Universal Studios - Singapore with kindness!

Public transport conquered, we arrive at universal studios, the staff on board Singapore Airlines told me to take my boarding passes as it gives many discounts (pity they didn't tell me that in Bali - would have saved US$20 on the entry to water bom park)
So I am set, I show my passes and ask for a discount - "no madame none at present" I am informed. OK, as an afterthought I ask "is there any discounts for any other offers" (always worth an ask), "why yes, can you pay with mastercard?" Sure!


Always ask if there's any special offers current!

 We are informed that this will give us 4 X $5 food vouchers and a $25 merchandising voucher + a further $20 merchandising voucher (saving $65) Great - we usually don't buy gifts at these places, but how lovely for the kids to be able to choose something anyway.
The only mastercard I have is my dads, so we swipe away and I text him to say we've just popped $220 on your mastercard (around AUD$196), the kids are given their vouchers and I tell them this is a gift from your grandpa as we used his card and you must be very lucky for Pa to be able to let you each choose something to bring home.
They are delighted - always worth asking.



Universal Studios Singapore

 We arrive at the universal studios gates and it is quite exciting.

The kids can't believe they are here and we enter, walking down the hollywood inspired street filled with shops, around the corner we are greeted with a massive ship and the cast of madagascar being unloaded from the boat, the street booms with the sounds of "we like to move it move it" and the kids - OK and Daryll & I are grooving away, Austin powers would have been impressed - groovy baby!


The cast from Madagascar



Suddenly those crippled feet are fine to walk, run and play, amazing how that happens isn't it - it's a miracle! and without any dedicated healing either!

We groove our way through Madagascar and enter "Far, far away" A signboard welcomes us and the streets are filled with the music of "Touvak is a perfect place".

We board donkey's Dragon's roller coaster with signboards warning us of carrying illicit elves and magic potions.

The mini roller coaster does a fairly decent job of dislocating my head from the top of my spine, throws in a few whacks in the back, adds in a quick sideways movement to make one hip higher than the other for the rest of the week and finishes off with a little rolling, rotating lurch designed to place your breakfast back in your mouth instead of your stomach where it had been happily resting. Even the kids looked a little green and exclaimed "we do NOT want to do that again".



Shreks f**ting toilet



Climbing the hill to Shreks toilet the kids squeal with hysterical laughter at Shrek farts from his toilet (I am told it was NOT a fluff it was a fart mum - apparently there's a difference)

The day is filled with one ride to another, most have a wait of 10-30 minutes and then right on cue the skies open.

Now if you have been in the tropics you'll know what I mean, if you haven't, imagine walking outside in the rain and someone picks up a 24gallon drum of water and tips it over you - about 120 times - get the picture?

There's no getting away from it, everyone rushes for cover and we just make it to a stage show of water world where actors scream around on boats with explosions, fireworks and booming crashes.

The rain lets up just enough to leave here and rush to another area, we decide "it's not that bad" then BOOM, the streets are now under about 12 inches of water, our shoes are full and we are squelching around.

Sure, we could spend $6 each on a plastic raincoat, but we'll just throw it away and then there's more plastic in the environment I try to convince myself, truth be know, I'm probably more tight about the $24 than the eco principle - much as it shames me to say it.



Raincoats and Merchandising Gifts chosen



Gabe & Daryll head off somewhere and Emma and I are drowned, we rush into a store and muse over the cost of 2 plastic raincoats, whilst I am deliberating a local grabs me by the arm and says "wait, I have a discount card, see if it is cheaper" Oh, OK, he asks and it is, Alright - I decide the universe has allowed him to offer, I may as well buy 2.

"OK", I say to the salesgirl, she asks if the payment is to come off the same card as the discount, "No, I will pay cash" I say, "yes, of course it is" the man booms to her and winks to me "we can't have wet weather ruining your experience, it is no money to me at all"

He insists and won't take any payment, he says it is his gift to us.

Somewhat amazed again, that I have forgotten my abundance balances and connection to spirit in the fun of a theme park, Emma grins up at me and we offer thanks to the man and spirit for our blessings.



Fairy Godmothers Magic Potions Shop



We don our capes and set out, it's great!!!!! We can now go anywhere and do anything, we meet Gabe & Daryll huddled in a cafe, they both burst out laughing at the sight of us wafting into the restaurant and we share our story.

We race out and get Daryll & Gabe a coat each and we're set again.

We take the water ride we hadn't previously wanted to do and all laugh hysterically as the entire ship of water dumps in Daryll's lap and he catches it in his raincoat.



Marilyn Munroe



Due to the rain, almost all of universal studios has emptied............. except us!

We are free to go anywhere we like, ride anything we want - no queues - too easy!

We all stop and commune with spirit and give thanks for this special day, then race off to play again.

We meet Princess Fiona, Marilyn Munroe, Shrek, some androids from the future.

The highlights were the free concerts, put on on stage at varied time throughout the day - do these if you go, they are as good as any stage shows we've seen and the are all free once you have entered.

Emma and Princess Fiona

The food was surprisingly good and with our vouchers we had enough to cover lunch and most of dinner. It's pretty well priced.

For lunch we dined in a middle eastern arena and dinner at an American diner - great vegetarian options too.

The kids discovered American grape lemonade which I am pretty sure a grape has never been near, but it was delicious and good fun!

We travelled to the lost world and rode with the Jurassic park dinosaurs, the last bit on the water ride where you are raised up into the mouth of the waiting T Rex as if offered on a plate for dinner was a bit much for the little one (OK - me too) and the look on our faces - it's always THOSE points they place the automatic cameras isn't it was pretty funny afterwards even if not at the time.

We ended the day at the Egyptian section - WOW! I've lived in Egypt for a while in the past and whilst I am not comparing it to the wonders of the lost worlds, it was still amazingly spectacular.



Emma and Daryll outside The Mummy Ride



I pointed out to Gabe how amazing it was that this was all man made (meaning unlike the real Egypt) he sighed and looked at me (you know that "Ohh, I guess I will have to explain this to you slllooowwwlllyyy" look) and said "Mum, the structures in Egypt are not naturally occurring landscapes, they were built too you know"



Oh, yes, well, of course, I knew that.......... just a little lost in the moment!

We decide to enter "The Mummy" roller coaster, inspired by the movie with Brendan Fraser, Gabe thought it was hysterical that I clung to him as we were walking in the corridors, he kept explaining "this is just the queue mum, it's not a haunted house, nothings going to happen, mum, you're cutting off my blood in my arm, mum are you REALLY scared, mum you are sooo funny" Oh yeah, sure, I was laughing!



Gabe with a character from the tombs of Egypt



We finally arrived at the real roller coaster (after I realised the walk was actually just the queue - hrrmmpph, I knew that), climbed in, the seats were done up REALLY **#@  tight - now I should have realised that this is done for a reason eg - in a moment you will be hanging upside down with the blood draining away from your vital organs, but oh, no, I'm in a nice big high seat with a high head rest, quite comfortable, it never entered my mind that the reason it has a high head rest is so that they don't get sued by someones head snapping off their neck and clogging the tracks of the next ride.

Wow - what a ride, a completely indoor roller coaster where you are plummeted into pitch darkness and holographic images are projected all around you, the scarab beetles feel like they are crawling all over you and it culminates in a room where real (yes it is real this time) fire lights up all around the inside of the tomb, you can feel as if you are enclosed in an ancient tomb, just as the heat starts to become unbearable the floor opens and you are dropped (this is not a roll, it IS a drop) into pitch darkness with screaming images racing up the walls past you. Amazing!

It is like one of those movies that you just have to watch again because too much happened to take in in one sitting.

We disembarked and Gabe looks up at me and bursts out laughing, shouting "mum, why is your face a different colour, it totally is - it's like you're grey or something, you have no pink left in your face at all, woo, hoo, this is so funny, I'm not joking mum, your face is a completely different colour, come on, lets go show dad.................. ohhhhh, drats, the pink is starting to come back now, that was so cool, I've never seen anyones face a completely different colour before mum, hey mum, do you want to do it again?"

Hmmmmm



"Hey look mum, there's a photo of us on the ride where it drops, hey look at you mum, hahaha, you're so funny, you know you actually looked like you were scared mum, that's hysterical, come on let's find dad and show him, come on mum, hey mum, you can let go of my arm now, hey mum, your nails are still stuck in my arm, come on mum, let go of me now, there you go, it's OK, come on you'll feel better out in the heat"



The Mummy for littlies - a car drive around the ruins!



An amazing ride, don't miss it, I'm good not to do it again, but it was very amazing!



Dinner eaten at the diner, we were advised that the gates had closed and universal studios was now closed for the evening and would we be so kind as to head out at our leisure - what already! How can it be 7pm already.

Too much fun - we thought the day was done, little did we know what treats awaited outside................