Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) has announced that the soft opening of Universal Studios Singapore (USS) will be on March 18. However, it is unclear how many attractions will be operational by that time.
In a statement released on Friday, RWS said: “It is possible that certain attractions may become temporarily unavailable during the preview phase as Universal Studios Singapore continues its technical and creative adjustments.”
Should this happen, RWS will provide partial rebate on ticket prices in the form of dining and shopping vouchers valid for use at USS.
Ticket prices have been set at $72 for an adult day-pass during peak periods and $66 for a full-day adult ticket during off-peak.
It had been expected that USS will open before RWS casino opened last Feb 14. “We know a lot of Singaporeans are looking forward to the opening of our major elements, the casino and Universal Studios Singapore. We are ready to soft-open the casino but are still fine-tuning the rides and shows in the theme park, which are still on schedule to open in the first quarter of 2010,” said Tan Hee Teck, CEO of RWS, at a press conference.
It is, however, not clear what the “technical and creative adjustments” are, when RWS has already obtained all the permits and licenses it needed to fully open USS.
As part of its staff-appreciation perks, the first guests will be the team members of RWS, who will be the first to experience the rides with their families from March 13. According to earlier reports, 20 rides will be opened this year, with another four opening later.
Citigroup reported recently that USS could fetch $340.5 million in revenue and $70.4 million in Ebitda in 2010.
Merrill Lynch from Bank of America had said in a report that non-gaming businesses like USS could generate up to 34 percent of the annual revenue of RWS. But it also believes that USS could only see about 3.8 million visitors this year.
Carey Wong, an analyst from OCBC Research, said: “We continue to see the gradual opening up of Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort as a positive; this as RWS will be able to offer a more complete holiday experience to attract foreign tourists.”