Relax - World's largest oceanarium at RWS all set for opening

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SINGAPORE - Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) confirmed on Monday that the much-anticipated Marine Life Park (MLP) will open to the public before the year-end.

While there was no indication of an exact date, RWS told members of the media that it will be in time for the December holidays.

The MLP is the last of the integrated resort's (IR) attractions to open and it will mark the completion of the $7-billion development, which took about three years to be completed.

RWS will have a grand official opening of the IR on Dec 7 with a series of local and international acts, including a performance by Sarah Brightman, lined up for the party.

Its latest attraction will house more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species in eight hectares of space - or the size of 13 football fields - and be home to Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins.

Aside from its billing as the world's largest oceanarium, the park has received tremendous flak in recent years for its purchase and intended use of 27 wild-caught dolphins as a key attraction. Two of the dolphins died of a bacterial infection while in captivity at Subic Bay in the Philippines.

When asked about the dolphins, Director of the Education and Conservation Biswajit Guha, said that the dolphins are doing well, but there was still no word on when they will arrive in Singapore.

At the press conference today, RWS emphasised again that there will not be live shows featuring the dolphins. However, AsiaOne understands that there will be opportunities for visitors to interact with the dolphins, as part of its immersive programmes.

Visitors can look forward to two main attractions, the Adventure Cove Waterpark and S.E.A Aquarium, for two very distinct experiences of the park - a wet and a dry one.

With the opening of the MLP, RWS hopes to boost visitor numbers to 16 million in 2013.

"The MLP is an opportunity to introduce a fun family experience (with the wet park) and an educational experience (with the dry park), which will interest a whole range of different age groups," Mr Greg Allan, Vice President of rooms and F&B management at RWS, told AsiaOne.

The IR also hopes that guests will increase the length of stay at the resort from an average of two to three nights with the allure of its star attractions such as Universal Studios Singapore, the Maritime Museum, and now, the MLP.

"We envisage families will spend one day at USS, half a day at Maritime Museum and another day at the water park, (which) supplements the total experience," Mr Allan added.

To ensure MLP's success, Mr Allan said RWS, owned by the Genting Group, is banking on the expertise and vast experience it has had in running attractions.

RWS hired some 600 staff for the operation and running of MLP. He also told AsiaOne that RWS had also sent some of its management staff to the US for training and visited some of the most successful theme parks in the world to research how best to manage an attraction prior to this.

At Adventure Cove Waterpark, thrill seekers can look forward to Southeast Asia’s first Hydro-magnetic Coaster - the Riptide Rocket - which is a slide that takes riders upwards. The park will also feature sharks and ray feeding experiences, as well as a snorkelling activity in a shallow pool with thousands of fishes, including the Yellow Yag, Sergeant Major and Butterfly Fish, at the Rainbow Reef.

Over at the S.E.A. Aquarium, visitors will get to see their favourite marine animal through the world’s largest aquarium viewing panel.

Senior Vice President of Attractions, Mr Dennis Gilbert, said that the park is created on an integrated edutainment concept that will give visitors insights into the fascinating marine world. “No other attraction in this part of the world comes close to the Marine Life Park in terms of scope and concept. We believe the MLP, being the world's largest marine classroom, gives us the opportunity to put Singapore on the world map for innovative marine conservation and education programmes,’’ said Mr Gilbert. Education programmes are slated to begin in 2013.

The two attractions within MLP are separately ticketed, but details on pricing are not available yet.

maryanns@sph.com.sg

World's largest oceanarium at RWS all set for opening

AsiaOne | Mon, Sep 24 2012

Visitors can look forward to two main attractions of distinct experiences - a wet and a dry one.

World's largest oceanarium at RWS all set for opening

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