Glitch causes Battlestar Galactica Coasters to close at Universal Studios Singapore

Breaking News - According to news reports yesterday, the Battlestar Galactica coasters in Universal Studios Singapore, one of the blockbuster attractions, is instructed by the Singapore Police to halt operations after a technical glitch was discovered during a routine safety check in the morning. Nobody was hurt in this incident, and the ride is closed indefinitely until the issue/glitch has been resolved.

Official Statement posted by Resorts World Sentosa on their Facebook page

Dear fans,

During our daily pre-opening testing this morning prior to opening to the public, we found a technical problem on one of the ride vehicles and we are investigating at the Battlestar Galactica attraction. In keeping with our commitment to employee and guest safety, the ride was immediately closed by Universal Studios Singapore and will not be operating until we determine the cause and solution. Experts from the ride’s design, engineering and manufacturing company are assisting our own experienced ride and show team in the inspection and any necessary action to resolve the situation. No one was injured and all proper authorities were notified, which is a standard Universal Studios Singapore operating policy.

Employee and guest safety is our number one priority at Universal Studios Singapore. Every ride or attraction meets or exceeds industry guidelines and undergoes construction inspections and approvals of Singapore regulatory agencies for theme park rides. Additionally, all rides goes through a daily series of detailed inspections and testing before the park opens to ensure that all of the ride’s safety systems are functioning properly. No ride will be operated at any time unless it has passed all daily inspections and tests.

At this time, the ride may be closed for several days or longer to perform a complete analysis. We understand some guests may be disappointed; however, the safety of our employees and guests remains our top priority.

While this is definitely very disappointing to those planning to visit the park, and even more so for people who have bought tickets in advanced hence unable to do a refund or change of date, we think that such safety issues should be treated with utmost attention.

Although no extra information (other than ‘technical problem on one of the ride vehicles’) was given at this point of time as to what is the technical glitch, one interesting note is that this is Vekoma’s (the builder of the ride) first suspended roller coaster design they have built. We hope this has got nothing to do with the roller coaster’s design and it is just a purely a technical glitch that could be resolved without any major overhaul needed. Nonetheless visitor safety should always never be compromised and we hope that the team does a thorough check before reopening the ride again.

Opening Day Tickets SOLD OUT

RWS’ website was brought down to its knees today when the whole swamp of Singaporeans logged on to its website to snag opening day tickets to Universal Studios Singapore. As of 8pm today, all tickets to the opening day on March 18 are sold out. Tickets for the first opening weekend are selling out fast as we speak.

We wished the RWS team would have better anticipated the response and demand that it was going to get when they announced that they are going to release the tickets today. But they were quick enough to communicate with the public via Facebook status updates and also setting up other channels for the purchasing of tickets. Visitors experiencing difficulty buying online can send their reservations to reservations@rwsentosa.com or call the hotline at +65 65778888. The team will try their very best to respond within 48 hours upon receipt. Alternatively, visitors may also wish to purchase the tickets directly at the box office.

One interesting thing to note is that during the soft opening phase, the park will only open from 9am to 6pm, instead of the 9am to 9pm indicated on the website. Also, out of the 24 rides, only 18 will be opened on Day 1. We’re not too sure the rational behind the shortened operating hours and also how the fireworks show we are all hearing about is going to fit in. Nonetheless, stay with us as we get more updates of the park’s opening.

Universal Studios Singapore Opens March 18, 8.28am

The date is set, and Universal Studios Singapore will finally open its doors to the public on March 18 2010, 8.28am (supposedly an auspicious timing to do so).

Tickets will go on sale on March 10.

More as we get details from everywhere we can find. Read the official Press Release from RWS here. (PDF File)

Also released are Ticket prices and Annual Passes prices for your reference at http://www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/Attractions/UniversalStudiosSingapore/Tickets

Universal Studios Singapore Photo Report Part 7 - Madagascar

Madagascar is yet another exclusive zone created specially for Universal Studios Singapore. Premiering in this zone are two rides - Journey to Madagascar: A Crate Adventure, and King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round.

King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round

Did we mention that this ship structure is HUGE. It’s like six or seven storeys high.

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We hope you liked our photo reports so far. This part 7 of our series of photo reports marks the end to all the zones in Universal Studios Singapore. Do remember to check us out tomorrow for the photo report of Universal Studios Singapore in the dark!

Universal Studios Singapore Photo Report Part 6 - Far Far Away

Man, we’re excited just showing you photos of Far Far Away. Created exclusively for Universal Studios Singapore, this zone is a re-creation of the Far Far Away land seen in Shrek’s movies. We believe this zone is and will be the only Far Far Away land created for a Universal Studios theme park as there are currently no plans to bring this area to Universal Studios Dubailand and Universal Studios South Korea. Well, this means that this zone alone warrants your visit to Universal Studios Singapore.

Shrek’s castles may look a little dull in the photos here, but when you see it in real life and up-close, you will realise how stunning the castle actually is. We wish this zone could be a little bit bigger with more rides, but we’re satisfied already.

Donkey Live - premiering at USS

Shrek 4D

Enchanted Airways - a children’s coaster

That’s all we have for Far Far Away. Remember to check back tomorrow for another exclusive Dreamworks zone - Madagascar. Here’s a sneak peek!

KB Creative Advisors - the guys behind what you see at Universal Studios Singapore

Seems like the Universal Creative team contracted KB Creative Advisors (the same guys who did Universal Studios Japan) to be in charge of the creative design of Universal Studios Singapore.

According to its website “KB Creative Advisors (KBCA) is the Executive Design Firm in charge of the creative design of Universal Studios Singapore. Representing Genting’s Resorts World at Sentosa, KBCA is providing master plan refinement, facility planning and design, facade, area development, environmental graphics, show, and interior design, and on-site art direction for the project, consisting of 24 shows, rides and attractions, 25 stores and restaurants. Scheduled for completion in early 2010, Universal Studios Singapore is a US $1.4bn part of Genting’s US $6.2bn resort addition to Singapore’s Sentosa Island.”

Hop on to KB Creative Advisors for more >

Universal Studios Singapore Opening Date Rumours

While the park was open from Feb 14 to 21 during the Chinese New Year week for a sneak preview, nothing has been said or announced by Resorts World Sentosa about when the park will open for real.

We’ve heard of some tips coming in to us a few days back saying that some local companies are being offered tickets thru corporate discounts for the early March period, but that has since been postponed to somewhere in mid-April.

We do not know if that means the park will not open until April, or will it even open by the end of March (which by the way is the last month of The First Quarter of 2010 mentioned in many of their press releases)

We also have reports coming in telling us that Journey to Madagascar will not be able to make it in time for the parks opening in the ‘first quarter of 2010’ and it will probably only open in June or July.

Universal Studios Singapore Photo Report Part 5 - Egypt Zone

We apologise for today’s late entry.

The Egypt area at Universal Studios Singapore is the first of its kind in the world, and it is definitely one of the best themed areas in the park. You’ll be awed by every minute detail there is in this area. We felt like we were transformed to the land of the Pharaohs the moment we stepped into this zone.

We’ve heard from reports saying that The Revenge of The Mummy ride here is a variation from the Florida and Hollywood’s one. There aren’y much details now, but one thing we all know is the ride is housed in one hell of a stunning building.

Oasis Spice Cafe

Revenge of the Mummy

Treasure Hunters

Look out for our photo report on Far Far Away tomorrow!

Universal Studios Singapore Photo Report Part 4 - The Lost World

The Lost World is a different reincarnation here at Universal Studios Singapore with 3 rides created specially for the park. The popular Jurassic Park - The Ride is refreshed as Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure. Instead of boarding a boat, this time you will be riding in a water raft. The drop in this ride isn’t as tall as the original, but this is at least a different ride than what we have seen in other Universal Parks.

Also premiering right at USS is the Canopy Flyer, where you board a single coaster car that seats 4, and it glides over The Lost World area. We’re not too sure if this is considered a Kids attraction, because the coaster actually glides pretty fast…

Jurassic Park entrance with Canopy Flyer at the back

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Entrance to Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure

The water was drained out of the waterway and the ride was not being tested when we were there.

Dino Soarin’

Entrance to Canopy Flyer

Waterworld Entrance

The waiting area

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That’s all we have for The Lost World! Look out for our photo report on the Egypt zone tomorrow!