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USS Guide: How to Make the Best of Your Visit to Universal Studios Singapore

USS Guide: How to Make the Best of Your Visit to Universal Studios Singapore

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Have you ever visited Universal Studios Singapore? If yes, did you leave with disappointment because you didn’t have enough time to enjoy all the attractions?

Do you ever wonder whether Express Pass is necessary at all? Do you want to know how to maximize your visit so that you can save money but still enjoy all of the attractions?

I still remember when I visited USS for the first time, back in 2011, my friends and I were so busy with taking photos and queuing for the rides & shows, we didn’t have enough time to take all of the rides and watch all of the shows.

One day, my hubby and I decided to purchase 6-month season pass so that we can truly explore the park on our own pace. Over the 6 months period, we have taken our favorite rides for many times, we know when the best time is to visit the park, we know the shortcuts, and we know which rides are worth visiting.

In this article, I will share useful tips and tricks that I’ve gathered based on my own personal experience as a frequent visitor to USS.

Without further ado, here is my Universal Studios Singapore Guide.

Universal Studios Singapore Guide - Castle at Far Far Away
Castle at Far Far Away

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1. Should you get 1-day ticket or season pass or annual pass?

PS: Currently, the annual pass and season pass is suspended until further notice.

Based on the annual pass price before the suspension, I did my math and here’s the summary:

  • If you have only 1 day to visit USS: Get 1-day ticket.
  • If you have 2 days or more to visit USS: Get a season pass, which allows you unlimited visit to USS for 6 months.
  • If you love USS so much that you want to visit it all year round: Get an annual pass.

Here are the prices of USS tickets:

  • Dec 2022: All nationalities: SGD 91 (Adult, above 13 y.o.), SGD 71 (Child, 4 to 12 y.o.)
  • Jan-Mar 2023: Non-residents: SGD 82 (Adult, above 13 y.o.), SGD 61 (Child, 4 to 12 y.o.)
  • Jan-Mar 2023: SG Residents: SGD 73 (Adult, above 13 y.o.), SGD 58 (Child, 4 to 12 y.o.)
  • Season Pass: SGD 108 (Adult, above 13 y.o.), SGD 98 (Child, 4 to 12 y.o.) – Currently suspended
  • Annual Pass: SGD 198 (Adult, above 13 y.o.), SGD 168 (Child, 4 to 12 y.o.) – Currently suspended

Pro-Tip: For 1-day ticket is usually cheaper if you buy it online compared to if you buy it on-site.

To be honest, 1 day is really too short to experience the entire park. If you’re a short-term traveler and you don’t have the ambition to explore the entire park, 1-day ticket is definitely enough. However, if you’re a frequent traveler and you love theme parks, a season pass may be what you want.

2. Should you get an Express Pass?

An Express Pass allows you to skip the normal queue at participating rides/shows. There are 2 types of Express Pass:
– Universal Express (SGD 50): allows you to skip each ride/show just one time.
– Universal Express Unlimited (SGD 80): allows you to skip the ride/show unlimited number of times.

Please note that these Universal Express Passes do not include admission into Universal Studios Singapore. A separate One-Day ticket (or season pass or annual pass) is required for admission.

Here are the list of participating rides/shows where you can use the Express Pass:

• Pantages Hollywood Theater
• Lights, Camera, Action!
• Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase
• TRANSFORMERS The Ride
• Accelerator
• Revenge of the Mummy
• Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN
• Battlestar Galactica: CYCLON

• Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure
• Dino-Soarin’
• WaterWorld
• Shrek 4-D Adventure
• Donkey LIVE
• Enchanted Airways
• King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round
• Madagascar: A Crate Adventure
• Puss In Boots

The Express Pass doesn’t allow you to skip the queue at Canopy Flyer, Treasure Hunter, Amber Rock Climb and Magic Potion Spin.

Should you get an Express Pass? Yes if you have tight schedule, want to take every ride and watch every show in one day and you can afford it. No if you’ve visited USS in the past, or if you’re a season/annual pass holder, or if you don’t have the ambition to take every ride/show, or if you can’t afford it.

3. Which day is the best to visit Universal Studios Singapore?

The best day to visit Universal Studios Singapore is when there are Special Events or when opening hour is extended. To find out which days have special events or extended opening hours, you need to refer to the USS Calendar (for updated calendar, visit USS Website, scroll down to the bottom right, click “View Calendar”).

To illustrate my point, see the calendar sample below. On most days, the park closes at 7pm. However, on 1 Jan & 2 Jan, the park closes at 9pm. Meanwhile, on 23 Jan and 30 Jan, the park closes at 5pm. To maximize your visit, do choose the day where the park is open the longest, i.e.: Jan 1 & 2. Of course, the crowd number will be more on Jan 1 & 2, so you might have to spend more time waiting in the queue for attractions.

In the past, on certain days there’ll be fireworks display, but due to the covid situation, there’s no fireworks at the moment. If you read this article in the future when fireworks is back, I recommend that you visit on the day where there’s fireworks display.

uss calendar january 2022
USS Calendar for opening hour and special events

Pro-tip: If you’re a season/annual pass holder, the best time to visit USS is late in the afternoon because most of the rides require only 15 mins or less waiting time. I usually visit the park late in the afternoon and on most occasion, we spent only 5 mins waiting time for famous rides such as Mummy, Human, Transformer, Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure.

Hollywood Dream Parade, Universal Studios Singapore
Special Events – Hollywood Dream Parade

4. How to get to Universal Studios Singapore?

There are 3 main ways to go to Universal Studios Singapore from Harbourfront MRT station.

  1. Take Sentosa Express monorail for $4 from Vivo City Level 3, alight at Waterfront Station, and walk a short distance to USS gate. Get ticket in advance here. (PS: From now til 31 Dec 2022, Sentosa Express is free for everyone)
  2. Take RWS8 bus from Vivo City bus stop (bus stop no 14141) for $2, alight at Resort World Sentosa, and walk to USS gate.
  3. The cheapest but slowest option is to walk! From Harbourfront MRT, walk to Vivo City, take escalator/lift to Level 1, follow signage to Sentosa Boardwalk. Walk along the boardwalk until you arrive at Sentosa gate (currently the entrance fee is FREE until further notice), then, follow signage to Universal Studios Singapore. The whole talking takes approx. 30 to 40 mins if you walk leisurely.

Once you are done with the park and ready to go back, you can take any of the 3 methods above to go back to Vivo City, and you need not pay a single cent!

The fastest method is definitely the Sentosa Express monorail. However, if there is a long queue, you can take the free bus from the basement bus stand near Casino.

I don’t recommend walking back because it is time & energy consuming, unless you want to enjoy the scenery along boardwalk.

5. Download Universal Studios Singapore App

Download the Universal Studios Singapore App prior to your visit and be familiar with it. It is a very useful app with features such as:

  • Interactive map showing location of rides, restaurants, stores and amenities
  • Waiting time of each rides
  • Schedule of shows, street performance, and meet & greets
  • Requirement of each rides (eg: height requirement, ride description, accessibility information, etc)
Universal Studios Singapore Guide - Universal SG Mobile App
Universal Studios Singapore Guide - Universal SG Mobile App

6. Get familiar with USS zones in advance

Basically, the park is divided into 7 sections. The entrance is Hollywood. If you go anti-clockwise, you will arrive at the zone in the following sequence:

  • Hollywood
  • New York
  • Sci-Fi
  • Ancient Egypt
  • The Lost World
  • Far Far Away
  • Madagascar (closed from end Mar 2022, to be replaced by Minion Land which is under construction)

7. Decide in advance which attractions are must-visit

Everyone has different preferences for attractions. There are mainly 4 types of attractions: Rides, Shows, Street Performance, Characters Meet & Greet. If you decide in advance which one to prioritize, you can save time from thinking/discussing/deciding when you are in the park.

My rule of thumb: Always take the ride with the shortest queue first. If the waiting time is more than 20-30 mins, do not waste your time queuing. Read my post on the full list of USS attractions.

Battlestar Galactica HUMAN & CYLON at Universal Studios Singapore
Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN vs. CYLON

In my opinion, here are the best rides in Universal Studios Singapore:

  • Lights, Camera, Action! (Zone: New York)
  • TRANSFORMER The Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle (Zone: Sci Fi)
  • Battlestar Galactica: HUMAN vs. CYLON (Zone: Sci Fi)
  • Revenge of the Mummy (Zone: Ancient Egypt)
  • Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure (Zone: The Lost World)
  • Canopy Flyer (Zone: The Lost World)
  • Puss In Boots’ Giant Journey (Zone: Far Far Away)
  • Shrek 4-D Adventure (Zone: Far Far Away)
  • Enchanted Airways (Zone: Far Far Away)

Meanwhile, here are the best sit-down shows in Universal Studios Singapore:

  • Sesame Street Show (Zone: Hollywood)
  • WaterWorld (Zone: The Lost World)
  • Donkey Live (Zone: Far Far Away)

8. Decide in advance which street performances, meet & greet you want to attend

Unlike rides which are permanent, the street performances and meet & greets are not permanent. Every month or so, USS change the performances and M&Gs, making it hard for first-timer to make a concrete plan on which performance or M&G to attend.

The best way I can recommend you to do is to browse the Universal Studios Singapore App a few days leading to the day of your visit, and look at what performances and M&Gs are available. Most likely, they will be pretty similar to what will be available on your visit day. This way, you can roughly decide which one you want to attend.

The schedule of shows, street performances and meet & greets are different each day, and the schedule is only released on the day itself, which you can see from the app on the day of your visit.

Personally, I like to watch street performances, but I don’t really like Meet & Greet because the queue can be quite long, especially during holiday season. When you decide to join a meet & greet, you’re basically giving up a chance to take 1 ride. So, if you love rides, you may have to do time-analysis whether it’s worth attending Meet & Greet. Well, unless you visit USS during off-peak season when the park is quiet.

Universal Studios Singapore Guide - Meet and Greet with Santa
Meet and Greet with Santa

9. What to wear

For clothing, any kind of clothes are fine, but try to avoid thick clothing due to humid weather of Singapore.

For footwear, my personal favorite is slippers. That is because I know I will get wet when I play Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure.

If you prefer to wear shoes, and you intend to play Jurassic Park Rapids, I think you can consider one of the following:

  • bring an extra slipper/water shoes/aqua shoes that you can wear just for that ride
  • or bring a “shoes cover” to waterproof your shoes
  • or wear a hiking sandal

10. What to bring

Here are the things to bring:

  • Cold hard cash. Not everything can be paid by credit/debit cards in USS, some vending machine still need to be paid with cash. Best if you can bring small notes as well.
  • An empty water bottle (you can refill your bottle for free in the park)
  • Disposable poncho (to avoid getting wet when playing Rapids Adventure). If you forget to bring this, you can buy it at Rapids ride for SGD 5 a piece
  • Camera/tripod/selfie-stick (for capturing the moments)
  • and a good mood!

Also note that outside food is not allowed, so if you want to save money, eat your food at Vivo City or Seah Im Food Court prior to coming to USS.

11. Lockers

There are a total of 6 lockers locations in USS:

  1. Hollywood near the park entrance, next to That’s a Wrap – charges apply
  2. Hollywood near the park entrance, next to Stroller Rental – charges apply
  3. Sci-Fi near the entrance of Human – free for certain period
  4. Ancient Egypt at the left entrance of Revenge of the Mummy – free for certain period
  5. Ancient Egypt at the right entrance of Revenge of the Mummy – free for certain period
  6. The Lost World near Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure – charges apply

3 of them (1 at Sci-Fi and 2 at Ancient Egypt) are free for certain period of storage (such as free for 45 mins or 60 mins, depending on ride waiting time). The allowed time limit is usually longer than the waiting time for the ride, so it’s unlikely that you’ll exceed it.

The annoying fact is that the locker at Jurassic Park Rapids is not free. It’s probably because it’s not compulsory to keep your belongings in the locker in order to take the Rapids ride. If you want convenience, you can just pay to use the locker. Otherwise, if you want to save money, just bring your belongings on the ride with you. Do cover them in a plastic bag, or carry them under the poncho that you’re wearing.

Universal Studios Singapore Guide - Lockers
Lockers

12. Where to eat in Universal Studios Singapore

There are plenty of food options inside USS. Here’s the list of places to eat in USS.

  • Dining outlets or Restaurants:
    • Hollywood: Starbucks
    • Hollywood: Mel’s Drive-In (menu)
    • New York: Loui’s NY Pizza Parlor (menu)
    • Sci Fi: Frozen Fuel
    • Sci Fi: Planet Yen
    • Ancient Egypt: Oasis Spice Café
    • The Lost World: Fossil Fuels (menu)
    • The Lost World: Discovery Food Court
    • Far Far Away: Goldilocks (menu)
    • Far Far Away: Friar’s Good Food
  • Food Carts:
    • Hollywood: Pops! Popcorn Delight
    • Hollywood: Star Snacks
    • Sci Fi: Planet Yen
    • Sci Fi: Frozen Fuel
    • Ancient Egypt: Pharaoh’s Dessert Oasis
    • Ancient Egypt: Cairo Market

*Some of the restaurants may be closed.

Personally, I have only eaten at Goldilocks. I love the chicken tender (they call it Chicken Fingers), and Garlic Fried Chicken. I don’t recommend Tom Yum Fried Chicken. My friends who have eaten at Loui’s NY Pizza said that their pizza is pretty good.

Universal Studios Singapore Guide - Food at Goldilocks
3pcs Chicken Set Meal from Goldilocks (S$16)

Generally, the food at USS is quite expensive if you compare with similar items in shopping malls. For example, 2pc fried chicken set meal (comes with hash brown and drink) at Goldilocks costs SGD 16, meanwhile at KFC, you can get roughly the same thing for SGD 8.40.

If you really can’t afford to splurge, you can eat elsewhere (VivoCity or Resort World Sentosa) before entering USS, and at the end of the day, eat your dinner elsewhere. Alternatively, you can exit the USS to eat at RWS or Vivo, then come back again to USS (inform the staff that you’ll be coming back); this method is quite time-consuming in my opinion.

13. Shortcuts

Aaaand, yup, there are shortcuts! There are 2 shortcuts that I know of. The first one connects Transformer to Mummy without having to go through Battlestar Galactica. The second one connects Waterworld to Enchanted Airways and even Madagascar without having to go through the entire Far Far Away section. Basically, to access these shortcuts, just walk around the edge of the lake instead of walking along the main road.

Shortcuts in Universal Studios Singapore
Shortcut 1: Connects Transformer to Mummy

Other information

For more FAQs, visit USS page, and scroll down to see the FAQ.

Read next: List of Attractions in Universal Studios Singapore and My Recommendations

Universal Studios Singapore - theme park guides and hacks
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This article was first published on 2 July 2016. It has since been updated to reflect the latest situation.

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Sell

Monday 28th of August 2023

Hello! Thanks God I found your column. So informative, especially it's our first time to visit Singapore this coming 10th Sept., we are planning to visit. S. E. A. Aquarium and USS the same day, like morning at S. E. A. 10am to 2pm and after would be at USS, my question, do you think the remaining time is enough to explore USS? TIA.

Eva

Wednesday 30th of August 2023

Hi Sell, I think half day is not enough for USS. I would separate S.E.A Aquarium and USS to 2 different day :)

Chris

Sunday 25th of June 2023

Hi, thanks for the informative article. Is Klook reliable to book USS ticket? Planning to go tomorrow and thinking of booking it online now. Thanks again ;)

Eva

Sunday 25th of June 2023

Hi Chris. Yes they're reliable and cheaper than buying on site.

Cielo

Friday 2nd of June 2023

Hi! Thank you for all the information that you wrote, it is very helpful.

I have one question, would you know if there is a bag (backpack) size restriction while inside the park. I went through the app and I see rides where loose articles including bags are not allowed. So does this mean there is no specific size restriction (I couldn't find it in their website) aside from the large luggage?

Thank you.

Cielo

Tuesday 6th of June 2023

@Eva,

Thank you so much for the reply. 😊

Eva

Friday 2nd of June 2023

Hi Cielo, I think there is no bag size restrictions. If you are going for rides and nobody is taking care of your bag, you need to store it in either free locker or paid locker. If your backpack can't be stored inside the free lockers near rides, that means you have no choice but to store it at the luggage storage near the entrance (which costs SGD 35 per item). You can see the photo in the "Locker" section in the above article, to estimate the size of the free locker. Hope it helps :)

Hari

Thursday 1st of June 2023

Hi Eva, i found informations at the application (klook, ticket.com, and others) about 1 day ticket peak and 1 day ticket. what is the difference between these two tickets? thanks

Eva

Friday 2nd of June 2023

Hi Hari, from what I understand, the difference between normal ticket and peak ticket is only the dates. During peak period (like school holidays or Public Holidays), the tickets are usually slightly more expensive than non-peak season.

Jacinta

Tuesday 23rd of May 2023

Hi,

Thank you for the informative article. We travelling to Singapore from 27 of May to 4 of June. I just found out it’s Singapore’s school holidays. Is it worth it to go to USS during our stay?

Eva

Tuesday 23rd of May 2023

Hi Jacinta, it really depends on many factors, such as how much your budget is, how important USS is for you, how willing you are to wait in line, and whether you often Singapore frequently. If you visit Singapore frequently, you can consider visiting USS other times, outside school holiday. If you don't have many vacation days, and you seldom visit Singapore, but USS is important for you, I think it is still worth it to visit, just be prepared that you won't be able to ride everything. If you have the budget, you can purchase the express pass so that you can skip the line. Hope it helps :)