Family Day at Sentosa (II): Images of Singapore LIVE & Madame Tussauds

We proceeded to Imbiah Lookout after our swim at Rasa Sentosa to visit the newly re-imagined Images of Singapore LIVE.

My mum and sister met up with us there to visit the attraction with my girl and I. The hubby was happy to sit out of this one with Baby Boy (it was time for his nap) as he is not a big fan of attractions in general (unlike me), unless it involves seafood of some kind (preferably live).

This is not the first time that I am visiting the Images of Singapore. My secondary school friends and I used to love visiting the attractions in Sentosa whenever we hung out here during the school holidays and Images of Singapore was one of them. It used to be really boring, with tons of statues and a lot of words that is typical of most museums.

However, the recently re-imagined Images of Singapore LIVE is far from being boring. With actors playing the roles of the people who had lived in Singapore in the old days, super cool technology and an abundance of special effects (such as sound and smoke), the attraction promises to engage all of your senses.

Left: Feels like we are walking in historical Singapore!
Right: Girl and I on a trishaw.

Old-school bicycle (they used to make them super hardy as it was the people's main mode of transport)

We were greeted by an actor at the entrance, who began with Singapore as a very successful port.

Left: One of the actors;
Right: The office recreated to look like that of the past (very vintage!)

We were not allowed to take pictures after that even though, believe me, I tried but the lighting was terrible. To give you an idea of it without releasing any spoilers, here's a summary:

• A young maiden introduced us to Singapore as a prosperous port, with a short show afterwards introducing the beginnings of Singapore
• We were then introduced to Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles and Sir William Farquhar by a Malay villager
• After that we learned about the life of the early settlers from none other than one of the early settlers (who better to do that?)
• Next, we watched as the Japanese bombed Singapore during the Japanese Occupation
• We also watched as Mr Lee Kuan Yew announced Singapore's separation from Malaya and we became an independent state (this was particularly emotional for us as Mr Lee was still lying in the hospital critically ill. We didn't know it then but it was going to be the last day that Mr Lee was alive =( )
• Finally we moved on to modern day Singapore with tons of high tech and really cool light displays. You really gotta see it to appreciate it! =)

Our journey ended with a Spirit of Singapore boat ride, which was still in the process of completion when we first visited Madame Tussauds Singapore when it first opened last year. I'm glad that this time it is finally fixed and ready to go! =)

Girl enjoying the boat ride

One of the sights that we saw along the way

The Spirit of Singapore is a display of everything that we love in Singapore; things that make us who we are, things that we are proud of.

Clockwise from left: Selfie with the girl on the boat;
Traditional Teochew Opera;
Beautiful lion dancing

We got off the boat ride and proceeded easily to Madame Tussauds Singapore, which was located next door. Entry to Madame Tussauds Singapore can be bought together with Images of Singapore LIVE as a package.

Our first stop was of course the beloved Mr and Mrs Lee Kuan Yew! Their wax figures were not completed yet when I visited last year.

With the late Mr and Mrs Lee Kuan Yew, heroes of Singapore

Compared to our experience with Madame Tussauds Sydney, it was obvious that my mum greatly preferred the Singapore version as it contained wax figures of people that my mum actually recognised. She took almost no photos at Madame Tussauds Sydney but was so much more enthusiastic than usual about taking pictures at Madame Tussauds Singapore (definitely a great attraction to bring your older folks).

Left: Mum with USA President Barack Obama;
Right: Mum with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

Sister with ESM Goh Chok Tong

With the famous TV character Phua Chu Kang
(you can see mum's enthusiasm here. She knows this guy!)

Left: Mum with actress Zoe Tay;
Right: Mum with super successful director/actor Jack Neo

Left: Sister and girl with the bootylicious Beyonce;
Right: Sister with one of her favourite singers of all time, Katy Perry (she was ecstatic!).

Girl pretending to play on the piano

Left: Sister and my girl with the famous couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (they appear in ALL the Madame Tussauds that I have visited; possibly one of the most famous couples in the world);
Right: Mum asked to take this photo with Andy Lau (wow, never thought I'd see that haha)

We took almost two hours for both attractions. Hubby was rather impatient as he couldn't wait for us to move on to our next destination: seafood feast (he was excited because it was my treat!).

Although it was a super long day for my girl and I, we had a lot of fun! The only side effect from squeezing so many activities in one day is that the next day, I almost couldn't drag my body out of my bed for work. I was simply too tired! =(

Oh well, it was worth it seeing as we really enjoyed ourselves. Pop by and visit Sentosa too if you can! It is still, hands down, one of my favourite places in Singapore =)


Back to << Family Day at Sentosa (I): Brunch at Rasa Sentosa

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This post is part of my MadPsychMum Fun in Singapore Guide to all things exciting for kids! 

Check out other fun playgrounds and attractions in Singapore! =)

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Disclosure: Complimentary entrance tickets to the Images of Singapore LIVE and Madame Tussauds Singapore was received from Images of Singapore for the purposes of this review. No monetary compensation was received; all opinions are my own.