Universal Studios Singapore
Universal Studios Singapore is a theme park located within the Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort at Sentosa in Singapore. It features 24 rides, shows, and attractions in seven themed zones. It is one of the five Universal Studios theme parks around the world.
It was a key component of Genting Singapore's bid for the right to build Singapore's second integrated resort. On 8 December 2006, the Singapore government announced that the consortium had won the bid. Construction of the theme park and the rest of the resort started on 19 April 2007. It is the second Universal Studios theme park in Asia, the first being Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, and the only one in Southeast Asia. Official plans for the park were first unveiled to the public when Universal Studios Singapore released a map of the entire park on 20 October 2009. Universal Studios Singapore attracted more than 2 million visitors in the 9 months from its opening.
The park officially began operations on 28 May 2011. Over 3 million guests visited the park in its opening year. Since then, Universal Studios Singapore has had approximately 4 million visitors every year. Visitors are made up of local Singaporeans and international tourists. It has been marketed by Universal Destinations & Experiences as a "one-of-its-kind theme park in Asia" and that the park was the only one of its kind in Southeast Asia for the foreseeable future. According to the AECOM Theme Index Global Attraction Attendance Report, Universal Studios Singapore is one of the top visited amusement/theme parks worldwide.
History
Park history
The construction of Resorts World Sentosa and Universal Studios Singapore began on 19 April 2008. After almost two years of construction, the park opened on 18 March 2010.Universal Studios Singapore was opened for "sneak peek week" in view of the Chinese New Year Celebrations, from 5 pm to 9 pm every night between 14 and 21 February 2010. Though visitors had to pay SGD$10 to enter the park even though rides were not operating, tickets for the week were sold out in 2 days. On 5 March 2010, it was announced that the park will open its doors at 8:28 am on 18 March 2010, for a soft-opening phase. From 13 March 2010, the team members of Resorts World Sentosa and their families had a chance to visit the park before it opened to the public. The park had its soft opening period from 18 March 2010 to 26 October 2010.
The official grand opening of the park was held on 28 May 2011, along with the "grand opening gala" held on 27 May 2011 evening. It had Asian personalities Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Zhao Wei, and former American Idol judge Paula Abdul making an appearance at the gala event, along with some 1,600 guests.
On 21 October 2011, Universal Studios Singapore began their Halloween Horror Nights events.
On 3 April 2019, Genting Group announced the expansion of Universal Studios Singapore with two new themed areas, Minion Land and Super Nintendo World.
Timeline
Attendance
Park layout
Universal Studios Singapore is in size, making it the smallest of Universal's parks, and occupies the easternmost part of the Resorts World Sentosa. There are a total of 17 attractions, of which 10 are original or specially adapted for the park. The park consists of seven themed zones surrounding a lagoon. Each zone is mostly based on movies and/or television, featuring their own attractions, meet and greet locations, over 30 restaurants and food carts, and 20 retail stores and carts located around the park.| Themed Zone | Notes |
| Hollywood | Themed after the real Hollywood Boulevard of the 1970s. Framed by "dynamic" architecture, palm trees and a replica of the Hollywood 'Walk of Fame'. |
| New York | Themed after post-modern New York City. Features replicas of New York landmarks. The area is enhanced by neon lights and flanked by street façades. |
| Sci-Fi City | Themed after what cities and metropolis "may look like in the future", according to popular science fiction franchises. |
| Ancient Egypt | Themed after the Egyptian architecture and artifacts found during the "Golden Age of Egyptian Exploration in the 1930s". |
| The Lost World | Themed after two franchises, Jurassic Park and Waterworld, which each have separate areas within the zone. |
| Far Far Away | Themed after The Kingdom of Far Far Away featured in DreamWorks Animation's Shrek. |
| Minion Land | Themed after Illumination's Despicable Me franchise. |
Hollywood
Hollywood is the main entrance area of the park. Its only attraction, a broadway-style theatre, is accompanied by several restaurants and a variety of shopping locations. The zone is filled with Hollywood-inspired architecture and palm trees, including a replica of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.| Name | Type | Notes | Status |
| Lake Hollywood Spectacular | Live Show/Performance | A fireworks display that takes place at night on select dates. | Showing |
| Trolls Hug Time Jubilee | Live Show/Performance | A live performance featuring characters from the Trolls films, taking place inside Pantages Hollywood Theatre. | Showing |
| Turntables | Live Show/Performance | An interactive live performance featuring various dances. | Suspended |
| Universal Studios Store | Retail Outlet | A retail store selling Universal Studios-themed collectibles, toys and apparel. | Open |
| Hello Kitty Studio | Retail Outlet | A retail store selling Hello Kitty-themed merchandise. | Open |
| Hollywood China Arcade | Retail Outlet | An arcade that allows guests to win e-tickets to redeem Universal Studios Singapore merchandise. | Temporarily Closed |
| Minion Mart | Retail Outlet | A retail store selling Despicable Me-themed merchandise. | Open |
| The Dark Room | Retail Outlet | A retail store that allows guests to have their pictures taken for memorabilia. | Open |
| That's a Wrap | Retail Outlet | A retail store located outside the park entrance that sells Universal Studios-themed merchandise. | Temporarily Closed |
| Silver Screen | Retail Outlet | A retail store that sells merchandise from blockbuster films. | Temporarily Closed |
| The Brown Derby | Retail Outlet | A retail store selling Sesame Street-themed merchandise. | Temporarily Closed |
| Mel's Drive-In | F&B Outlet | An all-American diner that serves gourmet burgers, fries and milkshakes. Halal-certified. | Open |
| Starbucks | F&B Outlet | The premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Halal-certified. | Open |
Parade
- Hollywood Dreams Light-Up Parade - This parade features themed floats, characters, and performers based on the Woody Woodpecker, Madagascar, Shrek, Jurassic Park and The Mummy franchises.
New York City
| Name | Type | Notes | Status |
| Lights! Camera! Action! Hosted by Steven Spielberg | Show | A show that features special effects that mimic a major hurricane. | Operating on Certain Days |
| Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase | Steel Suspended Dark Ride | A suspended dark ride themed to the Sesame Street franchise. | Operating |
| Loui's NY Pizza Parlor | F&B Outlet | A pizza parlor that sells modern and traditional Italian pizzas as well as other local dishes. Halal-certified. | Open |
| KT's Grill | F&B Outlet | A full-service restaurant that specializes in New York grill cuisine and self-proclaimed "East meets West" dishes. | Temporarily Closed |
| Big Bird's Emporium | Retail Outlet | A retail store selling Sesame Street-themed merchandise. | Open |
Entertainment
- '''Rhythm Truck'''
Sci-Fi City
| Name | Type | Notes | Status |
| Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN | Steel Dueling Seated Roller Coaster | A sit-down roller coaster that was designed for a tamer experience than its counterpart, with no inversions. Made by Vekoma, the trains are modeled after the Colonial Mark II Viper used by the Human faction as seen in the Battlestar Galactica series. | Operating |
| Battlestar Galactica: CYLON | Steel Dueling Inverted Roller Coaster | An inverted roller coaster that was designed for a more thrilling experience than its counterpart, with inversions. It is also from Vekoma, just like the more mild Human side. The trains are modeled after the Cylon Heavy Raider used by the Cylon faction as seen in the Battlestar Galactica series. | Operating |
| Transformers: The Ride – 3D | 4-D Dark Ride Motion Simulator | A dark ride that uses the same ride-vehicle technology as The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. It has giant wrap-around screens that sport photo-realistic 3D-HD video imagery, along with additional 4-D effects that further enhances the ride experience. This attraction first premiered in Singapore in December 2011, and later at Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando. | Operating |
| Accelerator | Teacups | A whirling twirling ride that spins guests around. A similar ride, Storm Force Accelatron, is found in Universal Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando Resort. | Operating |
| Galactica PX | Retail Outlet | A retail store selling photos of the Battlestar Galactica ride. It formerly sold other sci-fi merchandise. | Temporarily Closed |
| Transformers Supply Vault | Retail Outlet | A retail outlet selling a variety of Transformers and Transformers: The Ride – 3D merchandise. | Open |
| StarBot Café | F&B Outlet | A food and beverage outlet selling a variety of items, including ice cream. | Open |