Universal Studios Singapore (

abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...

: USS) is a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

located within the

Resorts World Sentosa Resorts World Sentosa (abbreviation: RWS) is an integrated resort on the island of Sentosa, which is located off the southern coast of Singapore. The key attractions within RWS include one of Singapore's two casinos, Universal Studios Singapore ...

integrated resort at Sentosa in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. It features 24 rides, shows, and attractions in seven themed zones. It is one of the five Universal Studios theme parks around the world. It was a key component of the Genting Singapore's bid for the right to build Singapore's second integrated resort (IR). On 8 December 2006, the Singapore government announced that the consortium had won the bid. Construction of the theme park and the rest of the resort started on 19 April 2007. It is the second Universal Studios theme park in Asia, the other being

Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Destinations & Experiences, Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operat ...

in Osaka, and the first in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. Official plans for the park were first unveiled to the public when Universal Studios Singapore released a map of the entire park on 20 October 2009. Universal Studios Singapore attracted more than 2 million visitors in the 9 months from its opening. The park officially began operations on 28 May 2011. Over 3 million guests visited the park in its opening year. Since then, Universal Studios Singapore has had approximately 4 million visitors every year. Visitors are made up of local Singaporeans and international tourists. It has been marketed by

Universal Destinations & Experiences Universal Destinations & Experiences (UDX), formerly Universal Parks & Resorts, is the theme park unit of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The company, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, operates Universal theme parks and resort propert ...

as a "one-of-its-kind theme park in Asia" and that the park was the only one of its kind in Southeast Asia for the foreseeable future. According to the AECOM Theme Index Global Attraction Attendance Report, Universal Studios Singapore is one of the top visited amusement/theme parks worldwide.

History

Park history

The construction of Resorts World Sentosa and Universal Studios Singapore began on 19 April 2008. After almost two years of construction, the park opened on 18 March 2010. Universal Studios Singapore was opened for "sneak peek week" in view of the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

Celebrations, from 5 pm to 9 pm every night between 14 and 21 February 2010. Though visitors had to pay SGD$10 to enter the park even-though rides were not operating, tickets for the week were sold out in 2 days. On 5 March 2010, it was announced that the park will open its doors at 8:28 am ( UTC+8) on 18 March 2010, for a soft-opening phase. From 13 March 2010, the team members of Resorts World Sentosa and their families had a chance to visit the park before the public has a chance to do so. The park had its soft opening period from 18 March 2010 to 26 October 2010. The official grand opening of the park was held on 28 May 2011, along with the "grand opening gala" held on 27 May 2011 evening. It had Asian personalities

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese-born Singaporean Martial arts, martial artist and actor. With a Jet Li filmography, film career spanning more than forty years, Li is re ...

, Maggie Cheung, Zhao Wei, and former ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' judge Paula Abdul making an appearance at the gala event, along with some 1,600 guests. On 21 October 2011, Universal Studios Singapore began their Halloween Horror Nights events. On 3 April 2019, Genting Group announced the expansion of Universal Studios Singapore with two new themed areas, Minion Land and Super Nintendo World.

Timeline

Attendance

Park layout

Universal Studios Singapore is in size, making it the smallest of Universal’s parks, and occupies the easternmost part of the Resorts World Sentosa. There are a total of 17 attractions, of which 10 are original or specially adapted for the park.Resorts World Sentosa (2010). Unveiling the Best of Universal Studios at Universal Studios Singapore. Retrieved 7 June 2010 from th
Official Site
The park consists of seven themed zones surrounding a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

. Each zone is mostly based on movies and/or television, featuring their own attractions, meet and greet locations, over 30 restaurants and food carts, and 20 retail stores and carts located around the park.

Hollywood

Universal Studios Singapore Lunar New Year 2022

''Hollywood'' is the main entrance area of the park. Its only attraction, a broadway-style theatre, is accompanied by several restaurants and a variety of shopping locations. The zone is filled with Hollywood-inspired architecture and palm trees, including a replica of the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

. Parade *Hollywood Dreams Light-Up Parade - This parade features themed floats, characters, and performers based on the ''

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Productions, Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studios, Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures sinc ...

'', ''

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

'', ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

'', ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'' and '' The Mummy'' franchises.

New York City

''New York City'' is based on the original

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, during the era of post-modernisation. The zone features various landmarks commonly portrayed in movies including the city skyline, neon lights, façades, and sidewalks. This zone also has a replica of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

.New York – Universal Studios Singapore. Retrieved 6 June 2010 from th
Official Site
. Special ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' character appearances include Elmo, Big Bird, Count von Count, Abby Cadabby, Bert, Ernie, Grover, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch. Special ''

'' character appearances include

Alex Alex is a given name. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people * Al ...

, Gloria and King Julien. Entertainment * Rhythm Truck

Sci-Fi City

Accelerator - Universal Studios Singapore

Battlestar Galactica Human vs Cylon - nested tracks

''Sci-Fi City'' is themed to a supposed

metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...

of the future. It is the home of a pair of Vekoma dueling roller coasters.Sci-Fi City – Universal Studios Singapore. Retrieved 6 June 2010 from th
Official Site
. ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

'' character appearances include Optimus Prime,

Bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only Extant taxon, extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct r ...

and Megatron.

Ancient Egypt

Universal Studios Singapore Anubis Statues

''Ancient Egypt'' is based on the historical adaptation of

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

during the 1930s Golden Age of Egyptian Exploration. It features obelisks and pyramids which are typical of Ancient Egypt. Also featured are Pharaohs'

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

s which were supposedly commonly discovered during that era. This zone relies on the depictions made in the popular film franchise, '' The Mummy'', starring Brendan Fraser.Ancient Egypt – Universal Studios Singapore. Retrieved 6 June 2010 from th
Official Site
.

The Lost World

Jurassic Park Canopy Flyer Universal Studios Singapore

Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure ending - Universal Studios Singapore

''The Lost World'' contains many traditional attractions present in most Universal Studios parks around the world and is divided into two sub-areas: ''

'' and ''Waterworld''. Jurassic Park, based on the popular film franchise by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

and novels by

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, screenwriter and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavil ...

, features the newly redesigned Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure which is based on the water rides in other Universal Studios parks. Waterworld, based on the film '' Waterworld'' starring

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Kevin Costner, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primeti ...

, features a live show performance at an amphitheater.The Lost World – Universal Studios Singapore. Retrieved 6 June 2010 from th
Official Site
.

Far Far Away

''Far Far Away'' is inspired by

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

's ''

'' franchise. The zone consists of many locations from the film series, with a landmark in the form of "''Far Far Away Castle''". Character appearances include

Donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

, Puss in Boots,

Princess Fiona Princess Fiona is a fictional character in DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks' ''Shrek (franchise), Shrek'' franchise. One of the film series' List of Shrek (franchise) characters#Main, main characters, Fiona first appears in ''Shrek'' (2001) as a ...

, Kitty Softpaws, Gingy,

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

, Prince Charming, Fairy Godmother and Humpty Dumpty.

Minion Land

''Minion Land'' is inspired by Illumination's '' Despicable Me'' franchise. The zone is divided into three areas: "Minion Marketplace", "Gru's Neighborhood", and "Super Silly Fun Land". In addition, there are a variety of "themed shops and restaurants" in this zone. Construction took place from May 2022 to early February 2025, and the zone opened on 14 February 2025.

Upcoming attractions

Super Nintendo World

'' Super Nintendo World'' is inspired by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

franchises such as ''

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

''. Character appearances will include

, Luigi and Princess Peach. It is currently unknown if this iteration of Super Nintendo World will be similar to Universal Studios Hollywood's version,

's version, or Universal Epic Universe's version, or a completely new version altogether. The area is currently expected to open in 2025.

Former attractions

Madagascar

''Madagascar'' was inspired by the

franchise of the same name. The zone featured a tropical jungle theming as well as two rides.Madagascar – Universal Studios Singapore. Retrieved 6 June 2010 from th
Official Site
. The majority of this land closed on 27 March 2022, with the exception of the carousel King Julien's Beach Party-Go-Round, which closed later that year, and was re-themed and re-decorated with ''Despicable Me'' characters. The attraction reopened as Buggie Boogie in 2025. Character appearances included

, Gloria, King Julien, Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private.

Notes

References

External links

* {{navboxes, list= {{Universal Studios Singapore {{Universal Destinations & Experiences {{Sentosa {{Major Tourist Attractions in Singapore {{NBC Universal Resorts World Sentosa Amusement parks in Singapore Singaporean companies established in 2011 Amusement parks opened in 2011 Universal Destinations & Experiences attractions by name