'I just hope to get a refund': Customers left disappointed after multiple rides malfunction at Universal Studios Singapore

When you're at an amusement park, chances are you would want to experience the adrenaline-pumping roller coaster rides. But what if they are all closed? 

That happened to be the case for guests visiting Universal Studios Singapore (USS) on Monday (July 24), according to Lianhe Zaobao. 

Many rides were closed including Transformers the Ride: The Ultimate 3D Battle, Revenge of the Mummy and Battlestar Galactica: Human vs Cylon. 

The article highlighted that the USS app, which provides waiting times for attractions, showed that only four rides were running yesterday afternoon at around 3pm, including Shrek 4-D Adventure. 

A traveller from Australia, surnamed Zhang, mentioned that she and her friends queued for the Puss in Boots' Giant Journey ride at 1pm, and waited for one hour before reaching the front of the line. 

The cart that was supposed to take the 31-year-old didn't arrive, but instead, there was an announcement mentioning a system failure. The announcement also advised patrons not to panic and wait in place though Zhang shared that the previous cart went out and didn't come back for 20 minutes.

The same thing happened over at Battlestar Galactica: Human vs Cylon ride. A Thai singer, surnamed Mah, who came to Singapore with his two younger brothers, started queuing for the ride at 1.30 pm.

After 30 minutes, they heard the system failure announcement. Despite waiting in the queue for about an hour, the ride was still closed. 

The 30 year-old shared that he didn't expect that almost all the rides would be closed. "I will fly off tomorrow, and I can't change the [flight] date. I just hope to get a refund." 

He wasn't the only one who wanted a refund for his USS ticket. It is believed that more than 100 tourists went to the customer service centre to apply for a refund on the same day. 

In response to AsiaOne's queries, a Resorts World Sentosa spokesperson cited a power shortage as the main cause of yesterday's disruption: "At approximately 2pm on 24 July 2023, [USS] experienced a power shortage resulting from their electricity provider's system glitch."

"We quickly and safely helped guests disembark the affected rides and thorough safety checks were completed before the rides progressively resumed." 

"There were no injuries. [USS] extended the operating hours of select offerings till 8pm to enable guests to continue to enjoy their experience at the theme park. We would like to thank all affected guests for their understanding."

ALSO READ: 'I want a refund': Woman unhappy to find closed rides and limited food options at USS

venkat.gunasellan@asiaone.com

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