For the first time at Ocean Park, this year’s Halloween Fest will turn into Hong Kong’s largest haunting ground with six haunted zones, with ghastly elements covering the entire Park. The two featured zones, “Hong Kong Hauntgrounds” and “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts”, located at the Waterfront, are both inspired by classic Hong Kong urban legends. “Phantom Estate 2.0 presented by WeChat Pay” has also adapted elements created by a local university student into its design. The creative team reveals the design concepts and details of the Park’s haunted zones, so that guests can be fully prepared for the terror ahead.
This year’s Halloween-themed food and beverages will emphasise the elements of both scare and surprise by launching a series of “HOWL-loween” delicacies, as well as partnering with LINE FRIENDS to create a wide variety of magical menus and colourful snacks, giving adults and children alike a happy Halloween experience.
A Multi-Layered Horror Experience
Ghosts will take over the Park’s six haunted zones during Halloween Fest to spread ghastly elements not only within the haunted attractions but to the entire Park. Eva Au Yeung, Events & Entertainment Director of Ocean Park, said, “Every haunted zone is based on a story, which the creative team approached from various angles to construct a physical space of terror. The story itself manifests through prop settings, lighting and acoustic effects, highlighted further by street actors. Guests naturally become participants in the story and take up individual roles for themselves.”
Every year, local elements are key to the points of terror Ocean Park Halloween Fest. This year, inspired by locally produced movies from the 70s and 80s, the creative team has incorporated classic scenarios of horror familiar to every Hong Kong citizen in the two main haunted zones – “Hong Kong Hauntgrounds” and “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts”. The setting of “Hong Kong Hauntgrounds”, modelled after local housing estates, includes traditional playground facilities such as a slide and a hopscotch area, as well as old minibus stops and vintage itinerant stalls, giving it a true sense of a derelict, abandoned estate. “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts”, on the other hand, transforms Old Hong Kong into a traditional Hungry Ghost Festival. Some of the more unique features have also been amplified by the team: For instance, when guests walk past “Road of Sorrow Souls”, they will be able to hear an obscure rumbling sound of a train, echoing the road’s train-related story background. “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts” also features a horrifying Cantonese opera performance, with restrooms along the street being incorporated with scary booby traps, all of which aim to provide a truly extensive, Park-wide horror experience.
In accordance with the idea of “the later you stay, the bigger the scares”, frights begin at 5:00pm in the evening, when the Park switches off part of their lighting system to introduce spooky lighting in different colours, creating an atmosphere that is colourful, and even more eerie. At 8:44pm sharp, the “20:44 – Hell Invades!” parade will take place where the Ambassadors of Hell escort a coffin to the Waterfront for a mysterious ritual; at 10:30pm, paranormal creatures from every corner of the park will freakishly dance in sync amidst dim lights and chilling music for the biggest scare.
Interactiveness to Accentuate Park-Wide Concept
Apart from the background setup, the interaction between actors and guests is also crucial to building the atmosphere of the haunted zones. Eva Au Yeung said, “Based on the respective stories behind the haunted zones, the creative team has carefully organised the appearance sequence of different characters, allowing actors and guests to interact, helping to convey the story behind the haunted zones, so that guests are fully immersed in the chilling atmosphere.” When visiting the “Hong Kong Hauntgrounds”, for example, guests are invited to consult the psychic medium or the fortune teller for advice on their journey.
Additionally, guests can make use of different devices to maximise their interactive experience. For instance, on “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts”, using smartphones and AR technology, guests are welcome to take selfies with the occasional ghosts wandering by. There are also interactive experiences available inside the attraction. The “Phantom Estate 2.0 presented by WeChat Pay” is set in a derelict, run-down housing estate, where guests can use paranormal sensing torches to search for various ghosts and spirits along dark corridors and deserted balconies for a maximum engaging experience.
Design Elements and Concept by a Local University Student
During this year’s March, Ocean Park hosted a haunted house design competition, in hopes of creating a haunted house that would further appeal to the public. The winner of this event was Kyo Cheung, 19-year-old, second year architecture student from The University of Hong Kong, whose ideas and design elements are now featured in the “Phantom Estate 2.0 presented by WeChat Pay”. Cheung applied her understanding of Shek Kip Mei Estate into the design, notable examples are the H-shaped estate structural design, and integrating Chinese traditional ornamental elements such as shrines and statues into rooms. Kyo Cheung said, “I have participated in Halloween activities with my dad since I was 10 years old and it is a tradition for us to visit Ocean Park’s Halloween Fest every year. As a student major in Architecture and also a fan of Halloween, designing a haunted attraction was always my dream. My dad used to live in Shek Kip Mei Estate, and he always tell me urban legends about the estate, and these have become inspirations for my haunted house design.”
Bloody and Scary Themed Delicacies for an Ultimate Sensory Challenge
Ocean Park Halloween Fest is presenting a whole new Park-wide approach this year and has launched a collection of ‘HOWL-loween’ food and beverages to match with the themes of the different haunted zones. Various local snacks based on Hong Kong horrors can be found on “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts” - bringing these chilling stories straight to the tip of your tongue. These include the “Gods and Ghosts meal” – a set consisting of food created for a séance, including tofu and chicken drumsticks, with black sesame pudding, shaped as an incense burner, as well as Soup of Forgetfulness, made from traditional Chinese ingredients such as angelica sinensis, rehmannia glutinosa, pork bones and other delicacies.
Promotions for Guests to Get the Most from Halloween Fest
Don’t miss out on the “Halloween Fest Early Bird Promotion”! From now until 30 September 2019, guests can enjoy a discount of up to HK$130 off Halloween tickets with admission on selected dates (Ticket Price: HK$368). Even better, Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel is offering an “Ocean Park Halloween Fest” package starting from HK$2,105 per room per night for a one-stop entertainment experience, which includes one-night accommodation in a deluxe king room, along with complimentary tickets for two adults and one child to access Ocean Park Halloween Fest 2019 on two consecutive days*.
* Applicable on Ocean Park Halloween Fest 2019 public event dates of 4, 11, 18-20, 24-27, 31 October 2019
For details of Ocean Park Halloween Fest 2019 and various packages, please visit http://www.oceanpark.com.hk
This year’s Halloween-themed food and beverages will emphasise the elements of both scare and surprise by launching a series of “HOWL-loween” delicacies, as well as partnering with LINE FRIENDS to create a wide variety of magical menus and colourful snacks, giving adults and children alike a happy Halloween experience.
A Multi-Layered Horror Experience
Ghosts will take over the Park’s six haunted zones during Halloween Fest to spread ghastly elements not only within the haunted attractions but to the entire Park. Eva Au Yeung, Events & Entertainment Director of Ocean Park, said, “Every haunted zone is based on a story, which the creative team approached from various angles to construct a physical space of terror. The story itself manifests through prop settings, lighting and acoustic effects, highlighted further by street actors. Guests naturally become participants in the story and take up individual roles for themselves.”
Every year, local elements are key to the points of terror Ocean Park Halloween Fest. This year, inspired by locally produced movies from the 70s and 80s, the creative team has incorporated classic scenarios of horror familiar to every Hong Kong citizen in the two main haunted zones – “Hong Kong Hauntgrounds” and “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts”. The setting of “Hong Kong Hauntgrounds”, modelled after local housing estates, includes traditional playground facilities such as a slide and a hopscotch area, as well as old minibus stops and vintage itinerant stalls, giving it a true sense of a derelict, abandoned estate. “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts”, on the other hand, transforms Old Hong Kong into a traditional Hungry Ghost Festival. Some of the more unique features have also been amplified by the team: For instance, when guests walk past “Road of Sorrow Souls”, they will be able to hear an obscure rumbling sound of a train, echoing the road’s train-related story background. “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts” also features a horrifying Cantonese opera performance, with restrooms along the street being incorporated with scary booby traps, all of which aim to provide a truly extensive, Park-wide horror experience.
In accordance with the idea of “the later you stay, the bigger the scares”, frights begin at 5:00pm in the evening, when the Park switches off part of their lighting system to introduce spooky lighting in different colours, creating an atmosphere that is colourful, and even more eerie. At 8:44pm sharp, the “20:44 – Hell Invades!” parade will take place where the Ambassadors of Hell escort a coffin to the Waterfront for a mysterious ritual; at 10:30pm, paranormal creatures from every corner of the park will freakishly dance in sync amidst dim lights and chilling music for the biggest scare.
Interactiveness to Accentuate Park-Wide Concept
Apart from the background setup, the interaction between actors and guests is also crucial to building the atmosphere of the haunted zones. Eva Au Yeung said, “Based on the respective stories behind the haunted zones, the creative team has carefully organised the appearance sequence of different characters, allowing actors and guests to interact, helping to convey the story behind the haunted zones, so that guests are fully immersed in the chilling atmosphere.” When visiting the “Hong Kong Hauntgrounds”, for example, guests are invited to consult the psychic medium or the fortune teller for advice on their journey.
Additionally, guests can make use of different devices to maximise their interactive experience. For instance, on “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts”, using smartphones and AR technology, guests are welcome to take selfies with the occasional ghosts wandering by. There are also interactive experiences available inside the attraction. The “Phantom Estate 2.0 presented by WeChat Pay” is set in a derelict, run-down housing estate, where guests can use paranormal sensing torches to search for various ghosts and spirits along dark corridors and deserted balconies for a maximum engaging experience.
Design Elements and Concept by a Local University Student
During this year’s March, Ocean Park hosted a haunted house design competition, in hopes of creating a haunted house that would further appeal to the public. The winner of this event was Kyo Cheung, 19-year-old, second year architecture student from The University of Hong Kong, whose ideas and design elements are now featured in the “Phantom Estate 2.0 presented by WeChat Pay”. Cheung applied her understanding of Shek Kip Mei Estate into the design, notable examples are the H-shaped estate structural design, and integrating Chinese traditional ornamental elements such as shrines and statues into rooms. Kyo Cheung said, “I have participated in Halloween activities with my dad since I was 10 years old and it is a tradition for us to visit Ocean Park’s Halloween Fest every year. As a student major in Architecture and also a fan of Halloween, designing a haunted attraction was always my dream. My dad used to live in Shek Kip Mei Estate, and he always tell me urban legends about the estate, and these have become inspirations for my haunted house design.”
Bloody and Scary Themed Delicacies for an Ultimate Sensory Challenge
Ocean Park Halloween Fest is presenting a whole new Park-wide approach this year and has launched a collection of ‘HOWL-loween’ food and beverages to match with the themes of the different haunted zones. Various local snacks based on Hong Kong horrors can be found on “The Old Street of Hungry Ghosts” - bringing these chilling stories straight to the tip of your tongue. These include the “Gods and Ghosts meal” – a set consisting of food created for a séance, including tofu and chicken drumsticks, with black sesame pudding, shaped as an incense burner, as well as Soup of Forgetfulness, made from traditional Chinese ingredients such as angelica sinensis, rehmannia glutinosa, pork bones and other delicacies.
Promotions for Guests to Get the Most from Halloween Fest
Don’t miss out on the “Halloween Fest Early Bird Promotion”! From now until 30 September 2019, guests can enjoy a discount of up to HK$130 off Halloween tickets with admission on selected dates (Ticket Price: HK$368). Even better, Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel is offering an “Ocean Park Halloween Fest” package starting from HK$2,105 per room per night for a one-stop entertainment experience, which includes one-night accommodation in a deluxe king room, along with complimentary tickets for two adults and one child to access Ocean Park Halloween Fest 2019 on two consecutive days*.
* Applicable on Ocean Park Halloween Fest 2019 public event dates of 4, 11, 18-20, 24-27, 31 October 2019
For details of Ocean Park Halloween Fest 2019 and various packages, please visit http://www.oceanpark.com.hk
