Sentosa Theme Park opens March 18
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SINGAPORE : Resorts World Sentosa will open the gates of the Universal Studios Singapore theme park on March 18 at 8.28am.
Ticket sales for the soft opening phase will begin at 9 am on March 10 and on March 13, the park's first guests will be team members of Resorts World Sentosa, who will be the first to enjoy Universal Studios Singapore with their families.
As it's still during the theme park's preview phase, there will be limited tickets and certain attractions may be temporarily unavailable as Universal Studios Singapore continues its technical and creative adjustments.
A news release from Resorts World Sentosa said ticket prices will therefore be partially rebated by shopping and dining vouchers valid for use at Universal Studios Singapore.
Mr Tom Williams, Chairman and CEO, Universal Parks & Resorts, said: "We are thrilled to be taking the next step toward a grand opening, and we are excited that, at Universal Studios Singapore, guests from throughout the region will get to experience the excitement and adventure our parks are so well known for around the world."
Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Executive Chairman of Resorts World Sentosa, added, "we are excited to be gearing up to take our first guests on the rides, which are naturally the highlight of the park. This is the region's only Universal Studios theme park, and it will be a tourism crown jewel for not just Singapore, but Asia as a whole."
Tickets for the preview phase must be purchased online at www.rwsentosa.com, or via phone bookings at +65 6577 8899.
Tickets can also be purchased for future dates only at the ticket booths from 9am to 6pm daily at Universal Studios Singapore.
- CNA -
Saya all ready for it , chiong !
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Okay.... note to self: avoid Sentosa at all costs for the next few months.
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Theme park tickets on sale
TICKETS for Universal Studios theme park went on sale at 9am on Wednesday morning.
Despite the morning rain, there were at least 20 people queuing in line at the box office in Resorts World Sentosa.
The overwhelming demand to book tickets on the phone and online caused the website to crash in the morning and the hotline was perpetually busy.
Engineer Basheer Hamid, 38, was unable to get his tickets and resorted to going down to the site office to get them.
He said: 'I started calling at 9am sharp on two different phone lines and didn't get to speak to anyone despite being on hold for half an hour. I tried the website but it was also down.'
The theme park is slated to open on March 18.
--ST
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Glitches hit ticket sales
RESORTS World Sentosa (RWS) was dealt another blow yesterday when a sluggish booking system took centrestage on the day tickets to its star attraction - the Universal Studios theme park - went on sale.
Perpetually busy phone lines and an equally unresponsive online booking system yesterday left many potential customers of the park - which opens next Thursday - seething with frustration.
Customers reported long waiting times on the phones almost as soon as sales opened at 9am.
The situation eased somewhat at about noon, after RWS doubled the number of staff to handle queries.
But, despite doubling the bandwidth, booking via the Internet was a tedious affair. Customers complained of Web pages taking a long time to load and of the site being generally unresponsive.
Convinced that his own attempts online and by phone were going nowhere, Mr Basheer Hamid felt he had no choice but to make the trip down to the Universal Studios ticketing booths at the resort yesterday.
--ST
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Beware pickpockets at opening
THE police expect opportunistic criminals to be on the prowl at the grand opening of Universal Studios Singapore on March 18, and have warned visitors to be vigilant against pickpockets.
Visitors are also advised to be considerate and refrain from actions that may compromise the safety of others. For instance, they should queue up patiently for rides in an orderly manner.
Families with children should also supervise their kids at all times to prevent them from wandering off and getting lost.
The police also gave the following crime prevention tips:
* When walking in crowded places, be wary of anyone bumping into you and check your valuables immediately if that happens.
* Do not attract the attention of would-be thieves by exposing cash, valuables or jewellery in public areas.
* Ensure that your belongings are properly secured and within view when walking;
* Never leave your valuables unattended.
Police officers will be deployed on the theme park ground on Sentosa , and members of the public can approach them for help, or dial 999 if they need police assistance or spot any suspicious-looking persons and items.
-- ST
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SE Asia's first Universal Studios opens in Singapore
SINGAPORE : Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park, featuring rides and attractions from box-office hits such as "Shrek" and "Madagascar", opened to enthusiastic crowds in Singapore on Thursday.
Hundreds of visitors including foreign tourists lined up to be among the first into the 20-hectare (50-acre) park, part of the US$4.4-billion Resorts World Sentosa casino complex built by Malaysia's Genting Group.
The casino, Singapore's first, started operations last month as part of a drive to draw more visitors to the city-state, which relies on man-made attractions to entice tourists.
Singaporean newlyweds Raymond Ling and Liew See Eng took the day off to try the roller-coaster rides at the seaside amusement centre.
"The whole goal was to come here first and experience the most terrifying rides. We'll definitely be taking it as many times as we can," Ling told AFP after getting off a ride called "Battlestar Galactica Human".
"It was very scary! At the first drop, I felt like my heart was going to come out," Liew said after their front-seat experience.
The park has seven zones of movie-themed attractions, including an area devoted to Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" and a version of Hollywood's famous "Walk of Fame".
Nine-year-old Chai Jing Xuan, a Singaporean girl who was one of the first to try the "Shrek 4D Adventure" ride, gave it a thumbs-up. "The best part of the ride was seeing the donkey. He was very funny," she said.
Chinese tourist Huang Wenhui, 26, an engineer who was in Singapore for a one-day stopover, joined the early crowds. "I'm not a thrill-seeker, but I'm enjoying the whole experience very much," he said.
The park houses 24 rides and attractions in all, with 18 of them originally designed or adapted for Singapore.
The theme park is also promoting itself overseas, especially to neighbouring countries.
Liang Wern Ling, director, Destination Sales, Resorts World Sentosa, said: "Asian markets are our target markets. For example, Malaysia , Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and China. What we have been doing is going out to the market itself, talking to travel agents, to our business partners, to create awareness.
"So basically travel agents are very excited to sell our products. For the next few weeks, we expect to receive more frequent independent travellers, because of the tour groups because this is not actually the travel season for the region."
Asia's only other Universal Studios movie theme park is located in Japan, while the two others are in California and Florida.
Under a phased opening, Resorts World Sentosa launched four premium hotels and a shopping and dining strip in January, followed by the casino and a convention centre last month.
Singapore gave the green light for casino gambling in 2005, hoping to boost the country's tourism appeal and draw more visitors. A marine life park, a maritime museum, a spa and two more hotels will open at Resorts World Sentosa after 2010.
Marina Bay Sands, Singapore's second casino complex, is scheduled to open on April 27. It is now being completed by US-based Las Vegas Sands.
Singapore welcomed 9.7 million visitors last year, down 4.3 per cent from 2008 as the global recession hit travel demand, but arrivals have begun to pick up. There were 908,000 visitors in January, up 17.6 per cent from a year ago.
- AFP/CNA/al/vm -
Oh... why squeeze? Definitely like go there and queue hours for a ride.
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within 2 months sure have mechanical malfunction on one of the rides
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Praise for Universal Studios
ACTRESSES dressed as Hollywood icons such as Marilyn Monroe and prancing lion dancers were in attendance at Sentosa yesterday when the Universal Studios theme park greeted its first visitors at precisely 8.28am. The park is the last of the attractions at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) to accept visitors under Phase 1 of its opening.
Universal Studios' 18 attractions include the Battlestar Galactica roller coaster, several movie-themed thrill rides, and shows like Waterworld, which is based on the movie of the same title.
Most of the visitors in the early morning crowd of about 200 yesterday were Singaporeans with children in tow.
Lawyer Zee Liew, 39, who was with his wife and two sons aged eight and six, said the family had checked into the resort's Festive Hotel on Wednesday for a school holiday 'staycation'.
His elder son, Wei Jin, gave the theme park a big thumbs-up and said the Jurassic Park ride was his favourite.
For newlyweds Raymond Ling and Liew Soo Eng, the star attraction was the Battlestar Galactica.
-- ST
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Same-day tickets for Universal Studios on sale from Monday
SINGAPORE : Starting Monday, Universal Studios Singapore will release tickets that can be bought on the day itself.
Tickets that were sold since the theme park opened on March 18 had to be purchased at least a day in advance.
But for 600 underprivileged children visited the park on Saturday, they were invited to join in the fun for free.
The children from various charities such as Mendaki and the Children's Cancer Foundation arrived early for their one-day visit to Universal Studios Singapore.
They started their visit by watching a performance at the theatre and they also took part in quizzes.
Ivan Wong from Make-A-Wish Foundation was of the children.
He said: "I took pictures with Kung Fu Panda. Later I am going to take roller coasters."
Despite the rain, the number one attraction at the park was Battlestar Galactica.
Universal Studios Singapore has welcomed thousands of visitors since it opened. And there are plans to admit more.
Robin Goh, assistant director, Communications, Resorts World Sentosa, said: "Considering this is only the soft opening phase, and we are only third day into our operations, we have limited the number of tickets that are available, which accounts for the park not looking as crowded as it is.
"However, it will be ramped up as we ease in the operations, the rides, and the retail and F&B as well. "
Resorts World Sentosa is looking into the possibility of extending the theme park's opening hours on weekends.
Its opening hours are from 9am to 6pm daily. - CNA/ms -
Police stop Battlestar Galactica ride at Universal Studios at RWS due to glitch
SINGAPORE : Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has been instructed to cease operation of one of its rides at the newly opened Universal Studios Singapore theme park with immediate effect.
Reports suggest there may be a glitch.
The Battlestar Galactica roller-coaster ride at the park has been very popular since it was opened to the public on March 18.
Police said the safety authorities will work with Universal Studios Singapore to determine the cause of the problem.
It must also recommend rectification and re-certify the safety of the ride, before the licence can be reinstated.- CNA /ls
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The same day ticket sale I believe it was to pre-empt crowds.
But I guess ends up the crowd level makes it possible for on - site ticketing.
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Originally posted by QX179R:
Police stop Battlestar Galactica ride at Universal Studios at RWS due to glitch
SINGAPORE : Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has been instructed to cease operation of one of its rides at the newly opened Universal Studios Singapore theme park with immediate effect.
Reports suggest there may be a glitch.
The Battlestar Galactica roller-coaster ride at the park has been very popular since it was opened to the public on March 18.
Police said the safety authorities will work with Universal Studios Singapore to determine the cause of the problem.
It must also recommend rectification and re-certify the safety of the ride, before the licence can be reinstated.- CNA /ls
the result of cheaper, faster, better.....but no quality...
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no need 2 months..2 weeks already got problems..
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Originally posted by R3SsH|n:
no need 2 months..2 weeks already got problems..
yeah hired cheap FT engineer.....lor -
Keeee keeee keeee haaa haa haaa haa obigood
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Battlestar Galactica grounded
IT HAS been just over a week since Universal Studios Singapore opened to excited theme park enthusiasts, but their cries of disappointment were heard not long after. The highly anticipated red and blue railed Battlestar Galactica screeched to a halt due to a technical glitch.
While many weren't too happy about it, some of the visitors remained fairly optimistic. Like one man who said that he was disappointed but 'the other rides made up for it'.
For the same reason, Universal Studios Singapore remains an attractive theme park to tourists and Singaporeans alike, who told RazorTV what their favourite rides were. The entrance fees and queues proved to be acceptable as well.
Unsurprisingly, some visitors were not without complaints, ranging from the short opening hours to the hot weather.
However, as Universal Studios Singapore is only in its soft-opening stage, there's more to look forward to in the months to come.
Do you agree with what the visitors are saying about Universal Studios Singapore?
-- ST
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hot weather -> ask them go and fly kite la..singapore how to not have hot weather?]
opening hours -> yes. singapore has too little night activities for families..
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Battlestar Galactica ride may be closed for weeks
SINGAPORE: It may take weeks or longer before Universal Studios Singapore re—opens its popular ride, the Battlestar Galactica.
The roller—coaster was shut down on March 25 due to a "technical glitch".
Universal Studios has kept mum about the nature of the glitch but in its latest statement to MediaCorp, the company said the ride is in the process of a complete inspection.
This includes a review by an investigative team from the ride’s design, engineering and manufacturing company, as well as several expert independent assessors.
The ride has been dismantled and components analyzed, including an X—ray of its parts.
"It may be weeks or longer before these final conclusions are reached," said Universal Studios Singapore.
"Any comment prior to the experts reaching their determinations would be purely speculative, so we will wait until the process is complete before we issue any statement as to when the attraction will again be operational and/or the additional testing to be performed in order to prove the safety of the repairs performed."
Universal Studios Singapore added that the world’s tallest pair of duelling roller coasters will remain closed until all inspections, repairs, and testing are complete.
"We understand some guests may be disappointed; however, the safety of our employees and guests remains our top priority," the theme park said.
Police have said Universal Studios Singapore must recommend rectification measures and re—certify the safety of the ride, before its licence can be reinstated.
— CNA/yb
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GG