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.

USSingapore Blog 2.0

This is official. After a year long hiatus, USSingapore Blog is finally back, and better than ever. As you can see from the new look of the blog, USSingapore Blog is now in 2.0 mode! In this 2.0 version of the blog, You can look forward to more content, weekly photo updates from the park, detailed trip reports and ride reviews. You can look forward to regular posting, as well as more interaction between you and the blog! Thanks for all the support for version 1.0 of the blog. I really appreciate you taking time to read my articles. To kick start this new season, we will have a 2 part long series dedicated on comparing Battlestar Galatica Human and Cyclone coasters.

Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure

Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure, a major attraction located in the Lost World section

Quick Facts
Location: Universal Studios Singapore
Park Section: Lost World
Type: Rapids Ride
Status: Soft Opening
Opened: March 18, 2010

Will you be able to handle it?
This ride, being a rapids ride, is rather gentle and slow as compared to coasters and other ride systems. However, there are some portions of the ride where it gets pretty bumpy, and of course, not to forget the drop at the end of the ride, which may be a little intense for some.

But be ready for some portions in complete darkness, and some pretty close encounters with dinosaurs during the ride.

Tips on Riding
This ride features a pretty low capacity ride system and it is also one of the most popular rides in the entire park, hence there will be long lines towards the middle of the day. Try going on the attraction right after the park opening, where the queue will be about 10-30 minutes long. As the day progresses, especially after every Waterworld show, the queue will be bumped up to 1h15mins and it will remain this way until shortly before park closing.

You may also get very wet on this ride, depending on which direction you are facing. Given that the rafts are circular, there is literally no way to chose a dry seat or a wet seat, hence it is recommended that you wear a raincoat before getting onto the ride just in case you get soaked.

The Ride Experience

The Queue
The queue for this attraction is mostly held in a large sheltered area with switchback queue systems and it does lack the themeing that we come to expect from Universal. However, there are some small information posters about dinosaurs throughout the queue.

Another cool detail they did to make you buy into the entire Jurassic Park mythology is to have this complicated backstory regarding this tropical rain hitting Jurassic park, and that certain sections are closed due to the probability of flooding. There are evidence of this back story throughout the queue, from overhead announcements informing the closure of certain areas, to alerts on the video screens about the rainstorm.

To be continued...

Revenge of the Mummy Compare and Contrast

This post will deal with the comparison of the 3 incarnations of the Mummy ride in Singapore, Orlando and Hollywood. Check out the previous post for a detailed description of the Singapore incarnation of the ride.

The Universal Studios Singapore, Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida versions of Revenge of the Mummy are essentially the same. They both incorporate dark ride and roller coaster elements to immerse riders in the sinister world of Imhotep and his mummy minions. But there are some subtle and not-so-subtle differences.
Mostly, the differences have to do with real estate. In the Singapore version, the soundstage was built from scratch, while in the USH and USO version, it occupied the E.T. and Kongfrontation soundstages, respectively. The USH and USO soundstages occupy different footprints, while the USS version have an exact duplicate of the USO version. Orlando's and Singapore's larger width, depth, and height allow for a larger, longer ride. The Singapore version also have the advantage of an entire theme land dedicated to the Mummy theme, and since it was built 6 years after the original in USO was built, it also have the advantage of feedback and experience, allowing them to tweak some of the major story and queue elements.

• Ride Length- One of the major differences is duration. Florida and Singapore's Mummy clocks in at about three minutes, while Hollywood shaves 30 seconds off for about two-and-a-half minutes of fun.
• The Queue- In Florida, guests supposedly wander onto the movie set for the next 'Mummy" film sequel. Eventually, this morphs into the Mummy's tomb. In Hollywood, the line is shorter, and there's no pretense of a movie set. Guests there enter into the Mummy's tomb from the get-go. And in Singapore incarnation, guests supposedly enter a real tomb in the real Egypt, with not even a single reference to soundstages or filmaking.
• The Story- In the Singapore version of the ride, the guests have a "mission" to fulfill. They have to find the book of the living to destroy the curse, while in the USO and USH versions, the guests have no real mission.
• First Encounter- In the SIngapore version of the ride, the first encounter with the Mummy occurs with the Mummy performing a ritual on an archeologist, while in the USO verson, the Mummy jumps out of a coffin and sucks the life out of Reggie, and in the USH version, guests encounters the Mummy much later in the ride.
• The Launch- In Florida and Singapore, the vehicles launch 45 degrees up into the mouth of the Mummy. In Hollywood, it's a straight, zero-degree launch. Both versions reach top speeds of 45 mph, however.
• Going Backwards- In Florida and Singapore, the vehicles go backwards early in the ride after encountering the scarabs. The backwards part of the ride only lasts a few seconds as a transition to the next scene. In Hollywood, passengers don't encounter the scarabs until halfway through the coaster part of the attraction. They continue the second half of the coaster ride facing backwards.
• The Turnaround- In Florida and Singapore, the vehicles drop onto a turntable a few seconds after going backwards and immediately before they launch into the coaster part of the ride. In Hollywood, the vehicles proceed backwards for the second half of the coaster ride and the turntable faces them forwards to the exit area for unloading.
• The interruption- In the Florida version of the ride, there is a false unloading scene where the Mummy sucks life out of the ride operator and sends guests into the second porton of the ride, while in the Singapore version, the interruption comes when the guests finds the book of the living, and Imhotep pops up, cursing the guests and sending them into the second coaster portion. In the Hollywood version, the interruption is when the vehicle stops in front of the Scarab infested wall.
• Fire- In Florida and Singapore, the Mummy unleashes a blast of real fire. In Hollywood, the ride uses a "faux" effect to simulate fire.
• The End- In the Florida version of the ride, the ending of the ride has a video with the coffee gag, while in the Singapore version, the ending features Imhotep trapped in a coffin.

Revenge of the Mummy Review

Revenge of the Mummy, one of the best attractions in the whole of Universal Studios Singapore

The Revenge of the Mummy, located in the spectacular tomb in Ancient Egypt, is an indoor psychological roller coaster thrill ride.

Quick Facts
Location: Universal Studios Singapore
Park Section: Ancient Egypt
Type: Steel Coaster
Status: Soft Opening
Opened: March 18, 2010
Designer: Universal Creative
Inversions, Loops, Corkscrews: 0
Duration: 2+ Minutes
Height Restriction: 122cm
Max Speed: 45mph

Will you be able to handle it?
The coaster part of Revenge of the Mummy does not have any inversions, does not do to any uncomfortable speeds, and reaches a relatively tame max speed of 45 mph. RWS even considers it a "family" attraction and it's less intense than Battle Star Galactica Coasters. But it does include high-speed launches, delivers some startling drops and out-of-your-seat airtime, and feels a lot more out of control because it is in the dark. Be prepared for a more aggressive ride. There will be moments where you feel that you will drop out of your seats, and some "uncontrollable" turns in the dark. There are also steep drops, but still still can be managed. The Linear Induction launch is an aggressive part of the ride, and it launches you straight into a fog filled room, so for those sensitive to fog, you may need to consider it twice. There is a backwards section to the ride too, but it is short, and more fun than intense.

On the "psychological" side of the thrill equation, I think just about everybody, save highly impressionable young children, will find the mummy motif more engrossing than gross-out. The sound effects will be loud, and there will be strobe lights and pyrotechnic effects (real flame).
If you're on the line, I'd advise you to suck it up, hold on tightly to the rider next to you and give it a try. Revenge of the Mummy is among the very attractions in USS, and you should try it at least once. Even if you find the ride a bit too unsettling, you'll be able to take comfort in its short duration; the whole experience lasts about three minutes, with the coaster portion taking less than half that time.

Note
Follow the safety guidelines and do not bring a camera to film the ride. The camera will fly out!
Great Ideas, Great Technology The attraction's high concept, melding a special-effects laden dark ride with a thrilling coaster, is a remarkable theme park achievement. While there are other examples of indoor coasters that attempt to incorporate a story, nothing comes close to Revenge of the Mummy. The introduction of magnetically launched coaster systems provided the linchpin to make the hybrid ride possible. The Mummy's conveyance system, which uses linear induction motors, or LIMs, allows the ride to blast off like a coaster. The real breakthrough is a modified, slower version of the LIMs (called SLIMs) that transport the vehicles through the dark ride parts of the attraction. The technology allows the car to vary its speed through scenes, seamlessly transition from the dark ride to the coaster, and even travel backwards at one point.

Ride Experience
The journey begins as you enter the huge Egyptian tomb located in the Egypt section of the park. The story for this portion of the park goes like this: It is in the 1930s, the golden age of Egyptian exploration. A group of archeologists are excavating this spectacular tomb when something horribly wrong happened. The mummy in the tomb has gone back to life and you are trapped in it too.
While in the queue (which is positively enormous, think: marathon length, and can accommodate a slew of riders on peak attendance days), tabloids show messages like this "Find the book of the living and destroy Imhotep" . There are some pretty spectacular statues and drawings in the queue too, so you may want to take some time to check it out.
The core of the queue winds around a burial chamber and an archaeological dig. In the center is an enormous Egyptian statue that sits above a freshly unearthed keystone.

So the story of the entire attraction is that you need to find the book of the living to destroy Imhotep before he can destroy you.

Confronting the Mummy

The queue eventually leads guests up to the second level where they board the ride.
The 16-passenger single-car vehicles look nothing like coaster trains. Made to resemble industrial carts, they are articulated in the middle to accommodate the ride's twists and turns. The loading area actually have two platforms so as to double the capacity of the attraction.
In the first scene, words like "Find the book. Destroy Imhotep" are written all over the walls, and a ghostly voice beckons.
In the second scene a slightly mummified archeologist tells us once again to find the book of the living in order to get out. This scene is made to resemble the altar in the Mummy movies where Imhotep sucks the life out of victims in order to grow into a more human form. An imposing and highly fluid Mummy animatronic character turns around sucks the life out of the archeologist. He turns to the riders and says, "With your souls, I will rule for all eternity." As the word eternity reverberates around the corner, the vehicle moves out of there and into the next chamber.

Behind an altar, the Mummy appears as a large sand face. He makes an offer: "Join me and savor the riches of a thousand dynasties." A treasure trove of gold and jewels appears on either side of the train. "Or refuse and suffer a more bitter treasure." The room darkens, and animated warrior mummies pop out of troughs on either side of the train. Braziers on the altar burst into flames. The vehicle moves toward a huge stone wall that's descending and threatens lock the passengers in side the room for eternity. At the last moment, the vehicle makes a little coaster-like dip under the wall, and makes a turn into the next scene.

Scarab and launch

The vehicle speeds around a corner and crashes into a wall. The wall cracks and scarab beetles pour from the wall and invade the car as the lights fade to black. This effect is heightened through the use of sound effects although I think Universal could have upped the psyche-out fear quotient here if it had employed those calf-level tickling devices it uses in Shrek 4-D, which is just a simple string connected to a motor under the seat, which creates a tickling effect when spun.
This is where the ride gets serious. While the invading bugs distract the passengers, the track behind the car switches. The vehicle proceeds backwards, but instead of retracing its course, it makes a straight, steep drop into a turntable.

As the car turns 180 degrees, a the Mummy's voice taunts guests. "Your end will be my beginning", "with your souls I shall rule for all eternity". Visions of skeletons appear around this circular room. Facing a giant Mummy head, and launches 45 degrees uphill into the Mummy's fog filled mouth. There are some wild drops, ejector air, and moments of weightlessness that make for a giddy and nerve-wracking out of your seat turns. Fly-by apparitions help create the illusion of even greater speed, although they are too quick to be distinguished by guests.
As you start to feel dizzy, the vehicle stops in front of the book of the living, the book that you have been looking for all this while. Then the Mummy pops out from behind the book and curses the guests, before flames erupt from the ceiling. These are real flames and you can basically feel the heat from them.
The vehicle goes into a sharp drop and into a fog filled room, where it goes into the second coaster portion. There are a few more turns and then the vehicle goes into the last scene.
Trapped
In this last scene, Imhotep is trapped inside a coffin and he curses and taunts the riders from inside. The vehicle then goes into the unloading station.
Overall, the ride is an impressive one, and the psychological aspect of the ride really adds to the appeal of the ride. Ride it more than once to catch the details!

universal studios singapore photo of the day

Part of the picture of the day series

Jurassic Park

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.

Universal Studios Preview Photos Part 1

I visited Universal Studios Singapore preview on Sunday. It was an amazing experience. Here are many of the photos that I have taken. Enjoy.

The Entrance to Universal Studios Singapore

The Hollywood area

View of the entrance from Hollywood

One of the facades

View towards the lagoon


View towards the New York area of the park


View towards the Madagascar area of the park


View of Pantages theater, the main theater of USS, containing Monster Rock, a rock musical featuring the classic Universal Studios monsters



Transition between Hollywood and Madagascar

A statue on the promenade

To be continued...

Universal Studios Preview

I will be going to the Universal Studios Singapore preview tomorrow, so expect a full picture review with many videos to come.

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'!

Sci-fi city

This will be a series of ongoing articles about the 7 themed lands and rides in Universal Studios Singapore. Pictures courtesy of Universal Studios Singapore Press Conference.

One of the most exciting and most well covered land is the Sci-fi city. It is one of the smallest lands in the whole of Universal Studios Singapore and undoubtedly one of the best lands in Universal Studios Singapore as it houses 3 headliner, gate-busting attractions. The Battle Star Galactica Human line, Battle Star Galactica Cyclone line, and the Transformers ride opening in 2011.



Lets talk about the headliner Battlestar Galactica coasters first. Here are some stats:

-It is the tallest pair of roller coasters (Not the tallest coaster, but the tallest pair)
-The coaster will be launched from their stations at high speed instead of the traditional chain lift.
-Each coaster feature either several inversions, a zero-g roll, a Cobra roll, corkscrews, vertical loops and near collisions mere inches apart.
-Part of the ride will take place over a lagoon.

This ride will also feature a new generation of interactive storytelling queues, where there will be different sides of the story of Battlestar Galactica told on the two queues.


Accelerator
This ride will be like the spinning tea cups on steroids, with a futuristic themeing. It is mainly a children's ride.

The Lost World Area

This will be a series of ongoing articles about the 7 themed lands and rides in Universal Studios Singapore. Pictures courtesy of Universal Studios Singapore Press Conference.

Jurassic Park trilogy will be brought to life in this unique area of Universal Studios Singapore. Life sized dinosaurs will be authentically recreated in this area. This is the largest theme land in the whole of Universal Studios Singapore, with 5 Unique attractions, 4 of which never seen before in other Universal Studios. This land is highly immersive, with lush vegetation and recreated structures from Steven Spielberg's hit movie.


The 5 attractions in this area are:
-Jurassic Park River Rapids
-Canopy Flyer
-Dino Soarin'
-Waterworld
-Amber Rock Climb

Note: Waterworld is based on the film of the same name, seen at other Universal Studios Parks around the world. It will be covered in another article.

This is the concept art for the entire land:



Jurassic Park River Rapids
Main article here
It is based on the blockbuster movie Jurassic Park by Steven Spielberg. It is a re-imagining of the classic Universal Studios attraction Jurassic Park River adventure, located in the other Universal Studios theme parks around the world. One thing unique about it is that it uses circular rafts rather that boats or log flumes.

Canopy Flyer


This is a version of a Skylift that uses rigid arms and the vehicle is propelled by a mechanism on the track, rather than the original Skylift rides where the whole track moves. It allows the whole family to sit comfortably in the vehicle and have birds' eyes' view of the land while enjoying the breeze.

Dino Soarin'


A theme park classic, a Centrifugal ride, like Dumbo the flying elephant, Astro Orbiter etc. What is different in this ride is that there is a joystick that allows guests to control how high or low the vehicles flies.

Amber Rock Climb


A rock climbing experience for the whole family in a safe environment.

To be continued...

Universal Studios Singapore Ancient Eygpt part 2

This will be a series of ongoing articles about the 7 themed lands and rides in Universal Studios Singapore. Pictures courtesy of Universal Studios Singapore Press Conference.

Revenge of the Mummy ride
This is the main headliner attraction of this land. It is an indoor roller coaster. People from Universal Creative (those who designed this park) calls it a psychological thrill ride, because you are in complete darkness while riding through this roller coaster. This allows you to buy into the story and suspend all disbelieve. Very intense, a whole lot of fun and a lot of screaming on this ride.

The story to this ride is that you are exploring an ancient Mummy tomb when you heard of the tale of Imhotep, and you have to destroy the book of the living before him can get to it. So you jump onto these mine cars and you start exploring, when Imhotep discovers you and he chases you around this tomb, each time escaping him narrowly.

There will be amazing effects such as the fire effect seen in other versions of this ride, shown below.


Another cool effect that is present in other incarnations of the ride is the Scarab beetles effect, where the beetles appear on the walls with help of projectors, as the added special effects of air jets at riders' feet and a spray of water from above create the illusion of the vehicle being overrun by the bugs.

There may even be a backwards section of the ride, where the vehicles move backwards through complete darkness with Imhotep chasing behind you.


Treasure Hunters



This a family fun ride, where the whole family can ride the jeep and explore the excavation site, which ties in very well to the theme of this whole area.

Universal Studios Singapore Ancient Eygpt

Imagine walking with Pharaohs. Imagine the grandeur and the splendor of ancient Egypt coming to life once again. Imagine the luxury of an era long gone. Imagine the culture and the complexity of this magnificent civilization brought to life before your very eyes.

Imagine no more.

Meet Universal Studio Singapore's most exotic, and culturally rich land, Ancient Egypt. This land is the home of 2 mega attractions, The Revenge of the Mummy and the Treasure Hunters. This two attractions cater to all ages. Now add this two attraction to a wide array of shops and dining (or should I say feasting) options, spice it up with some authentic theming elements, and you get one of the most picturesque land. This land really brings story telling to a brand new level, where you are in a giant movie set and you are the actors, making memories and having fun.



The story of this theme land is that you are the archeologist who discovered the ancient ruins of an Egyptian civilization, and this land completely does that. That explains why there is the Treasure Hunters ride, which is the jeep that you, the archeologist sits on to excavate the ruins. While is Mummy coaster is the centerpiece of the land, and the entire ruin is built around the tomb of the Mummy.