By Keshiya Leitch
How do you accurately describe a perfect day to those not with you? Universal Studios Singapore is a start...add in excitement, nausea, screaming, laughing, soaking, and unbridled enthusiasm from all and you start painting the picture!
Thought of spending a weekend away in the land of the Merlion with my best friend and hardcore movie buff. The plan was to spend an entire day at Universal Studios, do some shopping, walk along the streets and of course the FOOD !
When we got to Universal Studios, I was slightly nervous that it was really a bigger kid type of park. We were pleasantly surprised to see that this could not have been farther from the truth.
Old Hollywood
Upon entering, the first stop is Hollywood; a replica road filled with Hollywood memorabilia right down to the walk of stars on the sidewalk. Here you can shop to your hearts content and also enjoy a few shows such as Mel's Dinettes musical and Daddy O's hipster show.
This is also the area you can find several of the restaurants in the park and see the extravaganza Monster Rock. "Stars" abound in this area so keep on the look out.
Madagascar
Excited for the first ride
Next up is the Madagascar ride, complete with a giant replica of the cargo ship and lemur tree from the first movie in the series. Inside is the Crate Adventure ride, think "It's a small world" but with Madagascar characters.
It was wonderful! I suppose some parts could be slightly scary to small kids but my 5-year-old was not scared at all.
There are also a couple smaller rides, along with a huge themed gift shop that you are cleverly dumped into after exiting the rides like in the rest of the worlds in the park. There are a few spots to eat here as well.
Kingdom Far Far Away
The castle in Shrek land
Shrek's house
Keeping the theme going
Shrek World has a clever and entertaining 4D show that, believe me, will get you jumping in your chair. A great replica castle as well as Shrek's own mud pit round out the atmosphere while the donkey show, junior roller coaster (very short), and Magic Potion Spin ferris wheel will be enjoyed by all kids under 8.
Again, there are a few restaurants including a really nice juice bar, we took our fried chicken and milkshake break here!
Waterworld show set
The Lost World was one of our favorite areas of the park. As you walk through the huge Jurrassic Park gates you feel transported back in time or at least back into a movie set! The best ride of this area, by far, was the Rapids Adventure. A heart-pounding, anticipation-filled water ride, where you really will get very wet!
Have no fear, drying pods are available (one of the strangest things I have seen yet). Grab the ponchos they hand out (in our hurry to ride we neglected this step) and definitley store your stuff in a locker...no cameras on this one! The Canopy Flyer was great too, but may have been the shortest ride we were on all day, that was pretty disappointing.
Rounding out this area is a few restaurants, another smaller kid ride, a rock climbing wall (added fee applies), and the Waterworld show. Definitely go see the Waterworld show!
Ancient Egypt
Right next door is Ancient Egypt. This is the smallest area of the park but offers one of our favorite rides of the day -- Revenge of the Mummy! It is a fast accelerator roller coaster set completely in the dark.
We then went over the to the drive your own car ride, where my 5-year-old was thrilled to give me a tour of the dessert landscape!
Best ride to go on over and over, couldn't believe there was no line at all
Best ride EVER!!
Sci Fi City
The Transformers ride is honestly the best ride I have ever been on. It was exhilerating, life like, and simply amazing! After that our second favorite was the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster. Admittedly, I was too sacred to go on the upside down one but the red track coaster was plenty fast and exciting as it intertwines and takes off with the other one giving the illusion and added worry that the 2 may crash. In this area there was also one more ride, some restaurants, and themed shopping areas.
Last but not least is the New York area of the park. An area dear to our hearts as we grew up just outside NYC, it was fun running from one little detail to the next discussing the attention to detail and how it felt like home. We even chose to eat lunch here at Louis Pizza Parlor, expensive but a huge pizza with real New York flavor!
We also enjoyed the shows in this area, Sesame Street put on 2 different shows and then there is a great street dancing performance that includes the crowd and gets pretty busy with observers.
Overall the day was just amazing, not a bad word could be said, especially with those Express passes! Do yourself a favor and if you are ever in Singapore spend a day at Universal Studios in Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa Island. With so much to see and do it's the perfect spot for everyone !
Tips
If you have any kids under 6, or that just hate to walk, rent a stroller rather then bring one. They were huge, inexpensive and carried all our stuff. They even had 2 cup holders. Wheelchairs are also available for rent.
Buy the Universal Express pass. While we were there the lines were not too bad but there is a lot to see and do and in 1 day. I don't think we would have gotten to it all. Not to mention the fact that waiting in a line, in the heat, with the kids who are so excited to just get on the ride OR so scared they are ready to back out any minute...can be miserable!
Passes were 30 SD each and entitle you to cut the entire line for each ride 1 time. Expensive but if you can swing it, they are worth it!
Don't skip out on the shows throughout the park, they are really entertaining.
Be sure to get your hand stamped if you are leaving for a bit and want to return. We forgot and they almost didn't let us back in EVEN with our tickets.
Smoking areas are provided around the park (just look on your map). They take it pretty seriously here in Singapore so best to stick to the designated areas.
Reasonably priced water and snack areas are everywhere around the park.
Throughout the park there are character meet and greets. If you see one jump up to them fast, the lines get long and they only stay out for a little while.
Some rides are height restricted. Our smallish 5-year-old could go on everything except the large roller coasters and the Mummy ride. Check online to avoid any disappointment.
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