Family Holiday in Singapore Part 2 - Universal Studios Singapore

Tuesday 11th December 2012 was the day all the excited kids had been waiting for!!!

We drove to USS because we had 2 MPVs full of passengers - 15 in total and this was the most cost effective and efficient way to get there.

Parking was a breeze and we were at the entrance before they opened at 10am.  

Once past the gates, we turned right and made our way to Lights, Camera, Action! This was the only thing my Isabel went for. She was way too young for everything else.

Next stop was the Transformers ride. All my nephews were most eager for this. The queue was estimated at 40 minutes. Isabel and Mabel were too short for the ride. So we had to take turns going in. My sister-in-law and I each got a child swap pass. This enables us to go in without having to queue, after our darlings were done with the ride and took over the babysitting duty.

So while we waited, we took some photos...

We did the Accelerator ride. It's really a tea cup kind of ride. Later, Joy did this a second time with Ah Kong and a third time with her daddy.

After we were all done with Transformers, we made our way to Ancient Egypt.

While the braver amongst us (my Tai Soh, eldest nephew and I) went for the Mummy ride (an indoor roller coaster - something like Space Mountain) the less adventurous ones did the Treasure Hunters ride.

Daniel finished the ride with a 'duh' look and said "What a waste of time..." so unless you have plenty of time and no guts, don't bother with this.

By then, it was past 1pm and wayyyyy past Isabel's lunch time. We walked over to The Lost World and into the Discovery Food Court. The nice people in there gladly helped me to heat up Isabel's porridge. (I pre-cooked and froze the porridge, then took it out of the freezer in the morning. So it was nicely defrosted and ready to be microwaved by lunch time.)

After lunch Joseph gave the Amber Rock Climb (extra charge of S$5) a shot. These days, he's often surprising my by trying things that I thought he would be too afraid of.

We did the Shrek 4D movie and then the girls had a go on the Fairy Godmother's little ferris wheel. (Actually it's not called a ferris wheel. It had some fancy name that I can't recall!)

Then they tried on some princess hairbands. It's too expensive to buy. So they get a photo to remember.

Then there's Jurassic Park in The Lost World...

Joy did the Canopy Flyer THREE times!!! I didn't think she would have even dared to try it but she really surprised me.

She also tried the Dino-Soarin twice. This is my Daalin's idea of the ideal ride....because you are in control. There's a white button that you press if you want your Dino to fly. **slap forehead**

Joseph liked the Rapids Adventure. He went the first time with his cousins and wanted to go again. So Daalin went with him while I took Joy for the Canopy Flyer. They were not so lucky the second time round and got rather wet. Luckily it was already almost time to go home by then.

The rides at Madagascar are really tame.

A Crate Adventure is like It's A Small World in Disneyland. You ride a boat that glides very very gently down the stream with Madagascar characters singing to I like to move it move it...

Isabel was not allowed on this ride so I had to wait outside while everyone went in and then when I went in, Joe and Joy joined me for a 2nd round.

The other ride in Madagascar is the carousel. The kids thought it was rather lame and boring.

Besides this, I managed one round on Battlestar Gallactica (the upside down, feet-dangling-in-the-air roller coaster) and a 2nd round on the Transformers.

Twelve years ago I visited Disneyland in Los Angeles and Universal Studios and DisneyWorld in Orlando. It was just my sister and I - no hubbies, no kids. It was a breeze. We ate like camels - heavy buffet breakfasts and then spent all day on the rides until closing. No wasting time on eating.

This time round was so different. But I must say it was a rather fruitful trip for me considering I had 3 young kids and had to take turns on rides while making sure the kids are fed and hydrated.

My verdict - it's a nice place. But only if you like roller coasters. If it had been just my family, I would not come. That's because my husband does not like roller coasters and babies are just not suited for such a place. It's not worth the money to pay so much and then find yourself feeding and changing nappies when you want to ride the rides!

But this was a family outing. So it sure helped to have Ah Mah and Ah Kong around. They skipped the more 'exciting' rides and happily helped to babysit Isabel while I took the older kids on rides that they wanted to ride.

My only regret - I wanted to ride the other coaster on Battlestar Gallactica but Joy wanted to rider the Canopy Flyer so I took her first. And then she wanted to do the Dino-Soarin so we did that too. And by the time we finished with that, it was half an hour to closing time so I did still have time. But it started to rain so they closed the ride. Boo Hoo Hoo!

Oh well...that's the kind of sacrifice mothers make. Maybe we'll come here again someday....when ALL the kids are out of diapers, babyfood, naps and strollers and meet the minimum height requirement for all rides.