Unk Dicko meets Marilyn M at Universal Studios

In my travels either alone or with my wife or daughter and friends, I have visited some of the very best theme park studios in America, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia. Almost all the parks seemed to be very crowded, no matter which day or time I visited them. Some are really huge when compared to Singapore's Universal Studios at Resorts World in Sentosa. Because of their size, they have many times more attractions, rides and shows than ours. This is not to say ours is no good...no, Unk Dicko can confirm that the standard and quality is there. No doubt about that. But the time taken up waiting for your turn in the LONG, LONG queue is quite unbearable...some as long as 45 minutes to an hour just for a ride that is over in 2-3 minutes !

D2 and I brought our grandkids and their keeper there last Friday ( 10 Dec 2010 ). Our tickets were bought during the initial official LAUNCH of Universal Studios many months ago. We wanted to see for ourselves just how it really is and to give a holiday treat to the kids. Going to such a place requires some advance planning when kids are involved.
You need to check out the kind of rides they can or cannot do dependent on age or height.
To save some valuable time, you need to obtain a resort map, preferably with all the latest details of showtimes, performances and routes to the the various rides.
Study it, mark out your own preferences allowing time for meals ( it's a nightmare inside ! ).
That way, you'll suffer less heartache.

The main problem as I saw it is the sheer volume of the crowd and the limited attractions for the rides. It was most unbalanced resulting in a "Hobson's choice" kind of scenario.
You arrived at a popular ride station. The queue looks like a coiled-up snake. The notice says "Waiting time is about 50 minutes " ( The time can change ). What do you do? If you join in, you'll be stuck for close to 1 solid hour with nothing to do...STANDING UP all the time, moving at a snail's pace forward. Imagine the little kids with you!
If you give it a miss, well you might not get the chance again to try that ride..at least for that day.
Thousands of us were faced with Hobson's choice, several times that day. ( No Choice ! )

I am allergic to long queues. So went to explore 5th Avenue to see who I would meet. Suddenly from out of a building, a lady stepped forward..she's blonde. I remember her from a long time ago.
I approached her and said, " Hi there. I seem to know you. Your name must be Marilyn right? "
" Certainly, I'm Marilyn "...she said. We shook hands and someone captured this scene for me.

When we arrived at the entrance, we saw many people still hoping to get tickets to go in.

Tickets were all sold out. They had a quota for maximum capacity daily.



Children love this "no need to queue " performance. The characters are from the popular movie Madagascar.


Hobson's Choice taking place, very few smiling faces as everyone seemed resigned to their fate.

Another of the "no need to queue" show...Water World.

But this is one show you must not miss. It's spectacular with superb effects, dare-devil stunts and lots of explosions and fireworks.

Just look at the size of the crowd in this one place. Imagine how many visitors are inside daily.

The Ancient Egypt section

Watching the world go by at 5th Avenue, Broadway.





There are not many rides that little kids can do..but this Caroussel is perfect for them.

With our Madagascar friends.

These were some Indian tourists who befriended the little ones.

There were more tourists than S'poreans that day.