Weekends are usually crazy fun whenever Mum is home. It's either we're out of town, or out of the country if the time and budget permits. As long as we're out of the house, that's fine for us wanderlusts.
And so three weeks ago, my family and I visited the
Manila Ocean Park as Mum's treat to all the September birthday celebrants in the family. There are four - my brother, my sister-in-law, and my niece, as well as my brother-in-law.
(If I were to include my cousin, who's currently living in London, that would be five. It's like having a birthday party every week of September!)
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| The little man has landed! |
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| Our little wanderlusts. |
The country's first marine theme park, the
Manila Ocean Park first opened to the public in 2008.
(I can't believe it took us six long years before we finally visited, lol.) This 'integrated urban resort' features marine life attractions, educational facilities, shopping and dining amenities, as well as an aqua-themed hotel.
The
Manila Ocean Park is open daily, all-year round. They operate from 10am to 9pm on weekdays, while on weekends, they're open from 9am to 9pm. Ticket prices range from Php 400 to Php 1100, depending on the attractions included in the package. Out of the six packages available, we chose the
Deep Sea Rush package (
Php 550) which includes five attractions - the
Oceanarium, the
Jellies Exhibit, the
Sea Lion Show, the
Fish Spa, and the
Penguin Talk Show.
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| Fambam! There were ten of us, including my brother who took this photo. :) |
Our first stop
(after what seemed like a thousand photo ops in the entrance and at the lobby) was the
Jellies Exhibit, which features various species of these so-called 'dancing sea fairies'.
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| Jelly fish galore! |
This exhibit is like a scene from a sci-fi movie, with those huge cylindrical tanks and multi-colored lights illuminating the jelly fish. There's even classical music playing in the background which makes this attraction even more enchanting, as if these delicate sea creatures are actually dancing to the music.
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| Fascinated! |
After being wowed by the jelly fish, we headed outside for the
Sea Lion Show, which I reckon is my little man's most favorite attraction. The show, which runs for about 20 minutes, features the adorable sea lions from South America.
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| Basking in the sun while waiting for the show to start. |
With the help of their individual trainers, the sea lions performed in front of the crowd, showing cool tricks such as clapping their flippers, shaking their head, playing with balls and water guns, and covering their faces as if to hide embarrassment.
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| The sea lions and their trainers. |
These smart sea creatures can also stand straight and salute, and '
dance' by wriggling their back flippers and spinning round and round. The little man enjoyed the sea lions so much that he wanted to stay and watch the next show. That wasn't possible, of course, as re-entries are prohibited in all attractions.
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| Salute! |
We were famished by the time the show was over, so we decided to have lunch first before visiting the other attractions. From the numerous food options at the Manila Ocean Park, we chose
Liquid Pool + Lounge for their Eat All You Can offering.
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| Liquid Pool + Lounge. |
Now priced at
Php 230 per person, the buffet features a variety of dishes for a full course meal. There's soup and nachos for starters, and noodles and pasta, too. For the main course, there are fish, chicken, pork, and vegetable dishes to choose from. And for dessert, you can choose from a variety of fruits in season, or the usual buko pandan and fruit salad.
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| Burp! :) |
I must say, we enjoyed our dining experience at Liquid. The food was great, and the price was pretty reasonable, too. Definitely not bad for Php 230.
After our tummy-fill, we made our way to the
Oceanarium, the most popular attraction of the Manila Ocean Park.
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| These trailing vines greet you as you make your way inside the Oceanarium. |
Home to 14,000 marine creatures from more than 200 species, the Oceanarium is a stunning underwater adventure, a walk-through of the depths of the ocean.
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| Underwater adventure. :) |
At the heart of the Oceanarium is the main attraction - a 25 meter long, 220° curved walkway tunnel with a spectacular underwater view of amazing sea creatures swimming overhead.
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| Stingray. |
We were all in awe of these sea creatures, especially the sharks and the stingrays. The kids, on the other hand, loved the little fishes especially the ones that they were most familiar with - Nemo (clown fish), Dory (blue tang fish), and Sheldon (sea horse).
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| Shark. |
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| Spine fish. |
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| Dory! |
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| Piranhas! |
We were supposed to watch the Penguin Talk Show afterwards, but decided to skip it after realizing that it's just an animated lecture with no live penguins. And after seeing the long queue at the Fish Spa, Mum decided to skip that as well, and go souvenir shopping instead.
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| Duty Free Philippines at Manila Ocean Park. |
We went to the souvenir shop located at the second floor, where we bought plushies, tees, and fridge magnets. Their merchandise are reasonably priced, with tees ranging from Php 250 to Php 350, plush toys from Php 200 up, and fridge magnets for as low as Php 30.
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| Shopping for fridge magnets, shirts, and toys. :) |
Our visit to the
Manila Ocean Park was definitely fun and very educational. Next time we visit, I'll make sure to include the
Trails to Antarctica in our package. I know my little man would love to see the real-life penguins up close and personal. :)
The Manila Ocean Park
behind Quirino Grand Stand,
Luneta, Manila, Philippines
(02) 567 7777
inquiry@manilaoceanpark.com
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