Universal's Battlestar Galactica coasters to reopen Feb. 21

February 2, 2011 at 9:47 AM · Ahhh... 83 degrees... those were the days.

February 2, 2011 at 1:23 PM · Maybe I am way off base here, but I thought that the problem was that one of the seats completely fell off the coaster train during a pre-opening daily test run and then during the investigation, they found more cracks on all trains for both tracks, due to the track being much rougher than they thought it would be (big surprise that a Vekoma roller coaster ran rough)

If this is the case, it scares me to ride Vekoma equipment.

Reference: Screamscape.com and Straits Times

February 2, 2011 at 3:16 PM · I've heard conflicting accounts on how bad the cracks were. Clearly, they were bad enough that a simple patch job wouldn't get the job done, and the ride needed redesign work. That's very bad.

February 2, 2011 at 2:06 PM · Singapore looks like a beautiful country. I'm surprised it took so many years to get a decent theme park there.

February 2, 2011 at 5:43 PM · That last picture reminds me (facially) of Bucky Katt from the GET FUZZY comic strip.

February 2, 2011 at 11:40 PM · Why is it surprising that Singapore had no major park so far? Just 5 million inhabitants, not that rich gdp per working hour is arround 60% US levels , not many children, just 5 million inhabitants, surrounding countries rather poor. Its more surprising they have one now, despite all the growth in recent year. Still doesnt really justify a big park. The only reason they have one now is to attract gamblers and give some cover for the real money machine, the casino.

Even New York has no major theme park, why should Singapore be able to sustain one?

February 2, 2011 at 11:59 PM · Here's one reason: Singapore Airlines flying in millions of visitors a year. Sure, it's an airline hub, but give people enough reason to schedule a day or two on the layover, and they will.

Couple a day at USS with an evening at the zoo's Night Safari and you've got one world-class tourism day.

That said, it is undeniable that the main draw for Resorts World Sentosa is the casino, and the USS plays a supporting role. However, when USS gets all its attractions open, I think that the park could step up to a leading one.

From what I saw when I was there, it appears that Singapore is drawing many tourists from Australia and New Zealand, as well as the US, UK and Japan. There's great potential there - the island simply needs a few more attractions to reach a critical mass where it becomes a top, high-demand, week-long destination itself. (Though I easily could find a week's worth of things to do there now.)

February 3, 2011 at 2:17 PM · It's a small park, but a high quality one at that. As Rob says - get the attractions open, add a few more and in no time this place will be the leading tourist spot in the area.

I dont think we can compare Singapore with the US or any of its cities. Totally different.

February 5, 2011 at 1:54 PM · Thanks, Robert. Didn't feel like defending myself against that post.