I’ve done a couple of reports from this place before, but there’s a bit of new stuff, so I’ll chuck it in.
We got the ferry over from Hong Kong to Zhuhai, and a bus from the ferry port to the park. Door to door, it takes around 3 hours. It would probably be a bit quicker to go via Macau (the Zhuhai ferry terminal is pretty far from the park whereas you could kind of “cut through” Macau), but it involves the extra faff of more transfers and more international border crossings since you’d have to leave Hong Kong, enter Macau, leave Macau and enter China. The one-ferry, one-bus, one-border option is just less hassle.
We’d booked a two-day, one-night package. Realistically, the park is easily doable in a day, but I wanted to stick around for the nighttime stuff and getting back to Hong Kong after that would be a faff. We just stayed at the Penguin Hotel since it’s right at the park entrance, though there was an offer for the better hotel at the same price.
The LED roof thing had Christmas s**t on it, mixed in with the older, much better “sea” videos.
These were new since my last visit, but skipped them until later. They’re the same thing as those parachute towers at Disney’s Toy Story Land.
Parrot Coaster is still by far my favourite Wingrider. I was worried that after getting a few more done, I’d enjoy this less, but that wasn’t the case. The first drop alone makes it better than most.
In the manatee exhibit, the manatees were being slightly elusive on this first morning, but they were all out near the windows/tunnel the next. This whole aquarium is amazing, with huge South American fish in various tanks, and an enormous main tank which the manatees share with loads of fish.
The whale out front is looking very faded these days, but the aquarium is still amazing. The main tank is just ridiculous. Apparently, there are 8 whale sharks in there, but I’ve only ever managed to count six.
I’m not a fan of whales in captivity, but it is what it is. This exhibit is attached to a huge theatre and they’ve got 8 of these which perform.
After this visit, I’m probably not riding this again. It’s just too ridiculously wet. It’s very good though.
The attached exhibit has polar bears, arctic foxes and arctic wolves.
Penguin Coaster is one of two new coasters this year. It had a really long queue though, so we skipped it on this day and got it later. Considering it’s a tiny kiddy thing, there’s some effort gone into it with smoke machines on both the lifthill and final turn.
Had a walk through another animal area to get to the other new coaster.
SPITE!
This thing has opened apparently – RCDB has pictures of people riding it – but the area is all closed off at the moment. Very annoying as I was expecting a +2 on this visit and I’m definitely not making the effort to come back just for this.
Walrus Splash, which goes through a sealion pool, is fab. I like these things generally, but the whole theming, animals and general area elevate this one. It’s nowhere near as wet as Polar Explorer either.
There’s a huge group of walruses around the bottom of it as well.
The 5D theatre here is pretty epic and definitely worth doing. The screen is huge, the film is a decent length and the seat movement is pretty flawless.
Chinese white/pink dolphins. We have these around Hong Kong (the local population is pink rather than white), but I’ve still never seen one.
Night shots then. We did the taller of the two tower things, and it’s ok for the views if nothing else.
They had a really crappy night time parade last time I was here, just few performers with cheap, light-up costumes, but they’ve massively enhanced it now.
Both water coasters look even better at night.
This was also new since my last visit. Anyone know who makes this? I’ve never seen one before, but it’s a “teacups” style ride with separate discs which rise out of the main floor and rotate in the opposite direction. Everything across the Chimelong parks, as far as I can think of at the moment, come from Western manufacturers, so I’m guessing this does, too.
The weird thing about it is how it’s themed. It’s in the “polar” area, has penguin/polar bear themed cars, but a building that screams “viking/How to Train Your Dragon. I don’t get it at all.
There was also a new show on the lake since my last visit. They’d had one before, which was already excellent, but this one was on another level. My pictures turned out crap unfortunately.
I just found this on YouTube, but it seems that it’s been added to since this was filmed, especially with the drones. Now the drones make an appearance earlier, creating a red dragon that flies around the lake.
[youtube]
Trying to get out after the show was a bit of a mission.
It had been really busy all day, but a lot of people had left before the final show. Apart from a 15-minute wait for Parrot Coaster (only on one train unfortunately, but run well considering), the rides were mostly walk-on. The animals and shows are the draw here, so the rides, especially the big ones, don’t get a huge amount of attention.
We didn’t really need the second day, but just popped back in in the morning for a bit, redoing a bit of stuff and getting Penguin Coaster done.
Construction of the new “park” – not really sure how it’s going to work in terms of entrance/tickets doesn’t seem to be anywhere near finished. It seems that there’s another hotel (this will be the fourth) also attached to it.
I’m surprised that they seem so far behind given that this is where their killer whales are going. They were the first park to get them, and have nine hidden away at the moment, but a couple of other places, including the new Polar Ocean World in Shanghai, now also have them. Polar Ocean World have their facility ready, so they could probably get the “first” orcas in China even though, technically, Chimelong were way ahead of them.
Bagged my only +1 of the weekend. For such a tiny thing it was actually alright. The Donald Trump penguin is ridiculous though.
I don’t think I’ve bothered with Spirit of the Ocean before. Meh. It gives a good view of Walrus Mountain at least.
Noticed this in the station when going for a reride on Parrot Coaster. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a park display something like this before, but I thought it was interesting that B&M, or the park I guess, have put a shelf-life on their rides, in this case 15 years.
The park is done, but I’ll throw some more stuff in of the general resort. We went back to Penguin Hotel for lunch since it was in the package. They have a real penguin exhibit in the restaurant.
Or if the real thing isn’t good enough, there’s an animatronic penguin singing group to keep you entertained.
We had time to kill before our bus/ferry, so had a wander down to the other hotels for a look around. It seems that they’re building a HUGE new circus. They already have one, but I guess it’s not doing the job if they’re building a much, much bigger one already.
The older hotel here, and the most expensive, is just ridiculous. I stayed here before when it was the only hotel, and it’s possible with various promotions to get it at the same price as Penguin Hotel, but it’s further away from the park. They have a huge pool (closed in the winter) and indoor water park though, so if you’re making use of those, it’s the better option.
The lobby is amazing. Just so over-the-top.
The swimming pool has an animal exhibit attached, with a glass window separating them, so you can “swim” with the animals. When I stayed at the hotel, it had turtles in it, but was called “Dolphin Pool”. Now, they’ve actually got dolphins in it. Not a fan.
On the way back I had a quick nosey at Circus Hotel, the smallest and cheapest of the three.
Then it was a bus and ferry back to Hong Kong.
As usual, I enjoyed this place, and it had been about two and a half years since I’d last been, but I think it will probably be that long again before I do another visit. I guess it depends on whatever new stuff comes either at the park or in the general area.
We got the ferry over from Hong Kong to Zhuhai, and a bus from the ferry port to the park. Door to door, it takes around 3 hours. It would probably be a bit quicker to go via Macau (the Zhuhai ferry terminal is pretty far from the park whereas you could kind of “cut through” Macau), but it involves the extra faff of more transfers and more international border crossings since you’d have to leave Hong Kong, enter Macau, leave Macau and enter China. The one-ferry, one-bus, one-border option is just less hassle.
We’d booked a two-day, one-night package. Realistically, the park is easily doable in a day, but I wanted to stick around for the nighttime stuff and getting back to Hong Kong after that would be a faff. We just stayed at the Penguin Hotel since it’s right at the park entrance, though there was an offer for the better hotel at the same price.
The LED roof thing had Christmas s**t on it, mixed in with the older, much better “sea” videos.
These were new since my last visit, but skipped them until later. They’re the same thing as those parachute towers at Disney’s Toy Story Land.
Parrot Coaster is still by far my favourite Wingrider. I was worried that after getting a few more done, I’d enjoy this less, but that wasn’t the case. The first drop alone makes it better than most.
In the manatee exhibit, the manatees were being slightly elusive on this first morning, but they were all out near the windows/tunnel the next. This whole aquarium is amazing, with huge South American fish in various tanks, and an enormous main tank which the manatees share with loads of fish.
The whale out front is looking very faded these days, but the aquarium is still amazing. The main tank is just ridiculous. Apparently, there are 8 whale sharks in there, but I’ve only ever managed to count six.
I’m not a fan of whales in captivity, but it is what it is. This exhibit is attached to a huge theatre and they’ve got 8 of these which perform.
After this visit, I’m probably not riding this again. It’s just too ridiculously wet. It’s very good though.
The attached exhibit has polar bears, arctic foxes and arctic wolves.
Penguin Coaster is one of two new coasters this year. It had a really long queue though, so we skipped it on this day and got it later. Considering it’s a tiny kiddy thing, there’s some effort gone into it with smoke machines on both the lifthill and final turn.
Had a walk through another animal area to get to the other new coaster.
SPITE!
This thing has opened apparently – RCDB has pictures of people riding it – but the area is all closed off at the moment. Very annoying as I was expecting a +2 on this visit and I’m definitely not making the effort to come back just for this.
Walrus Splash, which goes through a sealion pool, is fab. I like these things generally, but the whole theming, animals and general area elevate this one. It’s nowhere near as wet as Polar Explorer either.
There’s a huge group of walruses around the bottom of it as well.
The 5D theatre here is pretty epic and definitely worth doing. The screen is huge, the film is a decent length and the seat movement is pretty flawless.
Chinese white/pink dolphins. We have these around Hong Kong (the local population is pink rather than white), but I’ve still never seen one.
Night shots then. We did the taller of the two tower things, and it’s ok for the views if nothing else.
They had a really crappy night time parade last time I was here, just few performers with cheap, light-up costumes, but they’ve massively enhanced it now.
Both water coasters look even better at night.
This was also new since my last visit. Anyone know who makes this? I’ve never seen one before, but it’s a “teacups” style ride with separate discs which rise out of the main floor and rotate in the opposite direction. Everything across the Chimelong parks, as far as I can think of at the moment, come from Western manufacturers, so I’m guessing this does, too.
The weird thing about it is how it’s themed. It’s in the “polar” area, has penguin/polar bear themed cars, but a building that screams “viking/How to Train Your Dragon. I don’t get it at all.
There was also a new show on the lake since my last visit. They’d had one before, which was already excellent, but this one was on another level. My pictures turned out crap unfortunately.
I just found this on YouTube, but it seems that it’s been added to since this was filmed, especially with the drones. Now the drones make an appearance earlier, creating a red dragon that flies around the lake.
[youtube]
Trying to get out after the show was a bit of a mission.
It had been really busy all day, but a lot of people had left before the final show. Apart from a 15-minute wait for Parrot Coaster (only on one train unfortunately, but run well considering), the rides were mostly walk-on. The animals and shows are the draw here, so the rides, especially the big ones, don’t get a huge amount of attention.
We didn’t really need the second day, but just popped back in in the morning for a bit, redoing a bit of stuff and getting Penguin Coaster done.
Construction of the new “park” – not really sure how it’s going to work in terms of entrance/tickets doesn’t seem to be anywhere near finished. It seems that there’s another hotel (this will be the fourth) also attached to it.
I’m surprised that they seem so far behind given that this is where their killer whales are going. They were the first park to get them, and have nine hidden away at the moment, but a couple of other places, including the new Polar Ocean World in Shanghai, now also have them. Polar Ocean World have their facility ready, so they could probably get the “first” orcas in China even though, technically, Chimelong were way ahead of them.
Bagged my only +1 of the weekend. For such a tiny thing it was actually alright. The Donald Trump penguin is ridiculous though.
I don’t think I’ve bothered with Spirit of the Ocean before. Meh. It gives a good view of Walrus Mountain at least.
Noticed this in the station when going for a reride on Parrot Coaster. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a park display something like this before, but I thought it was interesting that B&M, or the park I guess, have put a shelf-life on their rides, in this case 15 years.
The park is done, but I’ll throw some more stuff in of the general resort. We went back to Penguin Hotel for lunch since it was in the package. They have a real penguin exhibit in the restaurant.
Or if the real thing isn’t good enough, there’s an animatronic penguin singing group to keep you entertained.
We had time to kill before our bus/ferry, so had a wander down to the other hotels for a look around. It seems that they’re building a HUGE new circus. They already have one, but I guess it’s not doing the job if they’re building a much, much bigger one already.
The older hotel here, and the most expensive, is just ridiculous. I stayed here before when it was the only hotel, and it’s possible with various promotions to get it at the same price as Penguin Hotel, but it’s further away from the park. They have a huge pool (closed in the winter) and indoor water park though, so if you’re making use of those, it’s the better option.
The lobby is amazing. Just so over-the-top.
The swimming pool has an animal exhibit attached, with a glass window separating them, so you can “swim” with the animals. When I stayed at the hotel, it had turtles in it, but was called “Dolphin Pool”. Now, they’ve actually got dolphins in it. Not a fan.
On the way back I had a quick nosey at Circus Hotel, the smallest and cheapest of the three.
Then it was a bus and ferry back to Hong Kong.
As usual, I enjoyed this place, and it had been about two and a half years since I’d last been, but I think it will probably be that long again before I do another visit. I guess it depends on whatever new stuff comes either at the park or in the general area.
