From The Straits Times    |

I’m just going to come right out and say it – I’m a coward. I’m useless at amusement rides – even kiddy ones. No joke, when I took the small Ferris wheel at Escape theme park, I almost burst into tears.

So when I got this assignment, I thought: “How am I going to survive? This is the grand-daddy, the be-all-and-end-all of amusement parks in Singapore.”

But in the interest of being at the forefront of the news, this very-scared writer was there bright and early today morning at 9 am for the media preview of Universal Studios.

There’s no confusing maze to figure out here, just a huge round-about that’s divided into 7 sections:

1) Far Far Away: It’s literally the land of Shrek and Fiona (whom I bumped into along the way), with a giant fairytale castle, Fairy Godmother’s Juice Bar, Friar’s restaurant and more. I also took a ‘junior’ (read: for children) rollercoaster ride called Enchanted Airways that still scared me nonetheless.

2) The Lost World: You’ll find the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure river raft ride (you’ll get to see where T-Rex and his mates live) and WaterWorld show, complete with explosions and stunts.

3) Ancient Egypt: The star attraction here is Revenge of the Mummy, an indoor rollercoaster ride that’s set in total darkness  – I’m secretly glad that the ride wasn’t in operation today because that sentence alone scared me – ‘rollercoaster’ and ‘total darkness’?  

4) Sci-Fi City: Took the Accelarator ride 3 times (It’s the sci-fi version of your round-about tea-cup ride and yes, 3 times! Check out our video!). I didn’t manage to sit on the really big rollercoaster rides though – it was a tough choice between Battlestar Galactica Cylon and Battlestar Galactica Human – what’s the difference? The Cylon is a suspended coaster, meaning you’re literally in mid-air as you go through the terrifying course, while the Human is a seated one – tamer compared to being suspended in mid-air but the screams from the people on both the rides tell me that neither one is less scarier than the other. In the end, I chose my sanity – but needless to say, this is something you have to do when you’re here.

5) New York: My favourite! I really felt like I was walking through the tough, mean streets of New York City – all the shopfronts looked amazingly lifelike.

6) Hollywood: This is the zone you first see as you walk into Universal Studios – don’t be ashamed to let the tourist lurking in you come out because lots of picture taking will ensue as you marvel at the larger-than-life shopfronts (like the Hollywood China Bistro). You could also meet Marilyn Monroe, Betty Boop and Woody Woodpecker along the way.

And if you fancy a vampire, a mummy and a zombie singing the Korean hit ‘Nobody But You’, then you got to watch Monster Rock at the Pantages Hollywood Theater – they made a normal stage come alive with pyrotechnics – pretty cool!

7) Madagascar: If you loved the cartoon, then you’d love it here – especially when the characters (including the penguins!) come out for a dance to ‘I Like To Move It’.

MORE REASONS TO GO:

What I also love is that almost every section had their own themed restaurant (there’s Oasis Spice Cafe in Ancient Egypt, Louis’ NY Pizza Parlor in New York, and I had lunch at Mel’s Drive-In in Hollywood), themed shops (Penguins Mercantile in Madagascar, Galactica PX in Sci-Fi City and Jurassic Outfitters in The Lost World). Plus, all the staff there are dressed according to the theme in each zone – I really got a kick checking out the uniforms they had on.

 

As for amenities, there are restrooms everywhere (themed, of course – it was called Guys and Dolls in the Hollywood zone), along with water-coolers. 

There are also ATMS in the park, while restaurants and shops accept NETS and credit card payment so you don’t have to worry about having enough change.  Prices at the restaurants can be a little steep but the portions at Mel’s Drive-In were huge so it more than makes up for it.

For more information: log on to www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/Attractions/UniversalStudiosSingapore

Have fun and say hi to Shrek and Fiona for me!

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