Universal Studios Singapore

Hello there folks! I went down to Singapore a little more than a week ago with my dad. It was a really good vacation with loads of resting, eating, and of course taking loads of pictures. One of the epic nights was definitely clubbing with dad at Clarke Quay.

Alright its not one of those get-wild-dance-clubs but rather my kind of place which is loud music, food, and a mojito. Funky cuban music was playing all night long to the rhythmic dancing of the syiok sendiri couples, though I admit it was fun to watch. Top that off with a huge messy platter of nachos with beef and melted cheese, that's what I call a vacation.

The other highlight of the trip was our visit to Singapore's Universal Studios. I can't recall much detail of my last trip to Disneyland and Universal Studios, Paris. Everything seems like a blur now, maybe its because everything was in French. But what I did remember was that I had TONS of fun. Disneyland is just such a happy place and you feel that way the moment you step in and see the iconic castle which appears at the start of every Disney movie.

I was pumped to visit Singapore's Universal Studios after hearing so much hype about it after it opened recently. Dad and I woke up early in the morning to catch the 8.30, it was too ambitious. We took the 9.30 bus. My fault because I refused to get up.

Guess what? It rained.



And no, it was not one of those heavy downpours that last for an hour. Its one of those heavy downpours that last for hours and takes a whole day to slow down. And even after it stopped, it did not stop completely. Like Phuket the rain was not too heavy but enough to annoy you.

But guess what? I was happy.

Nothing in the world could ruin my day. Not all was lost because there were a few segments of the theme park that was covered. Good thinking Singapore! The moment you walk through those gates you are transported to the streets of Hollywood. I love the details put to the place. Epic music blasting from the speakers helped with the atmosphere as well. Ain't it fun if life is like that? A soundtrack playing to every moment of your life as if it were a movie. You can! For 72 Singapore Dollars.

Its definitely hard to not be happy in such a place like this. Despite the rain, the vibe was still rather positive. The 5 Singaporean Dollar raincoats hampered that vibe a tiny bit but not enough to ruin my day. Looking around you can see how excited people were- families taking photographs or a tiny kid pulling her mom over to the shop.

Rain was still pouring down at an annoying rate when we arrived. So we do what we always do, seek refuge in a nice cafe. Dad had some coffee, I had a sandwich. Albeit a little dry, its nice to have something to start the day.

There's different sections to the parks, all themed differently. The one you just saw is Hollywood which serves as an entrance to the part and filled with shops selling all the stuff you don't need. Then you have Madagascar where they have this HUGE segment of a ship, but other than that I find it a little to juvenile for my taste. Plus its still the park's "soft opening" and many of the rides are not opened yet.

You also have Ancient Egypt which have a few impressive structures, very large. One statue had a toe as big as my head. As always souvenir buying opportunities are aplenty! Every park has its own themed shop so you can buy stuff at every stop. I found the stuff the sold rather mundane and uncreative. One of these shops sold items based on the director's que card but they don't sell the que card itself! I would have bought one immediately if it had. Haha I'm more of a novelty item buyer. T-shirts sold are really thin. You'd think that the quality would be better considering the price you're paying.

Next is Sci-Fi City (I'm not going in any particular order here mind you), which is the saddest section of Universal Studios. Aside from the structure and two stalls selling "Sci-Fi City" t-shirts, its was basically empty, nada! Quite a bummer because it definitely had the potential to be awesome. Picturing Comic Con full of people dressed in their Star Trek get ups.

You also have dinosaur land, The Lost World. Nice to see some of the Jurassic Park structures at the theme park and the usual T-rex skeleton that never fails to impress.

You get to watch their live stunt show here at the Waterworld based on one of Kevin Costner box office flops of the same name (lol). The show itself was entertaining with a good portion of death defying stunts. I like how they warmed up the crowd. The seating area is divided into three zones- dry, splash, and drench.

What most people don't know is that getting wet is not so much part of the show but rather before it started. Some of the cast and crew went about spraying water at people and at a point using buckets of water. But its all in the sake of good fun since the water will probably dry off by the end of the show.

This little kid was being a little cocky. Upon being drenched he stood up, faced the crowd and did a podium wave. Seconds later he was met with torrents of water sprayed at his face drenching him from top to toe. That boy got guts!

Far Far Away- this segment of the park appealed to me. I liked how you get to walk in to the tunes of "Won't you take me to *musical solo* funky town!". The 4D show was rather interesting and the 3D effects were well used with tons of things extending out of the screen almost within your reach. Think Pinocchio and his nose. The 4D part of the show largely revolves around Donkey sneezing at your face and you get a nice spray of water in your face. There are a few other surprises as well but I'll leave that for you to discover.

Here they sell a rather interesting item, at least that was what I thought which is the roasted turkey legs. Those things we HUGE!

This area of the theme park is beautifully decorated, and lots of nice little details all over the place which I appreciate. I find it amazing how much detail has gone into making this whole theme park happen. Respect to the people who designed it.

In Far Far Away you'll find this quaint little chapel which serves as a restaurant, with some nice glass work depicting Friar Tuck himself. Get it? "Tuck" as in tucking into a meal. No? Oh well, forget it then.

Finally comes my favourite part of the theme park, New York! One can't help but to wonder about places like this having seen it featured in every other movie and tv series. Gossip Girl anyone? (And not to forget How I Met Your Mother and 30 Rock) It would be nice strolling the down the streets of the Upper East Side sipping on an expensive cup of coffee and looking all 'high society'. lol

The only thing missing from this theme park is the hot dog stands! Not that I've been to New York before but still everyone knows how much hot dogs are a part of the NYC besides the fire escapes and mobster bars.

Before going back, we took one last stroll down Hollywood before going back and took some pictures with the movie characters strolling about the streets. Frankenstein was chasing a kid as he ran around a lamp pole. Something was wrong with this picture because the kid was smiling! I don't know about you but I would definitely not be smiling if one of those things were running after me.

All in all it was a very good day. There's something for everyone. I reckon you'll have an even better time when the park is fully open. Plus I heard that they have some night activities as well at Hollywood. But both dad and I were tired by that time and spent the rest of our day sitting down at Coffee Bean.

On another note, school starts in a week. Yay! That quote is open to interpretation.