When you think of Halloween, you wouldn’t expect Hong Kong Ocean Park to be a leader in creating spooky experiences. After all, since opening in 1977, they have established themselves as a theme park connecting people with nature, especially animals. But for the past 15 years, Hong Kong’s home-grown theme park has been delivering chills and tingles with Halloween Fest, one of Asia’s largest Halloween celebrations. This year is special because it has new attractions that are guaranteed to make you scream, from experiencing your own funeral to escaping from zombies from The Walking Dead.
WhenInManila.com got to experience Halloween Fest 2015, and here are some of our favorite attractions!
10. Trick or Treat Pumpkin Trail
Out of all the Halloween Fest attractions in Ocean Park, the Pumpkin Trail is the one with the least scares. It’s best to start here if you get easily scared or have kids. At the Pumpkin Trail, guests have to complete missions from the pumpkin elves to get candies, chocolate biscuits, and surprise gifts. The pumpkin elves are generous with their gifts so make sure to stop by if you have a sweet tooth! My bag was overflowing with treats I ate throughout the day. This attraction is the longest outdoor walk-through trick-or-treat experience in Hong Kong, so everyone’s a winner!
9. Dine at Cafe Ocean
For Halloween Fest, Ocean Park’s culinary team created an extensive menu featuring Chinese legends. At Cafe Ocean, the scene has been transformed into a Hungry Ghost Mansion in the spirit of a traditional Chinese Yu Lan opera. Here, you can try innovative dishes with a Halloween twist, like a salad with “human brains” and “eyeballs,” a main dish with a biscuit gravestone (which you can customize ahead of time), and a dessert with “severed hands” made of white chocolate. Children can also try the Doraemon Halloween Kid’s Menu, which has kid-approved dishes featuring the popular Japanese show.
8. Doraemon @ The Halloween Movies Studio
The Doraemon attraction is sure to be a hit among Filipinos, as this Japanese cat from the future is as popular in the Philippines as it is in Japan. Here, guests can produce a Halloween movie, complete with creating visual effects and recording! I created a movie featuring a lot of bats, smoke, and lightning. You also get to meet the cartoon’s famous characters, like Doraemon, Dorami, Nobita, Shizuka, Gian, and Suneo. It might not have a lot of scares, but it’s the best way to relive one’s childhood with a Halloween flair!
7. Hellympics
If you’re up for a good show, Hellympics is your best bet. At Hellympics, Ocean Park’s current lineup of ghosts and devils compete in sports games and dances against the theme park’s previous ghosts and devils. The ultimate prize: to get a One Day Pass to the human world. The show was amazing, and the dancers gave jaw-dropping performances that were truly out of this world (our favorite is the Tron-inspired number). Besides Hellympics, Ocean Park also has other performances around the venue like My Bloody Romance, Drummin’ Demon, Death’s Pyre, the 15th Freaky Extravaganza (to celebrate Halloween Fest’s 15th year), Mystic Burlesque, Devil Dance Battle, and Paper Doll Punch.
6. Toxic Challenge (Day) and Mutant Escape (Night)
Are you a fan of the show Wipeout? You can experience that in Hong Kong Ocean Park! The 40 meter inflatable obstacle course has two versions: Toxic Challenge during the day and Mutant Escape at night. Toxic Challenge is challenging enough, but when you factor in the terrifying monsters and poisonous fog that run after you at night, good luck!
Check out Halloween Fest’s 5 scariest attractions on the next page!
