TheThemeParkGuy

Two new major rides opened in 2011:

Transformers: this much-hyped addition is a worthy reinvention of Universal's legendary 1999 Spiderman Ride that can be found in Florida and Japan. I would call it Spiderman 1.5: it's not an innovation, it's not a new legend (since it doesn't add too much to what we have already experienced at Spiderman), but it's nevertheless one of the world's finest rides to date, if not the very best. Giant 3-D screens combined with brilliantly-timed ride vehicle movements just work, and provide an unmatched ride experience. This is the Must-Do ride at Universal Studios Singapore. And it gets better and better the more often you ride it.

Something went wrong with Madagascar, though. The removal of the initially planned splash drops in this indoor water ride leave riders with a monotonous 'It's a Small World'-like experience, somewhat stiff animatronics and, apart from a few innovative fume and video projection effects, not much to remember.

With the addition of these attractions Universal Studios Singapore, despite its small size, turned into one of the world's best theme parks.

The newest addition to the Universal Studios theme park family in Singapore is definitely the little brother of the group, but despite its small size it is cleverly arranged with some excellent Universal attraction classics and a couple of novelties. The park opened in March 2010 with three major rides:

'Revenge of the Mummy' – an Egyptian-themed dark ride/indoor roller coaster very similar to the same-named ride in Universal Studios Florida that is packed with evil, ugly Mummies and great in terms of storytelling with plenty of surprising twists and turns.

'Battlestar Galactica' – a "dueling" twin roller coaster branded after the TV series which, though compact, mysteriously manages to last for ages. Definitely the wildest ride at the equator.

'Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure' puts a new spin – a couple of spins, in fact – on the Jurassic Park experience: here a river rapids ride in a 9-seater circular raft (as opposed to the huge log flume boats in other Universal Parks), it's a long and entertaining journey through Jurassic jungle with lots of dinosaurs, great fog effects and spiced with constant evidence of human failure. The climax, though, is inferior to the same-named rides in the US, with a mini-T-Rex and a similarly small and quick drop. Depending on where you sit in the raft, you might get extremely soaked at the ride's end. Extremely. Madly!

You can walk one time around the whole park in just 10 minutes, but it's packed with attractions: the 'WaterWorld' and 'Donkey Live' shows and the 'Shrek 4-D' cinema are all well done and worth the wait. 'Lights! Camera! Action! hosted by Steven Spielberg' is a new special effects show taking place in a stunning hurricane-over-New York setting: the water-, fire- and destruction-effects appear a bit orchestrated and slow-motion, but I was told that the ride is still getting tweaked. The remaining attractions cater to young kids.

The true highlights will open in summer 2010 and at the beginning of 2011: the world-premiere of the Madagascar indoor flume ride and the Transformers dark ride – an upgrade of the Spiderman rides found in Florida and Japan. These two will make the park experience complete. One thing's for sure: Universal Studios Singapore has made maximum use of its limited space and created the southern-most world class theme park on the planet.

Universal Studios Singapore is nearing the finishing line.

I haven't had the chance to go on any of the rides yet, but here are my favorites from what I could see on-the-ground: The 'Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure', which, instead of lifting you on a slow ride through prehistoric-jungle like in the other Universal Studios parks, tosses you around in circular rafting boats with inevitable dinosaur attack-surprises; The 'Madagascar Crate Adventure' ride's cruise ship looks awesome from the outside and my guess is that the anticipated dark flume ride will be a mixture of 'Splash Mountain', 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and something totally new.

These are the two major world-exclusive rides to Southeast Asia's only Universal Studios park, complemented by 'Battlestar Galactica', a dueling roller coaster that will certainly satisfy thrill seekers and 'Revenge of the Mummy', a brilliant dark ride and probably an upgrade from its existing versions in the American parks.

It’s really thrilling to come back to my favorite theme park construction site. Universal Studios Singapore has made remarkable progress since my last visit just over two months ago. The ‘Revenge of the Mummy’ roller coaster building is pretty much covered up, its neighbor ‘Lost World (Jurassic Park)’ river rapids ride has expanded visibly, the ‘Waterworld‘ stunt show stadium looks almost complete, pylons of the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ dueling coaster are being erected, coaster tracks of all colors are lying around and new structures are popping up all over the site.

Given that construction of Universal Studios Korea hasn’t commenced yet and Universal Studios Dubailand is delayed until 2012, this is going to be the only Universal Studios offspring arriving in the near future and the most anticipated theme park opening for years.

The gates are due to open in about ten months. I can’t wait. Theme park fans, I guess this will be a good reason to travel all the way to Singapore from wherever you are! Thanks to Guangyi, Leona and Robin from Resorts World Sentosa for enabling me an on-site preview adventure.

Universal Studios Singapore is the world's most anticipated theme park opening ahead. From spring 2010 Singapore visitors and residents will enjoy a brand-new 'Mummy' ride, the world premier of a 'Jurassic Park' river rapids ride, a 'Battlestar Galactica' dueling roller coaster, a 'Waterworld' show, a 'Transformers' ride and some yet unannounced surprises.

Everything Universal touches encompasses imagination with a keen eye for detail and I am sure that this park will be no exception. Many thanks to Leona and Robin from Resorts World Sentosa for meeting me at my favorite theme park construction site! Have a look at the newest photos taken on March 2nd, 2009:

Universal Studios Singapore is under construction at the moment and scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2010. Together with Resorts World Sentosa this is the most amazing theme park construction area for the time being.

I will keep you updated on the progress here.