Singapore Day 2: Universal Studios Singapore, Chinatown and Clarke Quay

Welcome to Universal Studios Singapore! ^_^

     Before heading out, we had complimentary breakfast at the hotel. You can choose from Continental (toast with butter and jelly, with orange juice or tea) or Chinese buffet (fried carrot cake, siopao, noodles, fried rice, with coffee or tea). Serving time is from 8:30 - 10:30am -- that's why we leave a little late hehe!

     From Bugis station, we went down Outram Park interchange and transferred to the purple line and alighted at Harbourfront Station. We then took the Sentosa Express for 3sgd each inside VivoCity shopping mall at the 3rd level.

USS tickets

     We bought our Universal Studios Singapore (USS) tickets online for fear that we wouldn't get any. Hehe! It's a good thing that we already have our tickets -- we skipped the long queue, especially since it was a peak day (students are on their break). Our tickets cost 72sgd, 8sgd more than the usual price.

At the famous globe :)

     We got so excited upon seeing  this well known landmark. It was like the feeling we got when we went to Disneyland Hong Kong. ^_^

     After getting the park map, we decided to go left first, where we saw the photo op with the stars of Madagscar! We had to line up but it was worth it! :)

Cast of Madagascar

     We then went on our first ride, Madagascar: A Crate Adventure. Good thing the queue wasn't that long even if it was a peak day. :)

First ride of the day

     It was like It's a Small World at Disneyland where we had to ride a boat and watch the fun, animated figures of Alex, Mary, Melman and Gloria, complete with booming sounds and cool visual effects.

Alex

Gloria and Melman

     Next up is the land Far, Far Away -- where everyone lived happily ever after. Here were castles, grand courtyards, princes, princesses, even dragons! We felt like kids again! c:

Enter! 

Welcome to our castle :D

     Our first adrenaline-pumping ride: Enchanted Airways, a mini roller coaster, where we rode Donkey's dragon around Shrek's world. :) Next up is Shrek 4D. We always look forward to watching 3D movies here in the Philippines, what more if the show was in 4D! ;p

Shrek in 4D

     The show was all about the adventures of Shrek, Donkey and dragon while trying to rescue Fiona from the mean Lord Farquaad. 

     Up next is the Lost World. We first went to Jurassic Park and lined up for the Canopy Flyer but they closed it down for some time due to technical problems. We were looking forward to the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure but it was unfortunately under maintenance and won't open until next year. :( 

Time to eat! USS style! :p

     It was already past 12 so we had lunch at Discovery Food Court inside The Lost World. In the middle of the foodcourt was a giant bone structure of the great Tyrannosaurus Rex, on the walls were fossils of plants and small insects - felt something like a set from the movie Jurassic Park :)


     We chose a set meal from the rice section and noodle section to get a variety. Each costs 10.50sgd. 

Hainanese chicken

Laksa

     The hainanese chicken was tender and cooked just right. The veggies on the side complemented the dish well. The laksa was spicy of course -- too spicy for our taste. Haha! :D We just ate the noodles and the tofu puffs. All in all, lunch was good -- we're now ready for more walking. Hehe! :)

Jurassic Park

     After eating and refilling our water from drinking fountain (drinking fountains are all around the park -- good way to save money!), we went to Jurassic Park and rode Dino-Soarin', a kiddie ride where we can pilot our own dinosaur. 


     The Canopy Flyer was up and running already so we didn't pass up the chance to go on it. We again queued and we're glad to have experienced it! It was like a mini roller coaster but we're seated with our feet dangling. We glided around the treetops and enjoyed the view from above.

At the Canopy Flyer

     It was already nearing 3pm and we did not want to be late for the Waterworld show so we waited at the entrance until they let us in. 

Waiting for the show

     Waterworld featured a live water show complete with awesome stunts, big, loud explosions and heart-pumping action scenes! and before the show, some of the actors had a blast getting some of the audience wet, some even soaking. Hehe! :p

On set

Action!

     The show was great! The scenes were the actors had to jump from high platforms, maneuver jet skis from under the water, swing from one platform to another and escape explosions, gunshots were amazing!


     The fourth area is Ancient Egypt. This place is a wonderful sight with the humongous Anubis, tall obelisks and pyramids. This is where Revenge of the Mummy is, our most awaited roller coaster ride!

With the humongous Anubis

     We've been wanting to try this ride since we've researched about it. Haha! :D The ride had some sharp turns, drops, fast reverse-all in darkness! We had to place all our things in the locker provided for free (for an hour). The locker's code was your birthday and favorite color.

Uber cool ride!

     The ride was exhilarating! Ryan (Leslie's bother) fell to his knees after the ride. Hehe! It was fun, though, with all the visual and sound effects as well as the unexpected twists and turns, not to mention the backwards motion. :p

     Sci-fi City is next -- where the dreaded Battlestar Gallactica is, the scariest roller coaster we've seen so far! Haha! :D No one among us dared to go on it! 

Transformers: The Ride

     We first learned about this ride from a commercial on our hotel, thought that it would open on December 3. Boy, we're we glad to see that it was already open! It was our favorite ride! and the one with the longest queue. Haha! We rode EVAC, feeling all the twists, turns, falls, while trying to protect the AllSpark. We were sprayed on, sucked by Devastator, grabbed and thrown by Starscream -- all made for a thrilling 4D ride! 

With Bumblebee!

     The sixth area is New York where we witnessed the dance moves of our fellow Kababayans (former Streetboys members) in World Premiere and had a picture with them. We also witness Lights! Camera! Action! hosted by Steven Spielberg. Here, we watched how a category 5 typhoon is in a movie set, with real strong winds and rainfall (good thing not over us. Haha!)

With the Rockafellas

     And lastly, is the Hollywood Boulevard where we felt like stars. :p Sadly, it rained hard (again!). It was already about 7pm when the rain stopped, perfect time to watch Monster Rock! at Pantages Hollywood Theater. It was a live rock musical show where monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, a mummy and a werewolf  danced and rocked it out on stage. It was a nice way to end our USS experience, after all the exciting rides and all the walking under the sweltering heat of the sun. :p

Rockin' Monsters!

     But wait there's more! :p Our USS trip will not be complete without meeting our favorite characters and personalities inside the Park. We met The Penguins from Madagascar, Manilyn Monroe and Po of Kung Fu Panda. We also saw Woody Woodpecker, Frankenstein and Betty Boop but failed to have our picture with them. Shrek and Fiona were missing in action.. Too bad.. :(

The Penguins of Madagascar

Posing with Marilyn Monroe

Kickin' it with Po

     It was a tiring yet fun and exciting day at Universal Studios Singapore! Our favorite part was Transformers: the Ride as well as Revenge of the Mummy. Wish we had guts to go on Battlestar Gallactica. Hehe! :D

Fun at USS

     The night was still young and we wanted to explore more of Singapore, so the 5 of us went to Chinatown to see it for ourselves. We took the Sentosa Express back to VivoCity, took the MRT at Harbourfront station and alighted at Chinatown. Most of the stores were already closed so we just decided to exchange some Malaysian Ringgit instead for our side-trip to Malaysia. We also had our dinner at a hawker center near the MRT station.

Sweet & Sour Pork

Fish with veggies

     We decided to share and get 3 viands and 5 cups of rice. The pork was good, seasoned well and was not tough. The fish was also tender but the serving was kinda small so we got another viand -- fried chicken. Haha! Dinner was good and recharged us -- ready for more touring. :D  

     We also decided to pay a visit to Clarke Quay. We again took the MRT and alighted at the next stop. (too tired to walk hehe)

Clarke Quay

     Clarke Quay is a nice place to hang out at night -- there are a lot of restaurants, bars and even a heart-stopping ride, the G-Max Reverse Bungee! The ride costs 45sgd per person. 

S$1 ice cream

     We were so excited to have a taste of this 1 dollar ice cream! (We never catch the stall near our hotel open). We tried the Tin Roof Brownie and Macadamia flavors. The serving size was big which we loved! It was refreshing and delicious! We'd try the other flavors next time!

Water and lights

     Day 2 was a fun-filled day! We were up from 7am to 1am haha! Everything on our itinerary: checked! ^_^

Next Post: Singapore Zoo