It was very nostalgic for me to visit Hong Kong Ocean Park again. I still remember my parents, siblings and I took a photo with a nice sea view N years ago, and now I am bringing my children to Hong Kong Ocean Park to revive my fond childhood memory.
How to Get There
Take MTR to Admiralty station, walk to Exit B to the bus terminal, then take Citybus route 629.
What to Prepare
Purchase tickets beforehand so that you do not need to join the long queue at the entrance. You may purchase online or with travel agencies.
Bring umbrella, cap, water and mini battery powered fan (if you visit in summer)! There are water fountains inside the park, so you can refill water. Note that there are staff checking your bags at the entrance, so forget about bringing in a bowl of noodles for your lunch!
Oh yes, bring money / credit card too. The food in the restaurants is expensive! We bought lunch from MacDonald's at The Summit. It does not provide value set meal at Ocean Park and it is just buy-and-take-away kiosk. You may find a sheltered place with tables and chairs nearby.
What to Do with Children
Hong Kong Ocean Park is famous for its thrill rides, but the children gave them a miss, and I think I also cannot take it. Imagine that you are spinning all around like this...
Here are some attractions that the children enjoyed:
1. Cable car
There are two parts in Hong Kong Ocean Park - The Waterfront and The Summit, so you need to use either cable car or Ocean Express to get from one part to the other. We went up to The Summit via cable car when we reached the park. The queue was rather long, about 30 minutes.
The cable car ride is a few minutes long, and the scenery is great. The children were thrilled to spot an eagle flying past our cable car!
Ocean Express is a train ride, with some projection of images on the ceiling, which were not too fantastic to the children. It was faster as compared to the cable car ride and the queuing time is shorter.
2. The Summit - Marine World - Shark Mystique
It is educational for the children to learn about different types of sharks.
3. The Summit - Marine World - Ocean Theatre
This is a must-do at Ocean Park! To watch the performance of sea lions and dolphins!
4. The Summit - Marine World - Sea Jelly Spectacular
The jellyfish looked amazing under different coloured lighting.
5. The Summit - Polar Adventure
Visit the pacific walruses and spotted seals at North Pole Encounter, the penguins in South Pole Spectacular, and arctic foxes at Arctic Fox Den. Do note that it is quite cold inside, so bring along jackets! Check out the feeding schedule before your visit!
6. The Waterfront - Amazing Asian Animals
Visit the panda and the red panda. We were not too lucky that day as the panda hid away from us!
7. The Waterfront - Old Hong Kong
We travelled back to '50s -'70s Hong Kong! You would not miss this if you are taking the cable ride.
8. The Waterfront - Whisker's Harbour
The adults may choose to give this part a miss but this is the children's favourite place! There are playground, Frog Hopper, Merry-Go-Round, Bouncer House and more!
Have you been to Hong Kong Ocean Park before? What are your tips for bringing children there?
Our Hong Kong Travelogue
Thank you for visiting PeiPei.HaoHao. If you enjoy reading this post, do stay connected with us on Facebook!
How to Get There
Take MTR to Admiralty station, walk to Exit B to the bus terminal, then take Citybus route 629.
What to Prepare
Purchase tickets beforehand so that you do not need to join the long queue at the entrance. You may purchase online or with travel agencies.
Bring umbrella, cap, water and mini battery powered fan (if you visit in summer)! There are water fountains inside the park, so you can refill water. Note that there are staff checking your bags at the entrance, so forget about bringing in a bowl of noodles for your lunch!
Oh yes, bring money / credit card too. The food in the restaurants is expensive! We bought lunch from MacDonald's at The Summit. It does not provide value set meal at Ocean Park and it is just buy-and-take-away kiosk. You may find a sheltered place with tables and chairs nearby.
What to Do with Children
Hong Kong Ocean Park is famous for its thrill rides, but the children gave them a miss, and I think I also cannot take it. Imagine that you are spinning all around like this...
Here are some attractions that the children enjoyed:
1. Cable car
There are two parts in Hong Kong Ocean Park - The Waterfront and The Summit, so you need to use either cable car or Ocean Express to get from one part to the other. We went up to The Summit via cable car when we reached the park. The queue was rather long, about 30 minutes.
The cable car ride is a few minutes long, and the scenery is great. The children were thrilled to spot an eagle flying past our cable car!
Ocean Express is a train ride, with some projection of images on the ceiling, which were not too fantastic to the children. It was faster as compared to the cable car ride and the queuing time is shorter.
2. The Summit - Marine World - Shark Mystique
It is educational for the children to learn about different types of sharks.
3. The Summit - Marine World - Ocean Theatre
This is a must-do at Ocean Park! To watch the performance of sea lions and dolphins!
4. The Summit - Marine World - Sea Jelly Spectacular
The jellyfish looked amazing under different coloured lighting.
5. The Summit - Polar Adventure
Visit the pacific walruses and spotted seals at North Pole Encounter, the penguins in South Pole Spectacular, and arctic foxes at Arctic Fox Den. Do note that it is quite cold inside, so bring along jackets! Check out the feeding schedule before your visit!
Visit the panda and the red panda. We were not too lucky that day as the panda hid away from us!
7. The Waterfront - Old Hong Kong
We travelled back to '50s -'70s Hong Kong! You would not miss this if you are taking the cable ride.
8. The Waterfront - Whisker's Harbour
The adults may choose to give this part a miss but this is the children's favourite place! There are playground, Frog Hopper, Merry-Go-Round, Bouncer House and more!
Have you been to Hong Kong Ocean Park before? What are your tips for bringing children there?
Our Hong Kong Travelogue
- 8 Tips for Planning Hong Kong Trip with Children and Seniors
- 5 Tips for Hong Kong Travel with Children
- Hong Kong with Children – 5D4N Itinerary (June 2015)
- Hong Kong with Children – 6D5N Itinerary (December 2016)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Survival Tips with Children
- Christmas at Hong Kong Disneyland
- Hong Kong Ocean Park Survival Tips with Children
- Hong Kong with Children – What to Eat
- Hong Kong with Children – Sham Shui Po and Sai Kung
- Hong Kong with Children – Hong Kong Science Museum
- Hong Kong with Children – Hong Kong Park, The Peak, Tai Yuen Street (Toy Street), Calbee Plus
- Hong Kong with Children – Go Green Organic Farm
Thank you for visiting PeiPei.HaoHao. If you enjoy reading this post, do stay connected with us on Facebook!
We actually enjoyed Ocean Park more than Disney!!
ReplyDeleteAgy, the children enjoyed both parks!
DeleteLove the cable car shot! so clear of the skyline! We were there in summer too, but it was very polluted;(.
ReplyDeletepc, it was fortunate for us to see the clear sky that day!
ReplyDeleteWow, the views look AMAZING!
ReplyDeleteWe were fortunate to enjoy the great view!
DeleteI don't remember being very happy at Ocean Park. We queued super long for the bus from Admiralty station. And then the cable car queue was a nightmare too! But why go all the way there and skip the cable car right? So we just queued. And after he finally got onto the cable car, it drizzled and we realized the cable car was not enclosed?! So we were struggling to shelter the kids from the rain throughout cable car ride, not even speak of enjoying any scenery. We took the Ocean Express back thinking it would be better, but it was crazy jam-packed. The rides were not suitable for the kids (plus it was simply too crowded). Okay, I think maybe I just went at a bad time which ruined the experience.
ReplyDeleteOnly thing great for my boys who were 0 and 2 then was the aquarium, but it looked suspiciously like Singapore's S.E.A Aquarium (except that S.E.A. Aquarium came AFTER this, so pretty sure Singapore copied them), which made me wonder why I lugged the 2 kids there by bus and cable car when we could have just gone to S.E.A Aquarium. Lol!!
I saw them building a MTR station back then, wonder if the station is ready. Think it would be a lot easier to visit with young kids after the MTR station is ready!
The MTR was still under construction when we were there in June. It was a pity that the weather spoilt your trip. I think Ocean Park is suitable for older children, we skipped the thrill rides too.
DeleteAhhhhh I wish we went Ocean Park!! for the last few times we went HK, it was always Disneyland. I dunno why, someone told us once, that Ocean Park are for older kids and taller kids. So we never went :( looks like we should try going again!
ReplyDeleteI almost gave Ocean Park a miss too, but after hearing positive comments from some of my mummy friends, I decided to give it a try!
DeleteI used to enjoy Ocean Park more than Disney 10 years ago.. However our recent trip there was a little disappointing. Can't pin point why but I think the show was different too... We may give it a miss on our next trip and try to visit something new.
ReplyDeleteI visited Ocean Park when I was a child, I vaguely remembered that the dolphin show was still the same, after so many years!
DeleteI have never been to Ocean Park before because I thought it is like our S.E.A Aquarium. From your post, I guess I can add Ocean Park in my itinerary. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOcean Park = S.E.A. Aquarium + Singapore Zoo + River Safari! You may consider visiting there with your child!
DeleteI brought my daughter to Ocean Park on my own when she was 2 (the hubby was in a conference). We booked a shuttle bus from a private tour company which picked us up from the hotel in the morning (before it went to other hotels to do the same, wasted 1 hour on the bus) but at least we didn't have to jostle with the crowds on public transport. It was a huge place and I had to lug the diaper bags, and carry the toddler when she's tired or sleepy. We even went on the Cable car (just 2 of us in one cabin) and for a while, I was a bit scared because it was so high up and the ride was quite long (over the mountains). Overall, we enjoyed the park even though it was v tiring. We took the same shuttle bus back to the hotel after the park closed. Would revisit one day to see the Polar exhibits which were under construction during our trip.
ReplyDeleteAngie, it must be a special mother-and-daughter bonding moment! I was scared to look out from the cable car too!
DeleteOcean Park is fantastic! Better than what we have in SG - as it's all in one. The cablecar rides are B's favourites.... Hope to return again
ReplyDeleteMy children enjoyed the cable car ride very much too! The only down side is that the queue was very long.
DeleteI actually prefer Ocean Park over DisneyLand. More rides, mini zoos and exhibits. Love The Polar Adventure with the Penguins swimming under our feet :)
ReplyDeletecheers, Andy
(SengkangBabies)
Andy, you are one of the few parents who shared with me that they prefer Ocean Park to Disneyland, haha!
Delete