Singapore Vacay Day 3: Universal Studios

Yey, it's theme park day!


Theme parks are a must-go for tourists, especially for families with kids. But I think adults have more fun in them because they can act young even for a day.


Day 3: Universal Studios

The Hubby and I geared up early for our trip to the Universal Studios. We ate free breakfast at the hotel café (which is named Blabbers—go figure!). The Kiddos requested the Hubby to buy the Hainanese chicken meal from Kopitiam, which they also ate last night after the Night Safari sojourn. Aba’t, nasarapan ang mga mokong—they couldn’t have enough of it! (S$4.50~Php150). 

We set out to walk to the Dhoby Ghaut  Station, which was a good three blocks from our hotel. We rode the train to VivoCity, where we transferred to another train going to the Sentosa Island.

At last, the Universal Studios!!!

Some background: The Universal Studios Singapore was officially opened in March 2010. Basically the baby of the family not only because it's the newest, but also because of its size. It has special attractions uniquely adapted to Singapore. The park is divided into seven themed zones surrounding a lagoon. It’s open on Monday-Sunday from 10:00am-9:00pm. Tickets are priced at S$72 for adults (~Php2448). Note: We bought the entrance tickets online.

The moment that we alighted the train, a cornucopia of colors and images and throngs of people shocked our senses. We didn’t know where to start posing for pictures!

We were looking for the Universal globe, and this is what we found. I guess the real one was covered because it was being renovated. Well, a globe is still a globe...

It was too hot that day that we wanted to step into that fountain...hmmm...maybe later?

This was as close as we could get to the Merlion.

Sigh! We missed my niece, Trina. Aside from the fact that she was a source of energy for the Kiddos during our trips, she was also able to take our family pictures. Here, we were never complete in the photo ops. (We really thought of you, Manang Trin!)

Hollywood is the first theme zone of the park. There’s not much to do here but to take a lot of pictures since what you would see are souvenir shops and restaurants, lined with replicas of Hollywood Boulevard buildings and palm trees.

Where else can you find a car with loads of popcorn?

The 1,500-seat Pantages Hollywood Theatre promises to entertain the visitors with broadway-like shows. At that time, the musical 'Monster Rock' was showing. But the schedule was still at 12:30, so we decided to come back later. 

The Fam agreed that if ever one of us got lost, we would go back to this fountain and wait for the others. Luckily, that never happened.

Off to Madagascar!Madagascar greeted us with this giant tree with a freakin' skelly in a parachute.

A carousel for kids, not cool for my Kiddos though.

We found out that the Madagascar Crate river boat ride was not yet available. So that was it for this zone? Pffft!

Next stop? Far, Far, Away Castle to hopefully see Shrek and Fiona!

Shrek's shack. Knock, knock, anybody home?

Let's go then to Fiona's castle. Maybe the ogre couple is there?

We took a ride at a junior roller coaster in the Enchanted Airways. Hey, it was the Dragon!

Woohoo! Paolo survived the 'scary' ride! I know, right?

They found the ogre! Smile, Paowee!!!

To the Shrek 4D show. We entered the dark dungeon of Lord Farquaad, and we saw the three little pigs and Pinocchio being held captive. Wait, hasn’t Lord Farquaad been gobbled up by the Dragon in the first Shrek movie? Yup, but he was back as a ghost, and he wanted Fiona to join him to kingdom come. So he was torturing these poor pals of Shrek to tell him the whereabouts of the Princess. And we were all prisoners in the dungeon too! Hehehe! It was kind of corny because the squire hosting the show was too mechanical when he delivered his lines. Anyway, we were allowed to enter the theatre to experience a Shrek movie in 4D—which means that when Donkey sneezed, we felt a burst  of mule drool on our faces; when our heroes rode the chariot to look after Fiona, our chairs were also moving and vibrating; when Lord Farquaad, the ghost, glided past the screen, we also felt a swoosh of air behind our ears--those things. You get the drill.

Before we started, the staff announced that a father was looking for his seven-year old son, because he got lost in the crowd. Ooh, I wouldn’t want to be in that position. Buti na lang, baby damulags na ang mga Kiddos ko. I wonder when did he find his kid?

Issa and I got a little bit woozy because of the moving seats plus the 3D ogreglasses. But-over-all, it was a fun movie ride.

Next stop: the Waterworld show.

We had to wait for the show to start under the heat of the noon sun. And I tell you, Singapore’s weather is very much like the Philippines’. So lining up for 30 minutes under the sun’s full glory was kind of dizzying. Translation: The thought of my skin getting dark after years of patiently scraping its melanin with Papaya soap was making me dizzy!

But it was worth the sunburn. The show was spectacular. If you were to choose to watch just one show, just go for the Waterworld. It is based on Kevin Costner's movie of the same title. Amazing pyrotechnics and Hollywood stunts were performed right before our eyes. I know, we are not so impressed anymore when we see action films in movies, but it’s a different thing when you experience the action right before your very eyes. If you don’t want to get wet, don’t sit near the stage. The actors have a field day splashing water to the audience. Also, if you have little children with you, you’d better think twice of bringing them to the show. There were two kids who cried their hearts out when they saw guns shooting and tanks exploding. Tsk tsk. Their parents were warned, weren’t they?

We were kind of famished after watching the Waterworld actors diving in the water, so we decided to grab lunch at the nearest resto, Discovery Food Court. While the boys were ordering, the girls went out for a walk beside the nearby fountain and see what was there.

Princess Fiona's froggy daddy king

Good thing we explored, because guess who we saw? Shrek and Fiona in the flesh!

Taken by the Universal Staff. Claimed this from the Dark Room for S$12 (~Php408). Mahal naman!

Back to lunch. Issa was ecstatic over her Fairy Godmother's potion bottle. You don't need a beauty potion anymore, baby!

The airconditioned café was full inside, so we chose to eat al fresco. Our lunch:  Chicken rice (again?), tofu, fruit salad, and a potion from Fairy Godmother (tasted like iced tea though!)

It was about 12:20 when we finished lunch. We rushed back to the Hollywood theatre to watch the musical Monster Rock scheduled at 12:30. It was about monsters like Dracula, Wolf, Frankenstein, Mummy getting a fresh lease of life to sing rock songs (huh?). Yeah, the singers were good, but I couldn’t relate to what they were singing, or why they were singing in the first place. Sorry, wasn't jumping up and down on my seat;-(

Back to exploring. This time: New York. This zone highlights New York's streetscape, including the New York Public Library (at the background).

 

There was even a manhole coolant, reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe's famous skirt raise.

Only one show, Lights, Camera, Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg was the main attraction in this zone. It promises special effects as an empty sound stage is transformed into a hurricane setting in New York. We skipped this one because we wanted to get on with the rides first.

Beside New York is Sci fi City. It’s supposed to project life in the far future where everything is hi-tech and modern. This is where the Battlestar Galactica dual roller coasters are located.

Wanting to save the best for last, we went ahead to the next zone: The Ancient Egypt

The zone features obelisks, pyramids, and replicas of pharaoh’s tombs. An enclosed roller coaster ride, the Revenge of the Mummy, is here to scare the riders with twists and turns while being pitted agains fireballs and insects and mummies. So they say.

We were apprehensive to ride an enclosed roller coaster because we had a bad experience at the Space Mountain of Hongkong Disneyland. We were afraid the dark plus the roller coaster would not be a good combo. So we decided to delay riding it. Mamaya na lang.

The Lost World really lived up to its name, for this was where the day went down the drain for us:-(

The Jurassic Park rapid ride is one of the most popular rides, and for good reasons.

 We rode a round raft drifting through a river-like maze, while being assaulted by fake dinosaurs on the river bank, with matching fog and warning sounds. The highlight was going through the long, dark hydroelectric plant tunnel, and at the end of it, our raft was catapulted up by a vertical elevator. At the top of the ceiling was a large T-rex mouth  waiting to eat all the passengers whole! Of course, it was just scare tactics. And of course, my Daughter didn’t see the T-rex because she had her eyes closed all the time. (Kainez!) To top it all off, we suddenly descended on a 30-foot steep ramp, and two dinos drenched all of us with water from head to foot. It was good that we bought a plastic poncho each (worth S$2 din ha!) before entering the ride. At least our bodies didn’t get wet, but our feet were all soaked—socks, shoes, toes…no mercy! Tip: Bring a fresh change of clothes if you plan to ride this one.

kosmix.com

Although it was a good adventure ride, the hours of waiting was not at all that cool. When we entered the building, they indicated that the wait would last for 2 hours, but thinking it was not that bad, we bravely went on. Little did we know that the long anaconda-like queue plus the standing plus the heat inside the building would painfully kill our excitement to ride the raft. When it was already our turn, we were too tired and dehydrated to shout and be excited.

Meanwhile, the Hubby didn’t go with us and he just waited for us outside. Imagine waiting in mid-afternoon for three straight hours, not knowing what time we would be coming out. This was a big mistake in our schedule. Oh well.

After that fiasco, all of us were resigned to go home. We missed the Donkey, the Mummy, and the Steven Spielberg spiel...

But wait, there’s one more ride to try before heading to the exit—the Battlestar Galactica!

It is claimed that Battlestar Galactica is the world’s tallest dual roller coaster. They start and go at the same moment, so at one point, the two coasters seem to meet. The Blue one, the Cyclone, has inversions, loops, and corkscrews, while the passengers’ feet are suspended. The Red one, called Human, although with no inversions, is faster and can reach the speed of 90 kph.

The Youngest was the only one raring to try the Galactica, and it was up to his brave, supportive Mom to go with him (ahem!). The Hubby has vertigo, and the Daughter and the First Son were both wusses (You asked for it, you two!).

The Youngest and I chose the Human.

Great shot by the Hubby!

Woot! Woot! We survived it!

Youngest: “Let’s try the other one, Mom!” Sure, I said. But the Hubby pulled us back to reality and said enough is enough. Hmmp, mga KJ!

At 44, I have the Galactica bragging rights written all over my face;-)

And we reluctantly relented to the three Losers’ wish to head back. But more pictures were to be had.

The Kiddos bought some souvenirs from the Universal Studios Main Store...

...while the mother hen bought some cupcakes for her flock.

Psst...Po the Kungfu Panda is following you. Talaga?

Getting crazy with Mr. Reese's

Biggest chupa chups

I remember Tita Ban and Lola!

Kisses for Mama O!

Gotcha, Mr. Hershey's!

To the Best Father in the World--thanks, Dad!

Why can't we be like little kids who could do something fun like this?

Well, we had fun too! Thanks, Dad!

We passed by VivoCity Mall and had dinner.

Extra: Who could resist the lure of MAC store? (Humirit pa ang lola!) Tao lang po. 

Yey, MAC Lady Gaga!

My day is complete. Let's go back to the hotel.

 To be continued...