Madagascar Ride Review Full Post

This is a consolidated post of the series of articles on Madagascar: A Crate Adventure

General Feelings

This much anticipated ride is an excellent case of anticipointment. After delayed opening for more than a year, this ride finally opens, but with a mediocre ride experience. The scenes are cute, and well constructed, albeit with rather simple animatronics and a lack of excitement. It serves well as a kiddie ride, much along the lines of Small World, and is definitely not an E-ticket.

Facade


Entrance to the Madagascar ride is located in the Madagascar zone. The pathway leading to the ride is part of the main thoroughfare of the park, and is highly themed with lush vegetation (though fake) right out of the colorful animated forests in the movies. The ride building is covered in a giant facade of the cargo ship from the movies, and dominated the skyline along that side of the park. The entrance 0f the attraction is not directly located at the ship facade, but is instead a distance away, at a small amusement park style entryway with the four characters sculpted on the marquee. The queue is divided into two, one for those with Universal Express, and the other for regular guests.

The queue


The queue is gigantic. It is located outdoors, covered by a vast canopy. The queue consists mainly of switchbacks, nicely themed as bamboo trunks. This area is kept windy by a crazy ventilation system that makes a heck lot of noise. There are cute light fixtures hanging from the canopy that is reminiscent of the lights that Marty had hanging on his party hut in the first movie. There are also television monitors along the queue that plays news loops reporting on the animals' departure from the New York zoo, in an attempt to fill guests who haven't watched the films on the backstroke. On top of all that, the soundtrack from two of the Madagascar films are also blaring.

Loading Dock

The loading dock is manned by cast members dressed in ranger clothing. The system there consists of two loading spots back to back, with the boarding guests on the left and the exit to the right. Loading is not very efficient, and takes quite a while for the guests to get on and off. The cast is generally cheerful, and can be seen to be working their best to compensate for the inefficiency of the system.

The Boat


Guests will step into the boat, which is 5 rows long and sits 3 per row. The two seats at the sides doubles up as steps for the guests to step in. There is a redundant lap bar that the cast members have to lower. The boat is themed as a boxy crate, and is painted with bright colors. The boat is floating on the water, and is entirely driven by the currents, with no tracks, no motors etc. Bumpers in the form of rollers are installed at the two sides to prevent the boat from crashing into the walls of the trough.

The Entry
The boat floats lazily through the trough outdoors before slowly making its way to the entry into the show building. The entry is themed as a cut out opening to the ship. A gush of cool air from the air conditioning welcomes the guest.

Scene 1: Cargo storage
The boats enters a utilitarian-like room in a ship, with bolts and nuts clearly visible on the walls, and nautical lights hanging from the ceiling. This room is reminiscent of the ships from the golden days of sea-faring, like the Unicorn in Tin Tin movie. Cargo crates are stacked along the sides. The voices of Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman emerge from the crates one by one, discussing their situation.

"Hey can you hear me? Its me, its me, Alex!" - Alex "Hey is that you? Talk to me buddy! We're being sent away!" - Marty "What do you mean sent away?" - Gloria

Scene 2: The Bridge
The boats then goes past a illuminated screen with the silhouette of the captain, drinking from his mug. The 3 penguins then emerge and whack the captain unconscious, before taking control of the steering wheel.

Scene 3: The Storm
The boat the goes into another room. A(n animated) porthole offers the guests a view of the choppy seas outside, along with a crate floating on the sea. The room is dimly lit, and to heighten the tension and make the experience more authentic, wind is blown onto the guests and sirens blare.

The boat then floats past two tall stacks of crates. One of the crate stacks suddenly collapses, almost threatening to hit the guests. Effect is achieved by sliding individual crates away from each other. See diagram.
Scene 4: The Beach-up

Scene 4: The Beach-up
After the storm, the boats beached up in the calm sunny beaches of Madagascar. Alex is the first character to be seen, breaking out of his crate. One interesting detail is the "days without steak" carving on his crate. Then it is Melman, with his signature complains about his sickness. Gloria then appears, with starfishes covering her essentials. Finally, Marty appears, lounging in his party hut, apparently getting very comfortable in the new environment. One fun thing to do is to look back, and you will see the other side of the cargo ship, as well as a huge anchor in the sand.

"Alright boys, party's over" - Gloria
"This is frak-a-lacking" - Marty

Scene 5: Penguins
In this scene, the 3 penguins are studying the map of Madagascar.

"This map's written in code"
"We are going into hostile territory"
- Skipper

Scene 6: Danger Ahead
This section takes place in a heavily themed jungle section, with low ambient lighting and fog effects. We start with seeing Melman looking at the "Turn Back!(Before it is too late)" sign. Then Marty appears, with half his butt being swallowed by a carnivorous plant. A fun thing to look out for is a hidden "Kuala Lumpur 354km" sign. Then there are more carnivorous plants along the trough, and the soundtrack here is foreboding.

The next section starts with Alex stuck on a spider web, and Marty trying to help him out. We move on to see more spider webs, with spider animations squeaking "How'do you do?" in incrementally higher pitches. We also go past an animatronics crocodile, and see Gloria swing overhead on a snake.

This is also where the entrance to the maintenance dock for the boats are.

In the next scene, we see the monkeys, and they start flinging poo at you, rather unexpectedly. (The poo is actually water)

"If you have poo, fling it!" - Monkey

Scene 7: Move it Move it

At the entrance to this scene is a pair of giant green leaf-like gates, with projections of the silhouette of small animals dancing. The door then opens up to reveal a party in full swing. The lemurs are dancing to the beat.

Scene 8: Foosa

King Julien informs the "New York Giants" about the foosa attacks, and the gang are determined to fight the foosas. As the boat turns a corner, we see the Mort (the small hamster like creature that got chased by a shark in Madagascar 2) being seasoned by the foosas.



Scene 9: The plan

In this scene, we see King Julien planning the foosa attack in front of a giant model and map of Madagascar island.



"I came up with it! Me! Me!" - King Julien

Scene 10: Preparation

We see King Julien introducing his "Wonderfully camouflaged fighters". Marty is dressed as a trojan horse, Gloria is trying desperately to fit into her overly small outfit.

As the boat take a turn, we see the penguins having their own plan. They are preparing explosives to chase away the foosas.

Scene 11: The showdown

We enter the foosa's volcano through a foosa shaped cave entryway. This is a wonderfully crafted area, with smoke coming out of the mouth, fire in the eyes, and lots of foosa shadows running around the entryway.

This entryway leads into the main room where the gang are fighting the foosas. This takes place in a volcano caldera. Fountains of water are lighted red to mimic boiling lava. Alex is owning the foosas, swing one by the tail, Melman is knocking the Foosas out with his head, and so on.

As we turn the corner, we see the penguins throwing King Julien a bomb. The bomb explodes, and destroys the foosas, leaving a rather smoked King Julien.

At this point, the boat inches nearer to a waterfall that spans the entire boat channel. Just was the "bomb" explodes, the waterfall stops and the boat passes under it.

Scene 12: Celebration

In this scene, we see the animals celebrating their victory over the Foosas. We see a giant "Thank you freaks" banner over the boat channel, we see the animals dancing to the music. There are even bubbles being blown at the boat. We see Marty lounging on his chair, sipping drink out of a coconut, and spitting the drink on the guests.

We also see the plane trying to take flight(a scene from Madagascar 2), with smoke coming out of their propellers. The ride ends here, and the boats come out of the show building, back to the loading/ unloading dock.

The guests are then directed into a gift shop where they can purchase their on-ride photos.

Battlestar Galactica The Coaster

This is a consolidation of the series of articles previously posted on Battlestar Galactica The Ride

Are you a Human or a Cyclone?

Well I meant to say if you like the Human side or the Cylon side of the coaster more. Battlestar Galactica, the tallest dueling coaster is a gem in the world of coasters, despite all the problems that happened in the past year. Manufactured by Vekoma, Battlestar Galactica is a cross between a sit down coaster and a suspended inverted coaster, with cars launching from zero to ninety kilometers per hour, with a top height of 42.5 meters. Based on the hit television series, Battlestar Galactica the ride follows the storyline of the battle between Humans and Cylom, with the riders being recruit fighters embarking on their aerial fighting mission.

General and Safety Information about Battlestar Galactica Human and Cylon

GUEST HEIGHT REQUIREMENT

Guests will need to be at least 125cm tall to ride. 


This ride is an extreme motion ride which includes sudden and dramatic acceleration, ascends, falling and inversions(Cylon).

While there is no age limit or requirement, each child must sit on their own seat (no sitting on parent’s lap or carried by parent) for the entire duration of the ride.

GUESTS WITH MOTION SICKNESS

Do note that guests prone to motion sickness, dizziness, giddiness and so forth should be aware that this is a high speed coaster ride. The movement of the coaster is dynamic, including sudden tilting, spinning and sharp movements.

SKIP THE LONG LINES

There are 2 ways to shorten your waiting time. The easy way (which requires extra payment) is to buy a Universal Express pass, the other is to use the Single Rider line.

UNIVERSAL EXPRESS
 Present your Universal Express pass at the entrance, then at the loading platform.
One-use at this attraction. There is usually no queue at this line, and even if there is, the crew members are supposed to serve Express Passholders first. This is practiced is most situations. Waiting time estimated to be 0 to 10 minutes.

BRINGING ITEMS ONTO THE RIDE

Please note that you will not be allowed to bring on any loose items onto the ride. Free locker service (for approx 30 mins - will adjust depending on queue) is available outside the attraction. Please remember to deposit you items or you will be turned down at the entrance.

OTHER POINTS

Keep your feet and arms inside the coaster at all times when it is in motion.

Do not attempt to take photos or videos during the ride.

Ride Experience Breakdown - Contains Spoilers

The Plaza

Battlestar Galactica coaster starts off in the plaza area of Sci Fi city. The entire length of the coaster goes above the plaza, as well as the lagoon in front of the plaza. This area is a highly vibrant and lively one, where guests just gather and watch the coaster. There are two separate entrances to the two sides of the coaster, and both coaster exits to the gift shop in the center.

Battlestar Galactica: Human

The queue for this ride starts off at the right side of the plaza. The queue meanders through an outdoor section, which is located directly under the track, before going into the indoor queue section. The indoor queue section is meant to mimic the battle facility of the human, with a small hanger containing a replica of a space plane. There are also mock videos for spurring the Humans on playing on the monitors. The queue heads up a level, to the second level loading area. Along the staircase, there are wartime posters detailing how bad the Cylons are. Some interesting items include personal photos that are placed in the "soldier lockers".

The coaster experience is as follows:

The trains come out of the loading bay, and head straight for the LIM launch. The coaster is launched alongside with the Cylon side, hence guests will be able to see other guests on the other car. The coaster then heads for its first drop, with is also the steepest, and this is where the train pulls the maximum G-forces. The G-forces are great enough to cause grey-outs on several riders. (*A grey-out may be experienced by pulling high positive g-forces as when pulling up into a loop or a tight turn forcing blood to the lower extremities of the body and lowering blood pressure in the brain.) The train then heads towards a huge 180 degrees banked turn before heading for a dip and a slight left banked turn. This is followed by a right banked turn over the launch tracks, and a sharp left turn, before heading over a mist pit. The coaster then enters into a upwards spiral section, before heading back to the loading station.

Riders exit and are directed down the stairs into the gift shop, where they will be able to purchase their on-ride photos.

Battlestar Galactica: Cylon

This is a suspended coaster, which means the tracks are above your heads, and that there is no floor beneath your feet. This coaster is much more intense, due to the presence of inversions, but it pulls less G-forces and seems to go at a slower pace between the elements. Riders enter the queue and meander through the outdoor section of the queue. The queue then heads indoors, into the Cylon nerve center. The decor here is much more on the cool palette than the Human side. The atmosphere is much more surreal here. Guests are greeted with a interesting installation where Cylon guards positioned in front of mirrors seem to stretch on for eternity. Other decor in the first level of the queue includes a circular queue chamber with blue lighting effects.

The queue then moves up to the second story. The decor around the stairwell is themed to be like an organic machine, where wires and cables seem to grow and morph out of the walls. This decoration is highly surreal, and really captures the mood for this part of the ride.

The coaster starts off at the launch station and heads for the high speed LIM launch. The coaster is launched alongside with the Human side, hence guests will be able to see other guests on the other car. The coaster then heads straight for a outwards loop. The coaster then heads into a banked right turn and then cobra roll, before heading for another outward loop. This then transitions into a corkscrews roll, before the train returns to the station.

Thoughts

This is a great ride for Universal Studios Singapore; it adds to the mix of attractions. It is nice to see a ride based on an Intellectual Property as famous as Battlestar Galactica premier in Singapore. This is a great ride if considered as a coaster, though it lack theming elements and an immersive story.

Thoughts on Maritime Museum

This museum is probably as dull and as bland as the review of it, with a general lack of content, lots of cheap displays, lack of depth, and a narrow focus.

The coverage of the galleries is limited, showcasing only Cheng Ho and the Arabian Dwoh. The collection is also small, with a few salvaged pieces of the shipwrecked Dowh, while the rest of the collection is being thrown back and forth between the Smithsonian and the academics. Perhaps it should be renamed the Cheng Ho and Jewel of Muscat museum?

The preshow is decently uninteresting, with limited CGI, and some nice animatronics. Furthermore, the entire preshow is in Chinese. It is also just a show about Cheng Ho, and not about maritime in general. The CGI there looks uncomfortably old and stiff, with rough renderings and unnatural colors and shades.

The Cheng Ho gallery is also small, short and uninteresting. On display for each port of call are small items found there, a small collage of pictures, and nothing else. Even the interactive stations are childish, limited and boring.

Of course, the museum is an architectural gem, with soaring arches and high ceilings, as well as huge panels of glass walls that lets light in. It is also a welcomed escape from the heat of Singapore, and the $5 dollar basic entry fee is reasonable for the quality of the exhibits.

This museum leaves guests wondering - Did they run out of budget, or do they only care for the casino?

Maritime Museum Review

The Maritime museum, or Maritime Experiential Museum and Aquarium, MEMA, is located in Resorts World Sentosa, on the other side of the Bull Ring from Universal Studios Singapore. The museum sits on the water's edge, and is shaped like an overturned hull of a ship.


The museum is huge. It is basically one gigantic exhibition space, without divisions, partitions etc. The total height is also huge, about 4 to 5 stories high.


Upon entering, you are greeted by Cheng Ho's Bao Chuan, a giant replica of the treasure ship that Admiral Cheng Ho sailed in back in the 14th century.

This is the location for the preshow to the museum. The Bao Chuan's stern comes to life and an animated video appears on the ship. The creature head on the boat also comes to life, with its eyes glowing and its mouth emitting smoke. The content of the preshow is about Cheng Ho's journey, the cause and the impact of the journey that he undertook.

The first gallery is the Cheng Ho gallery, showcasing the unique cultures and items from the different ports of call that he visited. The gallery is highly interactive, with touchscreens as well as real physical exhibits that guests are encouraged to touch and experience.


The end of this gallery leads into the Jewel of Muscat, an Arabian dhow that was recreated using ancient handicraft techniques and presented to Singapore as a gift from Omen. It hangs in the gallery, and guests are able to see both the top and the bottom of the boat. The original is still lying in the ocean of Indonesia, and is named the Belitung shipwreck. Artifacts from this ship will be presented in the later galleries.

This section leads into the theater, where a wrap-around presentation simulating the sinking of a ship in the oceans shown. The theater was not in operation at the time of my visit, hence I can only say that much.

The theater opens up to the lower level of the museum, where guests are channeled into an aquarium setting, complete with life fishes and reefs. This section will only open in 2012.


The aquarium leads into the maritime salvage gallery, where artifacts from the Belitung shipwreck are housed. These includes porcelain pieces, gold and silver coins and so on. The recreated Jewel of Muscat, the original which carried these artifacts, hangs above this gallery.


This section funnels into a cut through display of Cheng Ho's ship, which offers guests a glimpse into the cargo that Cheng Ho collected in his journeys, which includes giraffes from Africa, wine from many countries, spices and so on.

The museum then ends off rather unceremoniously with a small interactive station that allows guests to deconstruct songs heard along the silk road to the basic instrumental melodies, and to play these songs with instruments from different cultures.

The final section of the museum is of course, the gift shop, which sells lots of unrelated, unthemed merchandize, that includes soft toys, generic Singapore merchandize, as well as a popcorn stand.

Review of my visit to Resorts World Sentosa

Continuing from previous post



Walking down Hollywood Boulevard, the buildings at the two sides will open up to this vast expanse of space which is the central lagoon. This is not a huge lagoon by any means, but at least they had managed to squeeze in a lagoon in this small piece of land.

I did notice some pyrotechnic equipment in the middle of the lagoon, and this made me wonder if there will be a lagoon show at night. I think it will be an excellent idea and it will encourage people to stay in the park for a longer time. This will benefit both the guest and Universal Studios Singapore and the guests will stay longer and spend more in the park, so it will be pretty easy to recover the amount spent on the lagoon show.

At this wide vista, we were able to look at all the lands, and this offers an excellent photo opportunity. The ancient Egypt land looms majestically at the other end of the lagoon. On the right, Mel's drive in sits handsomely by the waterfront, complete from neon signs and vintage cars. The Pantages theater sits directly opposite Mel's Drive In and it is a faithful recreation of the original in Hollywood, just much smaller and sandwiched between the brown derby and a retail shop. Inside, it contains one of Universal Studios Singapore's best show, the Monster Rock, aka Monstrocity. More on that in a later article. If you were to look closely at the windows of the Pantages theater, you will see some names on it, names of people involved in the creation of either the show or Universal Studios Singapore as a whole, acting as an end credit of some sort. Check that out next time. It is pretty cool.

The entire Hollywood area is filled with details. I could only imagine how much fun they had putting these little details and fun bits into the land. For example, there are authentic 1940s red fire hydrants, rusty street signs, and even a pedestrian crossing.

To be continued...

Review of my visit to Resorts World Sentosa

At just 20 hectares, Universal Studios Singapore is the smallest of Universal's theme parks (less than half the size of either of the Universal Orlando theme parks, and even smaller that Disney's California Adventure), but it is loaded with 20 attractions in this compact park. It is made up of 7 distinct lands, each with a theme related to movies.

Universal Studios Singapore is part of the new Resorts World Sentosa development on Sentosa Island, south of the main Singapore Island. Despite its island location, Universal Studios Singapore might be the most easily accessible theme park I've ever visited. I took Singapore's MRT to the Harbourfront station, from where I took a short S$3 monorail ride into the heart of Resorts World Sentosa.

To get into the park, you would have to walk under the Universal Studios Singapore archway, and I tell you, that archway is grand. It is the most unique of all of the Universal Studios archways. It is a rather neat to actually see the monorail pass above your head , above the entry turnstiles. Once inside the park, you will walk below a replica of the Hollywood sign. The Hollywood main street, looks a bit like the Hollywood section of Universal Studios Florida, except covered with a huge, translucent canopy, to keep tropical rainstorms at bay. And it is short. Very short, but very immersive, probably one of the more immersive lands.

When I first walk down the Hollywood boulevard, it was like drinking from a water hose. The sights, the sounds, and yes, even the smells hit you the moment you walk into the park. Once you pass under the Hollywood sign, it is like entering a whole new world. The area music is playing, which is very evocative of the golden age of Hollywood. The smell of the popcorn car on the boulevard also hits you. There are even meet and greet characters such as Kung Fu Panda, Woody etc. By the time I got over this sensory overload, I started to run up and down the street, trying to take in all of it.

At the sides of the street, there were authentically recreated facades that captures some of the iconic buildings of the LA area. That includes the five and dime shop, the dark room, and even the brown derby. One the side walks, there were also names on them, recreating the walk of fame.

At the end of the Hollywood "zone" lies the park's lagoon, from which you can see each of the other park zones surrounding it. I noticed what looked to me like pyrotechnic equipment mounted in the lagoon, so does it mean that there will be any fireworks show when it officially opens? We will wait and see.

Wait for more articles regarding Universal Studios Singapore preview.

Review of my visit to Resorts World Sentosa

Resorts World at Sentosa, Singapore's newest and most exciting development, is open, and the casino and Universal Studios Singapore will open tomorrow for preview.

In order to get the preview tickets, guests would have to go down to RWS personally to purchase the tickets at the ticket booths in front of the Universal Studios Singapore entrance. So I made my way down to RWS to buy 2 tickets for the preview. (Note: All preview tickets have sold out)

I made my way to Sentosa using the Sentosa express, a monorail connecting Sentosa island to mainland Singapore. The admission price to Sentosa is S$3 per person.




While on the monorail, I took a few pictures of RWS. I think that the journey from the mainland to Sentosa really builds our anticipation and excitement. When I caught the first a glimpse of the Shrek's castle, I do feel something in my eye.



The monorail station is right in the heart of Resorts World Sentosa.



It leads straight into the shopping and entertainment area of Resorts World, an area called Festive Walk. Festive Walk is further divided into 3 areas, the Bull Ring-which is the entrance plaza to Universal Studios Singapore, the Forum-a retail and dining walkway leading into the casino, and Waterfront(Currently under construction)-a dining and shopping area at the waterfront, facing the mainland.



Festive Walk led straight into the entrance area for USS and when I first saw the globe, I was awed by the scale and the magnificence of the globe, and this hulk of metal is actually rotating. The background music was also playing, and it added to the ambience of the area.



I would like to take this opportunity to comment on the service and the general staff of Resorts World Sentosa. The staff was really friendly, helpful, enthusiastic, and the adjectives goes on and on. The staff was also very efficient, and I got my preview tickets with no wait. I think the the staff of RWS really made this place stand out as the premier integrated resort in SEA. I hope to see this continue through the years, and improve along the way.

The entrance to Universal Studios Singapore is marked by a archway.



The sign outside Universal Studios reads: Unavailable Attractions- Madascar A crate Adventure and Stage 28. I believe that these are the 2 attractions that could not make it for the opening day.



After that, I went back to festive walk, and in the middle of festive walk sits a huge fountain called the lake of dreams. It will come alive every night with spectacular lights and lazer show.



That pretty sums up my visit to Resort World Sentosa. I will be back with more photos and reviews after visiting the Preview for Universal Studios Singapore. Till then, see ya'!