Transformer Ride at Universal Studios Singapore!

No doubt one of the many “allures” of Johor is its close proximity to Singapore; and both Johor and Singapore has been enjoying this close proximity of distance for many years, despites some “petty” Malaysian/Singaporean disputes.

Crossing the Causeway..

The situation has changed slightly now, with Johor offering some pretty thrilling attractions in the state itself. IF anything, Singaporeans would have many more reasons to flock into Johor, as attested by the popularity of Johor Premium Outlets.

While we await the opening of Legoland and a theme park, Universal Studios Singapore remains one of the prime attractions of Singapore.

During my previous trip in October 2010, the Sci-Fi City was not in operation in its entirety, so I missed out on the Cyclone ride. I had fun at all the other 7 zones (so far I have only blogged about–> New York and Hollywood :  Ancient Egypt)  and vowed to be back for the Sci-Fi City.

1 and a half years later, I’m back and the first zone I headed for was; well you guessed it! The Sci-Fi Zone!

Below: A quick briefing by the RWS personnel prior to our adventure.

Frankly, 80% of Universal Studios looked the same. Obviously there were changes in shows, or minor changes in the shops, but other than that, everything is pleasantly similar to my prior visit back in Oct 2010.

Below: Entrance – New York zone.

The bakeries murmured sweet promises to me; “We have pastries, chocolates, sandwiches, CAKES..”.

And Marilyn’s turkey legs shimmied seductively.

However, I soldiered on towards Sci-Fi City resolutely, ignoring all temptations as I don’t think anyone would appreciate vomit over them halfway through the rides. :DD

I took pictures with a pretty Parisan woman the last time, but today I bumped into Frankestein, who was adamant about having my head!!

After New York was Hollywood. There were some new eateries along this stretch that opened not too long ago.

I wanted to get my face painted, but the queue was too long.

I took sort of a nostalgia route down these streets, remembering the person I was back in October 2010, and the reason I was here. Looking back, I’m happy to note that things has been most favorable for me and I’m most contented with my life now.

Strolling along the streets at every zone is an experience in itself. There are spontaneous appearances of “celebrities”, cartoon characters and performances, ensuring every minute of your time spent is kept as engrossed as possible. Nope, not a moment of boredom allowed. 🙂

Finally!

The Sci-Fi City beckons, taunting us with its majestic rides.

At the entrance a little display box blinked “30 mins”, indicating the waiting time for the ride..

Unfazzled, we walked in anyways. No one’s going to stop us from the Transformers Ride that we have been hearing so much about!

Here’s a little video of my experience, from the wait til we “boarded” the Transformer vehicle. The vehicle has a name but I just can’t remember what was it!

A smart way of ensuring that the crowd doesn’t get too restless during the long wait was these long winding alleys in fully air conditioned enclosures. Instead of staying stationary and feeling the draggy wait, the long queue moved along constantly, and there were plenty of distractions along the passage.

We moved from one room to another, but was rarely dead bored during the 30-45mins wait. There was plenty to see and photograph. The walls and our surroundings displayed all manner of Transformer thingamajigs and on large screens action packed clips from Transformers characters kept us enthralled. The audio system boomed with their voices and at times different soundtracks from the show was played.

When you come to this, then you know your wait is almost over! Pick up these “Battle Glasses” (which frankly didn’t really do much) and proceed to the pick up area.

A glimpse of the car. Unfortunately at this stage, cameras were not allowed.

But if you watch this video clip, I managed to shoot the vehicle before I was stopped by the officers. So if you really really want to see the vehicle for the ride, watch the video! 🙂

The Transformer Ride was REALLY fun and was definitely worth 1-2 hours wait!
Yes, it was that good! The 4D technology really brings the “you’re in the movie” feel; being right in the thick of the action and having the Transformer characters actually interacting with you. You will feel smoke, water, heat, etc during the ride itself!

However, while it was enjoyable, there’s very little parts of it that were actually scary. So unless you’re a big scaredy cat, there’s absolutely nothing to worry about!

Coming out from the ride, you will walk through the Transformer merchandise outlet. Well, advertising and promotion is important right? 😀

Next we headed straight for the Cyclone!

Yes it was a ride that I missed during my previous trip and I’m definitely not leaving USS without catching a ride!

I do not have any pictures even for the waiting area as ALL bags and belongings has to be kept inside the lockers before you are allowed entry to the waiting hall.

There are 2 options, 1 “Cylone” which was the one I took; and another “Human”, which was supposedly less scary.
I would advise EVERYONE to take the Cylone! It was superbly thrilling, heart- wrenching and mind-blowing!
Again, I’m an adrenaline junkie so I wasn’t too affected. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it immensely so I’m sure you would to!

This trip was made possible by Firefly Airlines, co-sponsored by Johor State Tourism, Resort World Sentosa, Truly Travel Mart Tour & Transport Sdn Bhd and SN Vacation. Thank you! 

Here’s the video again:

And my previous trips:
New York and Hollywood : Camera, Lights, Action!
Ancient Egypt – the Mummy Ride!

Last but not least, do you know that a Malaysian Food Street (with pork and all!) was opened not long ago in Universal Studios Singapore?
Yes, it’s located right outside the entrance of USS.
The question now is whether the food authentic enough? Watch this space for my review! :DD

Website: www.rwsentosa.com