Bub & Me: First time to Sentosa Merlion, Cable Cars, Luges, Segways & More!

Mention "Sentosa" and you'd likely think of the beaches or theme parks like Universal Studios Singapore, Adventure Cove, KidZania or indoor attractions like S.E.A. Aquarium, Trick Eye Museum or Madame Tussaud...

All these are wonderful places to visit, and we've been to them uncountable times, but honestly, Sentosa offers soooo many more impressive attractions and these are just the tip of the iceberg. There's a long list of attractions we've yet to explore and play at!!

Since Lil Pumpkin has been bugging us to sit in the cable cars whenever we passed by the area, earlier this month we finally made her wish come true and I planned a whole day out at Sentosa like a local tourist!! And my criteria for visiting attractions that day? Well, it has to be some place at least one of us hasn't been to or experienced before!!  

Oh yes, it was a thrilling day for the whole family as we sat the Singapore Cable Cars {first time for Lil Pumpkin}, climbed Sentosa Merlion {first time for Lil Pumpkin}, sped on the Skyline Luge {first time for all of us}, rode on the Skyride {first time for all of us}, cruised on the Gogreen Segways {first time for the boy & me} and watched Wings of Time at Sentosa {first time for all of us}!!

Note: Unless otherwise stated, the current attraction promotions I listed below are valid until Fri 31 Aug 2018. Terms & conditions apply. 

Lil Pumpkin has been to cable car rides in Japan, Malaysia and Hong Kong but funnily enough, it took us 9 years to bring Lil Pumpkin to her first cable car ride here in Singapore!!

I guess it's because we usually drive into Sentosa or take the tram in from Vivocity. To sit the cable cars here to Sentosa, I always thought that we could only go in from the main island via Mt Faber, which is quite out of the way, especially if we didn't plan to eat there.

However, I realised that there is a Singapore Cable Car station at Harbourfront Tower 2, which is just next to Vivocity... and that makes it much more convenient {for us anyway} to sit on the cable cars! ( ᐛ )و

We got to enjoy rides on the entire cable car network - both Mount Faber & Sentosa Cable lines. You can get unlimited cable car rides when you apply for the Faber Licence membership.

It proved to be really useful as we traveled between Sentosa and Mt Faber a few times since our car was parked there & to lunch at Spuds & Aprons {a restaurant in Faber Peak Singapore}, and to go to various attractions on Sentosa.

Mount Faber line: From highest point of Mt Faber, the Mount Faber Line Cable Car takes off from Faber Peak and crosses the harbour to Sentosa island, giving you breathtaking sights of southern Singapore.

Sentosa line: Crossing over jungle, sand and sea, this Line which will take you to various attractions including USS {nearest stop: Imbiah Lookout}, Sentosa Merlion {nearest stop: Merlion} and Fort Siloso {nearest stop: Siloso Point} on Sentosa.

Sitting in the cable car with Lil Pumpkin brought back my own fond childhood memories of sitting in the cable car with my parents (*^▽^*)

Children nowadays are spoilt with choices on the many exciting attractions we have in Singapore, but back in the old days *cough cough*, Singapore Cable Car was among the early tourist icons and going for a ride was always a real treat as there was no other way {I reckon?} for you to be up so high in the sky like you are "flying" and catch such beautiful aerial views of Singapore...

I thoroughly enjoyed my cable car rides that day like a giddy schoolkid and was happy to go on it again, and again. Lil Pumpkin, on the other hand, enjoyed the breathtaking views from the cable car but honestly, wasn't too impressed. "It's too slow, Mummy!!". Fine, my little daredevil, I'm glad your need for speed was satisfied when we went to play with the Skyline Luges haha.

Singapore Cable Car
Operating hours: Daily, 8.45am - 10pm {last boarding @ 9.30pm}
Current promo: 25% OFF Singapore Cable Car tickets
Website: https://www.onefabergroup.com/singapore-cable-car-sky-network/

But before that, we visited the Sentosa Merlion. Lil Pumpkin took photos in front of it many years back but this was the first time she entered and climbed all the way to the top!

Completed in 1995, the majestic Sentosa Merlion is Singapore's largest Merlion standing at 37m tall. It is at the heart of Sentosa and stands on a base that resembles the 八卦 {bagua, an auspicious Chinese fengshui tool used to analyse energy of a space} which is believed to bring about prosperity and affluence. Each of the majestic creature’s 320 scales is shaped like the 八卦 too.

There are many other interesting trivia about the Merlion icon and Sentosa Merlion is the only one {yes, there are more than 1 Merlion statues dotted around Singapore!} where you can enter within to discover its origins and story, and climb all the way to the Merlion's head to have a magnificent view of Sentosa and its surroundings.

Fun Fact: The Japanese really love the Merlion {マーライオン}! (/^▽^)/ It has appeared in Japanese commercials, various anime, and there are even Merlion statues in Japan {Hakodate, Hokkaido in particular}. The Merlion is a must-visit for any Japanese to Singapore and it comes no wonder that there's Japanese subtitles & signs at Sentosa Merlion. One of the rare attractions I've seen that made it a point to do so.

The last time I went into Sentosa Merlion was when Chimari visited Singapore in 2006?? The exhibition area was recently refreshed with new content on the Merlion's origin and with engaging virtual reality interactives. It only reopened in May 2018 so even though I'd been there before, everything seemed like new to me too.

Lil Pumpkin loved the interactive exhibits where she could catch a 3D-animated story on how Prince Sang Nila Utama discovered Singapore, play a VR game on the symbolic design elements that make up the Sentosa Merlion, collect a limited edition Prosperity Coin from the Tree of Prosperity etc.

Right at the top in the Merlion Head Gallery {60m above sea level}, there's 360° of unobstructed view of the surroundings and it is a sight not to be missed!

I really think all Singaporeans and visitors to Sentosa must visit the Sentosa Merlion at least once.

To commemorate Lil Pumpkin's first visit there, I even did the "touristy" thing and bought the attraction photos taken by the staff haha... 2x 6R digital prints with one Sentosa Merlion photo frame for S$30 {no soft copy unfortunately}.

Sentosa Merlion
Nearest cable car station: Merlion
Operating hours: Daily, 10am - 8pm {last entry @ 7.30pm}
Current promo: 25% OFF Sentosa Merlion tickets
Website: https://www.onefabergroup.com/sentosa-merlion

After lunch in Spuds & Aprons back at Faber Peak, we took the cable car again to Sentosa and headed straight to Skyline Luge - a unique wheeled gravity sled ride that provides riders full control over their descent on a purpose-built track.

Kids must be 6 years old & at least 110cm to ride the Luge alone, or they can ride in tandem with an adult. Lil Pumpkin was ecstatic that she could ride it alone and enjoyed this attraction tremendously!! Both the boy and I did too as well!! (⌒▽⌒)☆

At first I was afraid that Lil Pumpkin would find it hard to steer the luge alone but it's really straightforward, actually. You just need to pull back on the handlebars to slow down / stop, and release them slightly to accelerate. Before your first ride, instructors will give a short briefing on how to Luge and on subsequent rides, they will give reminders too.

We went on the Luge twice and for our first ride down the hill, we were a bit hesitant and confused as we didn't realise that the tracks diverged after the beginning section and there are in fact 4 thrilling Luge tracks with specially designed features including hairpin corners, exhilarating tunnels and exciting downhill slopes.

Thankfully we all ended up at the same finish point.. o(≧∇≦o)

For our second ride, all of us zipped down faster and tried out different routes from our first ride. The boy rode behind Lil Pumpkin and said that she was very brave and didn't pull on the brakes at all へ__(‾◡◝ )>

Personally, I found the Dragon Trail to be more interesting {and perhaps steeper??} than the Jungle Trail that most would usually take at the first diversion. It is the longest track there.

I think what makes Skyline Luge even more appealing is that each Luge ride comes with a Skyride on a 4-seater chairlift that connects between the 2 Skyline Luge ticket offices at Imbiah Lookout and Siloso Beach. Players can choose which ride to take first.

Even if you don't feel like playing on the Luge, you really should take the opportunity when here to sit on the Skyride as it gives you a bird's eye view of the Singapore skyline, South China Sea and Sentosa as it goes up from Siloso Beach to Imbiah Lookout.

Tickets for the Skyride can be purchased separately.

We rode it once during the day between our two Luge rides, and again at night on the way home, and both experiences were pretty different and mesmerising in their own special ways...

Skyline Luge Sentosa
Nearest cable car stations: Sentosa, Imbiah Lookout and Siloso Point
Operating hours: Daily, 10am - 9.30pm {last ride @ 9.15pm}
Current promo: 4 Luge & Skyrides for S$25/pax {valid until Sat 30 Jun 2018}
Website: https://www.skylineluge.com/en/sentosa/

The end point for Skyline Luge is at Siloso Beach so after our second ride, we went for our Gogreen Segway Fun Ride. Lil Pumpkin chose this attraction herself as she had rode on a Segway in J-World Tokyo theme park and enjoyed the experience tremendously.

The boy and I had never maneuvered a Segway before. The boy is a natural at learning new things but if you know me, you'd know that I have a terrible sense of balance and I only learnt how to ride a bike when I was 32 years old haha. Surprisingly enough, I managed to balance and mastered the Segway within minutes, thanks to the friendly trainers {shout-out to Rohsayyidi for being so helpful!}. Woohoo!! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

After getting our safety gear {helmets for adults, helmets & elbow/ knee pads for kids}, we went for a 800m ride to the end of Siloso beach on the roads. I didn't know that they had child sizes for Segways and it was soooooo cute to see Lil Pumpkin on one!!

Fun Fact: Speed limit on Sentosa roads is 40km/hr but as elsewhere in Singapore, speed limit on footpaths is 15 km/hr so the Gogreen Segways in Sentosa have a speed restriction of 12 km/hr, since they go on the footpaths sometimes. Kinda slow, but it's still an entertaining way to cruise along and take in the sights at Siloso beach.

Segway Fun Ride & Eco Adventure
Nearest cable car stations: Sentosa and Imbiah Lookout
Operating hours: Daily, 10am - 7.30pm {last ride @ 7.15pm}
Current promo: 15-20% OFF ticket prices if purchased online
Website: http://www.segwaytours.com.sg/tours/fun-ride

By evening time, we were already quite pooped from being out since morning and were glad to pop into Good Old Days Restaurant for a simple buffet dinner.

It is really affordable & good value-for-money!! Food in Sentosa can get pretty expensive so this was a welcome change. I'm surprised that we never discovered this gem before, despite our numerous visits to the State of Fun..

Starting from 5pm, the first floor of Good Old Days provides a buffet service offering a variety of scrumptious Halal local dishes like laksa, vegetarian bee hoon, Hainanese roast chicken, chap chye {mixed vegetable stew}, herbal chicken soup etc. Dishes are subject to change from day to day.

I suggest dining there from about 5+pm as the restaurant starts to get crowded with tour groups from about 6+pm.

It is just a stone's throw away from the award-winning multi-sensory show, Wings of Time, thus it's very convenient to have a relaxing dinner there in air-conditioned bliss before going to the outdoors show at 7.40pm... which was exactly what we did.

Good Old Days Restaurant
Nearest cable car stations: Sentosa and Imbiah Lookout
Operating hours: Daily, 11am - 10pm {buffet from 5pm - 10pm}
Current promo: S$12+ for Taste of Singapore Platter {U.P. S$15+}
Website: https://www.onefabergroup.com/good-old-days

Wings of Time is an outdoor night show set against the majestic open sea. Do note that it is a rain or shine event.

The 20mins presentation contains spectacular 3D projection mapping, water displays, state-of-the-art lasers, fire effects and music as we soar through time and space in a magical adventure with the characters.

It reminded us of the multi-media segments of NDP celebrations and although we found some parts of the dialogue & music cheesy, the visual effects were no doubt outstanding as the show brought us through artistic interpretations of the British Industrial Revolution, the Silk Road era, Mayan Pyramids, Underwater World and African Savanna (☆▽☆)

Have a sneak peek of Wings of Time in my video above of my fave show segment, Underwater World. If you aren't able to watch it, view it on my YouTube channel here.

Wings of Time Sentosa
Nearest cable car stations: Sentosa and Imbiah Lookout
Showtimes: Daily, 7.40pm & 8.40pm
Current promo: 25% OFF Wings of Time {Standard & Premium} tickets
Website: https://www.onefabergroup.com/wings-of-time/

By the time the show ended at 8pm, we were completely spent but definitely happy with our fun-filled day out. I'm really pleased that we could try so many new things for the first time, and I'd gladly do it all over again with my family ❤

I took many, many short clips and photos which I obviously can't post all here. Check out more of them on my Instagram story highlights {look for folder: OneFaber 2/6/18} and the above short video.

If you're thinking of going for any of these attractions, do take advantage of the promos I listed above & the current campaign by One Faber Group, which manages the Singapore Cable Car, Wings of Time, Sentosa Merlion, Faber Peak Singapore, Spuds & Aprons, Dusk Restaurant & Bar, Good Old Days, Show Bites, FUN Shops, and Cable Car Gift Shops.

From now until 31 Aug 2018, One Faber Group is offering “53-themed” promotions across their myriad of offerings from Faber Peak to Sentosa Island to celebrate Singapore's 53rd birthday. These include the One Great Escapade Lucky Draw  where visitors spend a minimum of S$53 at any One Faber Group attraction, restaurant or shop and stand a chance to win the grand prize of a 6D5N trip for two to Switzerland worth more than S$7,000!

Other than that, Singapore citizens, PRs and residents who are 53 years old this year get to enjoy FREE admissions to Singapore Cable Car, Sentosa Merlion and Wings of Time! For more information on all the promotions, go to onefabergroup.com/onegreatescapade

*Disclosure: This is a review for One Faber Group. All opinions are my own.

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