singapore 2010 : part 1:Universal Studio

Hi! I disappeared for a while. I was in Singapore with family. UNIVERSAL STUDIO !!!!!!!!! mana lagi..! newest attraction. Lamanya sudah kami tidak berjalan-jalan. 2 tahun. Excited, excited,excited.

It was a short trip, (not being school holiday) but we made the most of it. We enjoyed it. I have so much to share with you. My stories may take 3 posts in all. Bear with me.

And part 1 is about Universal Studio. Sooo much FUN. Must see. Must go.

Must also purchase tickets months beforehand. See sold out. Sila lah beli online. Jangan sudah sampai baru mau beli ya. Especially if you're going in peak season. We went Saturday. The place is packed. It's not school holidays . Maybe because the Great Singapore Sale still ongoing so many tourists on their last days.

These are the exteriors before the ticket barriers :-

Once you pass the entrance, you can claim vouchers inside Guests Services. What vouchers? Each ticket entitles to a meal voucher (MV) $5 and a shopping voucher (RV) $5. You can use them for food and souveneirs inside the park.

(I am going to be detail here, okay, for the benefit of those who are planning to come here soon).

So, you got your map. You start with a narrow lane, Hollywood-themed site. There are 7 themes in the park. Each has its own adventures, restaurants and merchandise shops.

But Hollywood is mainly about merchandises and colorful cafes only.

Our first pic inside. Still fresh-faced and not 'warm' yet.

After Hollywood, you'll see the whole park forming a big circle. Start from the left.

First park - MADAGASCAR.

There are 2 rides here but only one open-the carousel. The other - Crate Adventure not in operation yet.

Sign says coming soon. Instead they offer professional photo taking at the landmark.

Like this. Pay $12.

The Madagascar ship.

Kids will love the carousel. Named King Julien's Beach Party Go-Round.

Very colorful.very fiesta-like.

great for warm ups.

you got to move it, move it..

Casa Del Wild. The restaurant. Thai food. This has halal mark in the map.
There's another eatery, Gloria's Snack Shack, selling Japanese food (non-halal). The merchandise outlet is Penguin's Mercantile.

part of Madagascar landscape.

Second site FAR FAR AWAY. This is Shrek-themed park.

Far Far Away is popular. Everywhere there's queue. There is so much to play. The shop is cool, the cafe nice.

Here, we are q-ing for the roller coaster, called Enchanted Airways.

If you're not game for this, go straight to 4D show. Its great fun. The q is long and there'll be more waiting inside before the theatre opens but its worth it. Super exciting. Feel the seat shakes, feel water spray in your face, feel spiders on your feet, etc..etc.there..I'm spoiling the surprise for you..But really, don't miss it. Be reminded though, you're not allowed lap seating in the theatre. If you're bringing in babies, they need to sit on their own. If you think they don't like being sprayed or to be bounced in their seats, best not to risk the show. Or your hours waiting in the line will be wasted when they scream their heads off.

And then, there's Donkey Live. Its not a LIVE show ofcourse but made to feel like one with convincing exchanges between Donkey in the screen and people in the audience.

The lady MC opening the show.

Last attraction in FFA, the Magic Potion Spin. This is just a ferris wheel, small one, for little kids. Its located inside the merchandise shop. Hardly any q. We love the shop. All the stuffs are cute and funny.

And the eateries are popular. There are 3, Goldilocks and Friar's for food, mainly burgers/wraps and Fairy Godmother's Juice Bar for drinks. The foods are halal.

interior of Goldilocks.

Next adventure - THE LOST WORLD.

Even more popular than Far Far Away. Favourite among boys and older kids. This park has got the most number of attractions. Plenty to explore here.

This is called Canopy Flyer. You ride in a coaster around a track up 20 feet high, your feet dangling. Get a bird's eye view of the park. And its quite fast too. Enough roller coaster for me. Membari ijap. Human eye view cukup la.

Then there's Dino-soarin. A merry-go-round thing.

Then Amber Rock Climb. We didn't check out this place. Its deep in the back. Tapi, rock climbing. Motif? Behapa kan rock climbing ditengah-tengah park? Orang mau bermain. But it's up to you. If it's your cup of tea, go ahead.

Next to Dino-soarin, there's Jurassic Park Rapid Adventure. Its a river raft ride. But it was under repair when we came. Too bad. Sounded fun.

Ok the last one, Water World. Now, you don't want to miss this. Its a thrilling live show of stunts and explosions. There are 3 shows: 1pm, 3pm and 5pm. So time yourself nicely. I repeat , you don't wanna miss this.

I can't describe it but these are stuntmen showing how they do it in a movie. Amazing. Pro.

Try to come early to get a good seat in the middle row but not too front or you'll get wet. I mean it. Soaking wet. Back up a little.

For refreshments, there's Discovery Food Court (local dishes) and Fossil Fuels (drinks). For merchandise, go to Dino-Store and Jurassic Outfitters.

The fourth theme - ANCIENT EGYPT.

This is the most fascinating park of all.

picturesque,

, and awesome, don't you think?

Although, attraction wise, there's not much to do here. There are only 2 rides - Revenge of the Mummy (it's an indoor roller coaster) and Treasure Hunters. My advice - forget Treasure Hunters. Boring. It's a buggy ride through an Egyptian looking site. But its too short a ride and nothing that spectacular.

These are what you can see along the ride :-

Nothing is real. They are all stones. Actually it won't be so crap if we didn't have to endure the ridiculous waiting q.

It's too slow moving. More than 40 min.

The restaurant, Oasis Spice Cafe is a favourite for muslims. Middle eastern buffetaria.

Jam 3 petang sudah ni, kelaparan..

The shop is nice too. Carter's Curiosities. Made to look like a cave. We didn't get pics. Kelaparan tu kali.

On to the next site - SCI FI CITY.

This is coming to the end of the loop. This site didn't look fully developed. There are 3 attractions, 2 of which are roller coasters, one in blue track, the other in red, and the other is bumper car ride. But the roller coasters were not opened. Whether not yet operating or not in service then, I'm not sure.

So that's left the bumper car. It's called Accelerator. It's not your normal bumper car. It's automatically controlled, you don't steer it. It twirls while zig zagging across in a fast jerking motion , missing colliding with others by inches. Fun but we wish it was longer. Each car can seat about 5 people.

There is no restaurant in this park, just a souvenier shop - Galactica. Not promising.

The last site - NEW YORK.

You must go to Lights,Camera,Action! . Its a sound stage and special effects show. See how they stage the set for hurricane action. Not allowed photography. But its awesome. Simply awesome. You shouldn't miss it.

See also Stage 28. Another about film production.

The rests - sightseeing and photo taking.

It won't be NY without the yellow cab.

There are 2 restaurants in NY site, Loui's NY Pizza Parlour and KT's Grill. None of them halal.

And that's a wrap. Or do I need to tell you how to get there? It's in Resort World, Sentosa. Any public transport will carry you there. We took a cab from the city (orchard road) in the morning. It took us 20 min and $9. But coming back , we were charged $15.60. Maybe Saturday night, traffic jam (we left at 7.30 pm).

Ok, until the next tale.

Nite nite.