Media Invite
It had been a few years since my last visit to Madame Tussauds Singapore and I got to know that there were new attractions within the museum. Particularly interesting to me were the Marvel 4D Cinema which I knew my kids would enjoy and the VR Racing experience which I thought my husband (a huge Formula 1 fan) would like.
We headed over to the museum on an extremely gloomy and rainy Saturday afternoon which turned out to be a good thing for us because the number of visitors dwindled down to a 'barely there' trickle.
Madame Tussauds Singapore is SG Clean certified so you can rest assured that the museum commits to upholding good sanitation and hygiene practices. There is SafeEntry check in, temperature scanning and hand disinfection protocols at the entrance. And in-keeping with government regulations, wearing a mask is compulsory. Also, since the museum is spread out into different zones, maintaining physical distancing is definitely possible even when the museum is crowded.
The general admission ticket includes 5 experiences - Images of Singapore, Ultimate Film Star Experience, the Spirit of Singapore Boat Ride, Madame Tussauds Museum, and Marvel 4D Cinema. The VR Racing experience is not included in this so if you want to check it out, a separate ticket is required.
On entering the museum, I immediately noticed that the layout of the exhibits had been altered from what I remembered last.
You can explore Singapore's past at the Images of Singapore. Here you can revisit the colorful story of Singapore from its humble origins as a fishing village to the 21st century powerhouse we are proud to call home. You can walk through 200 years of extraordinary history and multiple interactive areas. Since I and my husband had already seen it before, we skipped this part. Although in hindsight, it may have been good to take the kids there and given them a fun history lesson.
We went on the "Spirit of Singapore" boat ride, a short 3-4 minute multi-sensory ride which brings to you the highlights of what makes our Little Red Dot tick. With a cheeky looking Gurmit Singh commanding our boat, the kids were eager to get on board. The re-creation of Gardens By the Bay in particular impressed us. Even though the ride was short, the kids enjoyed it and were asking if they could go again 😆
After the boat ride, we entered the main part of the museum that began with renowned world leaders. Since I have already covered this bit in my previous post on Madame Tussauds Singapore (with a barrage of photos), I will not go into too much detail here.
Ni Hao - Selamat Tengah Hari - Vanakkam PM Lee.
Namaste PM Modi 🙏
Next follows a line-up of sports stars. You can get ready to strike a pose alongside your sporting heroes.
Moving over to Kung Fu, you can star with Jackie Chan and get in on the action!
There is a 'Behind The Scenes' section which takes you on a trip back in time so you can experience 200 years of history. Each stage of making a wax figure is explained. If you have time, take a break from your star-studded selfies and give it a listen because it is absorbing stuff. Pioneer woman Marie Tussaud doesn't have 20 attractions in the world for nothing you guys 😊
We then enter the buzzing realm of TV and Film. You can pretend to be a star on Oprah's talk show, have breakfast at Tiffany's with the lovely Audrey Hepburn, take ET on a ride across the moonlit sky or be rescued by the big and strong Terminator.
Music fans will be delighted to strike a pose with Beyonce, Katy Perry or Taylor Swift.
Look at my little poser 😆
If you are a Bollywood aficionado, you will find the IIFA (International Indian Film Academy Awards) section quite thrilling. I loved the whole set-up & design - very glamorous indeed.
The green carpet has been rolled out and it is your chance to pose with the likes of Kajol, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Anushka Sharma, Mahesh Babu and more glittering stars.
There was not a soul around so I slipped off my mask for the five seconds it took to snap a picture and promptly put it back on. Promise!
The A-list party gets you up close and personal with the A-list superstars - legends from Singapore and Asia, Hollywood to Bollywood and beyond.
In this section, I bet the wax work of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson will make you do a double-take.
Priyanka Chopra's is good too (even though I'm not digging the strange pose).
To be honest, I didn't think my kids would be very interested in the wax museum but I couldn't have been more wrong. They actually found it fascinating and even recognized a few of the world leaders, sports stars and several celebrities.
Next we went to checkout the Marvel 4D experience. As much as my little girls love rainbows, unicorns and princesses, they also love action, special effects and superheroes (and heroines). They absolutely love the Avengers and have watched several Marvel movies (Thor, Iron Man and Black Widow being their favourites).
The Marvel 4D includes a short 15 minute interactive cinematic experience that features the Avengers characters defeating some baddies amidst a backdrop set in Singapore. With their special glasses on, my kids enjoyed the show immensely! The experience is literally in-your-face so they were shrieking with excitement throughout. There were blasts of air, bubbles and a surprise poke that I must say even made me jump out of my seat. As you can see, there was no one else there so we had the whole seating area to ourselves which was great.
A point to note is that photography and filming are not allowed during the show.
When we went to the souvenir shop, there was a 50% off mega clearance sale going on for toys, F1 merchandise, clothes & accessories, souvenirs and beverage cups. I saw my little ones eyes turn as big as saucers (uh oh!) and they rushed to check out if they could buy a Thor figurine (they charitably declared that they didn't mind if Loki was included too).
The last stop was the VR Racing experience. This is an interactive experience that includes a racing car simulator. You can actually get a feel of maneuvering the car through the tortuous circuit under the watchful gaze of Lewis Hamilton. The kids went first and one of them especially, did such a splendid job that I was mildly taken aback. My husband and I went next. With a great sense of spatial awareness and direction, he did a great job (as expected) but I had to stop halfway in between as I started feeling claustrophobic. Maybe it was because I was wearing the mask as well so the partial sensory deprivation caused me to feel a little queasy. What can I say except that I have to strike off race car driver in my list of alternate careers. Mom: Zero; Rest of the family: 10 😂
We had an absolutely wonderful time at Madame Tussauds. I didn't expect that the kids would love it as much as they did. In fact, on our way back in the car, they asked if we could go again next week.
If you haven't visited the museum yet, I'd say you can gain some valuable history from the Images of Singapore, enjoy an audio-visual treat on the short boat ride and take a gazillion pics with the waxworks (most of which are quite lifelike). The Marvel 4D cinema is great for families and kids and the VR Racing experience would be fun for sports enthusiasts and adventure seekers. There is pretty much something for everybody.
Recommended.
Madame Tussauds Singapore
40 Imbiah Road
Sentosa
Singapore 099700
Directions
Board at HarbourFront Tower, alight at Sentosa station. Madame Tussauds is just a few steps away
Access via Sentosa Gateway and park at Imbiah Lookout car park. It is only a 3-min walk from here
Enter the Sentosa Boardwalk via VivoCity. It is a 30-min walk to Madame Tussauds at Imbiah Lookout.
Call: (+65) 67154000
Tue and Wed closed
Purchase your tickets online for the best prices. I suggest you check out the Trick Eye Museum Bundle (super value for money in my opinion).
Megha
Disclaimer: My family and I were invited to Madame Tussauds to check out the new attractions. I have not accepted any monetary compensation to write this review. All opinions are honest and my own.
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