We stepped into New York and this is where you can take some nice photos. It's a pity we missed the Lights, Camera, Action show featuring the special effects of a major hurricane. :( There was a waiting time of 30mins and so we decided to catch the other show instead.

Going into Hollywood, the Broadway muscial - Monster Rock is about to start! We managed to catch the 4:45pm show at the Pantages Hollywood Theater. It was a very entertaining musical filled with songs, special effects and pyrotechnics! The 'monsters' (e.g. Dracula, Mummy, Frankenstein, Wolfman etc) sang and dance throughout the show. Gladys find the music too loud but it surely end with a blast!

After the show, we headed back to Madagascar. Since it is getting late, there are not many people going for the rides. That's good for us as the kids do not need to wait too long before going for the King Julien's Beach Party-Go-Round. This carousel is beautiful and Gladys already picked her choice to sit on Melman the Giraffe!

Somehow, Gladys' face changed when she sits on the giraffe. I wonder if it is too high for her that is making her nervous. hehehe.

We went back to the Lost World as Gladys wanted to play with the waters and we promised her that it will be at the end of the day. :) Kids love to get themselves wet!

After a whole day of fun and excitement, it's time to go! Too bad there are no parades or fireworks. :) Before we leave, Hubby bought a Gingerbread man soft toy for Gladys. All of us had a great time together and it will be an unforgettable memory.

Signing off from USS - till we meet again!

After lunch, we braced ourselves for more rides and longer queues. Most of the rides needs at least 25-45mins waiting time at The Lost World. We joined in the line for Dino-Soarin waiting to soar up in the sky in one of the Pteranodons. The children are getting impatient seeing the long slow-moving queue in front of them and standing under the hot weather doesn't makes them feel good. Thanks to the covered shelter, wall fans and water-cooler units, it makes our wait less temperamental and more bearable.

We headed straight to the Canopy Flyer where it states an estimate of 40mins waiting time at the entrance. I was a bit hesitant to take the ride initially since it does look kinda scary sitting on the vehicle and flying round at high speed. However, Denver & Gladys are so persistent on riding the Canopy Flyer and here we are! The waiting time isn't as bad as I thought and soon enough, it was our turn! Guests will need to deposit their bags at the side and take out their loose footware (slippers, flip flops etc) and sit on it. This is to avoid losing them during the 1 minute aerial ride.

I started to feel scared and worry if Gladys is game enough to take the ride. Luckily Hubby will be taking care of her while I close my eyes and scream my way through with Denver. Many times, I felt as if I am flying out of the vehicle and could not look! How can one have a good eye view of the Jurassic Park from the top at this speed??? Hahaha. I must applaud Gladys for her bravery as she safely completes her first thrill ride without crying or having wobbling legs. Denver enjoyed it so much that he wanted to go for another round! Seeing the long queue, I gave that a pass and we move on to Rapid Adventures.

This is one of the favourite rides in the Park and we were lucky that the queue isn't that long. We heard the longest waiting time can go up to 2 hours during peak hours! Since Rapid Adventure is well-known to make it's guests wet, we brought along our own poncho.

We are still missing one poncho, we bought a "Survival Gear" for $2 SGD. For those who likes to get themselve wet, save the $$ from buying the gear, hop on and enjoy. The circular raft took us on a ride along the waterway where we saw dinosaurs and hearing them roar. Moving into the tunnel and gradually in total darkness, we could only hear the sounds and eventually got hit with a big splash towards the end of the ride, after the plunge. Luckily we had our ponchos to protect us from getting all soak.

Kids with their Survivor Gear on. :)

That pretty much ends our adventure at the Lost World as we go into the world of Ancient Eygpt. Revenge of the Mummy is an indoor roller coaster ride which is too thrilling for us to take and so we took  a motorcar ride at the Treasure Hunters. Gladys wanted to take the front seat and control the wheel but she ended up dozing off while queueing for the ride only to be awaken when she is on board. Nevertheless, she enjoyed the car ride even though Denver finds it kinda boring.

No Thanks.. We are not going for the Mummy ride.

From ancient ruins, we go into the future - Sci-Fi City. You will not miss the Battlestar Galactica - High Speed roller coaster that is finally in operation after a technical fault was detected during the test runs last year. The twists and turns and loops makes this the main attraction in the Park. 

We also went on our own spinning and twirling action at the Accelerator. The children had fun and wouldn't mind for a second round. Waiting time is extremely short (not sure if it's because it's getting late) and we had a good spin.

Photo-taking everywhere whenever we spot Mascots around USS.

Part 3 - To be continued...

Our first visit to Universal Studios Singapore was a year ago where we went for the Sneak Preview (no rides/show) for $10 SGD per ticket. This time round, it's a totally different experience as we will be entering the park with all the rides waiting for us. ^_^

Rivervale Community Center has organised a Punggol East Family Day Event at Universal Studios Singapore at a discounted rate! (about 30-40% off the usual weekend rates)! Not only that, it comes with free transportation, breakfast, drinks, door gifts and lucky draw!
 
Adults - $50
Children - $30
Senior Citizen - $25

We woke up early to meet at our destinated RC by 8am. Free bottled drinks, packet drinks, nasi-lemak, mango pudding and free caps were given out! Big Thanks to the sponsors and organization committee!

We settled down and had our breakfast so that we do not need to bring so many packets and bottles to USS. Buses were already waiting to pick up all the residents to the park. We set off at 830am and arrived at around 9 plus in the morning. There was already a huge crowd outside the entrance as we waited for our turn to take group photos.

Since it was the Punggol East Family Day event, we were allowed to enter the park earlier than it's usual opening hours - 10am.

We headed towards Waterworld where our Guest-of-Honour, Michael Palmer gave a short welcoming speech and also conducted the lucky draw. Well, none of us are the lucky winners among the 2000+ strong crowd. :) But everyone is already a winner with all the goodies and a nice day out at USS today!

As soon as the lucky draw ended at around 1045am, we headed on straight to Far Far Away. This is Gladys' favourite spot because of the enchanted castle as well as the gingerbread house. :)

We queued up for our first show - Shrek 4-D Adventure as we made our way into the castle after waiting for 10 mins. Gladys was extremely delighted as she was brought into a dark room with an introductory story of Shrek, Princess Fiona and Donkey's adventure. We were later being led into the theatre where the real adventure beings in 4-D! Put on your glasses and enjoy the 3-D film as you go on a bouncy ride, experience the water sprinkles on your face and wind blowing beneath your feet and on your face.

Coming out of the castle, we spotted the gingerbread house. Hubby paid $11 for 2 gingerbread man cookies (1 each for the kids). It sure is expensive but Gladys won't leave without one. :)

Going into the Fairy Godmother's Potion shop, you will spot a mini Ferris wheel (Magic Potion Spin) at the back of the store. This is more suited for younger children who wish to circle round inside the swaying wooden vat.

For the more adventurous ones, hop on to the Enchanted Airways - an outdoor family roller coaster ride. Denver is very keen to take on this challenge and Daddy accompanied him on his first junior roller coaster spin! Not only that, they were seated at the very first row! Wooooooooosh.....

While the 'boys' were away, I spotted Puss-in-boots and followed him to queue for a photo shot. That spares us from the gruelling ride. Haha. :)

Waterworld is our next destination and it is a MUST-WATCH live-water show in USS. Do not leave without catching this trilling stunt performance that comes with real explosions! There are 3 show-times for Waterworld (12:30pm, 2:30pm, 5:30pm). Do plan your rides/stops within the park to avoid disappointment. 

Waterworld Stunt Act Settings

Prior to the stunt performance, it is accompanied with a fun-filled water splashing session. Remember to choose your seats very carefully to avoid getting wet if you are not game enough. However, if you like to have fun, enjoy the excitement and wished to be entertained, take a seat in the Splash-zone area right at the front. ENJOY & BEWARE!!! You have been WARNED! :)

Initially, Denver was sitting at the Splash-zone area. After seeing the first round of spraying.. he changed his mind and decided to sit with us at the Dry-zone. I guess he prefers to see others getting wet instead. Hahahahaha... :)

Waterworld Show

We were famished after the Waterworld show despite taken some bread earlier on. There are many F&B options in USS and we decided to have our lunch at the Discovery Food Court in The Lost World. There are many Singapore's local delights like chicken rice, laksa etc and we decided to go for the Halal food which has the shortest queue. Dining in USS is not cheap, but we have to fill our stomachs to rejuvenate ourselves before moving on for more rides. :)

Part 2 - to be continued.... ^_^

We went to the Universal Studios Singapore's Sneak Preview on 17th February 2010!! Since Gladys is less than 4, she gets to go in for free!! ^_^ Each ticket is also rebated with the same-value dining meal! Spending only $30 for the entire family to enjoy an evening out together and walk through sensation at Universal Studios is definitely worth it! (Even though the rides and shows are not operational).

Universal Studios Singapore Sneak Preview

Date: February 14th 2010 - February 21st 2010

Time: 5pm to 9pm

Ticket Price: $10SGD

*No Rides/shows Available

Website: http://www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/Attractions/UniversalStudiosSingapore

We woke up late and rush all the way down from Sengkang to HabourFront station. Next, it's joining the queue to hop on the shuttle bus to Resort World @ Sentosa. (Hubby decided not to drive in to avoid having a headache to find a carpark lot. :p)
We are FINALLY HERE at Universal Studios Singapore!! The children are definitely EXCITED!
The staff at the theme park are very friendly and helpful. They are ready and on standby to take pictures for the visitors. The auntie who helped us took the family photo with the USS globe (above) really waited till the word "Universal" was in focus before taking the shot!

After making our way to the entrance, it was eating, walking, shopping and photo taking all the way. USS comprises of 7 lands - Hollywood, Madagascar, Far Far Away, The Lost World, Ancient Egypt, Sci-Fi City and New York.
We were first welcome at Hollywood as it was located after the main gate area. There are already many visitors queueing up to take photos with their favourite character mascots. (Betty Boop, Frankenstein, Po the Kungfu Panda etc)

We get to take pictures with Woody Woodpecker and Charlie Chaplin! ^_^

We were lucky that it was not that crowded and the weather was good. After Hollywood, we decided to turn left for Madagascar! Unfortunately, I think we missed the Madagascar's character mascots as we were late. :( So, we roam around the land taking photos with fun loving bunch of people!

Also, not forgetting to use our ticket in exchange for our first dining combo meal! The staff warmly welcome all visitors to have a look at the interior dining area and there are also food for sampling!

Colourful chairs and bright interior with water feature at one of the dining area.

Gladys was screaming away when she saw the beautiful castle at Far Far Away land. Girls always love castle huh. ^_^ Too bad we cannot go further inside to the Big Castle! Nevertheless, we get to take pictures with Push in Boots.

The children love the Gingerbread house and since the cookies are on 50% discount, we bought a cookie filled with m&m (for denver) and a Gingerbread cookie (for Gladys). Usual price was $5.50 each!!!

Every land has their own merchandise shop where visitors can select and purchase various souveniors they like for each theme as they visit the different lands.
We actually spent 3 half hours walking through Universal Studios Singapore for 2 rounds! The look of USS is very different in the night with the lights on! Even the castle looked more enchanting.

Our 2nd Combo meal of the day at Friar's in Far Far Away.

I believe The Lost World are the children's favourite. Why? Because there are Dinosaur! ^_^ Denver has been busy looking at the map to check out the various lands... while Gladys has been busy running around.
The stage area at WaterWorld where it will display amazing stunts, awesome explosions and thrills in the live water show. (According to the USS's website)

Dinosaur too heavy for the kiddos??

There are many rides featured in The Lost World and Denver already eyeing on the "Dino-Soarin"!

Photos.. Photos.. and more photos....we spent quite a fair bit of time at the Dino-Store purchasing the Dinosaur's books and toy for the children. Before moving on, we used up our final ticket for our 3rd Combo Meal (Take away) at Fossil Fuels.

But we are not done yet!!! Let's move on to Part 2 of our Journey!http://bpdgtravels.blogspot.com/2010/02/universal-studios-singapore-preview.html