Adventure Cove Waterpark's Rainbow Reef. Photo: AFP
The opening ceremony, to be held on December 7, will be marked by a fireworks display and a series of performances by international performers, including soprano singer Sarah Brightman.
MLP is expected to house more than 100,000 marine animals of over 800 species, including the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins that sparked a controversy last year. Animal rights activists have since been lobbying for the resort management to release the 25 wild dolphins captured to be part of the resort’s attractions.
One of MLP’s most hotly anticipated attractions is the Adventure Cove Waterpark, which will feature Southeast Asia’s first hydromagnetic water coaster ride and a rainbow reef where guests can snorkel among fishes. Another is the SEA Aquarium, where visitors can stay dry and watch through the world’s largest viewing panel over 100,000 aquatic creatures including manta rays and hammerhead sharks.
“No other attraction in this part of the world comes close to the Marine Life Park in terms of scope and concept,” Dennis Gilbert, senior vice president of attractions at RWS, said in a press statement.
With the opening of the MLP, RWS hopes to boost its visitor numbers to 16 million in 2013, added the news daily. The RWS has attracted some 30 million visitors since its opening in 2010.