Amusement parks have always ranked low in my list of “must-visit places”. That is partly because there really isn’t a lot of them within throwing distance of where I grew up and am living in. But the Hong Kong trip was all about new experiences, and even if I was not able to get on the extreme rides (because one, I am not yet “primed” for them, and two, I was with three waaay older folks, who seem to be in danger of palpitating from just staring at the people on the rides), we still made it a point to check out Ocean Park Hong Kong.
After sleeping in a little late and having some leisurely breakfast, we took the MTR at the Tsim Sha Tsui Station to Admiralty. We headed towards Exit B, where the bus station is, and took the Citybus Route 629, which took us directly to Ocean Park Hong Kong.
As usual, there were so many people. (Which I shouldn’t complain about, really. Imagine an amusement park with only a few people. That’s just so…. sad.)
The place is huuuuuge. 91.5 hectares in all… and spanning a mountain range, too!
We spent the better part of the day there but didn’t get to explore everything. If you are REALLY REALLY into amusement parks, you’d probably do well to allot two days for this place. I was especially disappointed not to have been able to check out the Grand Aquarium at Aqua City (because I lurrve aquariums), but I had three elderlies as my charges, so…. 🙂
Ocean Park Hong Kong is divided into two areas. The first one you get to upon arrival is the Waterfront. Aqua City is one of the attractions in the Waterfront.
Walking through the Waterfront, you can see these cable cars. They lead somewhere, and I’ll talk about them later.
Whiskers Harbour had the show Whiskers Theatre. If you’ve been to the Ocean Adventure at Subic, you’re familiar with the concept. Trainers entertain the crowd with the antics of seals.
I’ll be honest. In my opinion, the show was ok. Just ok. Compared to the ones held at Ocean Adventure, this one was not as spectacular as I expected.
Walking around the Waterfront can be quite tiring. After checking out some other attractions, we settled for some lunch.
Souvenir shops were all over the place. I think each attraction had its own souvenir shop. This one was at the Amazing Asian Animals area. Yes, Po, when he’s not kung-fu fighting.
We proceeded to the Panda Village, and then to the Giant Panda Adventure, which basically houses Ying Ying and Le Le, two rare giant pandas in the custody of the Park.
Spot the lazy panda. I dunno if that is Ying Ying or Le Le.
We actually watched him for long minutes. He woke up eventually, only to munch on some leaves, then promptly rolled over again and went straight back to sleep. The dear has priorities.
Giant Panda Adventure also houses red pandas. Yes. RED. Pandas.
….they look like red foxes, don’t you think?
Forgive this shot. They move sooooo fast and are quite restless (unlike their white-and-black kin) so getting a decent photo is quite difficult.
Large balloons at the Waterfront Plaza.
This was the first week of Decemb
er, so holiday cheer was everywhere. 🙂
In order to get to the second area of Ocean Park Hong Kong, you have to pass by the Old Hong Kong attraction and head towards the cable cars. Unfortunately, at that time, the Old Hong Kong area was under renovation.
These cable cars, albeit colorful, were decidedly smaller, lighter, and felt flimsier than the cable car that brought us from Tung Chung to Ngong Ping. So there was more wobbling and gripping on whatever solid handhold you can get your hands on.
From here you can spot The Summit.
That thing, on the side, is the Hell-Raiser, the rollercoaster. I think the elevation that the whole place (and the ride) is on adds to the thrill factor.
We walked around for a bit, checking out the ‘more sedate’ attractions, until we arrived at Thrill Mountain, the carnival-themed area at the Summit. It is where you’ll find all the rides.
This ride here is the Whirly Bird, and the only one I got to ride on, after much insistence. You see, my companions said they will have palpitations just seeing me getting on any of the rides. *sigh* This was quite exhilarating, especially since all you will see is the ocean waaaaaay down there.
This one kept drawing my eye, partly because of the screams coming from the riders.
It is called THE FLASH, which spins riders up to 22 meters into the air, then rotating at a full turn. According to what I have read, it reaches a G-force of 3.9G at a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour.
I only had to look at the thing, and I felt my heart jump up to my throat.
This is the entrance to the roller coaster, aptly called Hair Raiser, the first (and only) floorless (gasp!) roller coaster in Hong Kong. It makes riders experience as though they are “plunged towards the South China Sea with their legs dangling in the air” AT TOP SPEED!
This is the Ocean Park Tower, one of the tallest observation towers in Southeast Asia.
That, right there, is the 18-gondola Ferris Wheel. There was also a ride not far from it that is called the Abyss. It’s a tower with seats around it. People sit inside, then it goes on a free-fall, much like a Turbo Drop.
After about an hour more or so, we proceeded back to the Waterfront via the cable cars.
A look at the Waterfront from above. This was already close to 5pm.
We hung around until close to 6pm, then we took the bus back to Tsim Sha Tsui for some Temple Street night market adventures.
There were a num
ber of attractions that were closed and undergoing renovation when we went there, being rushed in time for Christmas. Still it was a fun time. My folkses got to be kids again and that, alone, was well worth it.