I am a stingy mother.
I refuse to bring my kids to USS as i wanted to wait till they are tall enough for all rides, felt that more than $50 bucks entry fees for children are ridiculous (I rarely spend more than $30 for a top for myself), felt that such activities should be done on special occasions and not just any ordinary day or weekend as I do not want to pamper them with such luxurious activities since young and make a 里说当然 (hopefully e words r correct).
However after our Tues trip to POLW, after a whole day of price & attractions comparison, after a whole day of cursing myself for not pre-booking tickets for those plays and kept working n working my ass off at work, I finally cave in to bring Charlotte to USS to spend some me time with her. Before you start judging, Hubby couldn't take off as all his colleagues are away, Charmaine remains in cc for her usual class n extra EL speech n drama. Maid was left at home to finish household chores... i didn't bring them along as I wanted to spend "only us" time with Charlotte... now u can judge, I don't care.
Everything in USS is expensive, from drinks to food to souvenirs. Hence before we stepping in, I briefed Charlotte on the purpose of visit - reward her for working hard at her P1 and to encourage to continue work harder, told her that I am not going to buy anything inside, we have to play a round of all rides then if we have time we could replay some rides she likes, she has to be patient to queue as I won't buy express lane tickets (to start with, we don't print currencies), she has to follow me n listen to me as I can't chase after her all around and I don't want to be angry... With constant reminders she behaved well that day though of course there are times where reminders were needed. Eventually, I still did buy the girls some reasonably priced stuffs.
Charlotte loves the 3D/4D shows especially at Far Far Away. She also loves Sesame Street (being in a dark starry ride) and Jurassic Park rides. She learnt "SCRAM" from Oscar the Grouch *how "lovely" n couldn't try Return Of Mummy rides due to height.
Oh, remember to bring your own poncho. Ponchos are needed at Jurassic Park ride though there is a drying corner right where u exit the ride... It costs $5 to dry yourself using the machine or u can choose ponchos that can be purchased from vending machines while queuing at $4 each. I very aunty... buy poncho better as it can be use again esp if u take e ride 5x.
We spent a whole day 11am till 7pm in USS n I had post USS Syndrome even until now - backache!
We topped up ard $20 - $30 each to sign up for a half year pass to USS - many PHs to come and Jun & Sep holidays are still within half year expiry... so why not!
N n n.... We went to Slappy Cakes for dinner. Charlotte made pancakes (heart n shit shaped ones) for me to reward me for bringing her to such fun place. She thanked me for it. BUT I still foot the bill.