Questions for Singaporeans re : universal studios

[mr friendly guy]

So since 2010 Singapore has a universal studios on Sentosa as part of a bigger resort.

I will be back to Singapore on 14-18 october and 27-29 october (in between 18 -27 october I will be in a tour group based from Singapore going to the PRC).

My questions are

1. Is it possible to cram it all in one day, or should I get a two day pass?
2. Whats the best attractions in universal studios? Whats not to be missed?

[PainRack]

Yes, it is possible to cram it all in in one day(presuming you're not going to hit the gambling tables). However, it should be the whole day.

The rides and shows can be finished in the daylight hours with breaks for meals. You're approaching the school holiday season there, so you're going to have to queue up for the rides. In the night, its merely photo-taking, eating the overpriced "western" food and Oprah popcorn until the fireworks start on the weekend. Beautiful scenary if you're going with family.
You won't get much time to do anything else though, but I recommend this because frankly, DON"T EAT AT SENTOSA.

Get a heavy lunch at Vivocity or at the hawker centre near the bus interchange. Thaksin Beef noodles are fantastic. Ditto the Indian Muslim stall there. The quality has dropped in recent years but damn it if there isn't a single eatery in singapore that hasn't. The problem will be dinner, because sandwiches aren't really that filling and even the simple ice-cream there is double the price on the mainland. I would recommend the cable car experience for the view, especially if you aren't bringing kids, but the time involved is crazy when one wants dinner. If you do eat dinner on the island though, it does free up some time to hit the other parts of the resort. Like this
http://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/attraction ... of-dreams/

The problem with USS is not that you can't finish it in one day, its that there are simply other things that you should go as well in that same day and the damn food problem. Worse when one considers the queue you're going to have when you exist USS on the school hols. The sole restaurant in USS that provides semi decent food at inflated prices is crowded like crazy, which forces you to actually exit USS in search of a decent dining experience. Well, there's always popcorn:D:D:D:D

[Tritio]

I second PainRack's suggestion to go for the Cable Car ride. They've recently changed all the cabins to a new one and if it's any better than the old ones, it's going to be awesome. That could be your mode of entry into Sentosa, you could go to Vivocity (a large shopping centre), walk over to Harbour Front, and hop on the cable car from there and take the ride to Sentosa. You could exit Sentosa at night via the reverse direction, but mind the operating hours of the cable car.

I don't know if you'll view food prices in the same light as PainRack, but if you have the budget, feel free to try the food in Sentosa. It will be decent, and practically speaking, it is a little hard to do without unless you go through the hassle of packing food there.

I haven't visited Universal Studios, but from what I've heard from a colleague, it can be done in 1 day (although bear in mind that it is the school holidays and we are approaching the F1 season, so expect crowds), and don't miss the Battlestar Galactica ride (comes in two flavors, Human and Cylon) and Waterworld.

[mr friendly guy]

What prices are we talking about regarding food? If its expensive I prefer to pay with credit card (which I know a lot of Singapore small vendors don't accept) since I don't plan to carry a lot of cash around. However, generally you are looking at a guy who spent over $100 AUD for a 7 course meal at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant in Melbourne, so it most likely won't be an issue. When on holiday enjoy yourself, and frankly not only have most of my expenses related to this holiday already been paid, I got things like the plane trip a bit cheaper by buying while on offer.

BTW, when is it a good time to visit universal studios, ie when is it not the school holidays? Since I might return to Singapore the next year as well to go on another tour group. In case anyone is wondering why I go on tours from a Singapore based group instead of an Australian based one, the answer is its cheaper.

[ray245]

I would say anytime is fine, as long as you are one of the first to arrive at the studio when it opens. My friends and I went there during school holidays at about 9am, and we managed to finish every ride and shows by about 2pm.

[PainRack]

Its not the price that's the killer. Its the price for LOUSY food. Granted, I haven't actually ate at the resort itself, which promises to have fine dining and top notch restaurants so that's a possible avenue. Otherwise, avoid every other eatery on Sentosa, unless you're there at the beach bars.

As for timing, ray, are you sure? The last time my friend went during the school hols, battlestar galactica ride took him an hour to queue up.

There's also the queue to enter the studio and etc, which took around 40 min or so.

[mr friendly guy]

Another question. Whats to see at the nearby Vivo city? I heard its a large shopping complex. I am particularly looking for comics, games (hobbies), MP3 players, shirts while in Singapore.

[PainRack]

Its all there. Page One is a very nice bookshop, although its doesn't specialise in comics.

What kind of games?

[mr friendly guy]

Its all there. Page One is a very nice bookshop, although its doesn't specialise in comics.

What kind of games?

How does Page one compare to say Borders or Kunokinya (these stores I usually visit when I am in Singapore).

In regards to games - I am sort of interested in browsing RPG and Magic the Gathering stuff, although I haven't seriously played for like ages (since in university) but its always nice to look at their miniatures, cards etc.

[PainRack]

Page One is cheaper, provides similar variety of books, usually has more older prints than borders. The only drawback I have with page one vis kinokuniya is the asian variety. I can get more asian entertainment stuff from kino, including jap stuff than from Page One, which tends to be more serious. A gut feeling is that Page one is more artsy and serious whereas Kino is more mass consumption.

Unfortunately, the Western RPG/minature games scene in Singapore has quite literally collapsed, especially after Wh40k withdrew their stores.I'm not even sure where they are now.
The best I can recommend you is Somerset. Can't recall if its at 313 shopping centre or Ion orchard, but there's a speciality toy store that's still going strong.

To be honest, I just hope that the old Comics Mart at Serene centre is still active.... I heard the brand is closed last year but I never ventured the guts to find out if the old stores are still there. If its gone, the heart of Singapore tabletop gaming is literally ripped out, leaving only one dinky store at Emerald Hill with links to the past.

Magic... well, I can't help you there. I'm not sure how the scene is like anymore. It used to be that such stores were very popular, but the advent of pokemon and other arcade games seem to have replaced magic. I can't really recall whether the store beside Page One does sell such collectible card games though, or just the dolls and other cute manga stuff......

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Best bookstore in Singapore is Kinokuniya. It has a good selection of comics etc. Not exactly an altogether fantastic collection, but good enough. And ah. Borders in Singapore went kaput.

There is a specialty store near Somerset, but it's in an obscure shopping center opposite Somerset 313. That store well, doesn't have everything but it has some.

Comics Mart is dead as hell. Gone. Zero. For years.

For food, the question is what you want to eat. Avoid western food like plague (like you can't better stuff at home anyway), but Japanese and Chinese have decent places. There are some good Western places, but you pay at least 15$ for a decent meal.

If you want to go local, the food courts etc. should be cheap.

For electronics, there are a number of electronic stores around here and there. If you really want computer stuff, I would say Sim Lim Square. Just make sure you pick the right stores.