Sentosa Fountain Gardens (or simply known as the Fountain Gardens) was a garden promenade attraction on the western part of Sentosa Island, Singapore, which opened in 1989. [1] It was located in the Imbiah Lookout zone of the island. The gardens and other features were demolished in 2007 for construction of the new Resorts World Sentosa, a large integrated style resort with new entertainment venues.
The 'Fountain Gardens' promenade began at the plaza of a fountain with a sculpted dragon statue. Its spouting snout faced the former Sentosa Ferry Terminal, welcoming new arrivals. The fountain was similar to another former dragon fountain that stood where the Tiger Sky Tower (former Carlsberg Sky Tower ) now rises. [2]
The promenade's route passed by many smaller water features and European-style gardens.
The gardens were inspired by the French formal gardens (jardin à la française ) from the era of Louis XIV. The elegant European-style gardens had over 25,000 plants, including palms, shrubs, bamboos, and vining creepers.
Walking up the steps to the highest 'Fountain Gardens' terrace, one saw a small replica of the Villa Gamberaia landscape, a renowned 17th-century Italian Renaissance garden near Florence, Italy. It had a mini-stage for small performances. [1] The gigantic 37 metres (121 ft) Merlion Statue, representing the mascot and national personification of Singapore, was prominently seen above the promenade. [3]
The 'Fountain Gardens' promenade terminus was at the entry gates of the former Sentosa Musical Fountain feature, a very large musical fountain grouping of coordinated individual jets and pools. Performances of water, mist, sound, light, lasers, flames, and animatronic 'host creatures' in computer 'choreographed' programs had scheduled showtimes. The soundtrack and DVD for "Magical Sentosa" were available. [4]
Part of Imbiah Lookout closed down on 26 March 2007 to make way for the Resorts World Sentosa – an integrated resort designed to draw more affluent visitors and guests.
Transport within Singapore is mainly land-based. Many parts of Singapore, including islands such as Sentosa and Jurong Island are accessible by road. The other major form of transportation within Singapore is rail: the Mass Rapid Transit which runs the length and width of Singapore, and the Light Rail Transit which runs within a few neighbourhoods. The main island of Singapore is connected to the other islands by ferryboat services.
A people mover or automated people mover (APM) is a type of small scale automated guideway transit system. The term is generally used only to describe systems serving relatively small areas such as airports, downtown districts or theme parks.
Sentosa Island, known mononymously as Sentosa, and formerly Pulau Belakang Mati, is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the Keppel Harbour, and is adjacent to Pulau Brani, a smaller island wedged between Sentosa and the main island.
The Merlion is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Being of prominent symbolic nature to Singapore and Singaporeans in general, it is widely used to represent both the city state and its people in sports teams, advertising, branding, tourism and as a national personification.
The Singapore Cable Car is a gondola lift providing an aerial link from Mount Faber on the main island of Singapore to the resort island of Sentosa across the Keppel Harbour. Opened on 15 February 1974, it was the second aerial ropeway system in the world to span a harbour, after Port Vell Aerial Tramway in Barcelona, which opened already in 1931. However, it is not the first aerial ropeway system to span the sea. For instance, Awashima Kaijō Ropeway in Japan, built in 1964, goes over a short strait to an island. Although referred to by its operators as a cable car, the listed system is in fact a monocable gondola lift and not an aerial tramway. It is a major tourist attraction, as it provides a panoramic view of the central business district. In 2020, a round-trip ticket cost SGD35 for adults and SGD25 for children.
The Tiger Sky Tower, previously known as Carlsberg Sky Tower, was the highest observation tower in Singapore. It is located in the Imbiah Lookout zone in the centre of Sentosa Island. It was opened on 7 February 2004 and closed on 28 December 2018.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry.
The Sentosa Express is a monorail line connecting Sentosa island to HarbourFront on the Singapore mainland. It was built at a cost of S$140 million to replace the previous Sentosa Monorail. Development began in June 2003 and construction works were completed in December 2006. The fully elevated 2.1-kilometre two-way line opened on 15 January 2007. The monorail system, privately owned and operated by Sentosa Development Corporation, can move up to 4,000 passengers per hour per direction.
VivoCity is a shopping mall located in the HarbourFront precinct of Bukit Merah, Singapore. It is the largest shopping mall in Singapore, with 99,987 square metres of net lettable area and 142,854 square metres of gross floor area spread over a three-storey shopping complex and two basement levels.
Imbiah Lookout is Singapore's biggest cluster of attractions, it is located in Sentosa Island. The area contains 11 attractions.
HarbourFront Centre, formerly World Trade Centre, is a shopping mall and ferry terminal in Singapore. The mall is part of a development known as HarbourFront which is connected to VivoCity, the country's largest shopping mall. It is located at 1 Maritime Square, Singapore 099253 in HarbourFront, Singapore.
HarbourFront is a waterfront district situated in southern Singapore. Whilst HarbourFront's boundaries are ambiguous, its location is roughly represented on the URA's Master Plan as a subzone called Maritime Square, located within the Bukit Merah Planning Area.
The Sentosa Monorail was a monorail system which served as the main means of transportation on the island of Sentosa in Singapore, and has been replaced by the new monorail system, the Sentosa Express. The system was constructed at a cost of S$14 million by Von Roll of Switzerland, who also built the Singapore Cable Car.
Resorts World Sentosa is an integrated resort on the island of Sentosa, which is located off the southern coast of Singapore. The key attractions within RWS include one of Singapore's two casinos, a Universal Studios Singapore theme park, which is the second Universal Studios theme park in Asia after Universal Studios Japan and the first in Southeast Asia, the Adventure Cove Waterpark, as well as the S.E.A. Aquarium, which is the world's second largest oceanarium.
Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure is a river rapids ride in The Lost World zone at Universal Studios Singapore in Resorts World Sentosa, Sentosa Island, Singapore.
Songs of the Sea was a multimedia show located at Siloso Beach on Sentosa Island, Singapore. Designed by ECA2 founder, Yves Pépin, Songs of the Sea started its operations on 26 March 2007, a day after the Sentosa Musical Fountain ceased operations. The fountain is a $30 million investment by Sentosa to enhance its entertainment product offerings and to attract more tourists. It was the world's only permanent show set in the sea – with pyrotechnics displays, water jets that could shoot up to 40 meters, laser show, flame bursts, a live 7-person cast, and an open-air viewing gallery which can accommodate 3,000 visitors. Songs of the Sea had its final show on 4 May 2014, and was closed to make way for a brand new multi-sensory production titled Wings of Time, which was launched on 17 June that year.
Sentosa Musical Fountain, also known as the Magical Fountain of Sentosa, or as the Musical Fountain by locals, was a former musical fountain water feature and entertainment venue made by Waltzing Waters on Sentosa Island in Singapore. It was located on a now-demolished portion of the Imbiah Lookout entertainment zone on the island. The Musical Fountain was officially opened on 11 June 1982, and ceased operations 25 years later on 26 March 2007, and was demolished that same year. The venue arena could accommodate more than 5000 people. It hosted five different shows through the 25 years it had been in operation, including the famous Magical Sentosa show which ran during the last 5 years of the fountain's operations.
Magical Sentosa was a multimedia nighttime show hosted at the Sentosa Musical Fountain on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore. The multimedia show is the last musical to be staged on the fountain itself. The musical ran for less than five years before being eventually discontinued in 2007 and replaced by Songs of the Sea.
The Sentosa Ferry Terminal, was a cruise terminal located on the island of Sentosa, Singapore. The cruise center was the first of its kind in the region. Built by the Sentosa Development Corporation in 1972, the terminal was the first of nine planned structures to be built on Sentosa. The terminal can cater maritime traffic to various parts of Indonesia, Batam, Karimun Jawa, Tanjungbalai, Penang and Malacca. The terminal building was completed in 1987, with the now-defunct Ferry Terminal Monorail Station located within the building. After the station closed in March 2005, the station interior was kept intact, and the old monorail tracks were covered up and left forgotten. With the then-future Resorts World Sentosa about to occupy the site in 2007, the structure was subsequently demolished to make way for its new occupant.