My newly submitted article was Ocean Park Hong Kong - One of a Kind Marine Life Adventure. It was all about the introduction of Ocean Park Hong Kong. As stated in my previous article that I will split the blog in two and this is the continuation of the aforementioned blog.
There are two major attraction parts and these are the Summit - formerly known as Headland and the Waterfront - previously called Lowland. A brief description of the two major attraction parts has been discussed on the said title in my article. I ended the aforesaid article at one of the attraction zones in the Summit part in Adventure Land. This time around, I will go into the details of the attraction zones found in the Waterfront part. So come and join me as I carry on to my one of a kind marine life adventure in Ocean Park Hong Kong.
WATERFRONT
Grand Aquarium at the Waterfront / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
As it was stated in my newly submitted blog, "Waterfront is previously known as the LOWLANDS located near the entrance of the Ocean Park and considered as the crowning glory of the park where three precious gems are in possession. One of which is the Giant Pandas - "Ying Ying" and "Le Le", with the Red Pandas, The Grand Aquarium, and the Amazing Asian Animals". From where we stood in the photo is the Waterfront attraction part with The Grand Aquarium (one of the three precious gems in Ocean Park) as a backdrop.
The Waterfront attraction part has three main attraction zones and two stations for the Cable Car and Ocean Express. I will go through the three main attractions (Aqua City, Amazing Asian Animals, and the Whiskers Harbour) with their respective sub-attractions. So let me begin my "one of a kind marine life adventure" in the Aqua City - Waterfront
THREE MAIN ATTRACTION ZONES IN WATERFRONT
► AQUA CITY
The Aqua City / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
In the Aqua City zone, you may find one of the three gems of Ocean Park Hong Kong and that is the Grand Aquarium. The fountain as I mentioned in my Part I blog is "the Aqua City Lagoon as seen on daylight but will transform into a spectacular show after dark with pyrotechnics, water, fire, music, and animation that tells the tale of a human to Earth relationship while conveying a message on how to protect the planet and our responsibility". Within the zone's vicinity, there are six attractions all in all and out of the six we only explored two. Just like in my previous article, I will only discuss the attractions or places that we've explored and a brief description (if possible) of the unexplored attractions. Here are the sub-attractions in the Aqua City zone in Waterfront attraction part.
-
Grand Aquarium
The Grand Aquarium / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
The Grand Aquarium is one of the flagships in Ocean Park Hong Kong. An egg-shaped dome with blue glass panes and yellow fins-like embracing the dome. It's really a One of a Kind Marine Life Adventure and the home to more than 400 various species to over 5,000 fishes that guests will surely enjoy watching the countless number of marine life forms from the tiniest seahorses to giant mantas. A 13-meter acrylic viewing panel that is considered to be the world's largest viewing dome in an aquarium with a solitary restaurant that can be found only in Hong Kong.
Escalator / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
From the queue at the ground level guests are transported to the Grand Aquarium via a long escalator covered with a blue-domed fiberglass roof shed. Riding on the escalator made me feel like I'm on a submarine. This escalator will lead the guests to the third floor of the Grand Aquarium and that is where my One of a Kind Marine Life Adventure begun.
Coral Reef Tank / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
The photo is quite hazy though due to the water movements and the dimmed lights inside the dome but I still want to use my own photo regardless of what Hillary usually say "your photo is not in good quality". This photo is the Coral Reef Tank that will welcome all the guests as they step into the third floor of the Grand Aquarium. A tank full of glittering water with an array of hard and soft colorful corals, tropical fishes and some sponges greet every entering guests.
Bubble Viewing / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
As for me, this is where I find the "One of a kind Marine Life Adventure" in the Bubble Tunnel. The "bubble" glass window above the Bubble Tunnel is a magnificent way of viewing the underwater creatures in the Grand Aquarium. Bubble Tunnel is an area that is similarly compared to a cave with a lot of "bubble" glass pane windows above. So basically, you are under the Grand Aquarium. When I stepped into the Bubble Tunnel I was WOWed in awe seeing all the "bubble" windows with the magnificent sea creatures passing through.
Bubble Tunnel 2 / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
The photo is hazy but I wanted to show you another "bubble" window where I caught a Hammerhead Shark as the creature passed by. It's my first time to see a big Hammerhead Shark, I thought they're just a ruler size as I've seen them on ponds. In every "bubble" window there's a different story to tell and an added effect are the beaming lights that you can see in the photo. If only I had good shots at every "bubble" window I might write a single blog entry of the Grand Aquarium but sadly these are just the photos I got that are quite visible. The Grand Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the world and it was true to its mark and all I can say is just -- WOW!
Grand Aquarium in Ocean Park Hong Kong / Video Credit: peanutbkk via Youtube
Here is a video of the Grand Aquarium in Ocean Park Hong Kong from peanutbkk. If you watch on the video until the rear end you can see tourists looking and taking photos on the ceiling, that's the biggest "bubble" window of all the "bubbles" in the Bubble Tunnel.
-
OLD HONG KONG
Old Hong Kong / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
Another sub-attraction that you can find in the Aqua City zone is the Old Hong Kong. If you want to experience the culture, know the history and tastes the delicacies of Hong Kong during the 1950s - 1970s era, then this place is the best place to be. Your queue to the Old Hong Kong is the big red Chinese signage where you can see rows of food shops on both sides as you can see in the photo. It provides a wide type of local street foods and beverages in the old Hong Kong. Visit as well the replica of Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier's clock tower, the tong lau-style apartment buildings, and the retrofitted heritage tramcar. Classic booth games can also be found in this area too if you are fond of carnival games. I would suggest, to take this area as soon as the park opens while waiting for the rides to open.
Other sub-attractions that we missed are the following:
ADVENTURES IN AUSTRALIA - get a close-up look of the fuzzy koalas, hopping red-necked wallabies and the laughing kookaburras as well as the native Aborigines lifestyle.
HONG KONG JOCKEY CLUB SICHUAN TREASURES - a treasured land for Sichuan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey.
SEA LIFE CAROUSEL - rides for both young and old in a colorful sea animal from the Grand Aquarium.
SYMBIO! - a transformation of Aqua City Lagoon with the world's first 360-degree water screen show which we missed to see.
Source: Ocean Park Hong Kong Website
► AMAZING ASIAN ANIMALS
-
GIANT PANDA ADVENTURE
Giant Panda / Photo Credit: Dimpsy via Facebook
I can't tell if this Panda is "Ying Ying" or "Le Le" who is resting on the ground. During our visit, I only got to see one Panda and that's what you can see in the attached photo. It's a purposely built habitat for the big Pandas where bamboo plants (on the far end not shown on photo) is were the cuddly Giant Pandas reside along with the Red Pandas and the Chinese Giant Salamander which I don't see any.
Other sub-attractions that you might want to explore someday:
AMAZING BIRD THEATRE - if you are an ornithophile by nature then this place is perfect for you to see the 'Emperors of the Sky' that includes: steppes eagles, Lanner falcons, striated caracaras, turkey vultures, and other 70 bird species.
EMERALD TRAIL - it's a natural setting garden of pool bridges, flowers, tall trees and stone bridges which is ideal for "Me-Time".
GATOR MARSH - this area features a wetland setting of the endangered Chinese Alligators, Asian fishes, and Grass Carps.
GOLDFISH TREASURES - a pavilion of Goldfishes that features not only the latest but the rarest variety of Goldfish such as Blue Phoenix Eggfish and the Black Oranda.
PANDA VILLAGE - a woodland setting that consists of Asian small-clawed Otters and various Asian bird life.
Source: Ocean Park Hong Kong Website
► WHISKER'S HARBOUR
Whiskers Harbour / Photo Credit: foongpc
Ahh, this is how the Whiskers Harbour entrance looks like. Oooops! Sorry, but I've never stepped into this attraction during my visit to Ocean Park Hong Kong. But since it's part of my blog, I will discuss a little bit about this attraction area - who knows it might be of help in the future. Primarily, this is what they call the "Kids World" -- why? It's because of this 14,200 sq. meter area that features attractions for younger kids. There are at least 10 kid attractions that kids can enjoy in this area and lists of those attractions are as follows:
BALLOONS UP-UP-AND-AWAY - it's a hot air balloon suited for a very young guest.
BOUNCER HOUSE – ideal for hyperactive kids where they can safely hop, skip and jump on into the fully covered inflatable house as much as they want to.
CASTLE OF REDD - it's a maze of tunnels inside the castle.
CLOWN A ROUND - f your kids love to whirl around then let them have this merry-go-round ride in a clown cars theme.
FROG HOPPER – if adults have thrilling rides like the Abyss, so as for kids. A kid's version of the Abyss in a 'frog' seats that will be fastened the young kids as they hop hight into the air and back on the ground.
JUNGLE OF GIANTS - it's an adventure playground where kids can climb on the rocks, do the rope course, and go sliding with their Whisker teammates Mark, Fluffi, and Doggie.
MERRY-GO-ROUND - the classical merry-go-round for the kids with gilded fairytale horses.
TOTO THE LOCO – it's a train ride with Toto's friends through a mini forest where kids can see playing clowns as they go along the way.
WHISKERS HARBOUR GAMES ZONE – best place for kids who enjoys arcade games and this place offers for more than twenty classic arcade games and bag home a special prize.
WHISKERS THEATRE - a presentation of the marine world where the kids can be a star by interacting the marine creatures.
Source: Ocean Park Hong Kong Website
Whiskers Theatre / Video Credit: Harry Chua via Youtube
Before I will end this blog, let me show you a video of one of the attractions in the Whiskers Harbour at Whiskers Theatre recorded by Harry Chua. It is actually a show with the Sea Lion with an informative audio presentation in English and Chinese language.
END OF WATERFRONT
And that's the end of my Waterfront adventure and I guess I still have a reason to visit the One of a Kind Marine Life Adventure again as there are still a lot of unexplored attractions that I've never set foot into. It's really quite a lot but if ever I will visit Ocean Park Hong Kong the second time around I will tag along with my 5-year-old niece; I just so love the Whiskers Harbour for her to experience and the one of a kind Grand Aquarium adventure. Meanwhile, other pieces of information that you need to know will follow just in case you are planning to go to Ocean Park Hong Kong and have your own one of a kind marine life adventure.
But before that, you might want to take share something on traveling just drop a message using the Querlo Chat and we will start from there.
OTHER PIECES OF INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
► BEST TIME TO GO TO OCEAN PARK HONG KONG
- Set your trip during an off-peak season because Ocean Park in Hong Kong is very much popular with the locals. Residents usually use their annual passes during weekends, school holidays, and public holidays. So if you want to have a smooth queue line and want to beat the crowd, you better set your trip on off-peak season.
► OPERATION SCHEDULE
- The park will open at 10:00 am but the best thing you will do is to check the opening hours at the Ocean Park's calendar by visiting this site.
► BOOK YOUR TICKETS
- I recommend to have your tickets booked ahead of time to avoid long queue at the ticket booth and at the same time, it will save you time. Or you may click it here.
► PLAN YOUR ADVENTURE
- Plan your adventure regarding the ride sequence, attractions and show timings. If you can come early to the park before the opening, make sure to grab a map near the entrance gate so you can set a schedule for your attractions, rides, and shows.
► WHAT TO BRING
- Raincoat/s for water splashes for some water rides and for unexpected rain.
- Sunscreen lotion for sun protection or a hat or cap will do.
- Water bottles or containers, there are water fountains available in the park that you can do the refill.
- Extra clothes just in case you get wet during the water rides, this is based on my personal experiences.
- Face towels to wipe off your sweats especially in a sunny season.
- Portable mini fan to freshen you during the long walks in the park.
► OFFICIAL OCEAN PARK HONG KONG WEBSITE
- You can visit the official website of Ocean Park Hong Kong for more attraction zones, plan your travel, book a ticket or other queries regarding the park just simply click it here.
◄► ♥ ◄► ♥ ◄► ♥ ◄►
Hong Kong related blogs that may interest you:
Flights of Fantasy Parade in Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth (Part 4)
Hong Kong Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth (Part 3)
Hong Kong Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth (Part 2)
Hong Kong Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth
