Singapore: Universal Studios' new theme
park, Southeast Asia's largest of the kind, opened its doors
to the public in Singapore on Thursday.
Droves of Singaporeans and tourists streamed in after the
park opened amid a rousing lion dance performance.
The new theme park is located on Sentosa Island, which is
connected by bridge, light rail and cable car to the main
island.
It is part of the larger USD 4.4 billion Resorts World
Sentosa that also houses Singapore's first casino, which
opened last month.
In terms of size, the 20-hectare park in the tiny
city-state is the smallest of the world's four Universal
Studio theme parks. The others are Orlando, florida;
Hollywood, California; and Osaka, Japan.
It's attractions include the "world's tallest pair of
dueling roller casters" themed after the hit TV show
Battlestar Galactica.
Universal Studios Singapore is divided into seven themed
zones, namely Hollywood, New York, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt,
the Lost World, Madagascar and Far Far Away.
Madagascar, based on the popular animation movie of the
same name, and Far Far Away, based on the animated hit Shrek,
are the first such zones to be offered in a Universal Studio
theme park. The former features a riverboat adventure while
the latter has a castle.
The park expects to draw 4.5 million visitors in the first
year of operation while the resort as a whole projects 13
million visitors.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 17:56