Visitors Thrilled To Get Splashed At Ocean Park

Ocean Park's Water World was packed with visitors on its official opening day Tuesday, with the theme park's chairman Lau Ming-wai expressing optimism that this would mark the first step to rejuvenate the cash-strapped attraction.

The 55,000 square metre new facility featuring water slides and wave pools is capping the number of visitors at 4,500 – half of its maximum capacity – because of the pandemic.

Lau said there has been a positive response to the attraction, with tickets already sold out for forthcoming public holidays.

"For Hong Kong, I think we have all been stuck here for too long. The recreational options, the leisure options in Hong Kong I think most Hong Kong people have tried them all already. So to have a brand new, world class water park to open, I think should bring fun, should bring joy, should bring adventure to Hong Kong people whether they are kids or adults," he said.

The Water World is Asia's first all-weather, year-round seaside water park and cost HK$4 billion to build.

It was originally expected to open four years ago.

One of the visitors called Stas said he was thrilled.

"It's the official first day, especially when I waited for this to open since a few years ago, I just wanted to be the first one," he said.

"It's frustrating to wait and not see any water world [in Hong Kong] because every time I had to go to Shenzhen or somewhere else, but since it's opened it's so exciting," he said.

Another visitor, Jamie, who came with her husband, said they took a day off to enjoy the slides.

"It was really, really fun," she said, adding it was all the more enjoyable to stay in the water under the Very Hot Weather Warning.