I had always wanted to go Halloween nights because I'm always very fascinated about horror movies and I told myself that no matter what, this year I MUST go at least one! So I spent my first Halloween at Universal Studios Singapore with Yin Mei. Thanks to Yin Mei's friend, we managed to get the tickets at $45 instead of $68. Seriously, I don't think I'll go if I need to spend $68 to play for only 4 hours.
I went last Saturday 20/10/2012 and the crowd at Vivocity was insane as everyone was heading towards Sentosa. Heard from Yin Mei that it was a sold out day, so that explains the crowd. Worse thing was that it was raining heavily that day however I told myself, no matter how big the rain gonna be, I'll still go in and have fun with all my armour(umbrella and poncho etc.). Fortunately, the rain stopped exactly at 8pm!
Reached the entrance of USS with Yin Mei at 7.45pm and there was already a super long queue. I shamelessly admitted that we cut the queue with skill hence we were able to get in pretty fast. I'm glad (and sorry too!) we did that, if not we definitely wouldn't have time to complete all the scare zones and haunted houses.
Tip 1: For those who are going, its either you go early to queue or you cut it with skill if not you might get scolded by people. There was a caucasian who accidentally cut over to another line and was being "OEI!" at very loudly by a few guys. Damn fierce. So make sure you don't get caught cutting queue! haha
Officially get our trail of horror started!
For a short introduction, there are 3 haunted houses and 3 scare zones to explore. Sadly, we are not allowed to take pictures in the haunted houses whereas at the scare zones, we are allowed to. In addition, most of the rides will be open, such as Transformers, roller coaster, mummy, lost world etc. How cool is that?! But trust me, you won't have the luxury time to try every single rides AND horror spots. Just queuing alone can take up to 45mins to 1 hour. I've seen from others' blogs that they took 1hr30mins to queue. Thats crazy.
Tip 2: just CHIONG all the haunted houses and scare zones first if you have already played the rides before.
The Insanitarium (Haunted House):
Tip 3: The moment we got in, we rushed all the way to The Insanitarium first because it was at the deeper side of USS(located at Waterworld) and we believed most people would play those that were nearer to the entrance. Our strategy was proved right as we only spent 15mins to queue for this haunted house.
Outside the Insanitarium, you would see a few "insane" people wearing white roaming around trying to scare you. I tried asking for a picture but was rejected. Why-oh-why...
In my opinion, I think this haunted house is the scariest among the 3. Not that it was extremely scary, just relatively better than the rest. Probably because it was just the start of the event and all the "insanes" were still energetic to scare us. At the exit of the haunted house, there will be 5 doors for you to choose from and only one is the real exit. So pray hard that you are not the first person in the line to choose the exit. Be prepared to come out of the haunted house looking very sweaty and cui because it was humid in there.
While we were inside The Insanitarium, Yin Mei just pushed me straight to the "insanes". Yes, I might have a strong heart but that doesn't mean you can push me to die. LOLS!
Bizarre Bazaar (Scare Zone):
notice the monster sneaking up behind me
This is located at The Mummy area. Basically they will be selling some stuffs and you can just explore around.
Tip 4: Do take notice of the performers in costumes! Some are really worth taking a picture with.
I look just as hideous as him.
Transformers Ride:
This is not one of the haunted houses or scare zones but because the Transformers area was not built when we came previously, therefore we wanted to try the ride. I can only tell you, the queue was madness!! We waited for 45mins to 1hr for this ride. The queue was never ending. Just when you thought you are almost there, it will be another room of queue and another, another.
Finally got our 3D glasses and be prepared to enter the world of Transformers.
After the ride, it left us all in astonishment. We couldn't stop raving about how it was totally worth the wait!!! This isn't any kind of simulators. If you think the 4D Shrek show at Far Far Away is cool enough, let me tell you, it is WAY "far far away" as compared to the Transformers ride (pretty good pun huh. lol).
The Transformers "car"
When you hear of simulator, the first thing that came to your mind will be sitting on a moving chair and watching a big screen. But for the Transformers Ride, we will sit in a so-called vehicle chair(refer to above picture) which will move on a track. I don't know what this is called, I'll just name it "car". This "car" will travel along the track, bringing us to different big screens with realistic 3D effects.
Especially the scene where we fell off a building, we could really felt the excitement. It is almost like a roller coaster with less sharp turns and sudden drops. The couple beside me even clapped their hands after the ride. I can't explain how awesome it is in words, you've got to try it yourself. Probably the best simulator I've ever tried.
I don't mean to place my hand there. lols
The Total Lockdown (Scare Zone):
This is located at the New York area. My guess is that the town is being hit by disaster or evil presence. You can expect to see performers crying for your help and some evil clowns around.
The cute crew posing a picture for us
A zombie-fied man
I like how USS uses big props to enhance the atmosphere.
I could not understand why some girls would scream their lungs out whenever they saw a performer in costume. Yes, they did try to scare you but they are not allowed to have physical contact with the visitors which means they can't do anything to us. So I don't see a point in shouting like nobody's business. It's understandable that they shout a little when the "ghosts" appear infront of them. But some girls were so exaggerating to the extent that they just, "AAAhhhhHHHHHH!" at EVERY performers. Either they have a really weak heart or just simply very 长气.
But anyway, talking about not having physical contact with the visitors, one of the performers actually pulled Yin Mei and my legs while we were walking. This happened when USS was almost closing(around 12.30am i think) and there were very few visitors at the area. We went back for 2nd round after visited all the haunted houses. That person pulled both of my legs and almost made me fell. When I turned back, I saw someone crawling on the ground and disappeared into the mist. If he just pulled one of my legs, I'll be perfectly fine with it, but not BOTH LEGS. Obviously he wanted to make me fall la. I regretted not running after him and giving him an eye for an eye. But now I think back, probably it wasn't human but something playing a prank on us. If this happen to anyone as well please let me know, at least I can confirm it is a human. lols.
House of Dolls (Scare Zone):
The moment you enter Universal Studios, you'll find the House of Dolls welcoming you with an open arm.
A cabinet full of creepy looking dolls.
I even thought of carrying the doll but it was a little heavy than it seemed.
The zip-faced girl
This guy kept running around scaring people, got to hold on to him before he ran away.
Do i look like one of them? lols.
This is a human sitting here. Everyone thought he was a dummy until he moved.
I'm a light bulb.
When I first saw them, they were kissing on the bench and I even asked Yin Mei whether they were the performers or normal visitors. lols! We had a hard time taking pictures of them. This two caucasians are not easy to deal with. When you thought that you can sit down and take a picture with them, they'll stand up and walk somewhere else. Even when you ask them for a picture, they'll look at you and walk away. What a cocky couple. lols
Ballerina~
Death Alley (Haunted House):
We were left with 1hr30mins to 12am when we were queuing The Dungeon of Damnation, one of the haunted houses. The crew told us that the waiting time would be 1hr30mins, hence we decided to queue for Death Alley instead.
In my opinion, this haunted house wasn't scary at all and they'll keep spraying mist/smoke to reduce your visibility. Before you know it, a "ghost" might be standing next to you. You can give it a miss if you're running out of time.
The Dungeon of Damnation (Haunted House):
At 11.45pm, both Yin Mei and I decided to try queuing for this haunted house even though USS closes at 12am. We were damn lucky because after 15mins in the queue, they stopped people from joining the queue. But to me, this haunted house wasn't that impressive as well. Probably because we were all tired from the queuing and so were the performers.
As the souvenir shop was still open, we went in to take some pictures and air-con!
Sok Min said thats the first time she see me smiling so widely. lols.
Elmo hairband. I wonder who will buy if everyone just put on their head like that. Imagine the sweat after visiting the haunted houses. =x
Here's Yin Mei!
If I were to have a kid, I'll definitely buy this water bottle for him! So stylish!
I love gingy!!!
Last group photo before leaving USS
I've seen quite a few negative reviews about this year's USS Halloween Horror Night, however, I think otherwise. It's true that the queue was insane and irritating to wait that long. Also, the haunted houses and "ghosts" were not that scary at all. But their makeups and costumes are *thumbs up!*. I don't blame them for not being scary because we are all so exposed to watching horror movies with special horror effects hence this increase our expectations. What fascinates me the most is taking pictures with the performers in costumes!
In fact, I do appreciate the performers' sporty performance. I think it is really not easy to put on thick makeups and costumes for 4 hours. Just when you think they are being lame or fail tremendously in trying to scare you, you should try touching them. Don't get me wrong, not those dirty touchy kind la, just a simple tap on their hand will do.
I always tap their hands to ask for a picture because they might not be able to see clearly due to their mask and I realised most of them were soaking with sweat. So poor thing~ I felt heart pain for them, really. I actually felt like giving them a hug and say, "Thank you, you've worked hard!". This is how touched I am, whether they are scary or not, is not that important anymore. It's the effort that counts.
I think USS halloween night is better than the Spooktacular. I've seen some of the pictures taken by my friends who have been to the Spooktacular. The costumes and makeup worn at USS are better than Spooktacular in my opinion. Furthermore, you get to play the rides as well! The atmosphere at USS gives you a feeling as if you are in a horror movie.
Also, I am so thankful that they actually extended their closing hours from 12am to 1am instead!! =)
If I were the performers, I think I'll try to scare the visitors out of USS so that I can go home early. lols. But don't be too happy yet because I don't know if they'll do the same for the rest of the days.
Last few tips before I end this post.
Tip 5: Wear something comfy and no thick makeups. I regretted wearing heels and my legs almost break after the event. I really take my hats off to some girls who still have flawless makeups on when mine was like all gone. lols. 花容失色 is the best idiom to use. Some girls can even wear dresses/skirts somemore!
Tip 6: Have a filling dinner before going for the event. I didn't eat dinner for the night as I was running late and ended up having gastric pain. I didn't want to waste time eating in USS nor spend money to buy their hotdog bun, its 6 freaking dollars for a hotdog bun. I'll rather continue exploring with gastric pain. Yah, serve me right I know.
Tip 7: Keep going, don't stop. I've seen from a few people's blogs that they didn't even managed to complete all the haunted houses and scare zones. So I guess Yin Mei and I were really lucky and most importantly, we were hardworking enough to rush to all attractions WITHOUT any rest at all. Yes, we are kia su, but thats the right time where you unleash the Singaporean spirit. lols. Of course, we sacrificed most of the rides such as The mummy and roller coaster.
If you were to sit down to grab some bite or have to leave early to catch the last train, you'll definitely not have enough time to complete everything. Since you've paid so much for the ticket, you should have prepared to cab home. But the queue at the taxi stand will be extremely crazy long. So I suggest you take night owl bus to Orchard or Marina Bay, then cab home.
Thank you Universal Studios Singapore for the awesome halloween. I'll be back next year!
Even death, comes with strings attached...
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