Universal Studios Singapore is the first movie theme park in the Southeast Asian region. Located within Singapore’s first integrated resort, Resorts World Sentosa, Universal Studios Singapore is one of the Lion City’s major tourist attractions. All of the rides and shows featured at Singapore Universal Studios showcase themes based on blockbuster hits such as Shrek 4-D Adventure, Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure, Revenge of the Mummy and Battlestar Galactica (my favorite!)
Last February 2011, during my special Valentine’s Day trip abroad with my dear Mama, we spent almost an entire day at USS. Actually, Universal Studios Singapore was still on “soft opening” then. It was only “formally” opened last May 28, 2011. My crush, actor Jet Li, as well as singer-dancer and former American Idol judge Paula Abdul were only two of the many celebrities who graced the formal opening.
Before I proceed with this post, however, you might want to read these blog posts to learn more about our 2011 Singapore – Malaysia trip:
How to prepare a do-it-yourself Singapore and Malaysia trip
Singapore Chronicles: Day 1 Cebu to Singapore
List of all Singapore hostels
Pillows And Toast Singapore Reservation / Booking (this is where we stayed)
Where we found the best Hainanese Chicken White Rice in Singapore
My mom and I went to Universal Studios Singapore on our first day in the Lion City. From Pillows and Toast Singapore (where we stayed), we rode the MRT (metro rail transit). We took the North-East line MRT rail system then alighted at HarbourFront Station. Then we proceeded to Vivo City. We went to the 3rd floor. We were still a bit early so we decided to have breakfast at Food Republic first. Thankfully, we found a branch of Toast Box! We had the traditional Singaporean kaya toast breakfast — teh (kopi or coffee), half boiled eggs (with runny egg yolks…yum!) and kaya (or special coconut jam) toast.
After breakfast, we bought Sentosa Express Line tickets (fare was a flat SG $3.00 each) then boarded the monorail train towards Waterfront Station. As soon as we alighted, we just followed the signs and before we knew it, we found these:
Siyempre, picture-picture muna. We had photos taken by the iconic Universal globe and by the 21 meter archway. See those yellow booths? You can buy Universal Studios Singapore tickets there. I bought ours online, though, so all I did was print the e-tickets and present them at the guest entrance. Tickets are sold for SG $72.00 each.
My first impression of Universal Studios Singapore was that it was small…pretty compact. No wonder a lot of people say that you can tour the entire complex and enjoy some rides and watch shows under 5 hours. Still, my mom and I agreed that we’d stay until around 7 pm then sneak out to catch the 8:30 pm Songs of the Sea show at Beach Station, Sentosa (I’ll share more about this on another post).
Anyway, allow me to share some of my Universal Studios Singapore photos:
This is where the Rockafellas (hip hop, New York-style dancers) performs. For fellow Filipinos like myself, it might interest you to know that currently, members of the Rockafellas are members of the Streetboys 🙂
The castle at Far, Far Away a.k.a. Shrek and Fiona’s lair:
Humongous (but fake) tree:
This is at the Madagascar area. This is where we had lunch:
Nomnom time! Entire set costs around SG $12.00:
One of the popular attractions at Universal Studios Singapore — Waterworld! See how amazing the entire set is!
And of course — the highlight of my day — Battlestar Galactica! 😀 I survived the Cylon Raider (the blue track) — a suspended roller coaster that features vertical loops, corkscrews and cobra rolls! Actually, even before we went to Singapore, I found out that the Battlestar Galactica wasn’t functional yet. However, lo and behold, it was on a “trial run” the very day we went! How lucky, huh? 😉 I must tell you, though, my knees were shaking and I ALMOST backed out (haha). Good thing I didn’t! The ride was freakin’ scary but it was one thrill of a lifetime!
Other popular attractions at the Universal Studios Singapore include The Mummy roller coaster a.k.a. the world’s first psychological thrill ride, Shrek 4-D adventure (where you’re asked to wear an “Ogrevision”…the kids will love this!) and another favorite — Lights, Camera, Action (by Steven Spielberg).
This is where you line up for the Lights, Camera, Action attraction:
Say hello to my Mom:
As you can see, there are quite a number of things you can do in Universal Studios Singapore. In my next post, I’ll share more photos and kuwentos.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to leave them below at the comments section and I’ll help as much as I can 🙂 Or if you’ve been to USS, please feel free to share tips below as well.
Cheers!
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Mindanaoan is a multi-awarded blogger, content creator, seasoned social media strategist and publicist with undeniably successful track record. 2012 International Visitor Leadership Program (for global leaders) alumnus and O visa grantee (for people with extraordinary skills and who have risen to the top of their field). Avid traveler and a proud relief operations volunteer. Regular resource person for social media, blogging and content creation. Available for work and travel – [email protected]
