Entering its 13th year of Halloween celebration, Ocean Park is presenting a number of revolutionary breakthroughs with this year’s Halloween Fest, including offering for the first time ever fun and scares all day and night at the price of one regular ticket. In addition to different festive attractions under the themes of “Intense Scares for the Brave” and “Lite Spooky Surprises”, the Park is offering the Halloween Fest Premium Ticket and a new smartphone app, altogether giving guests added convenience and flexibility in planning their itinerary from day to night. To elevate its Halloween celebration from an iconic event in Asia to an international showcase of creativity, the Park is bringing famed American pumpkin sculptor Ray Villafane and his team to Hong Kong to create one of the world’s largest giant pumpkin sculptures at Ocean Park.
Dr. Allan Zeman, Chairman of Ocean Park, said, “This year’s Halloween Fest will again showcase Ocean Park’s exceptional creativity, which has long been recognised by the industry and guests alike. For the price of one regular admission ticket, each guest can enjoy all the attractions in the park with special Halloween features all day and night, without the need of a separate Halloween ticket. During the month of September and October, Hong Kong Identity Card holders can enjoy 15% discount on the purchase of a regular admission ticket. This discount offer is also applicable on Halloween Fest event days. SmartFun Annual Pass holders can even enjoy free admission to Halloween Fest. Moreover, Ocean Park has introduced different promotional offers, such as the Halloween Fest Premium Ticket, which includes priority access to 16 attractions, a $100 in-park coupon pack and a special Halloween souvenir. Full-time students, on the other hand, can enjoy 30% off for regular admission ticket on Thursdays and Fridays. We hope more Hong Kong residents can take part in Halloween Fest by taking advantage of our various community care programmes. For Hong Kong residents, Ocean Park offers free admission on their birthday; free admission for senior citizens aged 65 years or over; free entry for local guests holding the registration card for people with disabilities, and half price for one care provider; and $20 admission for individuals and members of families receiving assistance from the CSSA Scheme.”
Dr. Zeman added, “The pumpkin is a universal symbol of Halloween and the theme of this year’s Halloween Fest. We have specially invited internationally renowned pumpkin sculptor Ray Villafane for our Pumpkin Creation Lab, where our guests can see how he and his creative team of sculptors turn hundreds of pumpkins into Halloween masterpieces. Guests will not want to miss the gigantic pumpkins, weighing over 1,000 pounds, that will be transformed into a spooky monster and witness the birth of one of the world’s largest pickled pumpkin sculptures. Mr. Villafane has created countless spectacular pumpkin sculptures and won multiple international awards for his work.”
Villafane said, “My team and I feel honoured to be a part of such a creative Halloween Fest. Thanks to the support of Ocean Park, we look forward to creating our most amazing pumpkin sculptures yet during the coming two months. Ocean Park will be transformed into an imaginative world of pumpkin art.”
For the very first time, Ocean Park has launched Halloween Fest Schedule Pass – a smartphone app that saves guests the hassle of queuing for certain attractions. Users can simply enter basic information through the app on the day of their visit and the system will automatically schedule their itinerary for five attractions in the Summit. Once in the park, guests can simply follow the pre-defined itinerary and by-pass the queue for priority access to the attraction. As capacity is limited, this scheduling service is offered on a first-come-first-served basis.
One of the highlights of the close to 80 Halloween Fest attractions and activities is Law Lan’s Possessed Possessions presented by Blue Girl, under Intense Scares for the Brave. The attraction features local Halloween icon Ms. Law Lan (aka Helena Law), whose stylish look captured the public’s imagination during last year’s Halloween celebration. This year, she is playing the role of a whispering medium who guides guests in their exploration of an antique shop stuffed with cursed treasures. Ghosts might suddenly jump out from behind different curiosities to drag the living into the nether world – making this an attraction for the truly brave.
Guests who make it out of the antique shop can challenge themselves by visiting Murder Factory presented by Yahoo!, an abandoned factory in a neighbourhood known for its residents disappearing without a trace. Guests would need to look for clues inside hidden spaces while evading murderous fiends and sneaky traps. At K-Pop Madness, aspiring stars recruited for a Halloween music video are at risk of signing their soul away and becoming a backstage casualty.
Those thirsting for more action can try to complete different tasks within one minute to win interesting prizes by joining Minute to Kill It pop-up contests at the Waterfront and the Summit. They can also catch various shows at the Summit, including Samsara, Le Freak, The Egyptian Dream Exhibition and Night of the Living Dolls.
This year’s Halloween Fest has in store a series of fun-tastic experiences to immerse the entire family in the festive Halloween atmosphere. After witnessing the birth of the charming pumpkin sculptures at the Pumpkin Creation Lab presented by Jestar, guests can take a 3-minute Ocean Express ride to visit M&M’S® Crash the Monster Party at the Summit. Five differently coloured M&M’S guys came to Hong Kong to avoid trick-or-treaters only to find themselves in a monster’s Halloween party inside a spooky castle. Guests will engage in a game of hide-and-seek with the M&M’S guys and must beware of a surprise run-in with the monsters.
Fun-tastic Funhouse is another attraction designed for the whole family. After entering this mysterious cottage in the forest, adult and young guests need to make their way through a labyrinth of illusions and shape-shifting mirrors. They will also have many photo opportunities, including posing with pumpkin royalties.
Rambunctious guests can continue on and join disco pumpkinheads at Pumpkin Party Fever; vampires, werewolves and zombies at FreakMob 2013, and take in a retro show at Phantom of the Cineplex or enjoy The Regal Creepies, a Canto comedy musical at Old Hong Kong.
Stylish parents and kids are invited to take part in King Pumpkin’s Fashion Competition presented by bossini on designated Saturdays and Sundays at Whiskers Theatre, where they can showcase their creativity by donning pumpkin-themed costumes, join mini-games and learn the Pumpkin Dance. There is also a chance to join the Pumpkin Royalty.
Dr. Zeman added, “We have once again outdone ourselves with this new Halloween Fest, which has been designed to appeal to locals and overseas visitors alike. During the event, Ocean Park will be filled with pumpkin sculptures and Halloween decorations, a perfect festive setting for the entire family to enjoy attractions and shows all day and night!”
Click into the Ocean Park Halloween Fest Attraction Factsheet 2013 to find out more!
