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Theme Parks in Hong Kong -

Ocean Park

News:

Mar 2012: "Old Hong Kong" will be opened soon.  It brings back old memories of Hong Kong in the 50s to 70s.  Old theatre, street stalls, rickshaws and a real tram is on display. 

20 Sep 2009: The new Ocean Park Ocean Express has been launched.  It takes 3 minutes to go from the lowland to summit and has successfully relief the load of cable cars.  People who are afraid of height will find the train a better solution to go between 2 parts of the park.  Though the ride itself is pretty boring - it's dim inside the train and you just look up the ceiling to stare at the video they play during the 3 minutes to kill time.

As there is no queue at the platform, we were pushed and shoved by 4 mainland old ladies when we got on and off the train.  Another passenger who had a mobile phone round her neck got the phone banged on the high gate when she was pushed by the old lady.  She wasn't very impressed.

23 Mar 2009: A whole new 25,000 square metres attraction is going to open in Apr 2009.  It's the "Amazing Asian Animals".  It includes "Giant Panda Adventure", "Gold Fish Treasures" and "Amazing Bird Show".  Existing pandas will move to the new Giant Panda Habitat when there will be different zones - waterfall scene, snowy scene and sandy area for the panda.  Besides giant panda, 4 red panda aka firefoxes had just arrived HK to join the giant panda.  Together with the Chinese giant salamanders, Asian small-clawed otters and Chinese alligators, the new Amazing Asian Animals will provide a whole new experience to the viewers.

Ocean Park (built in 1977) is a quarter century old theme park.  When I was a kid, it's always a treat to go to the Ocean Park.  I can see it grow bigger and bigger and it's keep changing to survive. 

The 1.5km long cable car joins the headland and lowland which offers spectacular panoramic view of the southern part of Hong Kong Island.  It's peaceful and quiet up here.  It's one of my favorites in Ocean park though some people still can't cope with it.  And it's much safer than the 360 cable cars in Lantau!

There are two entrances to Ocean Park - the main entrance which takes you to the lowland or the Tai Shue Wan entrance which takes you to the headland.

At the lowland part, don't miss

• the Giant Panda Habitat
  It starts with 2 giant panda and in 2007 the Chinese government gave HK another two to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the HK SAR government.  Be prepared to keep your children quiet there.
   
• the Dinosaur Discovery Trail
  Model dinosaurs are all around this trail and finishes with a giant T-Rex near the exit.
   
• Butterfly House
  Enjoy a peaceful time with these delicate insects.
   
• Whiskers' Wild Ride - simulation ride.  One of those motion simulation seats allow you to feel as though you are flying or swimming.  Probably too exciting for me.  I haven't tried.
   
• Dolphin University
  You can have a casual chat with the trainers and found out the animals' habit and funny stories.
   
• Goldfish Pagoda - if you are interested in goldfish. (goldfish no more, 2008)
   
• Amazing Amazon
  A discovery trail with flamingos, toucan and waterfall on the way.
   
• Caverns and Darkness 3D
  You have to wear a pair of 3D glasses and walk through this Amazon rainforest to see the illusion - lizards, spiders and all kinds of creepy-crawly.  My son doesn't like the sound of it ('darkness') so I haven't tried.
   
• Kids' World
  It's full of games and rides for the little ones. 

There are animal shows like:

• Amazing Birds Theatre - Macaws, owl and different birds shows
• Whiskers Theatre - Sea Lion show

At the Headland part,

If you get off from the cable car, you can find:

• Atoll Reef
  A three-tier aquarium which I think is one of the best in the world.  It's a shame they don't have areas where you can touch sea animals like starfish or animals alike.  But then again I can understand that there are far too many inconsiderate visitors who simply don't understand the concept of gentleness or kindness.  You can easily spend half an hour or longer here.
   
• Shark Aquarium
  It's much smaller than the Atoll Reef by comparison.  If you are not reading any of the material there you can finish it in 5 to 10 minutes.  It has a short travelator which brings you under the arch-bottom fish tank.   You can see the sharks and Sting Ray by the sides and above your head!  Very similar to the aquarium in Santosa in Singapore.
   
• Jelly Fish Aquarium (open in 2006)
  It features over 400 jelly fishes.  Amazing!
   
• Ocean Theatre
  It does dolphins and sea lions show.  We used to have a killer whale here but it passes away several years ago.  Many people still miss it.
   
• Pacific Pier
  You may feed the sea lions there.
   
• Rides and games for older children and adults includes
  Ocean Park Tower
  Flying Swing
  Ferris Wheel
  Dragon - the roller coaster
  Crazy Galleon - big boat swing back and forth
  The Abyss
  Eagle
  and various counters and game kiosks

You can then take the escalator towards the Tai Shue Wan entrance/ext. There, you can find more birds like:

• Flamingo Pond
• Mini Aviary - natural habitat
• The Aviary - natural habitat

and more rides:

• Mine Train - similar to roller coaster but with drops to make you sick
• Raging River (a bit wet for winter)
• Space Wheel

If you think its a quarter century old and is running down, then I can tell you it's not true.  They've been knocking down old attractions and building new stuff.  In fact, there are old stuff that I miss but they need changes to survive.  It doesn't feel old at all.  

Besides being a theme park, Ocean Park also has established the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation and the Hong Kong Society for Panda Conservation.  In fact, in 2001, two female dolphins delivered two healthy calves in Ocean Park which was the world's first successful conception using artificial insemination (AI) in bottlenose dolphins. 

I like Ocean Park.  Maybe because I grow up with it.  And I do hope that Ocean Park can survive and continue to look after the animals after Hong Kong DisneyLand is open.

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