Waterworld.ocean Park

[David]

Thoselooking to float with the gentle waves can take it easy at the Lazy Cruise, a 740m indoor flowing river; Big Wave Bay, an outdoor pool where guests can take on different wave patterns while enjoying the sweeping views of the southern shore; or the family-friendly Whiskers' Splash Zone, a fun and safe water play zone with water jets, tunnels, slides, and more.

One of the highlights of the waterpark is the Horizon Cove at the Hidden Village zone, the city's first-ever all-weather indoor wave pool, which is sponsored by Manulife. The 1,450sq m indoor pool will feature calm and lapping waves and powerful double diamond waves where guests can enjoy a thrilling surf ride. The Horizon Cove also houses a centre stage and a large screen where parties and various programmes will take place to engage guests. As part of Manulife's sponsorship, the company will be distributing 3,000 Water World charitable tickets every year, starting from 2022.

Tickets to the water park will adopt 'dynamic pricing', which means admission costs will vary according to seasonality and days of the week. Head over to waterworld.oceanpark.com.hk for more information and book your ticket now!

Blending into the natural terrain of Tai Shue Wan, Water World Ocean Park Hong Kong is the first all-weather year-round water park in Asia to be built along a hillside facing the sea. Occupying almost 700,000 square feet, Water World Ocean Park boasts a majestic view of the South China Sea and 27 all-weather indoor and outdoor water facilities across five theme zones. Visitors can embrace nature while enjoying a relaxing water experience or challenge themselves to an exhilarating water adventure. For more information, please visit waterworld.oceanpark.com.hk.

Ready to explore the wonders of nature and challenge the waves? Welcome, adventurers, to Water World Ocean Park Hong Kong! Join us on the slides and splash into the waves and rivers in the five zones in Asia's first all-weather, year-round water park. This guide will be your handy companion with all the must-see attractions at Water World and provide you with practical tips for your adventure at Water World Ocean Park Hong Kong!

Visitors are advised to take public transport to access Water World. The MTR Ocean Park Station on the South Island Line allows direct and easy access to Ocean Park's entrance for complimentary shuttle bus service to Water World. Shuttle bus service runs from 7am to two hours after closing of the park. Other modes of transportation to and from Water World include Citybus routes 629 and 629M (for return trip only), and green minibus routes 29A, 29X and 59S. Please see the Water World website for the most up-to-date transportation information. Visitors can also take a taxi to and from Water World.

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Water World Ocean Park opening hours are from 10am to 7pm from Monday to Saturday and from 10am to 8pm on Sundays, with park closures every Wednesday. The schedule may change depending on the season so be sure to check the official website for the most up-to-date hours when you want to visit.

There are open-day tickets (which give you the flexibility to visit the park any day within a given time period), dated tickets (lower-priced tickets for one selected date of your choice), plus skip-the-queue passes and annual memberships.

Water World is offering discounted tickets for children and full-time students from Wednesday, 8 May to Sunday, 30 June, 2024 to visit the park from Thursday, 20 May to Friday, 12 July, 2024, not including park rest days. Find out more here.

Get your fun in before the summer rush! Water World is offering flexible, open-date tickets for families to enter the water park from Monday, 1 April to Friday, 12 July, 2024, except park rest days, at lower prices for all. Find out more here.

We know how impatient kids can be after all! Water World offers three different Splash Passes for applicable attractions including Cyclone Spin, Tropical Twist, Rainbow Rush, Vortex!, Cavern Chase, Thunder Loop, Daredevil Drop, Bravery Cliffs and Skyhigh Falls.

There are four food outlets at Water World Ocean Park. Most meals range from around $70 to $95. There are also vending machines to pick up drinks at various locations around the park. Outside food and drinks are not allowed (except for babies and infants).

For neurodiverse families, Water World Ocean Park offers three quiet rooms where guests with sensory sensitivities can rest in a low sensory environment. The quiet rooms are located at the L1 Family Changing Room, L2 Baby Care Room and next to the L3 First Aid Room.

To park your car at Water World costs $250 for the full day. Just make sure you book your car park online in advance. You can also briefly stop to pick up or drop off passengers from private vehicles and taxis, but only in the designated zones.

Adriel writes, "In summary, the park does offer something new to local residents. Given that Hong Kong has a very strict quarantine regulation, this new park will surely be quite popular amongst locals."

Ocean Park ranked among the top 20 most-visited theme parks in the world in 2019, but has been locked in a battle with neighbor Hong Kong Disneyland for local and out-of-market visitors. A water park, however, gives Ocean Park something that Disney does not offer, potentially giving the destination a much-needed boost.

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Ocean Park Hong Kong, commonly known simply as Ocean Park, is an animal theme park in Hong Kong. Covering an area of 91.5 hectares (226 acres) in Wong Chuk Hang, it is the largest theme park by area in Hong Kong, and is also the city's second oldest theme park, after the now-defunct Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park.

Opened on 10 January 1977, Ocean Park became popular, but 28 years later, it was unprofitable and widely expected to close due to the new Hong Kong Disneyland.[2][3][4] However, the park responded with a HK$5.5 billion development plan that saw it expand to over 80 attractions and rides, and steadily grow visitor numbers to 7.6 million in 2014, making it the world's 13th most visited theme park, and one of the largest theme parks in Asia.[5][6]

The park is separated by a large mountain into two areas, the Waterfront and the Summit, which are connected by a cable car system and a funicular. The Summit, which consists of several hills, has an outdoor escalator which was previously the world's longest. The theme park has various attractions and rides, including four roller coasters, and also animal exhibits with different themes, such as a giant panda habitat, rainforest and polar displays, as well as an aquarium featuring the world's largest aquarium dome. Between 1979 and 1997, Ocean Park was most famous for its signature orca, Hoi Wai. The park has housed giant pandas since 1999, and was previously home to the world's oldest male and female giant pandas.

As well as being an amusement park, Ocean Park Hong Kong aims to merge entertainment and education, including conservation advocacy. However, it has been criticised by wildlife advocates for practices including the wild capture of large sea animals, such as dolphins and orcas, and the presentation of shows featuring such animals performing.[7][8]

In August 1967, the British Hong Kong government offered to provide a free land grant for the project. The site was located at Brick Hill in Aberdeen and occupied 69 hectares (170 acres). The grant cost about HK$4.28 million. In May 1971, it was announced that the oceanarium was to come under the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which provided HK$150 million of funding.[12]

In the Philippines from 1974 to 1975, the team attempted to capture spinners, Fraser's dolphins, and melon-headed whales in Cebu, but were ultimately unsuccessful as these sensitive pelagic species could not adapt to captivity. All of the captured individuals were eventually released back into the wild, or died before they could be transported to Hong Kong.[11]

Hammond and his team were more successful in Japan and the Penghu Islands, where they chose to procure dolphins from fishermen who engaged in dolphin drive hunting.[a] Species collected as a result included the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, the Pacific bottlenose dolphin, the false killer whale, the pacific white-sided dolphin, and the short-finned pilot whale. This practice was used by the team from late 1974 to 1987. During this period, more than 90% of all cetaceans housed in Ocean Park were obtained this way.[11]

Hammond's choice to obtain animals from drive fisheries ended up having a long-lasting impact in the industry. From 1978 to 1993, dolphin brokers and other zoological institutions followed his example and procured dolphins from the same drive fisheries. In some cases, Ocean Park also served as a halfway storage for drive-sourced animals being transported elsewhere, including the Knowsley Safari Park, the Ancol Dreamland, and the United States Navy.[11]

Following five years of construction, Ocean Park was opened on 10 January 1977 by Sir Murray MacLehose, Governor of Hong Kong. The park's opening was delayed multiple times due to bad weather, landslides, fire, testing of the park's cable cars. Also to blame were two disease outbreaks among the park's marine mammals, which killed 38 dolphins, 4 whales, and 5 harbour seals by the opening (see Marine mammal deaths). The park's admission fees were also criticised by community leaders; resultingly, MacLehose's inauguration speech was downbeat, with him saying that "[i]t is my hope that in the course of time... the headland will gradually be developed to provide room for its enjoyment by larger numbers who may not always wish or be able to pay to see all the exhibits at one time."[12]

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