Saturday, February 6, 2010

Universal Studios Singapore is racing against time for a Chinese New Year opening



Here is a new update on Universal Studios Singapore and its opening date. Before i go further, here is a special request: If you are a Disney and more reader living in Singapore, owner of a good digital camera, and intend to be at Universal Singapore on opening day please contact me by email at: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr as i am looking for a photographer to shoot pictures of the park's opening. Any help from my Singaporian readers will be appreciated!

In my last article i told you that the park said they were waiting for the Singapore Government authorization to open the park? Well, they've finally got a government authorization this week, but it's for the Casino opening!

So, Resorts World Sentosa which include Universal Studios Singapore has been awarded its casino licence and for sure that's the authorization they were waiting for. I strongly doubt they were waiting for a government authorization to open the park but they were indeed waiting for the casino license as it will be the real money maker of the resort. With the Chinese new year coming on February 14th and big Chinese gamblers expected for this celebration it was urgent to get this casino license, and now they have it.



The grand arch at the park's entrance and ticket booths (below) are ready to welcome the guests...but the park is not open yet!




So, nothing should stop now the theme park opening, you ask? Well, normally yes, but truth is that Universal Singapore is fighting against time to have all attractions ready for a Chinese new year opening. Universal Creatives are working from 7a.m to 10p.m to test all the rides and last week they put the final touches on the Jurassic Park Ride. Right now it's not sure the park will open for the Chinese New Year as not enough Rides are fully operational.

I know that strong rumors keep saying that USS will open this week - and even I told you they were looking for a soft opening on February 11 - but if they do so, chances are there will still be 4 or 5 Rides that won't be open. Not only there is always the last minute details but there are many layers of testing for each attraction and some of the rides haven't gone through all of them. In two words four or five rides are not totally safe yet. May be they will be this week, may be not. Some of the rides are really complex and let's hope that Universal won't decide to open the park anyway including these not-totally-tested rides simply because they don't want to miss the Chinese new year event.

However, the good thing is that Universal is generally very strict on these security issues and that's the right thing to do.

In the meantime final touches are done, including last minute technical problems like the one that happened last week on the famous Universal Studios Globe at the entrance of the park.






However, visitors can have access to other areas of Resorts World Sentosa like the Festive Walk and its fountain, here shoot at sunset.





More update about Universal Studios Singapore opening coming soon, but don't miss my next article later this week where we will talk about the NEXT Universal Studios theme park in Asia and how it might not be the one that everybody is expecting for in South Korea...


Thanks to leave a comment or discuss this article on D&M english forum on Mice Chat

All pictures: copyright Mark Lim

4 comments:

fabz said...

the authorities are really being secretive about USS's opening date. Even if it announces the opening date, i doubt that i will be able to get a ticket on opening day. :(

AweLArtist said...

Hey, the news on the local channel here tonight stated that Universal Studios Singapore (USS) may not be ready for a Chinese New Year opening.
I was disappointed upon hearing this news but I hope that it is just a tactic to gain more appreciation once it's opened.

Anonymous said...

Resorts World just announced that the casino will have a soft opening on Chinese New Year's day - 14 Feb., but the theme park is not ready yet.

More information here : http://www.rwsentosa.com/LinkClick.aspx?link=RWS%2fpressroom%2f2010%2fRWS+press+release+-+casino+opening.pdf&tabid=57&mid=1023&language=en-US

AweLArtist said...

BREAKING NEWS:

It has been confirmed.
Universal Studios Singapore will not open during the Chinese New Year. Genting Singapore's first casino will open on the 14th of Feb, 2010 and USS will only open by next month.

I'm truly disappointed.