USS Halloween Horror Nights 2

A little better strategy is in order if we want to enjoy this event at USS more next year.

Time: 2000-0100 hrs is too short to do everything, so despite the temptation to ride the coasters we have to be more focused on the specially themed attractions, even if it means forgoing our favourite rides.

Crowd: the place is swarming with merry-makers who create great atmosphere for the event, but also unfortunately make the lines for the rides and everything else very long. We waited about an hour to get on the Battlestar Galactica (Cylon) and another on The Mummy Returns. And that was all the time we had as upon exit from the Egyptian Necropolis, it was nearly 0000 hrs already.

Lockers: in crowded situations like this one, the time spent waiting and riding will invariably exceed the lockers' grace period and you have to pay the machine in order to get your stuff out of it. It gets difficult when all your belongings including wallet containing cash, NETS and credit card are locked in the locker as you are not permitted to ride with loose items in your pockets. For cash transactions, exact amount only, no change is given -- we found out a bit too late. For both rides, we ended up spending $18 on the lockers alone. Grr.

Food: we purchased the theme dinner at KT's Bar and Grill (on of the restaurants in USS). It was a three-course meal including a choice of baby pork ribs (above) and duck (below). The ribs were succulent and tender, likewise the duck. The theme decorations turned out cuter than the picture in the menu promised, but it was good eating anyway. There seemed to be a bit of a kerfuffle over the question of whether we had purchased the meal vouchers online, but it was only because online orders apparently received a complementary fruit punch, a nice surprise for us...

like so.

But back to strategy: the food was fabulous and reasonably priced ($28+++ per pax) but to start serving at 2000 hrs... well, the one hour we enjoyed eating was also one hour's headstart on the rides for everyone else who had nommed earlier elsewhere.

Parking: the one thing that worked for us was a last minute decision. Because parking was so limited at Vivocity, we detoured to park at the Beach car park on Sentosa. $3 entrance + $2 parking = $5 total. Even though the monorail ended service at midnight, it was a short and pleasant stroll back to the beach from USS to get M2 back.

Conclusion: to really enjoy ourselves, spend more money. Buy a day pass to ride coasters all day long, upgrade to stay for the night's activities and fork out for a universal express pass for faster (than normal) access to the attractions. Carry only a credit card and your smartphone (useful as a camera and for contacting separated party members) in a secured pocket, leave all other miscellaneous barang-barang in the car.

P.S.: To infer that we didn't enjoy the experience is not accurate. The creepy music and sound effects relentlessly permeating the entire theme park added atmosphere to the main street that was divided into sections by theme. From the House of Dolls at the entrance, to the post-apocalyptic urban cityscape, to the Mummy-cursed streets of ancient Egypt populated with ghouls and zombies popping up to scare random passers-by, USS really did take a lot of trouble to get the environment perfect for Halloween. All I'm saying is, next year, we go with a better plan to maximize the time allotted.

USS has dedicated staff. This forlorn ghoul guards the door of the closed gift shop. No one gets in regardless of how badly they want to buy a souvenir.

I should have taken my mom

An unexpected day off on a non-peak period day, coupled with some great weather, and it's off to Universal Studios, no questions asked! NTUC and DBS discounts make the entrance fees more attractive on days like these. 

This is one of the reasons why we're here... the 'Revenge of the Mummy'! Here we have a decent coaster with something of a story that perpetuates throughout the ride. With pyrotechnics, cool lighting effects and parts of the ride taking place in blackout, it's quite intense for someone queueing up thinking 'thank god, I'm not riding a roller coaster'. Warning signs are all around, so there's no excuse for being unwary.

Our reward for braving and defeating Imhotep... a dandy souvenir snapshot with Queen Nefertitty!

And the real reason why we're here is because of these two bad boys, the BSG Human/Cylon dueling rides! Only the best rides ever -- within the scope of my limited coaster riding experience. The Human side is already quite intense with lots of tight loops to negotiate. But the Cylon side is a suspended coaster which means that every loop and twist is amplified from the riders' pov. We're frequently head-over-heels, facing nothing but cloudy blue sky or hard, unforgiving floor beneath, our breath taken away by the sensation of high-speed flight. In many other theme parks, this one would be the most crowded; but the screams of the brave few were enough to keep most other people away. Only in S'pore, right? Oh well, more for us, then!

So, what else is there for non-thrill seekers to do at USS? Well, there are a number of (yawn) milder rides that are still kinda' fun, though not exactly mind-blowingly so. There are lots of shows to catch, mostly involving singing and dancing costumed mascots that are lively and reasonably entertaining, and there's this: Waterworld. Only two shows a day, with lots of flash-and-bang, collapsing structures, high-speed water shenanigans and rope traversing. It's way more fun to sit in the soak zone 'cos the action is right in your face, as are the water jets, sea-craft spray and the characters' sloshing buckets which they use to motivate audience participation. It's ok, in our climate our clothes dry out in no time.

Oh, I was a little anxious about the crowd situation on an off-peak day. Normally, I am crowd averse but theme parks are exciting only when there are people jostling shoulder-to-shoulder while standing in queues waiting for their turn at the rides. There's nothing sadder than an empty theme park. I shouldn't have worried. The place was packed full of tour groups enough so it sounded noisy and happy, and yet not so much that wait-time was interminably long per ride. Best of both worlds!

HP asked for an assessment of the activities here at USS. I say there's quite enough to do and see for a full day of fun and entertainment for everybody -- just a little more so for coaster freaks. BSG! BSG!