bring lots of money

I went USS this monday 15/03/2010 before the soft launch. Compare the place Hong kong disneyland is bigger than USS. I can say a bit cramp. Not much place for future new attraction.

I bought a t-shirt as a souvenior. Price range around S$23.90 and above. While for the kids is from S$16.90 and above.

Yesterday was a weekday, and there's light crowd traffic on these days. Expect Resort World to tweak the schedules with more shows and longer opening time later to compensate for this.

I'd venture a guess, that Universal Studios Singapore is more worth it than Disneyland HK. Disneyland HK is NOT a true representation of what a real Disney theme park should be, because of its heavily biased ride/attraction preferences to family-friendly type. To me, Disneyland HK is a waste of time. The real Disney experience in Asia is still Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Personally, I'm biased towards Tokyo DisneySea, the rides and attractions there are one-of-a-kind. All other Disney parks has the castle as its central hub, Tokyo DisneySea has a fully-working volcano that erupts with a kick-ass ride (Journey to the Center of the Earth) built into the volcano! I was there before this USS trip, and the waiting time for the "Journey" ride is 4 hours long!


*checks calendar* It's a week day, so the crowd is gonna be light. 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 locker, 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!

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 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!

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Mar 20 2010, 07:43 PM

I did capture the show on FullHD on my GH1, but the show is serious 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 me when I walked past.

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Added on March 21, 2010, 10:03 am

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 migling 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 lockers offering you their help to establish a locker 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 ), 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.

There you go, my impressions. Thanks for reading, and I'll be adding additional infos and tips I can find from other sources like ThemeParkInsider and other theme-park related sites I've subscribed to, to help you guys decide and make your days in USS a good one.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Mar 21 2010, 10:03 AM

yo dude
very informative
and thanks for all the pictures n videos
it certainly looks amazing in my opinion
but can u give me a break down of ur cost for ur 3d2n trip?
plan to take my wife there nxt month if possible or in may
judging by ur photos - is worth a try especially
estimation of cost for hotel , food, theme park, what plane u took there? n package and all...
thx dude

It all depends on several things, like where you plan to stay, your mode of transport, the number of days you're planning to visit the park.



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.



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.

Also, if anyone finds out more on other cost-saving solutions for accommodations, travel, or discounts on the park entry fees itself, feel free to post them here. Once we have enough information, I will compile them into the front page on the first post for easier reference.

Posting this from Terminal 2 Changi. Boarding my flight in 50 minutes.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Mar 21 2010, 01:42 PM

thanks so much for the very informative details
v much appreciated

will contact u to ask more q if its ok wiv u when the time comes
hav a safe flight bro
n thanks yet again

Anytime you need info, just holler, PM or post here. There may be cheaper alternatives, so keep looking!

I'm gonna analyse the pros and cons of purchasing their Annual Pass later. Their blackout dates for the Fun Pass covers a lot of weekends for a price they're asking.

you may want to stay at TUNE HOTEL DANGA BAY in Johor , they have daily shuttle transfers to Resorts World & Universal Studios (Integrated Resorts) in Singapore (45 mins one way).

This post has been edited by rayfoo: Mar 21 2010, 07:11 PM

Checked them out. They're opening in May 15th 2010. I just hope they cover the shuttle transfers early enough and late enough to cover for the early opening hours, and late enough to allow exploring Festive Walk once they are fully operational.

Good find! They should be cheap too, as cheap as RM9.99 IIANM as per the ad ?

7 zones of the universal studios singapore


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Just to add, the flight fares on Jetstar and Tiger Airways are typically a lot cheaper than MAS (sorry string) or Air Asia. I could still get the cheap fare on Jetstar by just booking one week earlier, no such luck on AK or MH.

Total return trip per person on Jetstar/Tiger is typically RM140-150 if discounted which includes taxes.

Total ticket price for Aeroline bus which drops you right at Harborfront just one elevator away from Sentosa Express is RM180. The bus takes around 5 hours total but it's far more convenient for me since the bus terminal is so close to my house.

There you go! More savings on airline rates. I have to correct myself, the complimentary free shuttle to Universal Studios Singapore (just get down at Hotel Festive and walk thru Festive Walk to USS) does stop at the budget terminal. So everyone's covered on all side.

Ditto on the MH fares and the Aeroline. I've no answer on why MAS price their tickets that way. For short hauls like KUL-SIN I wouldn't even bother about being served.

Unfortunately hotel rates on Resorts World sentosa is still far too expensive. They're charging something like S$500-600 per weekend night for a room at the Festive Hotel. That's frakking Mandarin Oriental or Ritz Carlton junior suite rates. Or you can stay at a 5-star hotel and have a taxi bring you around to the resort several times a day and still not reach those rates.

Or I could go for a dream car tour and still have money left over...


This post has been edited by tishaban: Mar 21 2010, 09:14 PM

i'm worried of the water ride at the jurassic lost world.. guaranteed to get wet? well ur definition of 'fun' maybe is to get wet.. but i think majority won't want to get wet, if want then we go sunway lagoon or some kind of water park.. and as u said don't want to wear soggy clothes walking around the park

yes i can bring extra clothes there, but who the heck knows if someone didn't mentioned about it? luckily u mentioned stringfellow, just save my life well guess have to skip that ride

Stop seducing me with that car tour! Machu Picchu first.

I agree on the Festive Hotel rate. The Singaporeans wouldn't feel it as much as we ate because of the exchange rate. Other Sentosa-based hotel that are non-USS affiliated have their rates approaching the Hard Rock Hotel, so I might as well stay on Hard Rock itself.

Next trip I'm gonna test the "stay outside Sentosa" theory to see if it is viable or not. It is still okay now since USS lack nighttime shows or fireworks that push the closing time later, else you may be pushed to either stay closer to USS(more expensive hotels) or provide your own transport around. After a hard day enjoying the park, I don't see the idea of driving tired at late at night a proposition I'd like to look forward to.

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Added on March 21, 2010, 9:29 pmYup, I abhor walking around in soggy clothes, even if it us in the name of fun.

But I urge you trying it at least once, and with a poncho to minimise the splash "damage" . At least you can claim to friends back home that you've tried it. The equivalent level of wetness I got into was during the Popeye Bilge-Rat Barge ride on similar configured circular raft in Universal Studios Orlando, but the weather there helps dry you and your clothes fast without making you feel miserable walking in soggy clothes for too long.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Mar 21 2010, 09:29 PM

Actually you dry off quickly and obviously cool down while doing so. Wear sports sandals not shoes but I've done it with sneakers + socks as well. Personally I feel that this is the best way to cool down while in a theme park on a hot day.