Sentosa Island is a must-visit if you’re in Singapore, with kids. And, you should take them to Universal Studios there, especially if they are fans of cartoon characters, thrilling rides and music.
Almost 12 years ago, when we visited Singapore on the way to Bali, we went to Sentosa Island but only hopped onto the cable car and walked through the S.E.A. Aquarium (S.E.A. stands for South East Asia). We took a picture next to the Sentosa Merlion (which has been demolished now) and got back. Our daughter was 10 months old. We decided that it was a better idea to visit Universal Studios Singapore when she was older so that she could enjoy it as well as remember it.
This year began with a family trip to Singapore because of some work. Now that we had two kids of eligible ages (12 and 8), Universal Studios Singapore (USS) was the first place we planned to visit.
At USS, there were around 12 rides out of which we omitted those that did not interest us. We only went to the exciting ones like Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN, Battlestar Galactica: CYLON, Revenge of the Mummy, TRANSFORMERS The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle, Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure, Puss In Boots’ Giant Journey and Shrek 4-D Adventure. Hubby and the kids were ecstatic while I was the odd one out who just tagged along on every ride because they insisted. Out of the shows, we only went to the Lights, Camera, Action and loved it.
Believe it or not, there were long queues everywhere, even though we were there on a Monday! But, despite that, we did a lot of things right and therefore managed to have lots of fun and make the most of our time there. Read on.
Once you have allotted a day to Universal Studios, book your admission tickets here. Kids between 4 and 12 years old get a 25% discount, and admission for kids under 3 is free.
You can get an express pass (on the website at SGD 120/-) to skip the lines and get to as many rides as possible. You can also enter the park through the ‘Priority Access’ lane within the first two hours of opening time. We got our express pass at the venue itself after we saw the long queues inside. The downsides of this pass are that there are no discounts for kids and you can use it only once per ride.
Even though the ticket is not time-bound, plan to reach Sentosa Island at 0930 hours at least as you will have some walking to do before you reach the gate of Universal Studios Singapore. Entering early also gives you time to get on the thrilling rides multiple times before the crowd gets in.
Try your best to travel as light as possible. There are lockers below most of the rides that don’t allow you to carry anything on you, but they are time-bound and free only for a certain period of time. Also, walking around with weight may tire you sooner.
Avoid rushing around the place or the heat is sure to tire you out. You can enjoy the structures, click pictures with the minions, transformers and other characters, enjoy the band on the move (which is pure entertainment), etc. You can create a whole photo album of memories in this place.
You can get on each ride only as many times as your heart desires. While the express pass allows you one entry per ride, you can go on any ride multiple times provided you again wait in the serpentine queues outside them. There is no extra payment to go on the rides even if you want to go on them more than once.
There are currently six zones in Universal Studios Singapore; New York, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, The Lost World, Far Far Away and Hollywood. The seventh zone, which is Minion Land, opens on 14th February 2025. Study the map and decide which ones you would like to go through and which ones are of little or no interest to you. Plan your route accordingly.
You will not be allowed to carry food from outside (with exceptions). You can quench your thirst and satiate your hunger pangs inside, of course, at a cost. From slushes to tacos, from pizzas to ice creams, almost everything is available in USS. But, we advise you to keep hydrating yourself, especially with water. We were quite blessed that it wasn’t raining or too sunny the day we visited Universal Studios Singapore. So we managed with a slush, a cold drink and some water.
Every attraction will encourage you to click a photo at their photo booth. While posing for pictures may seem compulsory in some places, buying the prints is not. The photo prints can cost anywhere from SGD 15/- to SGD 45/-. That’s almost Rs 1000 + for one single print. While we did get a couple of photos for memory, we just posed for the rest of them.
Once you have decided to exit Universal Studios Singapore, please make sure everything is taken, picked up and finished. You will not be allowed re-entry.
You can spend a whole day at Universal Studios Singapore. We spent most of our time at Far Far Away and Sci-Fi City and exited USS only at around 1400 hours. We spent 1.5 hours in S.E.A. Aquarium and then visited the Harry Potter: Visions of Magic which was mostly an immersive reality (which is time-bound). The whole day was well-planned and well-executed and, therefore, could be enjoyed in the best way possible.
If you are planning to visit USS, do read our article so that you can also have as much fun as we did. Happy journey!
This blog post is part of ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’
hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.
Photo by Chan s.
30 Comments
This is such an informative and helpful post. I admire the way you guide about the trip and how one can easily make the best use of time. Loved the pictures.
We visited in 2016 during our Singapore trip. Were planning one with kids now, can’t wait to experience the fun again. This post is detailed with the current information.
This is such a helpful guide, Cindy! I’d have definitely fallen for the photo booths! 😃 I will surely refer your post when I plan a visit to Universal Studios.
I would love to take my kids to universal studios. I visited SGP 15 years back with my parents, so never visited this. Great guide.
The way you dont leave a stone unturned when you write about places and even ensure the importance of hydration always makes your posts the most useful. Hope you had a great time in Singapore Cindy. It has always been the best place to live.
Universal Studios is a must-visit when in Singapore and we might plan our next trip there. Good tips to enjoy our time. Hoping to avoid the dreaded queues but guess that’s wishful thinking!
Thanku so much for sharing the tips and details about your trip it will help us to plan. Btw i loved the beautiful pics
Thanks, Kanchan!
Looks like you had a great time at USS.I have not been to Singapore yet, so I have bookmarked this blog. I would love to visit when my grandsons are here. Arian has been to the other USS but not Amir, so will take them both here.
This is such a helpful guide, Cindy! Loved how you covered everything, from must-do rides to little tips like staying hydrated and watching out for photo booth prices. Planning a USS trip feels so much easier now. Saving this for when we visit!
Thank you, Neha!
A useful guide for those who would want to travel with children. Well-penned.
Wow! Sounds like a lot of fun (although pricy too)! But what comes easy these days? And if the fun is as you describe it, then paying for it is okay! Like you, my son and nieces were too young when we visited Singapore many years ago. I believe it is time for a second visit, for USS alone!
Sounds like so much fun. The pics says it all…lovely! And the tip are very useful too esp. about going in early and staying hydrated.
Finally I got one destination matched with you….I really enjoyed the entire day here at Universal studio at Singapore. I cant write more how happy I was there… Mr. Shrek still posses there? well I had a click with him and it was such a cute feeling. Well that time I was not a mom, my behaviour was like a kid as I was super sa upar wala happy. I will surely visit here with my Son again. Thank you for reviving old travel memories.
My pleasure, Samata!
Till date one of my biggest regrets in life is that I visited Singapore and Dubai before two of its biggest attractions (Universal Studios and Burg Khalifa) opened up. Reading your posts has only doubled up on my determination to revisit Singapore at the earliest. Of course, your post will be a huge help whenever I can do that.
Do go and visit, Manali. Who knows, you will be inspired to write yet another book! :))
I’ve been to Singapore, and I have to agree – Universal Studios is absolutely one of the best places to visit.The experiences there are unforgettable. By the way, I love your before-and-after clicks. It’s wonderful to see how kids are revisiting the place now that they’ve grown up.
Thank you, Anjali!
A very useful guide to explore USS without getting lost. Its good that you mentioned about the photo booth charges.
This looks like so much fun and seems similarly planned to attractions in other cities like Dubai. I can imagine us having so much fun with my kids there! Was reminded of the Dubai trip I took them a couple of years ago.
I also found similarities with Dubai though I haven’t been there yet.
The kids, specially the younger one sure seems to be having a blast. I think this is quite similar to Disneyland with the difference in the popular characters and rides. These tips are useful when planning a visit , saves a lot of pain later.
Cindy, you have a knack to make a new person comfortable and make him feel easy to plan his/her first experiences of these destinations for them. I loved the way you go into details of describing kind of “dos and don’ts” for trip planning.
While reading about the Minion zones, some friends popped into my mind who will be excited about this place for sure. I am sharing your post with them right away!
Thanks, Adi!
This is a fantastic guide to making the most of USS without wasting time! I visited Singapore 10 years ago when I was single and skipped USS, but now that my daughter has just turned one, this post will be incredibly helpful when we plan our family trip this time!
Awesome, Pinki!
Hope it helps!
This post is so helpful! I’ve been wanting to visit Universal Studios Singapore, and now I feel totally prepared. I did make some notes too so that they’ll be handy for my own planning.
That’s awesome, Romila! I hope it helps!