coming soon: ocean park in manila bay

another tourist attraction is soon to open this christmas season. the manila ocean park, located behind the quirino grandstand at the rizal park in manila, is the world's first marine theme park to adopt a "fusion concept", housing an oceanarium, a mall, a boutique hotel and open marine habitats. construction is in full-swing.


its main attraction is a 25-meter long, 220 degree curved acrylic walkway tunnel. visitors will be exploring the secrets of the ocean and surrounded by such underwater wonders without actually getting wet. here's a rendering on how the tunnel would look like:


sweet! aside from the oceanarium, the manila ocean park will have a marine–themed mall and a boutique hotel, which are scheduled to open late next year. the mall will feature new and unique shops that are not commonly found in other malls and a unique restaurant row located at the rear of the facility, alongside a promenade that offers an unobstructed view of the manila bay. this part of the park is free and accessible to the public.



the first phase of the park, its aquarium facilities, is set to open on december 15, 2007. the mall would be launched in april 2008, while the 150-room hotel would begin operations by july 2008. entrance fees will range between php 200 (for students) to php 400. sounds kinda expensive but just by looking at the pictures, i think it's worth the price.

and there's more. for those who would like to snorkel or even dive without having to go to far-flung places, the two open water marine habitats will give you that exact experience. this facility is scheduled to open in april 2008. not as awesome as hk's oceanpark but the plan looks promising. can't wait! ^_^