The giant globe at the entrance of Universal Studios Singapore

Turn left and be treated to a million-dollar grin from Shrek and Fiona. Turn right and a T-Rex threatens to swallow you up. Go a little further and get a giant hug from Po of Kung Fu Panda. A little ahead, Marilyn Monroe blows kisses even as Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico — the penguins from Madagascar — break into a jig.

No, you haven’t walked into a series of film sets. You are in the middle of Universal Studios Singapore (USS) — billed as Southeast Asia’s No. 1 theme park — which, after Los Angeles and Orlando in the US and Osaka in Japan, threw open its doors in the Lion City last weekend.

Divided into a series of film and fun zones with 21 rides and shows, every inch of the 20-hectare Universal Studios, located in the popular integrated holiday spot of Resorts World Sentosa, is a movie buff’s delight. First up is the Hollywood zone. Even as you rub shoulders with Betty Boop, Count Dracula and Puss in Boots, you can spot the name of your favourite star on the walk of fame. With the blueprint of a Hollywood boulevard, sets from iconic films — the most easily recognisable is the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Richard Gere and Julia Roberts’s love nest in Pretty Woman — line the Hollywood zone. A massive ship — the Titanic before it went under — surges in from somewhere. Looking for some creepy fun? Walk right into The Hollywood Theatre to get a dose of the rock--roll Monster musical.

The Hollywood zone gives way to the New York strip. From posing with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike to clicking pictures with a series of OTT headgear on display, there’s a lot of fun to be had here. A group of New York street dancers b-boy at the corner just in front of a giant replica of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. A highlight of the New York zone is Lights Camera Action — a 4-D light-and-sound show presented by Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg that recreates a major hurricane about to hit the city — and plonks you right in the middle of it!

CALLING ALL ADVENTURE JUNKIES

Once you have had your fill of the Big Apple, go back a few million years in The Lost World — the Jurassic Park zone. The Canopy Flyer — a ride that affords a prehistoric view of the zone as you soar a few thousand feet off the ground and Dino Soarin’, where children can “pilot” their own Pteranodon (dino reptiles) are pop picks. A must-do before you exit The Lost World is the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure — a thrilling river raft ride through primeval dinosaur habitat. Be prepared to be gobbled up by a dino at every corner!

The Far Far Away zone

Even as you deal with aching calf muscles and realise that more than half the day has gone by, the Ancient Egypt zone is a must-visit on your itinerary. Recreating the mystery of the era of the mummies and pharaohs, it is one spooky area. Revenge of the Mummy — an indoor roller-coaster ride in total darkness — has warrior mummies and scarab beetles thrown at you. Eeeks!

A not-to-be-missed event at Universal Studios Singapore is the Crane Dance — an animatronic spectacle that combines groundbreaking audio and visual technology and light and water effects to depict the love story of two cranes. It happens only once a day at 9pm but is totally worth it!

If filmi fun is what you are looking for, then Far Far Away and Madagascar should be at the top of your list. The park’s newest addition, the Madagascar Crate Adventure — a river boat ride with Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Glora the hippopotamus, all characters from the popular DreamWorks franchise — is a firm favourite with the young and the young at heart. And with a chance to be part of a Shrek adventure in 4-D, Far Far Away is the zone where kids head to first.

While every zone of USS is a treat for a film lover, Sci-Fi City challenges you to show your adventurous side. Housing the adrenaline-pumping Battlestar Galactica rides — the Cylon is a suspended coaster that goes up, around and upside down while Human zooms at a speed of nearly 90kmph and twists and turns you over 14 storeys into the air — this is by far the most popular haunt of the theme park visitor. “I will come back to Universal Studios just for the Battlestar rides. It’s just 90 seconds long, but it shakes you up completely,” smiled 14-year-old Harsh Dewanji of Delhi when t2 chanced upon him queuing up for his “third but far from last” Battlestar ride of the day.

Battlestar may be the most popular right now, but Transformers 3-D is slated to attract tourists and local visitors in droves. “Transformers 3-D will be unveiled at the end of 2011 and given the feedback already, we are sure that it will be the highlight of USS,” Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, the executive chairman of Resorts World Sentosa, told t2.

MOVIE MANIA

Shrek

Puss In Boots

Charlie Chaplin

The hand-printing ceremony at the grand opening

It was “a collective passion for the movies” that gave birth to the idea of USS six-odd years ago. “After our two theme parks in the US and one in Osaka, we found Singapore — with its love for cinema and its reputation as one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world — as a natural candidate for our fourth property,” said Tom Williams, chairman of Universal Parks and Resorts.

The park — that had a soft opening in March 2010 and has been adding attractions in phases — has a projected estimate of four million visitors in 2011, double the footfall last year.

India is a major market for USS. About 90 per cent of the two million visitors last year came from Southeast Asia, with India contributing a “sizeable chunk”. However, USS, which is scouting for locations for a new theme park in Korea, has no plans yet to set up shop in India. “We are receptive to opening a Universal Studios in any country provided we get the necessary infrastructure and government support. The studio at Singapore would not have been possible if the Singapore government had not come forward and given us free rein with all its resources,” said Williams.

That USS is poised to become a major contributor to the tourism landscape of Singapore was reiterated at the opening last Saturday when Lim Hng Kiang, the minister of trade and industry in the government and the guest of honour at the ceremony, hailed USS as a “significant milestone” for Singapore in its attempt to become a global tourist hot spot. As soon as the minister declared the theme park open — by using a clapboard thrust into his hands by a rappelling stuntman — the guests present were treated to an eye-popping parade by the theme park’s most-loved characters. Shrek to Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe to Puss in Boots, the Madagascar penguins to even a Brendan Fraser lookalike from the Mummy films, it was a half-hour of seeing the most popular franchises roll by. “More than the rides, the restaurants or the shops selling silver screen memorabilia, it’s the characters from my favourite films that make a trip to USS worth it,” smiled college student Peter Lee.

Such was the magic spun by Shrek and Co. that they threatened to overshadow the tinsel town stars who had graced the red carpet at the grand opening the evening before. And that, by no means, was a non-starry line-up: from Chinese actress Maggie Cheung — most famous for her role as the spunky Su in Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love — to actress Vicki Zhao to singer and American Idol 7 finalist Kimberly Caldwell. Local actresses Michelle Chia, Zhou Ying and Jade Seah turned up as well to add even more star power to the bash.

The loudest cheers among the 1,600 “entry-by-invitation-only” guests were reserved for Grammy winner and former American Idol judge Paula Abdul and Hollywood action man Jet Li, the star of films like The Forbidden Kingdom, Kiss of the Dragon and The Expendables. “I love coming to Southeast Asia because of the beautiful culture and the warm people,” said Abdul, the voice behind iconic hits like Opposites Attract and Rush Rush, who also put in a five-minute performance at the end of the night.

Both Paula Abdul and Jet Li then joined the USS executives for handprints at the park, a Universal Studios tradition. The cheers were deafening.

The two almost made up for the no-show by Terminator star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the chosen guest of the evening, who opted out at the last minute after being “housekeeper-gated”.

With Arnie out of the picture, Shrek, Po and the Madagascar troupe had little competition on the popularity meter.