After experiencing 3 world-class theme parks in Japan this Summer, we were still raring for an extra dose of adrenaline rush upon return.  Imagine our delight when we were given 2 normal admission passes to Universal Studios Singapore by Angie’s colleague. I were curious how we could maximize our day at USS on a school holiday.  Although USS is a much smaller theme park than those in Japan and USA, it still packs in its own crowd.  Furthermore, it has recently been rated by Tripadvisor as the #1 Theme park in Asia – THAT’s sure going to draw in more visitors.

 7 rides and 1 Show… in 3 hours.

Due to some work commitments, I had only from 10am till 1pm to experience USS to the fullest on this Youth Day school holiday. Using the strategy which I coined as ‘The Clock and the Stroller’, I’m pleased to say that by 1pm, the daughter and I had experienced 7 of USS’s popular rides and watched 1 popular show – all without paying extra for a USS Express Pass!  Here’s how we did it:

The Clock and The Stroller:

The Clock:

• Be there early. The website indicates the opening time as 10am and we reached the entrance by 9:20am.  Boy, I was surprised! There were already queues at each entrance lines.  Some were pretty long while there were a few relatively short ones.  Naturally I joined the shorter queue but even that, it had about 40 odd people ahead of us.  This didn’t look good.  We had underestimated the queue here at USS!
•  Run Clockwise: I had no choice but to take a gamble – judging from what people say, they would go for the Transformer ride first (which is to the right of the park). I decided to go the opposite direction – clockwise, towards Far Far Away and that seemed to work! Check out our detailed account in the table below. 

The Stroller:

• Run Daddy Run: Angie couldn’t join us this time and so, it was just a Daddy and Daughter date.  With the anticipated running I had to do, I had brought the old trusty stroller along to push Dana so that we can all ‘run’ at the same pace.  It was efficient and best of all, fun for her especially because with Daddy zipping thru the crowd, it was a theme-park ride in itself!
• Store and Go: The stroller was handy in storing our drinks, snacks, ponchos, towels etc…all in a nondescript bag. No need to worry about locker locations.  Our essentials were with us wherever we went.  Valuables were kept to a minimum with only the car keys and some lose change for cold drinks and lunch which I kept with me in my pocket.

 Here’s an account of how we did 7 popular rides and 1 show in half a day at USS.

 As per our Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea visit, I’ve taken some FPV (First-Person-View) videos for our remembrance and your reference:

 Puss in Boots (NEW!):

Canopy Flyer:

Dino Soarin’ (Non FPV)

Enchanted Airways:

Having completed these popular rides by mid-day leaves you with plenty of time to experience other rides, watch more shows, queue for photos with the Mascots, enjoy a meal and enjoy the rest of USS at a more leisurely pace. 

Other Popular Rides and Shows in USS

• Battlestar Galactica: This is the ultimate thrill ride – the World’s first dueling Roller Coaster. It is hugely popular. The queue for it at noon was about 150 minutes long. Due to height restrictions, we will leave this ride for another visit but you can certainly try it…if you dare!
• Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase:  Fun, adrenaline-free ride for all in the family. Expect long queues.
• Shrek 4D Adventure: This is huge fun. Imagine the entire hall is an indoor 4D simulation ride of sorts.  Good fun for the whole family.  Expect to be lightly wet.
• Madagascar, A Crate Adventure: This is an adrenaline-free fun ride for the whole family.  
• Waterworld: See death defying stunts at this live stunt show. Expect lots of thrills, spills and pyrotechnics.
• Hollywood Dream Parade: The park’s daily parade, begins around 5pm daily.  Ask staff there for more updated details
• Lake Hollywood Spectacular: The park’s stunning evening show.  Happens around 8pm nightly. Ask staff there for more updated details.

We hope our short guide here helps to maximize your time at Universal Studios Singapore. Have a fun and exhilarating time!

A fruitful Daddy & Daughter Youth Day outing to USS

Check out our other theme park guides:

• Tokyo Disneyland
• Tokyo Disneysea
• Universal Studios Osaka – Akan Datang