Universal Studios Singapore

My next trip was to Singapore. I had a week off, so I decided to backpack around Singapore. There were a lot of places which I visited there. Therefore, I am going to kick it off by blogging about Universal Studios Singapore (USS) first. Opened in 2010, Universal Studios Singapore consists of 24 movie-themed rides, of which 18 which are specially adapted for the park. The park consists of 7 themed zones :- Far Far Away, Madagascar, Hollywood, New York, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt and The Lost World. Each of these zones is based on blockbuster hits, featuring character appearances, shopping and dining areas.

Entrance of the Universal Studios Singapore

Universal Studios Singapore is easily accessible by public transportation. Just take the MRT to the Harbour Front Station at VivoCity via the North-East line (purple line). Upon arriving there, follow the signboards leading to the Sentosa Express which is at the 3rd floor of VivoCity. Get down on the Waterfront Station - first station of the train. Tickets cost S$4 per pax. You could also walk there from VivoCity which should take around 15 minutes. I got geared up and met up with a friend of mine, Suu at the Harbour Front station. Keep in mind though, the MRT can get really packed in the morning as most people here use public transportation to work. Once we finally arrived at VivoCity, we caught  the train and got off the first station. The place was still empty when we arrived there.

Standing in between one of the fountains

The USS opens daily from 10am till 7pm. Entrance fees are S$74 for adults, S$54 for children, and S$58 for senior citizens (65 years old and above). We started off with the Hollywood themed zone initially as it is the main entrance of the park. One of its main attractions would be Monster Rock where Universal Classic Monsters would be dancing and singing Rock-N-Roll tunes. Don't miss the chance also, to catch the street entertainment such as, Mel's Dinettes, Daddy O's and the Cruisers.

Hollywood downtown

Trying on the galea

Suu trying on the pirate hat

I had a go at Frankenstein !

Entrance to Monster Rock

Monster Rock characters

Dancing and singing to Rock-N-Roll songs

Checking out the police car

The Cruisers performing

Posing with Mel's Dinettes

Moving on, we reached to the New York themed zone which is based on New York City, during the era of post modernisation. Various icons portrayed in movies including neon lights, city skyline and sidewalks can be seen here. The replica of the New York Library can also be seen here. I even managed to catch my childhood idol, Elmo performing together with the rest of the Sesame Street gang there. Lights, Camera, Action! which is hosted by Steven Speilberg is the main attraction in this zone. In this show, the audience is enlightened on how movies are created and the special effects used to make them realistic.

Found a Cookie Monster store !

Big Bird's gift shop

Sesame Street gang performing

Suu impersonating Marilyn Monroe 

Lights, Camera, Action !

Special effects used in making movies

Next, was the Sci-Fi City. Being imagined as a metropolis of the future, Sci-Fi city is home to the world's tallest pair of duelling roller coasters; Battlestar Galactica Cyclon and Human which are based on the hit television series, Battlestar Galactica. Unfortunataly for me, these two rides were closed for maintainance that day. It was pretty dissapointing though, as I really wanted to try the ride. Since it was closed, we then headed to the Transformers ride which is also one of the most popular ride in the park. The ride uses 4-D effects such as hot air, water spray, wind, fog and so on to make the ride more realistic. The wait for the ride was really long. We had to wait for an hour in line just to go for the ride. It was worth the wait though, as the ride was fun and interesting.

Sci-Fi city here I come !

The highly anticipated Transformers ride

One of the showcase in the ride

Posing next to Bumblebee

Visionaries of Universal Studios

Suu and I standing next to Optimus Prime

The two Battlestar Galactica rides behind me 

Ancient Egypt was where we were headed to next. Based on Ancient Egypt during the 1930s era, the park features pyramids and Pharaoh's tomb which were part of the discovery in the Golden Age of Egyptian Exploration. The main attractions here would be Revenge of The Mummy which is decipted in the blockbuster film, The Mummy.

Immitating one of the stautes

Character casts from The Mummy

We then walked to The Lost World which is similar to most Universal Studios parks around the world. It is divided into two parts, Jurassic Park and Waterworld. The theme Jurassic Park, is taken from the popular film franchise by Steven Spielberg and features water rides. The Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure got me soaked all over. While waiting in line for the ride, most people can be seen wearing raincoats. I didn't think I would get that wet and didn't see the point of using raincoats as it just takes all the fun away. After the water ride, we then head over to watch the WaterWorld  peformance which is also based on a film. The live show performance was held in a stadium whereby death-defying stunts packed with explosions and thrills can be seen here. You are in for a suprise at the end of the show, as it ends with a bang!

Entrance to Jurassic Park

Just look at how huge it is !

Suu posing with the dinasaurs

WaterWorld

Characters battling it out 

Death-defying stunts

One of the characters being hanged upside down

Awesome way to end a show

It was late in the afternoon once, we were done with The Lost World. After changing into some dry clothes we went to grab lunch. On our way there, we ran into a parade whereby all the characters from the whole park paraded around the park. It was interesting watching them march and dance their way in front of us.

Characters from Madagascar parading along USS

Shrek !

Look what he caught !

We then grabbed Garrett's popcorn, reputabaly the best popcorn in the world. Prices start from S$4 for a plain or buttery popcorn. The bestselling flavors are their signature CaramelCrisp and The Chicago Mix, which is a combination of CaramelCrisp and CheeseCorn. I had a mix of the CheeseCorn and the CaramelCrisp, and after I had my first bite, I was amazed at how the popcorns tasted. These popcorns are unlike any other popcorns, they were more fluffy and they tasted really good. There was a really long queue too, as the customers had to line up till outside the shop.

Best popcorn in the world !

One of the many popcorn flavours

Next, we went to Far Far Away, which was inspired by the hit blockbuster, Shrek. Special apperances by, Shrek, Donkey, Puss In Boots and Princess Fiona can be seen here. One of the main highlights here is the 40-metre tall Far Far Away Castle, which is really huge.

Suu in front of Far Far Away Castle

All smiles here from Suu

What a huge castle !

3 little pigs

The 3 little pigs and Pinicchio

Last but not least was the Madagascar themed zone. It is based on the movie Madagascar which features 4 zoo animals, Alex, Gloria, Marty and Melman whom escape from the Central Park Zoo and ended up in the island of Madagascar. This was one of my favourite zone and it gets even better as I got the opportunity to take a photo with Alex the Lion as he was my favourite character from the movie.

The Madagascar water ride

Say cheeese !

Posing with Alex the Lion

Moving the groove with King Julian

Ready for action !

To sum it up, I had a really great time here. Enjoyed myself here and I am really looking forward to coming back here soon. I was dead tired at the end of the day, but it was totally worth it. Universal Studios Singapore is a definitely a must-go if you ask me.

Enjoyed myself