A Revisit to Universal Studios Singapore!

The last time we were in Universal Studios Singapore, Aiden was just over a year old. You can read the last blogpost here. (I took a visit down memory lane with Aiden by showing him the entry. He laughed his head off when I pointed out that he was crying in nearly every picture we took!)

Anyway, the trip to USS was merely an extension of my business trip to Johor. As mentioned in my previous post, I was asked to standby in the JB/Singapore area during the Christmas holidays hence the decision to bring the family over. We got a good deal online for the USS tickets; two adult tickets at $66 each which included a free coupon of $10 for food, $5 for souvenir and car park coupon worth $28. Of course we added on one child ticket for Aiden (Ian was free) and the total came to $186 (~RM588). Oh, a neighbour and her family joined us too... Aiden was so happy that he could go on 'adult' rides with Kakak Deena instead of merely riding with his lil' brother.

The ride into Singapore was not too bad, considering it was Christmas Eve. We tricked Aiden into believing that the Singapore immigration would have to 'interview' him before allowing him into the country. So we practiced a few lines such as "Why do you want to enter Singapore?" in which he answered with all the honest enthusiasm he could muster... "To have fun!!!!" Hubby and I broke into peals of laughter in the car. We even caught him practicing saying "Universal Studios Singapore" again and again to prepare for the 'interview'. *chuckles* Aaaahhh we are such naughty parents!

Universal Studios Singapore looked exactly the same as my last visit there, although they did splurge on the Christmas decorations this time around. We didn't bother going in early, our game plan was to just take our time and go on the more popular rides later in the evening when the queue time usually goes down significantly. Since USS is quite small, we tawaf the whole area at least 4 times in the hunt for rides with short queue lines. So make sure you wear good comfortable shoes!

Hollywood main street.

The Christmas tree at the end of the street.

We took a candid photo with Vin Diesel.

The first ride we went on was "Lights, Camera, Action" (hosted by Steven Spielberg). Needless to say, both Aiden and Ian walked out bawling in tears. They were super scared of the 'tornado' - it was that convincing! It all went downhill right after that because Aiden and Ian got super nervous whenever the ride included walking or riding into a dark area. For instance, Ian started panicking when we went into the Shrek 4D Adventure and Madagascar: A Crate Adventure. But at least he didn't cry. But for shows that were exceptionally loud, he would keep it all in until the end (such as the live Water World show) and once it ended, he started crying. *chuckles*

Just before the Lights, Camera, Action show. Honest laughter here. Little did he know about what he was going to experience after that!

Madagascar: A Crate Adventure.

Nervous faces on the two boys.

Honestly, USS isn't the best place to bring kids below 4. Exactly like Aiden 5 years ago, Ian didn't even crack a smile throughout our time there. Everything was either too loud or too scary for him. We tried our level best to make him happy with the (limited) kiddy rides available. We went on the Canopy Flyer (queue was super long, by the time we got in he was already exasperated), Magic Potion Spin (he got so tired of waiting for everyone to get on the ferris wheel that he demanded to be let out), and last but not least... this one takes the cake.... Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase (he didn't make the minimum height mark)!!!

Canopy Flyer... Aiden recognized the Jurassic Park theme song too!

Magic Potion Spin... they took such a long time loading people into each individual Ferris Wheel that by the time we got to the top, Ian started exclaiming "Apeeee, apeeee!!" (which meant "Open, open!!").

While we all went on the Spaghetti Space Chaser, the bapak bapak took responsibility of taking care of Ian (who didn't make the height mark). Dah macam gay couple pulak posing macamnie. *grin*

Posing with Elmo. Ian was deliriously happy to see his favourite character come to live. He kept exclaiming, "Mo! Mo!" *so cute*

Unlike Aiden at that age who screamed at anything huge and furry, Ian wasn't scared at all. He even gave Bert and Ernie a kiss on their cheeks!

Buttttt... the one thing that Ian did enjoy above all, was the Sesame Street Saves Christmas show. I believe this show was especially made for the Christmas season. Four shows daily, it was held inside a huge auditorium right opposite Mel's Drive In diner.  

Sesame Street Saves Christmas - last show for the day, hence the long queue. Don't be late; we were just a few minutes late for the third show and they were already turning people away as the auditorium was full.

Booster seats are also available outside the entrance, so Ian sat like a king that night.

The Sesame Street gang.

Check out Aiden's cheeky pose.

Anyway, here are the rest of the photos that we managed to take during our day here:

Fast asleep while waiting for the Daddies who went on the Battlestar Galactica.

Trying out the Minions merchandise at the store.

Snow at the Hollywood main street!

Monkey see, monkey do. Ian saw his Abang Aiden posing like that, and he tried to replicate the same! In his own Ian style, of course!

Posing in front of the Shrek castle.

After we took this picture, Fiona offered her cheek to Ian. Ian kissed her. Then we playfully asked Ian to kiss Shrek. And he did!!! *giggles*

Last but not least, confession time. I'm a huge scaredy cat. I hate roller coasters. Aiden definitely takes after me - he hates roller coasters too. But this time around, with a lot of encouragement from Kakak Deena and his love for Transformers, Aiden finally mustered up the courage to try the Transformers: The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle. Me? I kena jaga Ian! *alasan* Afterwards, the gang reported that Aiden nearly chickened out halfway at the queue but he didn't have any way out (I had left by then). Finally he got on the ride, and although he cried a little, he actually enjoyed the ride! As soon as he saw me, he went on and on about how the bad guy did this and how the good guy did that. He even told me to give it a try! Feeling challenged, I finally agreed to go on the ride. If Aiden can do it, I should be able to do it too kan???

Momentous occasion - lining up to ride on my first USS roller coaster!

It was close to 9pm when we finally got into queue. I think we were the final few who wanted to go on the ride as most of the crowd had already moved to the Main Street to watch the fireworks. Well guess what? Similar to Hubby's experience the last time we were there, just a few minutes before closing time, the ride 'conveniently' malfunctioned! But this time, I think it was probably a genuine malfunction because the staff actually offered to escort the remaining people in line to any available roller coaster ride of their choice. But me, being a true scaredy cat, declined and walked out to watch the fireworks.

I had mixed feelings that night - sad that I didn't get to go on the ride but also relieved at the same time. Oh well, I guess a third visit to USS is required then!

Final photo for the night.