Ocean Park crowds revive memories of its busiest days

Ocean Park saw a rare weekend crowd surge, with visitors taking to social media to share photos and accounts of long queues at transport links, animal exhibits, restaurants and park facilities.

Posts circulating online from Saturday (June 13) showed heavy crowds at different parts of the visit journey, from the South Island Line at Admiralty Station to the park entrance and attractions inside the theme park.

Some visitors said they struggled to board trains to the park, while others described the venue as packed after entering. Even animal exhibits that usually involve shorter waits, including South Pole Spectacular and the Giant Panda Adventure, reportedly required queues of around 20 to 30 minutes.

Transport within the park also came under pressure. Some visitors said it was easier to go uphill than return downhill, as long queues formed for the cable car. One online user even warned online on the day that the cable car wait could take up to three hours.

Restaurants were also crowded, with one visitor saying they had taken ticket number 395, only to find that the restaurant was still serving customers with numbers in the 160s.

The busy scenes sparked online discussion over what caused the sudden surge. Some internet users believed the crowds were linked to free tickets distributed earlier by non-governmental organizations, schools and other groups, with many tickets understood to be expiring around the end of June.

Others noted that many students had recently finished exams, making the weekend a convenient time for families and ticket holders to visit. Some also pointed to the 18th birthday of red panda Tai Shan and a fan event as possible factors that further boosted attendance.

Not all visitors were pleased with the experience. Some criticized the crowd control arrangements, saying the distribution of free tickets should have been better managed to avoid affecting those who paid for same-day tickets or annual passes.

One visitor suggested that the park could consider spreading out the validity periods of free tickets to better balance visitor flow on different days.

Still, some Ocean Park fans welcomed the return of a lively atmosphere. A number of online users said the crowds reminded them of the park’s busier days decades ago, with one saying: “This is the Ocean Park I used to know.”

Others said the strong turnout was a positive sign for the park, hoping that more visitors would help boost spending on food, drinks and merchandise.

One internet user said the crowds could help “stimulate Ocean Park’s economy,” while another said the lively atmosphere was better than seeing the park quiet and empty.
 

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