The smallest of Universal’s worldwide theme parks, Universal Studios Singapore still has a lot to offer.
Universal Studios Singapore opened in 2010, although its official opening with all rides and attractions functional didn’t occur until May 2011. Located on Sentosa Island, a resort island just off the south of Singapore, it’s the smallest of the various Universal theme parks due to being surrounded by other attractions. Within that restriction, though, the park packs in a lot of attractions and has very little idle space other than the lake in the middle.
It is arguably not as good as its sister parks, lacking some of the newer flagship attractions like The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and almost all the main rides will be familiar if you’re a Universal veteran. But it is a bit cheaper to buy tickets, transport to and from the park is a cinch, and with the park as compact as it is you’ll be able to pack a lot into your day.
The park is divided into seven different themed areas, so heading in from the main entrance and wandering clockwise, you’ll find:
Hollywood: the ‘Main Street’ of Universal, Hollywood is mostly full of shops and retail outlets like Starbucks, as well as the various membership and ticketing outlets selling annual passes, Express passes (see below), stroller rentals and the like. It’s also the way out of the park, sticking to the traditional exit-through-the-gift-shop design.
Madagascar: A kid-friendly and more sedate area of the park, Madagascar is home to A Crate Adventure (a riverboat ride a bit like Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean in terms of pace) and King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round (a merry-go-round). Crate Adventure is the more elaborate of the two rides, providing you can tolerate I Like To Move It (Move It) on loop while you’re in the queue; there’s also a slight possibility you’ll get wet.
Far Far Away: A Shrek-themed area, Far Far Away has two roller coasters. The more elaborate of the two is Puss In Boots’ Giant Journey, which has you follow the titular cat in a crate suspended from the rail; it’s moderately fast and operates at a height, but it’s a bit stop-and-start while it tells its story. The other is more leisurely; Enchanted Airways is a dragon-themed coaster which is a lot smaller.
In addition to the two coasters Far Far Away has a ferris wheel (located indoors at the Fairy Godmother’s Potion Shop) and the 4-D cinema housing the Shrek 4-D Adventure. The cinema was closed for maintenance when I was there but it looks similar to the Shrek movies showing at Universal’s other parks. It’s a fun way to fill a few minutes; the ‘4-D’ refers to the movie being in stereoscopic 3D, but the theatre including other features like water sprays and moving seats syncronised to the events of the film.
The Lost World: Now we’re getting into more adventurous fare. As its name suggests, the Lost World is home to Universal’s Jurassic Park-themed rides. Dino-Soarin’ is a smaller merry-go-round, while the Canopy Flyer is a suspended roller-coaster around the whole area and is fun, if short.
The Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure is the highlight of the area, a slight variation on the Jurassic Park rides at other Universal parks but with an eight-person raft that spins as it goes through the course rather than the roller coaster-style cars used elsewhere. You should assume you will get wet on this ride (the sign at the entrance says “you will get wet, you may get drenched”) so plan accordingly.
The Lost World is also home to Singapore’s version of the Waterworld show, a stunt show with explosions and live actors that’s become a staple at each of Universal’s parks worldwide despite being based on a legendary flop. The show only runs a few times a day so you’ll need to plan around it, but it is worth the effort if you’ve not seen it elsewhere.
Ancient Egypt: Revenge of the Mummy is the highlight here, a fast-moving indoor coaster with all sorts of twists and turns and a (slightly hokey) ghost-train feel. This had the longest queues on the day I visited, although that was possibly because nearby thunderstorms had closed some of the outdoor rides. (This is similar to the Mummy ride at Universal Hollywood if you’ve been there.)
Treasure Hunters is at the opposite end of the thrill-seeking spectrum, a ghost train except outdoors, in broad daylight, with no jump scares. It hardly seems worth it unless you’ve got really young kids; it’s barely even worth it if you just want to sit down for a bit, as the queues were fairly long.
Sci-Fi City: Battlestar Galactica must have been big in south-east Asia, because the pride of the park is themed after the series. Promoted as the world’s tallest duelling roller coasters, the ride has a ‘Human’ track with regular cars, and a ‘Cylon’ track with loops and corkscrews where riders are suspended from the rail. The Cylon entrance is the only place in the park that has a “this ride has a loop-the-loop” warning, while the Human track had substantially longer queues on the day I visited, so if you’re a thrillseeker but short on time head for the Cylon entrance first. (The only other ride with any sort of serious warning on it is Revenge of the Mummy.)
The other major attraction here is Transformers: The Ride, a motion simulator with 3D projections and some water and heat effects thrown in. It’s identical to the one at Hollywood (although according to the Wiki it opened in Singapore first) but pretty cool if you dig the Transformers.
A smaller ride with shorter queues is Accelerator, which is basically the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party from Disneyland but much faster; it spins quickly but doesn’t elevate above ground level.
New York: The New York area is mostly home to the Sesame Street attractions- “Dance With Bert And Ernie” and “Spaghetti Space Chase” with Elmo and Grover. If you don’t have really little kids with you the other notable attraction is Lights, Camera, Action, a sound stage set up to look like a boat shed during a hurricane (complete with water and fire effects).
Practical Info: A one-day adult ticket is $76 if you buy it on the day, or $72 if you pre-book it through Resorts World’s website. A pass for two consecutive days is $145. Another $30 per day gets you Universal Express, which allows you to join much shorter queues but only once for each ride; an unlimited Express pass is $50 per day.
Getting to Universal is extremely simple thanks to Singapore’s public transport system. Take the MRT to Harbourfront (on the Circle or North-East lines), then head upstairs at VivoCity shopping centre to catch the Sentosa Express monorail ($4 round trip).
As with other Universal parks, some rides have a Single Rider line which may speed things up if you’re travelling solo or don’t mind your party being split. It basically means they will draw from the Single Rider line to fill empty seats- when a ride has four seats but the group ahead of you only has three people, for example. Most of the big rides also have a child-switch facility where parents can take turns on the ride, leaving one behind to look after a small child.
Rides and narration are all in English, although safety warnings are also posted in Chinese.
The more elaborate rides all have storage lockers nearby where you can stash loose items, and there is a room full of lockers just inside the main entrance to the park. Lockers cost $12 for three hours or $14 for the whole day, but the lockers near the rides are free for up to 90 minutes to allow for queueing times.
Singapore is right on the Equator, so temperatures are generally around 30 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit) all year round. The tropical climate also means there is a pretty good chance it will rain on any given day, so plan accordingly. Outdoor rides will close if there are thunderstorms in the area, even if it seems sunny from where you stand; the rides do reopen as conditions allow.
Universal Singapore doesn’t have a CityWalk area outside like its sister parks. To make up for this, it’s right in the middle of Resorts World’s casino “integrated resort” on Sentosa Island, which has a host of dining options from McDonalds and Hard Rock Cafe to more up-market fare. The park itself has eateries in each major area, with halal and vegetarian options widely available. (If you’re averse to gambling, don’t worry; you can go from the monorail to the park entrance without going anywhere near the casino.)
If you’re staying in the area (or don’t mind the commute), Sentosa has a number of other attractions including the SEA Aquarium, Adventure Cove water park, AJ Hackett Bungy and Madame Tussauds.
All prices are in Singapore dollars (SGD). At the time of publication, 1 Australian dollar buys $1.014 Singapore dollars. Tickets were purchased by the writer.
