For all my love of Christmas, and for all the years that Universal Studios Singapore has been here, I consider it befuddling that only in the December of last year did I finally get to experience a Universal Christmas right in Resorts World Sentosa here.
I should have done it a long time ago.
And maybe in the future I will.
The weather is cooler at the end of the year, the winds blowing over this part of Sentosa are stronger, the theme park is beautifully decorated for the Christmas season, and when night falls, the lights all around the park make it even more magical.
Having chosen the evening slot, we got in around 5pm and went straight to the Madagascar ride, but not before stopping for a live performances at the end of Main Street where the shops are. We didn't really go into them- we wanted to go straight to the rides, but there is a Starbucks now where there wasn't one before. (I've not been here for a few years now)
So we went on the Madagascar ride, very light and fun with plenty of lights and funny moments and a bit of singing. Following that, we headed to the Shrek 4D ride, and although it hasn't changed one bit at all since the first time I sat it, listening to the story, and the voices of the Shrek characters again was refreshing. It has been a long time since I heard the voice of Fiona and Shrek and Donkey and the villain and the gingerbread man. In the same area there was a new Puss in Boots ride. I thought it had a lovely charm to it- at the beginning at least- where you got the story and the set of a typical village pub. which of course led to some sort of rollercoaster without it being a rollercoaster.
A bit of a fried chicken for our dinner (larger pieces would have been more delish) and we headed to two of the must-go rides in Universal. For me, at least, that would make it The MUMMY and Jurassic Park.
The MUMMY has a mysterious vibe to it, and you will feel it, that I can assure you, from the moment you step through the barriers and start making your way to the ride. The path (or the queue, depending on how you see it) leading there is a maze. A real maze that takes about seven minutes to get through, which will test your patience, which is scary if you're alone, and if you momentarily shut your eyes, or go quietly, you can just imagine yourself getting lost in the chambers of the real pyramids over in Egypt. The ride itself has starts and stops. It isn't one of the cheerful ones, but the thing I remember most of this ride are the "bugs"....
It helps that I've played it before and I know just when to lift my feet up.
But that's the beauty about theme park rides. Adrenaline is instantaneous and even if your memory serves you well, you will want to have the full fledged experience again, and again, and again.
That's how it is for me and Jurassic Park. It doesn't matter whether it is my first time or how many times I've gone through the high arched gate into Jurassic Park. The theme song inevitably comes to mind the moment I walk through those gates, and it keeps playing in my mind as I queue up for the ride thirty minutes to an hour.
Yes, it is a popular ride.... and I always, ALWAYS get drenched. No matter which side of the circle I'm on, inevitably I will get drenched on one side, either right or left.
But hey, water dries up pretty fast, and great fun it is too!
I'm glad I went at Christmas time.
Nothing beats seeing part of the park lit up so beautifully and magically like a fantasy wonderland, and even though I missed the Sesame Street show, I loved the candy cane, gummy bear colored Christmas tree with all its twinkling lights and bright, sharp colors. The whole place looked like a completely different world altogether. It reminded me of US, of LA and Universal City. I loved how surreal the place looked, even now in my memory, and I loved how warm and cosy it made me feel.
We went for a quick dinner at Mel's Diner thereafter, sharing a beef mushroom burger and sweet potato fries with Coke in a nice memento cup, then headed to the lakes area where we hung around and waited till it was 9pm we watched the fireworks at USS that night, my friend and I, marking our first (and what would be only) fireworks display for the end of the year.