Life's Tiny Miracles

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Waxing Lyrical about Madame Tussauds Singapore

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I would visit Madame Tussauds Singapore again and again. Seriously. Why? Well, I was too ‘star struck’ and missed out on striking up meaningful conversations with my family during the media preview last Saturday. Here’s what transpired.

You see, finally! I was so excited that we have our very own installation of the world-class attraction. Walking through the exhibits, any adult would be totally captivated to see legends, celebrities, international icons and political personalities…all in full-scale lifelike wonder. You’ll be amazed at the tremendous effort and skill the Madame Tussauds team put in to replicate each figure – from weaving in the hairs (including the fine stubble) to choosing the colour of the eyeballs, every minor detail has to carefully observed. Which is why Madame Tussauds wax figures are recognised as THE best in the world.

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So yes, I was like a child in the candy store. Going from one personality to another, observing them up close to see details of their facial expressions then later standing afar to see their physical features (I was surprised to find how tall Leonardo DiCaprio is and that the media was right about Tom Cruise’s height!). Better still, I was able to ‘meet’ face to face the legends I admire like Elvis, Teresa Teng, Gandhi, Mandela and Her Majesty ‘herself’ the Queen of England.  Wow! To be able to get up close with them truly adds another dimension of my appreciation of the impact these famous personalities brought to the world. Now…before I get carried away again.

WAX245 copyElvis is in the house!

WAX258 copyDana sending ET Home – she watched ET on TV recently and was delighted to see it here!

The questions came fast and furious: ‘Daddy, who is this?’, ‘Daddy, why is he dressed like that?’, ‘Daddy, why is he famous?’ Yes, questions from my 6 year-old who barely know any of these personalities (except for Barack Obama, whom she read from a storybook before our NYC trip). But Daddy was too awestruck to engage her. If there were a ‘Hall of Shameful Parents’ there, I would volunteer as wax figure number 1.

S-WAX302MadameTussauds15S-WAX306S-WAX305From history shakers to movie makers , they are all here.  How many can you name?

Madame Tussauds is a wonderful place to bridge that generation gap with your children and to pass on the values learnt through current affairs and historical events. From politics to sports to entertainment, it is a wonderful avenue to let your children have a peek into YOUR world. Tell them the stories of courage, of perseverance, of human strength, of artistic achievements and sports accomplishments etc… Tell them how Mommy and Daddy used to party to the songs of Elvis or Madonna and how Grandpa and Grandma grew up listening to Teresa Teng’s songs.

S-WAX308Dana loves Audrey Hepburn in ‘My Fair Lady’. She’s so happy she could meet her here and if you see the photo on the right carefully, Baby AJ was present too!

S-WAX311Legends whose songs still ring in our hearts…

S-WAX298Practising her Kung Fu moves under the tutelage of the master…

WAX271 copySaying ‘Hasta La Vista’ to Arnie…

WAX237 copyYes…the best contractor in JB, Singapore and some say Batam!

Madame Tussauds started creating wax figures (and death masks) back in the late 1800s. Interestingly, these figures were of French aristocrats which sadly included her ex-employers King Louis XVI and Mary Antoinette, both executed in the French Revolution and whose heads were then given to Madame Tussauds to replicate. The morbid task does have a noble intent – that is , in an age of limited forms of media, for the public to remember them, to recount the experiences learnt from those tumultuous times. Two hundreds years later, the very same intentions are still, surprisingly valid in our world. We may not get to meet these famous personalities ‘live’ but through Madame Tussauds, we are given a chance to re-visit and share with our young the wonderful life stories each possesses. Above that, it is a great attraction for our children to know us better. That’s why I’m going back…this time, I will be more intentional to make the visit count.

S-WAX299(Left) Internal wiring of the Stephanie Sun figure. (Right) Model of Madame Tussauds while she was replicating the head of King Louis XVI.

S-WAX300Wax figures are touched-up daily or whenever needed to maintain their life-like appearance…

Here are Dave’s Survival tips to Madame Tussauds Singapore :

1. Commute: Madame Tussauds is located at the former Images of Singapore building. The closest monorail station is ‘Imbiah Lookout’. If you are driving, there is limited outdoor parking. You’re better off parking at larger car parks (e.g. Beach Station) and using the monorail to get there.  For details on how to get there, look it up here.

2. Come early: For such a world-class attraction, expect crowds and queues. At press time, there’s no word on crowd management but I suspect they would probably let people in in batches if that gets too much, which translate to longer queues! We also anticipate queues for The Spirit of Singapore Boat Ride which takes guests on a celebratory journey through Singapore’s most recent historical and cultural landmarks.

3. Crowds: Yes…that word again. Do not expect your photos to have clean crowd-less backgrounds, expect to be photo-bombed so make every selfie/wefie  short and swift.

4. Children: Most, if not all the figures are free standing with no barriers. Yes, you can get THAT close. Do manage lively and active children so that they do not touch, topple or damage any of these wax figures which costs $300,000 (each!).

5. Camera: Yes, go with your camera battery fully charged with lots of memory space for photo storage. There are countless photo ops with your favorite stars and respected icons!

6. Conversations: Go prepared to engage your children with loads of meaningful conversations and stories about the exhibits in the 7 themed zones. Devote minimum 2 hours for your visit.

WAX284 copySo many stars here…it’s easy to walk around starstruck…

WAX246 copySensational stars all under one roof. Pick your favourite!

Madame Tussauds Singapore
Facebook | Website

Opening Date: 25th October 2014
Opening Times: Daily 10am to 9pm (Last admission 730pm).
Admission: Grab your Early Bird Tickets (valid till 31 Dec 2014) at SGD20 each online.
Children below 3 enter FREE.

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Madame Tussauds – a truly world-class venue for the whole family!

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY

Thanks to our sponsor, we have a Family Pack of 4 Madame Tussuads Admission Tickets (Worth SGD120) to be given away to 1 loyal reader. Simply follow the steps here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 This giveaway ends on 09 November 2014, 11.59pm and is open to readers based in Singapore only. Winners will be contacted using the contact particulars provided when entering this draw and will have 48 hours to respond, failing which a new winner will be drawn. All incomplete entries will be disqualified. All entries will be verified before the winners are announced. To be fair to our sponsors, please note that all fake Facebook accounts (e.g. accounts set up purely to take part in contests with no or very few real friends) will be disqualified. All the best!

Comments

  2. Don’t ask me why but I never felt the urge to visit any of Madame Tussauds museums before, but after looking at your photos, I can’t wait to check it out. Love Dana’s poses, yes, especially the Gung fu one! Thanks for the tips!

    Reply

  6. It will be our girls first time to such attraction, and I think they will be awed! Great poses by Dana. Hope to get a chance to visit soon

    Reply

  10. Hi. I would like to win the tickets to Mdm Tussauds so that i can bring my family there!. It will be the first time visiting any Mdm Tussauds museum!

    Reply

  12. Name: Kathy Woon-Tan (with Joe, Isaac & Shannon Woon)
    Email: [email protected]

    I will introduce my kids to all e famous people .. NOW n THEN
    Definitely be taking picture with my all-time favourite star, Audrey Hepburn!!
    Please be us!!!! Thanks for e Giveaway 🙂

    Reply

  14. Awesome opportunity. Love to click pictures with everyone especially with Nelson Mandela & Mahatma Gandhi..Great Leaders & Peace followers…

    Thanks for awesome opportunity..
    Ashmika jain
    [email protected]

    Reply

  16. Would like to take a photo with Jay Zhou especially as my two boys are fans of his and they are only 3 & 1 years old..his Mine Mine is their favourite song now after I play his CD in the car sometimes back..

    Reply

  20. It’ll be an awesome experience for my family to visit Madame Tussauds Museum. Imagine being surrounded by all the stars and legends!

    Reply

  26. The wax figurine that I wanted to take a photo with the most is MM Lee and his late wife. I have been to Los Angeles and Hong Kong’s Madame Tussard’s and foreign political figures as well as world famous celebrities I have seen. But what is uniquely Singapore is our important people that helped to rebuild Singapore. None other than MM Lee. Having able to see his wife beside him, makes me feel so happy. You could see how happy this couple was before. Really true endearing love.

    Name: Joleen Ng
    Email: [email protected]

    (Hope to bring my three boys- Kingsley, Leroy & Jayden)

    Reply

  31. The family just caught the show E.T. on channel 5 not long ago which brought back my childhood memories. Hence I’d hope to have a family photo with E.T. 🙂
    Thanks for hosting the giveaway.

    Reply

  35. Thanks for organizing this. Been to London a few times but never made it in there due to long queues. Now that I have kids of my own, would really love to make it to this one in Singapore with them. 🙂

    Reply

  36. Hope really can win this for my daughter and niece as they will love it to see so many our favourite STARS 🙂

    Reply

  39. Hi, I have never won from your giveaway but this time I really hope to win the tickets to bring my parents to the museum. Hope you can grant my wish.

    Name: Elaine Chang
    Email: [email protected]

    Thanks

    Reply

  47. would love to dress up like Audrey Hepburn with the long cigarette holder..and pile up my hair like her and wear the little black dress …and take a picture with her to share with my sister over in Australia who likes her as well

    Reply

  50. Definitely hope to have a picture with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a man who has contributed much to Singapore’s success and one of those ministers who have shaped Singapore the way it is today. Really hope to have an opportunity to visit Madame Tussuads Singapore!

    Reply

  51. I always thought Madame Tussauds Museums are boring places!! Glad to have read your review on the fun part. I have 1 discounted ticket from SQ. Hope to get to win a set to bring the kids this holiday. Love to take a photo with Singapore’s Father – Mr Lee.

    Shirley Yong
    [email protected]

    Reply

  54. I Would love to take pic with Mr & Mrs Lee as they are such loving couple which is a model example to us…
    And also Brad Pitt!! He’s my idol!! 🙂

    Reply

  59. If there is a chance, I’ll let to be there with my mom and take a shot with Theresa Teng, my parents love her songs so much.

    Reply

  64. Wow! Thanks for all these great photos!

    I went to Madame Tussards Hong Kong before and i never expect we have it in our own country now! Amazing! I love all the wax figures and most of them are certainly alike to the real person! Would love to take picture with our PM Lee and his wife as at Hong Kong, there is only PM Lee, so would love to take with both of them with the lovely background!

    Name: Jace Koh ( FB Name: Jacey Gem Koh )
    Email: [email protected]

    Reply

  66. i want to take photo with Lee Kuan Yew who is our father of Singapore. It will be a great honour to take photo with him and his wife.

    Reply

  68. Thank you for this giveaway. I hope to take a photo with my idol Teresa Teng’s Wax figure.

    FB name: Meng Chee Mark
    FB URL: htpps://www.facebook.com/mengchee.mark
    Twitter name: LimGeokHiang
    Instagram name: MMC237

    Reply

  74. I would love to take photos with my legendary idol of the centuries – Bruce Lee and others celebrated iconic wax figurines at Madame Tussauds Singapore. I am so glad that we finally own it!

    Reply

  76. I wish to take photos with gorgeous-looking Hollywood leading men such as Leonardo diCaprio, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Swooooon!!!

    Reply

  79. Pick me as winner! I want to bring my family to Madam Tussauds.
    I want to take a photo with Cristiano Ronaldo as he is my favourite footballer!

    Reply

  81. I WANT TO GO TOO!! 🙂
    The last and also first time i went was the one in shanghai? I was too young to appreciate the wax figures and i don’t really remember the characters i saw. Now, i wanna go and see what we have in singapore’s Madame Tussauds!

    Reply

  85. I would like to take photo with Mahatma Gandhi as he is a symbol for world peace and a great person who showed this world that we can attain through non-violence.I always liked his idealiogies.He has been my role model ever since I was a kid and now my daughter too looks at him as her role model.

    Arsheitha Ganesan
    [email protected]

    Reply

  87. Would love so much to visit the amazing wax museum to take a pictures with the very handsome rock n roll legend Elvis Presley and the very beautiful Teresa Teng. My mom’s idols.

    Reply

  93. I would love to bring my mum there for a photo opportunity with Theresa Teng, whom my mum is a fan of, for me, I would like to take photos with as many of them as I can! 🙂

    Reply

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