Universal Studios Singapore
While it is not as big as its United States counterparts, the Universal Studios in Singapore still makes for a fun day out with kids. It is located on Sentosa Island which for us was about a $10 SGD taxi fare from the Marina Bay area. If you want to avoid the ticket queues, buying tickets beforehand online is preferable (and cheaper). Gates open at 10.00am and we would recommend arriving around 10 minutes beforehand (allow a bit more extra time if buying tickets on site).
There are seven zones at Universal Studios Singapore:
- Hollywood
- New York
- Sci Fi City
- Ancient Egypt
- Lost World
- Far Far Away
- Madagascar
If you love adrenalin rides, we would suggest that once you enter the park go straight to Sci-Fi City Here you can experience the Transformers and Battlestar Galactica rides before the queues begin. The Transformers is a 3D thrill ride and is definitely our favourite experience of Universal Studios Singapore so do not miss it! The Battlestar Galactica is a Human (red track) v’s Cylon (blue track) dual high speed rollercoaster ride where both depart simultaneously (the blue one is for the more adventurous riders).
You can then move onto the nearby Ancient Egypt zone which has the very popular Revenge of the Mummy ride which is an indoor rollercoaster and not for the faint hearted.
Another popular zone is the Lost World which has two very popular rides which can get long queues – the Canopy Flyer and the Jurassic Park Rapid Adventure (just be prepared to get wet on this one!). There are free lockers available around the park to store bags and valuables for the rides that you cannot take them on.
In the Far Far Away zone you will find the newly built Puss In Boots’ Giant Journey suspended rollercoaster ride which the kids really loved. They also enjoyed the Enchanted Airways and the 4D Shrek Adventure show here.
The kids will also love the the Madagascar Crate Adventure boat journey in the Madagascar zone. If you have been to Disneyland before this is a fun Madagascar version of the It’s A Small World ride.
In the New York zone, the highlights are the Sesame Street Spaghetti Chase ride as well as the Lights, Camera, Action special effects show hosted by Steven Spielberg.
As well as all the rides here, there is a Waterworld show very similar to those at the U.S. Universal Studios. If you have been to one of the U.S. shows I would bypass it here and keep going on the rides. Please note there is no studio backlot here which is a big feature of the LA Universal Studios.
There are plenty of photo opportunities throughout the day with various characters from Sesame Street, Transformers etc. If you there on a weekend there is also a Hollywood Dreams Parade and fireworks on a Saturday night. A weekday visit is recommended though if you want to avoid the major ride queues. If you are going there on a busy day, an express pass may be worth purchasing. You can buy these from outside the entrance but the good thing is you can also buy them once inside if the queues look like they are going to be too long.
Our boys were 8 & 10 when we last visited Universal Studios Singapore and this park is perfect for kids their ages. Due to its smaller size, it is easy to walk around the entire park and there is plenty of entertainment to keep them occupied for the whole day. This Universal studios is mostly aimed at younger children and there are plenty of rides that they can go on by themselves so the adults can relax a little bit.
One more tip would be to make sure you take plenty of water with you. It gets quite hot standing in queues in the Singapore heat!
To find out more information go to www.rwsentosa.com
Also on Sentosa Island is the S.E.A. Aquarium (see review here).
For more family fun ideas see our Exploring Singapore with Kids blog here.
