The last weekend of October, I went over to Singapore for a couple of days. Since it was an exam week, I could get out at 12 on the Friday, meaning I could get an afternoon flight and arrive in Singapore early on Friday evening.
I’ve been twice before, the first time for about 5 days a few years ago, before Universal Studios existed, and again for a couple of days about 18 months ago, where I managed to get to Universal. Since then though, there are three new/reopened coasters, and I was curious to see what their Halloween event is like.
Friday
Flights worked out well enough. I was out of the airport a little after 7, which was 45 minutes later than planned because JetStar are crap. The Halloween event was starting at 7:30, so I got a taxi straight there and arrived just after they’d started letting people in. Pictures are mostly a bit crap because it was dark.
The blood moon stage at the end of the street rotated characters from various mazes (I know they’re not “mazes”; I don’t give a f**k) throughout the night.
I’d already prebooked/preprinted a fastpass, which was absolutely the right thing to do since it was heaving. It allowed for one fastpass entrance for each of the rides that was open, as well as for the mazes. These weren’t being scanned though. Each attraction was just ticked off at the bottom of the page by the ride ops. I don’t know if this was the regular system or whether something just wasn’t working, but If I’d have known, I could’ve just printed off another one and used it as a “different” fastpass later.
Anyway, the fastpass, along with single rider for a couple of things, meant that I didn’t wait more than 10 minutes for anything, despite some of the regular queues getting up to two hours later.
The first thing I did was Siloso Gateway: Block 50. I kind of wish I’d gone the other way around the park and done this last since I think it was probably the best maze. No cameras/photos inside obviously.
It started off outside, as kind of “Walking Dead” destroyed city. The idea is that there’s a virus turning people into zombies, so half the actors are zombies and the other half are military trying to help you through. You then go inside the apartment block. The rooms were really detailed. Singapore has three main ethnic groups: Indian, Malay and Chinese. Different apartments reflected the different residents, including the actors in each one. It wasn’t particularly scary, but was really atmospheric, with fantastic sets and some excellent makeup.
The New York area had been turned into The Invaders scare zone, with giant aliens and soldiers who are fighting them. It looked amazing. The “spaceship” also acted as a lighting rig, with some excellent laser work.
Every hour or so, there was a show, with a great effect of the soldiers shooting something out of a huge cannon, which missed the aliens and exploded on top of the library behind.
Next to the library was another maze, Tunnel People. This was the one I was a little anxious about since it was sold as being in complete darkness, but it turned out to be crap.
The idea is that the “tunnel people” are living in the sewers. It was dark in there - not to the point that you couldn’t see - but it seemed like an excuse to just have nothing in there other than a few people with cheap rubber masks. Not good at all. The sewer smell was decent touch, and there were two different passages which met up at the end, but that’s it.
Battlestar Galactica was partway through its two-year closure when I was here last, but I managed to get it this time.
Unfortunately, since there’s no single rider on this, I only managed one ride on each side with the fastpass. The queues on either side didn’t drop below an hour and I wasn’t going to wait in that for a reride.
The Human side – the regular sit-down side – was fun, but nothing special. It basically felt like an oversized family coaster. I got a back row ride, but other than a little pop at the start there wasn’t any airtime on it.
The Cylon side – the inverted side – was actually very good though. I was expecting it to ride like an SLC, but it really didn’t. I’d say it was actually closer to B&M in how it felt, especially with regard to the layout and elements, but with a slight rattle that reminded you that it wasn’t. It’s by far the best of the Vekoma inverts I’ve done though, and up there as one of their best ever coasters for me.
The launched lifthills on each side were fun without being forceful, but they weren’t running it in dueling mode. I don’t know if this was just because it was busy or it’s a regular thing now, but it was a shame. Also, changing the seating to two per row instead of four has crippled the capacity. On a quiet day, as I’d seen before, it wouldn’t be an issue, but at a crowded event like this it was very noticeable.
I didn’t bother using the fastpass for Revenge of the Mummy since it has a single rider which was always walk-on for the whole night. I got a few rides in, but didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I had before. Maybe it’s because I’ve done the other two since, whoring all of them thanks to single rider, so have become a bit tired of it. Along with Orlando’s, this is the best version in terms of the coaster, though if you take the whole building/façade/theming into consideration, then Singapore’s, as a whole package, pisses all over the other two.
The next maze was Hell House.
The whole thing is supposed to be a Chinese paper house, filled with creepy paper “doll” characters. The further in you go though, the creepier it gets, with hands coming out of the walls and a mirror maze section with mirrors opening and life-size “dolls” bursting through. At the end, the house is “on fire”, done with lighting and heaters, and various demons are supposed to taking you to hell.
Part of the Jurassic Park area was given over to the Hungry Ghosts scare zone. Hungry Ghosts is an actual Chinese festival which happens every year where people leave out food and gifts for their dead ancestors.
It mostly had people milling around as ghosts getting their pictures taken, but it was very atmospheric thanks to the fog machines everywhere, and some of the actors were doing a decent job of scaring people.
True Singapore Ghost Stories: The MRT was very good, probably the best maze after SGB 50.
You started off by going through the “pages” of a ghost story book, having the effect of temporarily losing people in front of and behind you, before entering the MRT, Singapore’s metro system. The train carriages were brilliantly done and really realistic. There was also a construction/tunnel section with dead construction workers and a full-size JCB bucket coming in right over your head.
I didn’t bother with Shrek 4D, still the biggest ever waste of such an epic façade, but used the fastpass for a quick ride on Enchanted Airways, the Vekoma roller skater.
The new coaster, Puss in Boots’ Giant Journey, was cack. It’s a Zamperla kiddy ride though, so it was good for what it was I guess.
Battlestar from across the lake:
I’d walked past Conterminated, which is just off The Invaders area, earlier since it wasn’t on the fastpass and had a bit of a wait. I got it later though. The queue was big, but there was a constant stream of people going through, so it only took about twenty minutes.
It was basically a cross between a scare zone and a maze. It was too open to be considered a maze, but there was a definite “walkthrough” as opposed to hang around element. They’d used one of the actual street sets from the park for this, so it felt pretty authentic, for want of a better word, since it was set up among the permanent buildings. It also had some pretty disturbing characters, like a fat bloke wallowing in a bath of sh**ty nappies.
Beast Club was just a stage show. I caught about 5 minutes of one of the shows and kept on going.
As with Mummy, I ditched using my fastpass in favour of using the single rider queue for Transformers. It’s an excellent ride, but I’m pretty much over it now. Spiderman is better.
The park was open until 1am, but I think I ditched at about half eleven. I’d got a few repeat rides on Transformers and Mummy thanks to single rider, and I’d done everything else using the fastpass. I wasn’t willing to join the regular queues to reride anything else, though I would’ve liked at least another ride on each side of Battlestar.
I just got a quick 10-15 minute taxi ride to my hotel in China Town and crashed after that. Park stuff is over, but going to throw some other s**t in while I’m here.
Saturday
I’d pretty much “done” Singapore before, but since it’s a three and a half hour flight from Hong Kong it would be stupid to just do the park and leave. I was planning on heading out that night, but still had the day to kill. I think I eventually left the hotel at around 12 and just had a wander for the afternoon.
In the past, I’ve stayed in the Geylang area because it’s cheap (for Singapore), but still close enough for a quick taxi/MRT ride into the centre. This time I stayed in Chinatown though, which was more expensive, but just a few minutes’ walk to the bars/clubs I was going to later.
I stayed on Temple Street (also my address in Hong Kong) with this Hindu thing at the end of it.
The area is also just a 10-15 minute walk down to the CBD and Marina Bay. I’ve been before, but couldn’t really be arsed going further afield, so just had a walk around there.
Didn’t bother with the Flyer this time around. Once you’ve done it, there’s little point in a repeat visit.
I’d only been to Gardens by the Bay at night before, so thought I’d have a look at what it’s like during the day. It’s nice.
The walkway through Supertree Grove is closed at night, so I gave it a go this time around. It’s only a couple of quid anyway.
There are two huge greenhouses here too, which I hadn’t been into before. It was a bit pricey and about 14 quid for the two (no option of only doing one), but worth a go once at least.
The Flower Dome is huge, split up into different areas representing different parts of the world and with some pretty big trees and stuff. It’s bit dull though to be honest.
Art:
If you laugh at this, you’re childish:
The greenhouse next to it, Cloud Forest, is a lot more impressive.
There’s a collection of rocks for the geology geeks:
It mostly consists of a huge central column, loaded up with plants and with various walkways at different levels. It also has the world’s highest indoor waterfall. Well, for now at least until Singapore airport’s new extension opens.
From there, I walked across the helix bridge and around to the Merlion, continuing back to my hotel after walking a rough circle to and around the main touristy area of the bay.
After some bars and clubs that night – fun, but a rather disappointing Halloween effort really – I had a lie in the next morning after being given a late check out and went straight to the airport.
I like Singapore. Flights between there and Hong Kong are very regular and cheap, making it an easy weekend trip. Other than hotels, it’s pretty inexpensive (expensive for South East Asia sure, but cheaper than most Western countries and Hong Kong at any rate) and it’s a piece of piss to deal with since everyone speaks fluent English and is pretty friendly, but I feel like I’ve kind of done it now.
I may go back next year for Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, but I think I’m probably more inclined to hold off for a while at the moment.
I’ve been twice before, the first time for about 5 days a few years ago, before Universal Studios existed, and again for a couple of days about 18 months ago, where I managed to get to Universal. Since then though, there are three new/reopened coasters, and I was curious to see what their Halloween event is like.
Friday
Flights worked out well enough. I was out of the airport a little after 7, which was 45 minutes later than planned because JetStar are crap. The Halloween event was starting at 7:30, so I got a taxi straight there and arrived just after they’d started letting people in. Pictures are mostly a bit crap because it was dark.
The blood moon stage at the end of the street rotated characters from various mazes (I know they’re not “mazes”; I don’t give a f**k) throughout the night.
I’d already prebooked/preprinted a fastpass, which was absolutely the right thing to do since it was heaving. It allowed for one fastpass entrance for each of the rides that was open, as well as for the mazes. These weren’t being scanned though. Each attraction was just ticked off at the bottom of the page by the ride ops. I don’t know if this was the regular system or whether something just wasn’t working, but If I’d have known, I could’ve just printed off another one and used it as a “different” fastpass later.
Anyway, the fastpass, along with single rider for a couple of things, meant that I didn’t wait more than 10 minutes for anything, despite some of the regular queues getting up to two hours later.
The first thing I did was Siloso Gateway: Block 50. I kind of wish I’d gone the other way around the park and done this last since I think it was probably the best maze. No cameras/photos inside obviously.
It started off outside, as kind of “Walking Dead” destroyed city. The idea is that there’s a virus turning people into zombies, so half the actors are zombies and the other half are military trying to help you through. You then go inside the apartment block. The rooms were really detailed. Singapore has three main ethnic groups: Indian, Malay and Chinese. Different apartments reflected the different residents, including the actors in each one. It wasn’t particularly scary, but was really atmospheric, with fantastic sets and some excellent makeup.
The New York area had been turned into The Invaders scare zone, with giant aliens and soldiers who are fighting them. It looked amazing. The “spaceship” also acted as a lighting rig, with some excellent laser work.
Every hour or so, there was a show, with a great effect of the soldiers shooting something out of a huge cannon, which missed the aliens and exploded on top of the library behind.
Next to the library was another maze, Tunnel People. This was the one I was a little anxious about since it was sold as being in complete darkness, but it turned out to be crap.
The idea is that the “tunnel people” are living in the sewers. It was dark in there - not to the point that you couldn’t see - but it seemed like an excuse to just have nothing in there other than a few people with cheap rubber masks. Not good at all. The sewer smell was decent touch, and there were two different passages which met up at the end, but that’s it.
Battlestar Galactica was partway through its two-year closure when I was here last, but I managed to get it this time.
Unfortunately, since there’s no single rider on this, I only managed one ride on each side with the fastpass. The queues on either side didn’t drop below an hour and I wasn’t going to wait in that for a reride.
The Human side – the regular sit-down side – was fun, but nothing special. It basically felt like an oversized family coaster. I got a back row ride, but other than a little pop at the start there wasn’t any airtime on it.
The Cylon side – the inverted side – was actually very good though. I was expecting it to ride like an SLC, but it really didn’t. I’d say it was actually closer to B&M in how it felt, especially with regard to the layout and elements, but with a slight rattle that reminded you that it wasn’t. It’s by far the best of the Vekoma inverts I’ve done though, and up there as one of their best ever coasters for me.
The launched lifthills on each side were fun without being forceful, but they weren’t running it in dueling mode. I don’t know if this was just because it was busy or it’s a regular thing now, but it was a shame. Also, changing the seating to two per row instead of four has crippled the capacity. On a quiet day, as I’d seen before, it wouldn’t be an issue, but at a crowded event like this it was very noticeable.
I didn’t bother using the fastpass for Revenge of the Mummy since it has a single rider which was always walk-on for the whole night. I got a few rides in, but didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I had before. Maybe it’s because I’ve done the other two since, whoring all of them thanks to single rider, so have become a bit tired of it. Along with Orlando’s, this is the best version in terms of the coaster, though if you take the whole building/façade/theming into consideration, then Singapore’s, as a whole package, pisses all over the other two.
The next maze was Hell House.
The whole thing is supposed to be a Chinese paper house, filled with creepy paper “doll” characters. The further in you go though, the creepier it gets, with hands coming out of the walls and a mirror maze section with mirrors opening and life-size “dolls” bursting through. At the end, the house is “on fire”, done with lighting and heaters, and various demons are supposed to taking you to hell.
Part of the Jurassic Park area was given over to the Hungry Ghosts scare zone. Hungry Ghosts is an actual Chinese festival which happens every year where people leave out food and gifts for their dead ancestors.
It mostly had people milling around as ghosts getting their pictures taken, but it was very atmospheric thanks to the fog machines everywhere, and some of the actors were doing a decent job of scaring people.
True Singapore Ghost Stories: The MRT was very good, probably the best maze after SGB 50.
You started off by going through the “pages” of a ghost story book, having the effect of temporarily losing people in front of and behind you, before entering the MRT, Singapore’s metro system. The train carriages were brilliantly done and really realistic. There was also a construction/tunnel section with dead construction workers and a full-size JCB bucket coming in right over your head.
I didn’t bother with Shrek 4D, still the biggest ever waste of such an epic façade, but used the fastpass for a quick ride on Enchanted Airways, the Vekoma roller skater.
The new coaster, Puss in Boots’ Giant Journey, was cack. It’s a Zamperla kiddy ride though, so it was good for what it was I guess.
Battlestar from across the lake:
I’d walked past Conterminated, which is just off The Invaders area, earlier since it wasn’t on the fastpass and had a bit of a wait. I got it later though. The queue was big, but there was a constant stream of people going through, so it only took about twenty minutes.
It was basically a cross between a scare zone and a maze. It was too open to be considered a maze, but there was a definite “walkthrough” as opposed to hang around element. They’d used one of the actual street sets from the park for this, so it felt pretty authentic, for want of a better word, since it was set up among the permanent buildings. It also had some pretty disturbing characters, like a fat bloke wallowing in a bath of sh**ty nappies.
Beast Club was just a stage show. I caught about 5 minutes of one of the shows and kept on going.
As with Mummy, I ditched using my fastpass in favour of using the single rider queue for Transformers. It’s an excellent ride, but I’m pretty much over it now. Spiderman is better.
The park was open until 1am, but I think I ditched at about half eleven. I’d got a few repeat rides on Transformers and Mummy thanks to single rider, and I’d done everything else using the fastpass. I wasn’t willing to join the regular queues to reride anything else, though I would’ve liked at least another ride on each side of Battlestar.
I just got a quick 10-15 minute taxi ride to my hotel in China Town and crashed after that. Park stuff is over, but going to throw some other s**t in while I’m here.
Saturday
I’d pretty much “done” Singapore before, but since it’s a three and a half hour flight from Hong Kong it would be stupid to just do the park and leave. I was planning on heading out that night, but still had the day to kill. I think I eventually left the hotel at around 12 and just had a wander for the afternoon.
In the past, I’ve stayed in the Geylang area because it’s cheap (for Singapore), but still close enough for a quick taxi/MRT ride into the centre. This time I stayed in Chinatown though, which was more expensive, but just a few minutes’ walk to the bars/clubs I was going to later.
I stayed on Temple Street (also my address in Hong Kong) with this Hindu thing at the end of it.
The area is also just a 10-15 minute walk down to the CBD and Marina Bay. I’ve been before, but couldn’t really be arsed going further afield, so just had a walk around there.
Didn’t bother with the Flyer this time around. Once you’ve done it, there’s little point in a repeat visit.
I’d only been to Gardens by the Bay at night before, so thought I’d have a look at what it’s like during the day. It’s nice.
The walkway through Supertree Grove is closed at night, so I gave it a go this time around. It’s only a couple of quid anyway.
There are two huge greenhouses here too, which I hadn’t been into before. It was a bit pricey and about 14 quid for the two (no option of only doing one), but worth a go once at least.
The Flower Dome is huge, split up into different areas representing different parts of the world and with some pretty big trees and stuff. It’s bit dull though to be honest.
Art:
If you laugh at this, you’re childish:
The greenhouse next to it, Cloud Forest, is a lot more impressive.
There’s a collection of rocks for the geology geeks:
It mostly consists of a huge central column, loaded up with plants and with various walkways at different levels. It also has the world’s highest indoor waterfall. Well, for now at least until Singapore airport’s new extension opens.
From there, I walked across the helix bridge and around to the Merlion, continuing back to my hotel after walking a rough circle to and around the main touristy area of the bay.
After some bars and clubs that night – fun, but a rather disappointing Halloween effort really – I had a lie in the next morning after being given a late check out and went straight to the airport.
I like Singapore. Flights between there and Hong Kong are very regular and cheap, making it an easy weekend trip. Other than hotels, it’s pretty inexpensive (expensive for South East Asia sure, but cheaper than most Western countries and Hong Kong at any rate) and it’s a piece of piss to deal with since everyone speaks fluent English and is pretty friendly, but I feel like I’ve kind of done it now.
I may go back next year for Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights, but I think I’m probably more inclined to hold off for a while at the moment.
