Sunday, October 21, 2012
HHN2 Insanitarium Blueprint
Below is the blueprint for the Insanitarium Maze in Halloween Horror Nights 2. Although this is not the actual blueprints used in the construction of the maze, it is based on an accurate source. The layout is accurate, though it is not draw to scale.
Watch out for more updates about HHN2 coming soon!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Yilun Audio Tours Relaunch
Yilun Audio Tours, the sister podcast of this blog, will be back on 1st August after a successful first season. Look out for exciting shows, reviews, interviews, walking guides, and more at yiluntours.wordpress.com
Subscribe to the show through RSS at http://feeds.feedburner.com/yilunaudiotours to check out the show's archive, which includes exciting episodes covering USS's Halloween Horror Nights 2011, "Live" walking tour of Universal Studios Singapore, Audio Walking Tour of Singapore River, City Hall, Civic District, Fort Canning, and more!
Traveling through Singapore just got easier.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Universal Studios Singapore Aeriel Map
This is a consolidation of the series of articles I've posted for the past few months.
I was recently on Bing maps and found a really vivid, saturated satellite photo of Resorts World Singapore. Here it is:
Though this map is slightly old, and does not show the construction progress at the east zone of RWS, it is still very informative, and shows us lots of details on the layout of the resort.
Let's start with the basic layout of the entire Resorts World Sentosa development. This integrated resort is located on the North side of Sentosa island, facing mainland Singapore. The resort is split into 3 main areas, the West zone, Central zone and the East zone.
Let's begin with the park itself. Universal Studios Singapore is a highly compact park located at the West zone of the resort. It is surrounded by the service roads leading in and out of the Sentosa Island on three sides, and the monorail track on the fourth. The park, as you can see, is very built up, and has little empty spaces within its boundaries.
The entrance of the park. As can be seen from the image, the entire entrance plaza is highly shaded, and the Universal Studios globe is located in the center. The entrance of the park is located directly under the pair of monorail tracks that links Sentosa to mainland Singapore. The entire Hollywood area is under the shades of the canopy.
To the right of the entrance plaza, you can see a really interesting channel behind the Madagascar show building. This is the maintenance boat channel of the ride. Here's a bit of speculation: there are two blue rectangular objects floating in the channel. Were the original boats to the ride blue?
Looking at the layout of the Pantages theater, you can roughly see 3 distinct sections to the building. The front facade with the spire is visible. The first section of the building, the lobby, is the narrow arched shaped portion behind the facade. The next section is the main seating area. You can see that the seating area starts with a broad back, and tapers towards the stage. Finally, the stage area is the small rectangle at the very back of the building. You can see that the stage isn't very big relative to the entire building. Behind the stage, you can see the backstage loading docks used to bring in big set pieces to the theater.
You can of course see the Brown Derby hat store sticking out from the side of the theater.
Mel's Dine In and KT's grill. You can see the distinct curve of Mel's Drive In next to the lagoon. You can also see KT's grill attached right next to Mel's, and I bet that both restaurants share the same kitchen.
Moving on to New York zone of the park, the first major building is the Stage 28 soundstage. As you can see, the stage is actually made of 2 distinct soundstages, perhaps one for the walk-through attraction, and one as a MICE venue? Halloween Horror Night's maze was built at the rectangular soundstage next to the monorail station. Located right next to the Soundstages is the backstage area, as seen from the corrugated metal roofing.
Right next to the cast members' backstage area is a huge patch of open space currently undeveloped. This is a really nice spot for expansion, with nearly enough space to fit an attraction the size of Transformers. Given that this plot of land directly faces the New York street, it is then highly likely that a future attraction might be built here.
Next to this patch of land is the rather uninspiring air-conditioning compressor tower.
Moving on, as you can see, the New York street is really just a thin facade constructed with no structure behind it. The Rockefeller center facade and the New York Public library facade leads to nowhere.
Lights, Cameras, Action is housed in another rectangular soundstage, right next to the lagoon. As you can see, the queue to the show is housed under the corrugated metal roof right next to the small alleyway of New York. The building also shares the space with the Sci-Fi city restaurant, as one side of the building faces the Sci-fi city area. The still vacant Sci-Fi stage is located at the side of this showbuilding.
Speaking of Sci-Fi city, the Transformers ride building is located behind the New York Public library facade of New York street. This show building is not very big, and wedged in this awkard location. Adjacent to the showbuilding is the queue building for the Transformers ride, with happens to house the gift shop as well as some toilets too.
The Accelerator ride is wedged in this small plot of land between the walkways and the Battlestar Galactica ride.
As for Battlestar Galactica the ride, the queue for both sides starts off at the plaza, before meandering under the track paths, before finally heading into the indoor queue building. It is actually the same building for both sides of the queue, and the loading station is actually just next to each other, separated by a thin wall. You can also see the two vehicle repair stations at the extreme ends of the ride.
Moving on to Ancient Egypt.
The monstrosity of a building in this zone is the Revenge of the Mummy ride building. As you can see, the entrance facade of the building is off-center and tilted with reference to the ride building. On the roof of the show building is also the largest Photovoltaic roof of the entire resort. The ride exits from the right of the building, and you can see the small gift shop attached to the massive show building.
The ancient Egypt zone also contains a restaurant and Treasure Hunters ride. The restaurant is a small building located across the pathway from Revenge of the Mummy the ride. The Treasure Hunters queue building across from the restaurant. The ride path for Treasure Hunters is essentially a 8 that spans the waterfront area of the zone.
Next up is Jurassic Park.
Jurassic Park food court. Nothing interesting here.
The Jurassic Park area is really a small tangle of paths with small carnival rides well hidden in thick vegetation. The Canopy Flyers ride is anther attraction shaped in an 8, with a tight loop over the splashdown area of Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. Amber Rock climb is a pathetic slab of artificial rock bolted to the walls of the Waterworld theater.
The Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure is actually compacted into a very small plot of land, with the ride path wound into many S turns. This compact layout gives rise many interesting features. The Parasaurolophus lagoon is directly back to back with the final splashdown, the rocky section of the ride is constructed to hide the boundaries of the park and the indoor show building of the ride. The indoor section of the ride is really just a boat channel with walls and a roof built over it, and the final splashdown is just two small elevator shafts.
The Waterworld stadium is a classic C shaped amphitheater with a lagoon in the center. There is a small backstage lagoon at the right side of the stage, where the vehicles are parked when no in show. You can also see the tracks where the water plane launches from behind the stage facade. Over here is also where the backstage perimeter road is the most obvious.
There is a curious plot of land beside the Waterworld queue, which also leads to the back portion of the Romeo Drive in Far Far Away. Perhaps this is also a possible spot for expansion? It is sizable enough to hold an attraction like Madagascar.
Moving on to the Shrek area. Far Far Away is an interesting land, consisting of a main thoroughfare and many side meanders, as well as Romeo Drive which dead ends at a smokers' zone. There is a small stretch of water channel that flows between FFA and Lost World. This is the docks where boats and the like can park, and easily go into the lagoon.
Shrek castle has a really interesting layout. On the left side of the building houses the Shrek 4D theater, and we can see from the Ariel map that the rectangle to the left is the preshow area, while the big rectangle behind the castle is the main theater. The theater empties out into a long corridor in the middle of the building, which is actually the retail shop. On the right side of the building, facing Romeo Drive, lies Donkey live. This attraction's queue is hosed under the blue roofing, while the preshow building is located next to it. The main show space is marked by the rectangular box and lots of air condition pipes above it. The main show area empties out into the same central axis which is the gift shop.
The kiddie coaster at FFA is highly compact. Next to the tracks is the Shrek house where he meets the guests.
Finally, Madagascar. The restaurant in Madagascar is shown by the big building here. The slightly raised area is the kitchen, while the rest of the building is the seating area.
The Madagascar ride show building is really interesting. It consists of the queue and the main indoor show building. The queue is the bright yellow area you can see from the picture. The main show building is clad in a facade that is made to look like a big cargo ship. The slightly raised portion of the show building is where the rumored second level of the ride is (which is abandoned due to technical difficulties). The ride exits to a small green hut at the other end of the queue, which happens to be the gift shop.
That's it. Hope you have enjoyed this article.
I was recently on Bing maps and found a really vivid, saturated satellite photo of Resorts World Singapore. Here it is:
Though this map is slightly old, and does not show the construction progress at the east zone of RWS, it is still very informative, and shows us lots of details on the layout of the resort.
Let's start with the basic layout of the entire Resorts World Sentosa development. This integrated resort is located on the North side of Sentosa island, facing mainland Singapore. The resort is split into 3 main areas, the West zone, Central zone and the East zone.
Let's begin with the park itself. Universal Studios Singapore is a highly compact park located at the West zone of the resort. It is surrounded by the service roads leading in and out of the Sentosa Island on three sides, and the monorail track on the fourth. The park, as you can see, is very built up, and has little empty spaces within its boundaries.
The entrance of the park. As can be seen from the image, the entire entrance plaza is highly shaded, and the Universal Studios globe is located in the center. The entrance of the park is located directly under the pair of monorail tracks that links Sentosa to mainland Singapore. The entire Hollywood area is under the shades of the canopy.
To the right of the entrance plaza, you can see a really interesting channel behind the Madagascar show building. This is the maintenance boat channel of the ride. Here's a bit of speculation: there are two blue rectangular objects floating in the channel. Were the original boats to the ride blue?
Looking at the layout of the Pantages theater, you can roughly see 3 distinct sections to the building. The front facade with the spire is visible. The first section of the building, the lobby, is the narrow arched shaped portion behind the facade. The next section is the main seating area. You can see that the seating area starts with a broad back, and tapers towards the stage. Finally, the stage area is the small rectangle at the very back of the building. You can see that the stage isn't very big relative to the entire building. Behind the stage, you can see the backstage loading docks used to bring in big set pieces to the theater.
You can of course see the Brown Derby hat store sticking out from the side of the theater.
Mel's Dine In and KT's grill. You can see the distinct curve of Mel's Drive In next to the lagoon. You can also see KT's grill attached right next to Mel's, and I bet that both restaurants share the same kitchen.
Moving on to New York zone of the park, the first major building is the Stage 28 soundstage. As you can see, the stage is actually made of 2 distinct soundstages, perhaps one for the walk-through attraction, and one as a MICE venue? Halloween Horror Night's maze was built at the rectangular soundstage next to the monorail station. Located right next to the Soundstages is the backstage area, as seen from the corrugated metal roofing.
Right next to the cast members' backstage area is a huge patch of open space currently undeveloped. This is a really nice spot for expansion, with nearly enough space to fit an attraction the size of Transformers. Given that this plot of land directly faces the New York street, it is then highly likely that a future attraction might be built here.
Next to this patch of land is the rather uninspiring air-conditioning compressor tower.
Moving on, as you can see, the New York street is really just a thin facade constructed with no structure behind it. The Rockefeller center facade and the New York Public library facade leads to nowhere.
Lights, Cameras, Action is housed in another rectangular soundstage, right next to the lagoon. As you can see, the queue to the show is housed under the corrugated metal roof right next to the small alleyway of New York. The building also shares the space with the Sci-Fi city restaurant, as one side of the building faces the Sci-fi city area. The still vacant Sci-Fi stage is located at the side of this showbuilding.
Speaking of Sci-Fi city, the Transformers ride building is located behind the New York Public library facade of New York street. This show building is not very big, and wedged in this awkard location. Adjacent to the showbuilding is the queue building for the Transformers ride, with happens to house the gift shop as well as some toilets too.
The Accelerator ride is wedged in this small plot of land between the walkways and the Battlestar Galactica ride.
As for Battlestar Galactica the ride, the queue for both sides starts off at the plaza, before meandering under the track paths, before finally heading into the indoor queue building. It is actually the same building for both sides of the queue, and the loading station is actually just next to each other, separated by a thin wall. You can also see the two vehicle repair stations at the extreme ends of the ride.
Moving on to Ancient Egypt.
The monstrosity of a building in this zone is the Revenge of the Mummy ride building. As you can see, the entrance facade of the building is off-center and tilted with reference to the ride building. On the roof of the show building is also the largest Photovoltaic roof of the entire resort. The ride exits from the right of the building, and you can see the small gift shop attached to the massive show building.
The ancient Egypt zone also contains a restaurant and Treasure Hunters ride. The restaurant is a small building located across the pathway from Revenge of the Mummy the ride. The Treasure Hunters queue building across from the restaurant. The ride path for Treasure Hunters is essentially a 8 that spans the waterfront area of the zone.
Next up is Jurassic Park.
Jurassic Park food court. Nothing interesting here.
The Jurassic Park area is really a small tangle of paths with small carnival rides well hidden in thick vegetation. The Canopy Flyers ride is anther attraction shaped in an 8, with a tight loop over the splashdown area of Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. Amber Rock climb is a pathetic slab of artificial rock bolted to the walls of the Waterworld theater.
The Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure is actually compacted into a very small plot of land, with the ride path wound into many S turns. This compact layout gives rise many interesting features. The Parasaurolophus lagoon is directly back to back with the final splashdown, the rocky section of the ride is constructed to hide the boundaries of the park and the indoor show building of the ride. The indoor section of the ride is really just a boat channel with walls and a roof built over it, and the final splashdown is just two small elevator shafts.
The Waterworld stadium is a classic C shaped amphitheater with a lagoon in the center. There is a small backstage lagoon at the right side of the stage, where the vehicles are parked when no in show. You can also see the tracks where the water plane launches from behind the stage facade. Over here is also where the backstage perimeter road is the most obvious.
There is a curious plot of land beside the Waterworld queue, which also leads to the back portion of the Romeo Drive in Far Far Away. Perhaps this is also a possible spot for expansion? It is sizable enough to hold an attraction like Madagascar.
Moving on to the Shrek area. Far Far Away is an interesting land, consisting of a main thoroughfare and many side meanders, as well as Romeo Drive which dead ends at a smokers' zone. There is a small stretch of water channel that flows between FFA and Lost World. This is the docks where boats and the like can park, and easily go into the lagoon.
Shrek castle has a really interesting layout. On the left side of the building houses the Shrek 4D theater, and we can see from the Ariel map that the rectangle to the left is the preshow area, while the big rectangle behind the castle is the main theater. The theater empties out into a long corridor in the middle of the building, which is actually the retail shop. On the right side of the building, facing Romeo Drive, lies Donkey live. This attraction's queue is hosed under the blue roofing, while the preshow building is located next to it. The main show space is marked by the rectangular box and lots of air condition pipes above it. The main show area empties out into the same central axis which is the gift shop.
The kiddie coaster at FFA is highly compact. Next to the tracks is the Shrek house where he meets the guests.
Finally, Madagascar. The restaurant in Madagascar is shown by the big building here. The slightly raised area is the kitchen, while the rest of the building is the seating area.
The Madagascar ride show building is really interesting. It consists of the queue and the main indoor show building. The queue is the bright yellow area you can see from the picture. The main show building is clad in a facade that is made to look like a big cargo ship. The slightly raised portion of the show building is where the rumored second level of the ride is (which is abandoned due to technical difficulties). The ride exits to a small green hut at the other end of the queue, which happens to be the gift shop.
That's it. Hope you have enjoyed this article.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Madagascar Ride Review Full Post
This is a consolidated post of the series of articles on Madagascar: A Crate Adventure
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.
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.
In this scene, the 3 penguins are studying the map of Madagascar.
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)
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.
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"This is frak-a-lacking" - Marty
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"We are going into hostile territory"
- Skipper
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.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Universal Studios Singapore Show
Jump over to my Yilun Audio Tours podcast for a full length show where I cover the entire history of USS and RWS from conception to completion, walk you live from land to land, review Mel's Dine In, and end it off with the audio of Lake Hollywood Firework Spectacular.
Yilun Audio Tours is a bi-monthly podcast on traveling in Singapore, with in-depth tours, reviews and commentaries about Singapore.
iTunes link
Subscribe on iTunes
RSS feed
Yilun Audio Tours is a bi-monthly podcast on traveling in Singapore, with in-depth tours, reviews and commentaries about Singapore.
iTunes link
Subscribe on iTunes
RSS feed
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
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
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.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Halloween Horror Nights 2011 Audio
Universal Studios Singapore had its inaugural Halloween Horror Night last year, and featured a high quality maze - Vengeance of the Matriarch.
Jump over to my Yilun Audio Tours podcast for a full length show where I present the audio walk through of the Vengeance of the Matriarch maze in binaural audio!
Yilun Audio Tours is a bi-monthly podcast on traveling in Singapore, with in-depth tours, reviews and commentaries about Singapore.
iTunes link
Subscribe on iTunes
RSS feed
Jump over to my Yilun Audio Tours podcast for a full length show where I present the audio walk through of the Vengeance of the Matriarch maze in binaural audio!
Yilun Audio Tours is a bi-monthly podcast on traveling in Singapore, with in-depth tours, reviews and commentaries about Singapore.
iTunes link
Subscribe on iTunes
RSS feed
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)