On my recent trip to Singapore, I had planned in advance to take a visit to the Universal Studios Singapore theme park. One of the reasons behind my visit to this place was to check out the similarities and the differences between the Orlando and worldwide Universal parks.
First, some information about the location: Singapore was a city, which was previously established by the British to assist world trade. Now, Singapore has become an independent country but one will still find British influence in this region. Almost every citizen of this country can speak fluent English.
As the country is located near the equator, the climate over here is hot and humid throughout the year. Being a trade centre, Singapore has a wide cultural mix, as travelers from China, India, Thailand and Malaysia add variety to the city.
The island of Sentosa falls within the country of Singapore. This island is located at a distance of about 300 yards off the shore of the city at the entrance of the harbor. Earlier, Sentosa was the location of the fort which protected Singapore. Now, the place has been developed into “Asia’s ultimate destination”, Resorts World Sentosa. This island holds hotels, a casino, an aquarium, a butterfly atrium, the old fort, Universal Studios Singapore, and an entertainment area similar to CityWalk that includes the Hard Rock Singapore. To me, the place seemed like a cross between Universal Orlando and Las Vegas.
The island has been developed by the Resorts World Sentosa organization. I believe Universal and Resorts World have a licensing agreement.
There are several options available to get to Sentosa from the city. The easiest one is getting a taxi. It will cost around S$20 to 30, which depends on traffic and the distance travelled. Another option is via the city’s subway or the “MRT”. As for me, I wanted to absorb some local flavor, so I chose the subway for S$2. The stoppage for Sentosa is at a shopping mall called “Vivo City”. From there, one can choose for a cable car over the water, or a monorail. I chose the monorail for S$4, which also provided me unlimited tour around Sentosa.
On the day I visited the park, the visiting hours were from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. I got there by 9:00 to buy tickets. The entry cost me S$74.
Then I got into the queue, waiting for my entry.
As I entered, I found out that the first park section is Hollywood. The section is very much similar to Orlando, with a Universal Studio Store and photo shop. The thing that differentiated this section from the one in Orlando was a canopy over the street. As the region experiences frequent rain, the canopy makes the park into a more inviting one. It also provides business for street vendors, like face painters, to set up their shops without worrying about the weather.
At the end of the Hollywood section is Mel’s Diner. This one is too similar to Orlando’s and is only a bit larger. It includes a stage where Mel’s Dinetts and the Daddy O’s perform music from the 50s. The performance was enjoyable and had a lot of vigor.
The next section that I visited was New York, which too turned out to be covered with canopy.
This part is very similar to Orlando’s 5th Avenue, including a Loui’s pizza and a Finnigan’s-style bar and grill called KT’s. Loui’s services the Sesame Street Character Breakfast but is smaller than Orlando’s. KT’s is a two-story restaurant and bar and is also the most genuine dining place I came across at Universal Studios Singapore. The atmosphere is great at KT’s, just like Finnegan’s, and I spent some time over here chatting with a hospitable bartender. The second floor of KT’s offers viewing area for the fireworks show over Lake Hollywood.
New York included a Rockefeller Center area, where the Rockafellas performed their acrobatic routine. The Rockefeller Center emitted a lot of energy, drawing a large number of crowds with all the flexing, tumbling, and exercise.
Then I walked over to the Sci-Fi City section, where you will find the original Transformers.
The entrance has a bumblebee statue, which is about two-thirds the size of Optimus Prime in Orlando. Even though, there are no live-action characters for photo opportunities, they have a second Transformers statue, which is a life-size version of the ride’s vehicle and star, EVAC.
The park also has a largest roller coaster based on Battlestar Galactica. The fact is that it is also the tallest dueling roller coaster in the world. Unfortunately, it was closed on the day of my visit.
My next destination was Ancient Egypt, where Revenge of the Mummy is located.
Singapore’s ride entrance turned out to be quite impressive for me. The queuing and preshow sections are again not identical but closely matched like the one in the Sci-Fi section. The ride also was much similar to Orlando’s. I felt that Singapore had some longer falls than Orlando, but a great ride at both the parks are very enjoyable.
After a ride on The Mummy, I briefly visited Lost World, which is similar to Orlando’s Jurassic Park.
The Pteranodon Flyers ride, called Canopy Flyer in Singapore, seemed to have a higher throughput than at Orlando and an additional point is to go around the track facing backwards.
Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure is similar in style to Orlando’s JP River Adventure, only that the oversize flume vehicles in Orlando is replaced with rafts at this place. But I skipped this place dor my wish to stay dry.
Lost World also has a live stunt show called WaterWorld. While in Orlando, WaterWorld is an attraction in Hollywood.
Next, I visited the section called Far Far Away, based on the Shrek film series.
The external theming at this section is noticeably better than in Orlando, with a real castle.
The air conditioned Shrek 4D ride queue is inside the castle. The preshow story is similar to Orlando. The Shrek 4D movies are also the same between the parks, only that, the seat motion is much stronger in Singapore.
Madagascar is the last section of the park, which is based on that movie series. For me,this section turned out to be the most interesting and exciting part of my visit. A character show started as I arrived in the area.
During the Madagascar movie, the characters end up in crates and sent on a ship, which lands in Madagascar. In Singapore, they have the beached ship, dominating the view and housing the Madagascar: A Crate Adventure boat ride.
The best part of this area is the great detail and theming.
The entire park is surrounded by Lake Hollywood, a lagoon that is smaller than the one at USF where fireworks are organized at night. On the day of my visit, the show was closed.
Other interesting characters that you find at this park are Charlie Chaplin, Kung Fu Panda, Betty Boop and Marilyn Monroe.
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