Ocean Park, Hong Kong

4 more images

Ocean Park experience is one of the best for me , you can choose different kind of rides from Cable cart to River Wild to Flash to Roller Coaster .Also, if you have kids along with you there are part of the park which is good for kids such as Dolphin shows,sea lion...Aquariums...Panda"s and more. The park is divided into two part in order for you to cross other island you need to ride the Cable Car.The first part was the OLD park where most of extreme rides located , Food stand , Carnival Gallery, and recently they opened their new theme park. The second part was the new park where you will see the Hot Air Balloon , Panda's , Merchandise outlets for souvenirs and more...

Hong Kong is well served by theme parks and Ocean Park and its competitor Hong Kong Disneyland compete for tourist's (and locals) precious time and money. In my opinion Disneyland is just too small to compete with the sheer variety of things to see and do at Ocean Park, so if I only had enough time to go to one theme park, then Ocean Park is an easy choice for me at least. In March this year (2012) the newest attraction - OLD HONG KONG opened.

Costing HK$10 million to build, as the name suggests, Old Hong Kong is a nostalgic recreation of a Hong Kong street scene from the 1950's to 1970's. You will find yourself among once famous rickshaws, a replica of an early Hong Kong tram with rattan style seats, a mid 20th century Kowloon Motor Bus and a replica of the Star Ferry clock tower which chimes on the quarter hour. Tenement buildings called tong lau have been recreated to add just the right amount of authenticity to the streetscape. These narrow buildings still seen all over Hong Kong combine small shops on the ground floor with small residences above. As well as sights along the street there are smells and tastes with numerous dai pai dong food stalls offering a mouth watering selection of classic hawker food and a Kee Wah Bakery. Live character actors are part of the experience.

For thrillseekers Ocean Park has 27 rides to choose from including six new ones in the recently opened Thrill Mountain section. The most talked about is the Hair Raiser which is a floorless rollercoaster. If you are brave enough to go on it you will be hurled through multiple inversions, reaching 4.0G in acceleration and a top speed of 88 kilometres an hour while experiencing gut wrenching twists and turns all with your feet dangling in mid-air. Sounds like fun.....NOT!!!

There is a lot to see and do which requires plenty of walking so you do need a full day, taking into account that queueing is inevitable especially for the cable car which links the two main sections of the park. My tip is to drink plenty of water as you can get quite hot. For those who like to keep their feet on the ground Ocean Park also has lots of animal exhibits (the Giant Panda Adventure is my favourite) and there is a conservation marine life park with a wonderful Aquarium.

Because of its ongoing improvement strategies over the last few years Ocean Park has remodelled itself as a must see attraction for both tourists and locals. If you are thinking of spending Halloween there be aware that the park will be incredibly busy. I was told the park employs an extra 2,000 staff to cater for the crowds over the Halloween period.

There is a dedicated bus service to/from Ocean Park. Any 629 Citybus from outside the Lippo Centre in Admiralty or from Central Pier 7 at 9.45am, 10.05am, 10.25am, 10.45am, 11.45am, 12.45pm, 1.45pm, 2.45pm and 3.45pm will take you to the Ocean Park Main Entrance. This bus also goes via the Exchange Square Bus Terminal.

From Ocean Park to Central Pier 7 buses depart at at noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm. From Ocean Park to Exchange Square Bus Station, departures at 4pm, 5pm, 6pm and 7pm.

The escalator leading to Adventure Land!!!

Let me explain in case you say that I'm pulling your leg. There are four parts to this escalator making it one of the longest escalator ride that I've ever taken. Also, the elevation of the escalator with its steep gradient makes for an interesting ride that brings one to dizzying height.

The escalator leads one to Adventure Land. That's where you can take various fast rides - Raging River, Space Wheel and Mine Train.

It took us about 15 minute to get from Adventure Land to the highest point - Pacific Pier. Of course along the way, we'd also stopped to take pictures. The escalator faces the seas andit's all so peaceful to see the boats go by, coupled with a lovely sunset.

1 more image

A uniquely-designed train that has an interesting interior. We were pondering whether to take the cable car back to the main area but my wife and I chose against it as it was announced tha the cable cars were full.

So off to the train station we went. We arrived with very few people waiting at the platform. Just before the train arrived, a horde of Chinese mainland tourists rushed towards the platform and while I was first in line when I'd arrived, I was now like 2nd or 3rd after this same group squeezed their way through. When the train arrived, they were also the first to rush for the seats.

Thank goodness I was able to find my children seats as they had given these mainland people the "give me the seat or you'll hear my cry the entire journey" look!

1 more image

One of the Must-Not-Miss show at Ocean Park has to be the dolphins and seals performances at the Ocean Theatre. The animals and human trainers worked hand-in-hand with each other.

A few things you just have to note.

1. If you want to have better seating, go at least 15 minutes before the start of the show.

2. We were fighting tooth and nails with the Chinese tourists as they were rushing to grab the seats closest to the stage. The steps down to the seats were narrow and we really felt that things could have been more civilized.

1 more image

After having fun at Disneyland, my wife and I thought that it would be a good idea to bring my children - 7 and 2 years old, to Ocean Park. The entire place though seemed to be catered to a more mature group. From the rides to other side activities such as booth games, most of the rides are more suitable for kids 12 years and above.

Of course there were still rides that my elder child liked - for example, the cable car and also the water rides that we got drenched! And that was during winter!

We were on our way out of the park and it was then that we realised there was a small park for younger kids. They had jumping castle to ferris wheel that were catered to kids their age.

I visited the Ocean Park in Hong Kong on 10th, 2010. The tickets to ocean World are HKD 250 per adult which translates to approximately INR 1500 (which is very cheap in my view compared to the rides of offer and the activities you can do there – as compared to Essel World and Water Kingdom which I have been to in Mumbai).

You can get to Ocean Park, Hong Kong from the Admiralty Station. Bus No.629 takes you straight to the Ocean Park at the Peak Entrance. It is important to note that there are 2 parts to Ocean Park. The first one is on the Peak and the second part is the Waterfront. These 2 parts are connected in 3 ways. You can choose any of the following 3 ways to travel between the Peak and the Waterfront.

(1) Ocean Park Express (Train Ride)
(2) Cable Car (Very Scenic and highly recommended, however scary for people who are afraid of heights)
(3) Shuttle Bus

The map of Ocean Park is also split into 2 which is the Peak and the Waterfront and you will need to plan the 2 parts separately as you would want to move from one to the other only once in a day, else you will end up wasting time and miss out on all the fun things to do in Ocean Park.

To get the complete review of Ocean Park visit my Blog site on the following link.
http://traveltantra.blogspot.com/2010/01/attraction-review-ocean-park-hong-kong.html

4 more images

The theme park has been here in Hong Kong long before the arrival of Disneyland. A very popular place still and is listed as the 7th Most Popular Amusement Park and 33rd Most Visited Tourist Attractions in the World by Forbes beating the newer rival. The park is divided into two parts, the lowland (valley) and the headland separated by a hill and connected by a cable car service.

You must plan your visit well starting at the Middle Kingdom at the lowland. Among the main attractions here are the pandas habitat (both were hiding in their caves when I was there), and the dinosaur models exhibit (because they were just models the exhibit did not interest me much).

The real thrill is at the headland. The cable car ride to the headland allows a breathtaking view of Repulse Bay and the surrounding areas. There are many more activities here at the headland including a range of hair raising rides such as the Dragon Roller Coaster and the Mine Train. I can assure you that the mine train ride in Ocean Park is far more thrilling than the runaway mine train in Disneyland California. Maybe because it is perched on a precipice with a full view of the sea below. A total no-no for a faint hearted. The star attraction here however is the dolphin show at the open-air theater. Most audiences are mesmerized by the antics of these intelligent creatures especially their ability to interact with the human actors.

3 more images

Visiting Hongkong is not complete without going to Ocean Park especially if you are travelling with children.
Everyone will surely enjoy the Park. There's a lot of different type of rides accordingly to your age.
A lot of food kiosk are also available.The Cable Car ride is spectacular.
I suggest you go there early coz it is always full of visitors specially during weekends.

3 more images

Ocean park- is one of the asia’s largest oceanariums and theme parks, it consists of lowland and headland which are connected by cable car, you can spend the whole day to stroll this place.

You can experience here the great adventure you ever dream, rides a cable car which you can bring you to the spectacular breathtaking view of the green mountains, as well as the scenes of blue oceans. Don’t ever miss to see the big aquarium, jelly fish, dolphin show, giant panda and lots more.

Admission fee for children priced at HK$93 for children and
HK$185 for adults, its includes all rides and facilities.