Here’s a sneak peek at the best rides at Hong Kong’s newest amusement park which opens this autumn
Since the old Water World closed in 1999, Hong Kong water babies have been eagerly awaiting its rebirth; fast-forward 20-odd years, and Ocean Park Water World is set to open on September 21, coinciding with Mid-Autumn Festival. Being touted as Asia’s first all-weather, year-round water park, it covers almost 700,000 square feet in Tai Shue Wan and offers 27 indoor and outdoor attractions across five themed zones for different ages. As the Tatler team discovered at the preview, some are not for the faint-hearted. Here are seven attractions we recommend you try—if you dare.
Vortex!
Start with the water park equivalent of a warm-up. The Torrential River zone has four slides that involve a lot twisting and turning, but nothing too terrifying. The Vortex! (the punctuation is theirs) is the orange and blue one which you experience on a raft alongside up to three friends with a large funnel where you can take a raft with up to three other adventurers. Take in the panoramic views of Sham Wan and the surrounding shimmering waters and lush green islands before your craft is spun around then sucked into the ride’s pitch-black namesake. After speeding through, you’re spat out against a half-pipe wall. But if you think that’s the end, think again and take a deep breath, because there’s another dark, twisting tunnel to come before you’re done.