney's Monsters Inc. Live Factory, but starring Donkey, Hook, The Headless Horseman and Shrek's version of Tinkerbell. Donkey will interact with the audience, and selected audience will be invited to participate in rib-tickling Q&A and acts with him. Donkey is a digital representation on a projected screen on stage, but the interaction is such that it is as if Donkey is there reacting Live with you. 3 stars ***, 4 stars **** for the family.

 

Magic Potion Spin - London Eye for the kids. You'll excuse me if I skip this.

 

Shrek 4-D Adventure - 3 stars *** at the moment, but will be 4 stars if they fix the disappointing projection effect complementing the 3D movie onscreen.

 

Enchanted Airways - did not go, this is a kiddie ride with riders riding a kid-coaster themed after the Dragon in Shrek.

 

Madagascar Crate Adventure - COMING SOON, Opening June 2010.

 

Transformers - COMING SOON, Opening 2011.

 

In summary, BSG Cylon ride alone is worth the admission price to me. I'm a coaster junkie, I live and breath coasters. At last there is something worthwhile to ride, close enough to KL for me to just pack my bags without planning and jump on the plane/bus to Singapore and ride it. The rest who are not as "coaster crazy" or adrenaline-inclined as I am, may need to re-examine their priorities before deciding. Me? I'm 80% convinced enough to buy an Annual Pass. My next month revisit will probably seal the deal.

 

Need to take a shower, gonna grab a light snack and head to the casinos. I've also recorded a HD version of what the interior of the Cylon waiting area looks like, with pics as well. Also pics from the waiting line inside the Human-side with its life-size replica of the Colonial Viper. Stay tuned, I'll upload it later! eace:

 

As promised, the interior look of Battlestar Galactica Cylon side of the BSG rollercoaster waiting area.

 

 

Note the flesh-like walls, the rows of Cylons(made using mirrors to look like there's infinite number of them), and the Hybrid babbling in the background.

 

Pics of the interior, for those not wishing or not able to load the Youtube video:-

 

Centurions standing guard.

 

Cylons ready to deploy ala Resurrection Ship.

 

I sneaked into the loading area of the coaster, and secretly snapped the coaster:-

 

Yup, the feet dangling type. You can always tell if the coaster is "aggresive" or not by its device that straps you in. Lap bar = boring, tame and lame, shoulder harness = aggresive, stomach turning, hell yeah!

 

The Human side was not popular for me, but it has an interesting item on the waiting/lining up area,.........a full size Colonial Viper!

 

Good Hunting!

 

The Waterworld Live show is next!

 

The stage is set!

 

Punches were thrown!

 

Helpless civilians were dunked in a vat of toxic waste!

 

Railguns and Bazookas were shot, one even hits a seaplane![/center]

 

I did capture the show on FullHD on my GH1, but the show is seriously defective because the main villain is supposed to enter the stage via his Chugboat, and on that day, it wasn't working, so he entered by the door on the stage itself. Some of the audience were waiting for his entrance but were surprised and disappointed when his entry was marred like that. Also, the surprising finale, where Deacon and Mariner were fighting and they accidentally shot down his seaplane and it bursts through the gate is also missing. Because of these missing effects, I will not upload the clips, because of they are the true representation of what the show truly is. One good thing is the preshow where the henchmens hyping up the audience with chantings and spraying them with water if they fail is still intact. I even almost got jumped by one of them when I was busy recording the video, without realising one of them was closeby and ready to jump and spray me with water when I walked past.

 

Still don't believe how WET the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure is? Here's proof!

 

Note the splash size! Let's zoom in closer....

 

DRENCHED!

 

Even those with plastic rain ponchos are not spared! Those who are sporting, wouldn't mind, it's part of the fun. Otherwise would whine and complain, like that b****y Singaporean mom I rode with yesterday. :shakehead:

 

Let's get more shots of the Discovery center area!

 

 

Frozen-in-time green dinosaurs, even the mighty T-Rex and Spinosaur are no match to my mighty ...errr.....camera?

 

Makan(eating) time! On to the Food Court!

 

An imposing dinosaur skeleton greets you as you enter the compound. There are 3 lines, one each for the Chinese, Western and Malay cuisines.

 

Dont believe me?

 

There. Look closer.................

 

Nasi Lemak and Beef Rendang , baby! the only Universal Studios in the world that serves such delicacy. Picky eater, whether palate-wise or those worrying about their halalness , need to worry no more! :clap:

 

Let's hop next door, to the Ancient Egypt!

 

Looks a bit weird isn't it? The Lost World ends and Ancient Egypt looms behind it. The park is compact enough to not allow its separate "lands" to appear "separated" on its own.

 

Upskirt!

 

Shows how huge these statues are, lining the entrance into the ride entrance. Find the Book of the Living and kill Imhotep!

 

Again, their ruling is that no loose articles can be brought in on the ride, so generally you cant get a camcorder or camera sneaked in with you. However, I sneaked in this one shot inside the lining up area, in the tomb area:-

 

 

I have a crappy iPhone-captured video of this area, will upload later once I head home.

 

Hungry after the ride? Head on to the Oasis Spice Cafe to satisfy your cravings for the munchies! Halal-certified as well. :clap:

 

More pics on the Lake of Dreams and its surroundings. This area is free, and is outside of the gate of Universal Studios Singapore, where visitors can lounge about, grab snacks or head to the more posh dining restaurants here for table-service meal.

 

 

The area lit up in bluish hue at night, especially the ornaments around the Lake area, however I did not manage to capture it since I wasn't here with a camera when that happened.

 

With that I wrap up (with possibility of adding the Waterworld clip later) my field report of my trip of 3D2N to Universal Studios Singapore. I hope that has been informative to anyone looking for info or just undecided whether they should plan for a trip here or not.

 

Here are my impressions, pros and cons of the park and how they could improve better for my next trip, either next month or later in June.

 

1. The park needs touching up. It looks functional, with rides running as they should, but aesthetically, it is still behind some of the more established Universal Studios around the world. Granted, this is a soft opening, and they just opened, but that should not give excuse to patch up the scratches on the wall, and ESPECIALLY, the leaky canopies when it rains. Trust me, it rains heavily here, and if this carries on, it would look ugly.

 

2. There is no security gates or measures to check if visitors are carrying dangerous weapons of any kinds into the park. Not even a bag check to see what is inside your bag. Sure, this speeds up entry process, but even as I was mingling around inside the park, I don't see lots of security personnel standing guard around.

 

3. Their staff talk Singlish. I mean really pure Singlish. Probably because they are pushing to employ locals but they should be filtering their frontliners to the ones speaking more fluent English, not with the -lah., -leh or -liaos. One very bad occasion I had to witness is during the Lights Camera Actions attraction. The staff at the lining up area speaks fluent excellent English, and held poise and professionalism. I engaged him in small talk, both in English and Malay (his name is Radzi), and from his demeanor, he can pass for a well established Universal staff in LA or Orlando anytime. However, as we entered the show area, the preshow announcer ,probably because of nervousness or otherwise, stutters and missed his dialogues and slips into his singlish speaking mode, to my disappointment. I nearly slapped my forehead in dismay and shame, and from his dialect, another Singaporean Malay as well.

 

The Singlishness does not stop around Malays only. The predominant Chinese also are affected. Christine is a young adult, takes care and supervise the line up area of the Cylon side, but her English isn't up to the standards I would hold her to. Sure, the foreign visitors can understand her, or the rest of the staff handling the entrance or the locker areas, but it give bad impression on their capability to communicate. Once I even saw them speaking among themselves when asked questions by visitors, in Hokkien!

 

4. Due to the compact area this park is built, there is no separation between the "lands" or attempt to hide theselands betwen each other. It is visually jarring to see Jurassic Park with Egyptian Anubis statues in the background, or walking into Far Far Away and seeing the Madagascar ship in the background as well. I wont fault them on this much, but their falls into aesthetics, and aesthetics counts for big point to count yourself to one of the classier theme parks in the world.

 

5. The staff competence level is good in some area, and bad in some. The entrance area staff are severely undertrained. The ticketing booth staff are manned, from what looks like Singaporean teenagers with bad English/Singlish, they don't even offer park maps and program list to visitors, and the turnstiles are poorly managed. I can forgive them for slacking when the crowd level is like what it is now, but I can imagine the chaos if the volume picks up and these staff would not be able to handle this. Again, this probably will come with experience, but with first impressions at the entrance gate like that, would put serious damper on the initial mood of the visitor.

 

However, they are good points of this park.

 

1. Although this is a soft opening, all the advertised "open" rides are running fluently. Sure there are hiccups like ride closing down for readjustments and effects missing in some of the shows and rides, but I hope/imagine/anticipate them reintegrating them back once they open full-strength.

 

2. The staff , even with their Singlishness, are SUPER ACCOMMODATING AND POLITE. I've pointed out my request to film the interior of the BSG Cylon side, and they obliged me, with an escort! They go all out to please you, from the staff at the lokcers area offering you their help to establish a lokcer for you, to the entrance staff (heads-up to you Sam, you rock!), right down to the the normal staff even offering umbrellas during rainy days. The cleaners are helpful and nice as well. They've covered the hospitality area of this nicely, let's see them improve on their command of the English language.

 

3. The park designs, intricacy of the details are up to par, and in some cases like the Revenge of the Mummy ride, exceed the other Universal parks around the world. "Mummy" is copied from the Orlando version, but given its own Singaporean touch, which is a good call. The Lost World and Jurassic Park area is another good example. Also a good mention is the Far Far Away and its castle, nowhere else does this appear other than USS. Excellent!

 

4. Emergency response is quick and prompt. I had the experience of seeing this first hand in Disneyland LA, and I hold this as the measuring stick to how other parks are gauged upon. The emergency they had in Far Far Awal where a kid was vomiting violently after riding the kiddie coaster there (Asians being asian, weak constituents :rolleyes:), but the staff and emergency response unit is there in a flash while holding away inquisitive crowd to give the family some privacy and dignity I guess. On par with a well established park is always good.

 

5. Once all the options and rides are operational, this is gonna be the park to go for Asians. No longer do you need to travel half way across the globe to the US to experience the latest in rollercoaster tech, or the latest tech in shows and attractions, when it is available right in Singapore. Except for select attractions like The Simpsons ride or the Universal Tram tours, USS will have carbon copies, or better version of similar rides the other Universal parks has. In some cases, they will world premieres of these new attractions in Singapore first, and other Universal parks will be looking at USS as the benchmark for their new and upcoming rides. That future promise alone excites me enough to give this park more time to establish itself and prove it can stand toe to toe with the rest of the Universal parks around the world. :clap:

 

There you go, my impressions. Thanks for reading, hope that helps you guys decide and make your days in USS a good one. eace:

 

My cost breakdown:-

 

-3D2N stay at Hard Rock Hotel = SGD700.

-2 days park visit, one weekday, one weekend day = SGD66 + SGD72

-Theme park food, for example that Nasi Lemak set with large drink, very filling I can assure you that = SGD12.80 per meal

-Then Chili's Restaurant typical meal you're looking at SGD19.80 or thereabouts. Snacks and bottled water/drink can be bought at a nearby 7-11, I purchased a 3 bottles of water and drinks, plus 2 large packets of Lay's chips, enough for 2 days = SGD15.00

-Plane tickets is "discounted", since I am working with the airline, otherwise a typical return trip economy price ticket = RM565

 

All this adds up to SGD918.20 + RM565. However, my ticket is discounted 90% for staff rate. Otherwise, this would add up to RM2744.30 after SGD-RM conversion.

 

The cheapest currently available USS-affiliated hotel nearby is Festive Hotel, around SGD250-270 a night, but book well in advance, please. It is a popular hotel for families with kids and also for gamblers for its close vicinity to the casinos.

 

You don't have to follow what I did. The most convenient way I can see you doing this while saving up, would be to find a hotel within close radius of an MRT station, and then use that MRT to travel up to Sentosa.

 

Let's break that down.

 

A significantly cheaper cost breakdown

 

-Aeroline bus shuttle ticket price from KL-SIN-KL = RM90 to SIN + RM49 from SIN to KL

-Hotel 81 near Bugis within Bugis MRT coverage = SGD 129-149 depending on weekday or weekend stay.

-MRT fare from Bugis to HarbourFront = SGD1.60 per trip , therefore SGD3.20

-Sentosa Express monorail return trip = SGD3.00

-Ticket price =SGD66 or SGD72 depending on weekday or weekend

-Food, perhaps a single meal inside the park and a typical fast food dinner meal or Singaporean dish at Vivo City = SGD12.80 + SGD10 a day (lunch + dinner)

 

All this adds up to a SINGLE DAY cost of SGD224 to SGD250, EXCLUDING the Aeroline bus shuttle ticket cost from Klang Valley. After conversion and adding the Aeroline fare, it becomes RM671 to RM732. You can pad in extras like souvenirs or snacking up on top of that.

 

I like the convenience of staying within Sentosa itself for its proximity to USS, and I like the fact that I can simply walk back to the hotel for a short nap in the afternoon, before continuing later until the park close, and then dine at Festive Walk once the park closes. Then it is just a short walk to the hotel and retire for the day, or freshen up and soak in the nightlife at Festive Walk or test my luck at the casinos. I can also easily hop onto Sentosa Express (it is DIRECTLY outside USS gates!), head to VIVO City and shop there. Or continue on MRT to Orchard Road and have my fill of shopping there, before returning back to Sentosa for the day.

 

The cheaper solution I suggested may require a bit of travelling, but if you're familar with travelling within Singapore, it is convenient, fast(Singapore is not that big) and efficient, unlike KL's horrendous public transport system. Taxi service is always available and abundant as well, well past the late night hours.

 

I'm am very sure you can find ever more cheaper accommodation options, like B&B, or hostels, I myself found out there are are such types of accomodation right outside VIVO City itself. This may even bring down the rate to below SGD100 a day, but I would suggest taking this only if you're single or going as singles and don't mind group lodgings with other guests.

 

Hope that helps. I will add more information and tips whenever I can, especially on the park itself, on when new attractions are opening up, new additions to the park, and more tips on saving up, or splurging (if you feel like it ) on your holiday there.

 

Phew! Took me a while to correct the "fluffy fluffy bunny with medicine and goo" nonsense, why does your forum not accepting the word below?* Weird!

 

this word, why cant I post it? That word isn't obscene.

[netdvn]

^ The lockers censor is an inside joke over the large amount of people who complained about SF's locker policies a few months back in one of the SF discussion threads. The word is censored as a joke...