Universal Studios Singapore

Universal Studios Singapore is a theme park located within Resorts World Sentosa on Sentosa Island, Singapore. It features 28 rides, shows, and attractions in seven themed zones. It was a key component of Genting's bid for the right to build Singapore's second integrated resort. On 8 December 2006, the Singapore government announced that the consortium had won the bid. Construction of the theme park and the rest of the resort started on 19 April 2007. It is the second Universal Studios theme park to open in Asia (Japan being the first) and the first in Southeast Asia. The official plans for the park were unveiled to the public when Universal Studios Singapore released a park map to the public on 20 October 2009. Universal Studios Singapore has since attracted more than 2 million visitors in the 9 months from its opening.

The park has been marketed by Universal Parks & Resorts as a "one-of-its-kind theme park in Asia" and promised that the park would be the only one of its kind in Southeast Asia for the next 30 years.

Park history
The construction of Resorts World Sentosa and Universal Studios Singapore began on 19 April 2008. After almost two years of construction, the park opened on 18 March 2010.

Universal Studios Singapore was opened for "sneak peek week" in view of the Chinese New Year Celebrations, from 5 pm to 9 pm every night between 14 and 21 February 2010. Though visitors had to pay SGD$10 to enter the park even-though rides were not operating, tickets for the week were sold out in 2 days. On 5 March 2010, it was announced that the park will open its doors at 8:28 am (UTC+8) on 18 March 2010, for a soft-opening phase. From 13 March 2010, the team members of Resorts World Sentosa and their families had a chance to visit the park before the public has a chance to do so. The park had its soft opening period from 18 March 2010 to 26 October 2010.

The official grand opening of the park was held on 28 May 2011, along with the "grand opening gala" being held on 27 May 2011 evening. It had Asian personalities Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Zhao Wei, and former "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul making an appearance at the gala event, along with some 1,600 guests.

In October 2011, Universal Studios Singapore began its Halloween Horror Nights events.

On 3 April 2019, Genting Group announced the expansion of Universal Studios Singapore with two new themed areas, Minion Park and Super Nintendo World, with the former replacing Madagascar.

Park layout
Universal Studios Singapore is 20 hectares (49 acres) in size, occupying the easternmost part of the 49-hectare (120-acre) Resorts World Sentosa. There are a total of 24 attractions, of which 18 are original or specially adapted for the park. The park consists of seven themed zones surrounding a lagoon. Each zone is mostly based on movies and/or television, featuring their own attractions, meet and greet locations, over 30 restaurants and food carts, and 20 retail stores and carts located around the park.

Hollywood
Hollywood is the main entrance area of the park. Its only attraction, a broadway-style theatre, is accompanied by several restaurants and a variety of shopping locations. The zone is filled with Hollywood-inspired architecture and palm trees, including a replica of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Attractions & Entertainment


 * Sesame Street Show - Elmo's TV Time
 * Lake Hollywood Spectacular
 * Turntables
 * Hollywood China Arcade

Meet & Greets


 * Hollywood Walk of Fame (including Woody and Winnie Woodpecker, Gabriel Garza, Peri Dazz and Nicky Kickzoo from Computeropolis, Minions from Despicable Me, Jamo and Keena from Paradoria, Marilyn Monroe, Charlie Chaplin, Frankenstein's Monster, Beetlejuice, Betty Boop, Dusk and Dawn, Po the Panda and Tigress from Kung Fu Panda, Hiccup and Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon and Poppy and Branch from Trolls)

Restaurants & Refreshments
 * Mel's Drive-In
 * Starbucks

Gifts & Retail
 * Universal Studios Store
 * Silver Screen
 * Minion Mart
 * The Dark Room
 * The Brown Derby - A Sesame Street Shop
 * That's a Wrap

New York
New York City is based on the original New York City, during the era of post-modernization. The zone features various landmarks commonly portrayed in movies including the city skyline, neon lights, facades, and sidewalks. This zone also has a replica of the New York Public Library. Special Sesame Street character appearances include Elmo, Big Bird, Count von Count, Abby Cadabby Bert, Ernie, Grover, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch.

Entertainment
 * A Date with Marilyn
 * Boop'n Around
 * Rhythm Truck

Sci-Fi City
Sci-Fi City is themed to a supposed metropolis of the future. It is the home of a pair of duelling roller coasters.

Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt is based on the historical adaptation of Ancient Egypt during the 1930s Golden Age of Egyptian Exploration. It features obelisks and pyramids which are typical of Ancient Egypt. Also featured are Pharaohs' tombs which were supposedly commonly discovered during that era. This zone relies on the depictions made in the popular film franchise, The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser.

The Lost World
The Lost World contains many traditional attractions present in most Universal Studios parks around the world and is divided into two sub-areas: Jurassic Park and Waterworld. Jurassic Park, based on the popular film franchise by Steven Spielberg and novels by Michael Crichton, features the newly redesigned Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure which is based on the water rides in other Universal Studios parks. Waterworld, based on the film Waterworld starring Kevin Costner, is a stadium that features a live show performance.

Computeropolis
Computeropolis is inspired by Universal Animation Studios' hit Computeropolis franchise. The zone consists of many recognizable locations from the film series, and the main highlight of the zone is "The Desktop Component League". Special character appearances include Peri Dazz, Nicky Kickzoo, Vinna Binz, Painting Paula, Notepad Ned, and Media Player Mike.

Far Far Away
Far Far Away is inspired by DreamWorks Animation's Shrek franchise. The zone consists of many locations from the film series, with a landmark in the form of "Far Far Away Castle". Character appearances include Shrek, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Princess Fiona, Pinocchio and Prince Charming.

Madagascar
Madagascar is inspired by the DreamWorks Animation franchise of the same name. The zone features a tropical jungle theming as well as two rides. Character appearances include Alex, Gloria, King Julien XIII, Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico.

Character appearances
As with the other Universal parks, characters roam the park grounds, representing many different genres. It is known to have possibly ranging from portrayals of Hollywood icons while others are based on Universal's vast media library and several third-party characters such as Sesame Street characters, the exact list of character appearances are unknown.