The most anticipated part in our Singapore family trip had come. We are going to Universal Studios! Yeeehh! Everyone was so excited. And just like yesterday (our second day), we all awoke early so we can reach this famous Singapore’s tourist attraction before the gates open. We want to enjoy fully our one-day amazing getaway.

 

Universal Studios is a theme park located in Resorts World Sentosa in Sentosa Island. There are lots of attractions in Sentosa and one day is not enough to explore the whole island. We primarily chose Universal Studios because, by heart, we are all kids. Haha!

In getting there

From Bukit Panjang we rode the MRT going to HarbourFront Station (an interchange line of the North-East Line and Circle Line) and went ahead to the third floor of Vivo City Shopping Mall.

From there, there are two options in getting to Universal Studios. If you want to see a scenic route going to Sentosa, take a walk starting from the boardwalk of Vivo City (free entry daily until December 31, 2016). Or you may ride the Sentosa Express, the light rail system operating from 7 am to 12 mn (SG$4). We took the latter.

My brother paid for the tickets (this was his treat, thanks Bro!) for USS and Sentosa Express. We grabbed maps and off we rode the Sentosa Express. In five minutes we were so elated setting foot at Universal Studios. We hastily went to the iconic rotating globe and had our moments of memories.

My brother left us because he will spend the day with his family in Adventure Cove Waterpark, which is also in Sentosa.

The rides and attractions in Seven zones:

There are seven theme zones inside Universal Studios. The Hollywood, New York, Sci-Fi City, Madagascar, Ancient Egypt, Far Far Away, and The Lost World.

As we walked inside the main entrance, we were greeted by the replica of the Hollywood Boulevard with special appearances of some famous Hollywood Stars. We saw Van Diesel flocked by people so we had no time to have a photo with him.

There were several restaurants inside but quite expensive. There’s no ride to enjoy in this zone but we were delighted to see the glamorous boulevard with a translucent roof dotted with palm trees. An added attraction here is the replica of the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.

We strolled and were impressed by the glittering design of America’s grandest city in New York. The Hunstman: Winter’s War was a movie to watch in the cinema. But we have no time for movie watching because we are all after the rides, with Transformers The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle as our top priority.

Our first ride was in Sesame Street Spaghetti Chase. This dark ride brought me and my hubby back to our childhood days as we frolicked the space mission and saw our favorite Sesame Street characters like Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Abby Cadabby to name a few. Our little girl enjoyed the ride.

There was a souvenir shop adjoining the exit. For the fans of Sesame Street, this is the best time to buy souvenir goodies of your favorite characters.

We passed into a replica of the famous New York Public Library with statues of two lions at the entrance.

Moving forward is the Sci-fi City, a vibrant zone where you could feel you are walking in the future. And so, the Transformers fans were so excited as we entered the NEST headquarters of the Transformers The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle. This is the most anticipated ride in USS thus, it had the longest queue.

This is also a dark ride with giant screens, photo-realistic 3D video imagery, and additional 4-D effects like bubbles, water spray, a sudden gush of wind, and a balloon. The ride was so amazing and so unbelievable that you would really feel you are in the Transformers battle, being jolted up, down, swayed from left to right.

Together with Optimus Prime and the Autobots, we were the freedom fighters in a 3D battle joint together to fight the evil forces of the Decepticons! Wow! Cool! We love it so much! Even my mother, whose age is sixty-six, enjoyed it too! Though it took us an hour before we take off, the experience was so great!

Don’t ever leave Universal Studios without trying this ride. A souvenir shop is located beside the exit. I bought two key chains, one is Optimus Prime and the other is Bumblebee.

Get ready to ride the world’s tallest pair of roller coasters in the Ballestar Galactica: Human vs. Cylon. This is one of the main attractions of Universal Studio and is designed for the bravest and adventurous people.

Pao was so insistent to ride, but no one among us dares. If only his cousins are here, surely, they will frolic in this extreme ride. But those kids were having fun in the Adventure Cove Waterpark right now.

Another children’s ride is the Accelerator. We had fun as we were being spun in a revolving circular path. We did this twice! Hehehe.

Madagascar - from the movie Madagascar (our favorite), we met the zoo animals, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the hippo, and Melman the giraffe as we enjoyed the boat ride in Madagascar: A Crate Adventure. We were elated hearing the lively music especially the song “I Love to Move it!”. The ride was highly recommended for families and kids.

A souvenir shop, the Penguin Mercantile is located at the exit of Madagascar: A Crate Adventure that sells t-shirts, hats, key chains, assorted stuffed toys inspired by the characters of Madagascar. There are also on-ride photos of visitors who rode in this attraction.

Another ride was King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round a merry-go-round that is decorated with all the characters of Madagascar.

It was almost 1:00 pm and we were all famished. As instructed by my brother, we will meet him outside the Adventure Cove Waterpark for our lunch. We were stamped by the staff with invisible ink on our wrists, which means we can go in and out of the park anytime we want.

There were tables and chairs outside the Adventure Cove Waterpark. We had a picnic under a big umbrella. It was flickering hot so after our lunch, we went back to the park and went inside the S.E.A Aquarium and watched a mini show.

The show had ended and because it is still hot, we now headed to Starbucks Coffee to buy cold treats.

The ride must go on!

It’s time now to go back in time. As we were approaching Ancient Egypt, we were able to take pictures with the characters like Alien and Egyptian images like Cleopatra, the Scorpio King, and an Anubian army. Pretty exciting!

Ancient Egypt reminded me of the movie “The Mummy”. With the obelisk, pyramid, statues of Anubian armies, the artifacts, and pharaohs, you would really feel you are in ancient Egypt. The architecture behind this zone was so realistic and amazing!

My hubby, my Mama, and Shen declined to ride The Revenge of the Mummy. It was only me and Pao who braved this ride. When our seats were buckled, the vehicle moved slowly backward. Pao warned me to get ready. And the next big thing, we plunged down so fast in a very dark corner of that complex!  Waaaaahhhhh!!!!

I felt my soul was left hanging in the air. I shouted with all my lungs out and shut off my eyes so hard! While Pao was laughing all the more. Silly Kid. I thought I would be dead at any minute. I did not see anything. I only heard eerie voices. When the ride had ended, we were laughing out loud. It scared me to death, but we had a great time!

For another family fun ride, we headed to the Treasure Hunter. This is a ride in a desert jeep exploring an abandoned Egyptian excavation site.

Again, we were going back in time in the Lost World. It was divided into theme parks, Jurassic Park and Water World.

You will get wet at Jurrasic Park Rapids Adventure as you ride a river raft adventure through primitive dinosaur time. We skipped this ride because we have no extra clothes. Water World is under maintenance.

Another family ride is the Canopy Flyer.  This four-seater roller coaster scared me a bit as we glided above the tree-tops of Jurassic Park because our feet were suspended in the air. Anyway, it was a fast ride and we enjoyed it.

We moved on to our last. We’ve been into rides (extreme and the light ones) now we are going to the magic world of fairy-tales in Far Far Away. We watched a film series, Shrek 4-D Adventure where Shrek, Fiona, the Donkey, Pinocchio, Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming, and Puss in Boots were all seen together.

We were entertained by the show because it was so funny and there were added physical effects like stomping seats, water sprays, and bubbles that made the show more enjoyable to watch. My mom and our little girl were laughing out loud. We all had a great time!

We were having a second thought about whether to ride the Puss in Boots’ Giant Journey because we were told it was again another suspended roller coaster. We should or should not? Well, we did not. Anyway, we will try this next time.

Our final walk

It’s getting dark as we were heading back to Hollywood Boulevard. I was so thankful that we had this opportunity to explore Asia’s number one theme park. Thanks to my generous brother for including Universal Studios in his family treat.

Notes:

• The best time to visit USS is during weekdays to avoid long queues. Skip the holidays or school break.
• I suggest, dedicate one whole day to USS and make it early so you can ride all your desired rides and attractions.
• Wear a comfortable dress and shoes because it is hot roaming around.
• You can leave and reenter the park just be sure to have a hand/wrist stamp at the exit.
• Bring only the necessary things in your bags.
• Food and drinks are not allowed inside USS.

Opening Hours: Sunday to Friday – 10am to 7pm / Saturday: 10am to 8pm

Ticket rates: Adult – SG$74  / Child – SG$56 / Senior Citizen – SG$36 (applies to Singapore, just bring valid ID)

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