Four for One at Ocean Park

Recently, I actually took a minute to look up my grocery rewards card (similar to a Smith’s card or something) account online, my points balance, and available redemption offers.  Apparently, I’ve been racking up points ever since I got the points card—years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to see I had enough points for an adult and a child Ocean Park pass!  Ridge is free, so that meant we only had to buy one ticket!  Oh, how I love saving money!!! 

The only time we had been to Ocean Park was when Cody and I went for the Halloween Bash.  Ocean Park is similar to Sea World in that it has aquariums, animal shows, and rides (now that I’ve been to both, I would say Sea World is better).  We wanted to take the kids sometime, so we found a free Saturday and scheduled it in.  Coincidentally, the Saturday we went was also the last weekend the park was themed for Chinese New Year.  Chinese lions were there to welcome us as we entered the park.

A giant lantern and stage was setup in the center courtyard, completed by breakdancing Chinese boys and hip-hopping Chinese girls (that was unexpected actually). 

I wasn’t uber impressed by their skills, though I probably should have been because I know I can’t even come close to any of the moves they were doing. I lamented to Cody that these dancers must be the Disneyland rejects. Jade seemed into it though.

I did think it was kind of fun they had a snake dance (year of the snake, remember) instead of a dragon dance.

The God of Wealth was sitting in a little house nearby for picture ops. 

 

Loved it!!  But wait, isn’t somebody missing in this picture?

Yah, I guess he won’t be getting rich this year, ‘cause he was catching some zzzzzzzz’s.

We also came across this guy.  Not sure who he is, but my guess would be God of Wisdom because of the scrolls?

Some other fun Chinese New Year things we came across throughout the park, throughout the day:

    

 

For lunch we ate at a part of the park that was essentially designed as a replica of an old Hong Kong village. I thought it was interesting how many Chinese people were taking pictures by certain details in the mini-town.  I told Cody: why don’t they just go outside and they can get the real thing.  Personally, I thought it was cool, but I would think people from here would think it less so?

   

We spent a good portion of our day in the kids’ world.  I’m quite positive this was Jade’s favorite part of the park. 

 

The rides are certainly not up to Disneyland standards (or Sea World, probably), but they do the job: entertain the little ones.  And the lines aren’t nearly as long.

  

This one was pretty funny to watch Jade.  She let out a little scream each time the ride bounced.

 

I took video the second time she went on it; this is a toned-down version of how she reacted the first time. 

One of the super cool things about Ocean Park is its location.  It is on the south side of Hong Kong island, overlooking Repulse Bay and facing out toward the Ocean.  The park is built on either side of a mountain; to get to the other side, you have to take a gondola over the mountain or a train through it.  The views are positively stunning from the gondola. 

 

One of the main shows is set overlooking the ocean.  Can’t beat that view!

Plus dolphins are always fun to watch.

  

Ocean Park of course has several aquariums showcasing sea animals. 

 

Now here’s one I’d never seen before: a leopard-spotted stingray.  Pretty cool.

While Jade started to get bored after awhile and started asking to go back to the kids’ rides, Ridge sure seemed to enjoy all the fish!

 

 

The park also has several other animals—like penguins, arctic wolves, and these cute little monkeys.

  

The ultimate though, were the PANDAS! 

We saw four.  FOUR!  In two different locations within the park.

  

 

Most of you probably know by now that I’m slightly fanatical about pandas.  That’s why I saved them for last in this post.  They were actually one of the first things we saw, but it was by far my favorite part of the day.  And I have a gazillion pictures to prove it.  I simply couldn’t get enough pictures of them/with them.

  

I even surprised myself with the excitement and enthusiasm I was feeling as I viewed the pandas. Finally I think I at least somewhat understand how people can love dogs…or cats…or animals (period) for that matter. I’m really not an animal-lover at all, but I honestly thought if I could bring a panda home, I may consider having a pet.

The first panda sanctuary we stepped into blew me away.  It was absolutely stunning.  It was also open air, so I felt like I really was right there with them. 

I think the pandas liked it too.  They were all very active: busily chewing their bamboo and moving around a lot.  Cutest things ever!!

 

 

The second sanctuary wasn’t as nicely done, but still the pandas seemed pretty comfortable.

 

  

One cool thing about this one is the enclosure was floor to ceiling glass, so you could see straight into the pandas.

 

The day was certainly a fun family day.  Overall, I would say Ocean Park was worth the price of [our discounted] admission, but I certainly wouldn’t make it a regular thing.  The only part that may sway me the other way would be—you guessed it—the pandas. 

One last parting video: the cool water/light show we saw right before the park closed for the night.