In celebration of its 45th Anniversary, Ocean Park is teaming up with The Sandbox to create ground-breaking digital entertainment experiences. Hong Kong’s unique home-grown theme park has always been a top tourist destination. It’s now ready to take on the Metaverse thanks to its partnership with the leading decentralized gaming virtual world.
Scope of Partnership: Ocean Park and The Sandbox
According to Ivan Wong, Chief Executive of Ocean Park, the partnership with The Sandbox is a pivotal strategic move for the brand. Firstly, it empowers the Park to develop products in new formats such as NFTs. In addition, it gives them the capacity to launch immersive experiences and events. Lastly, it’s giving them the wings to venture into new business areas made possible by technology.
In terms of actual implementation, the team plans to fill their virtual land at The Sandbox with creative content and offerings that are distinctively Ocean Park. So fans would be able to explore the theme park in a whole new dimension. Ocean Park is also looking forward to future user-generated content on its platform.
Ultimately, the management wants to approach 2022 by transforming the brand in many innovative ways. In fact, the Park is already undergoing a major revamp through brand-new retail, dining and entertainment, wellness and adventure zones. So heading into the metaverse to reimagine how they engage consumers is a natural progression.
Theme Parks and the Metaverse
Sebastien Borget, COO & Co-Founder of The Sandbox, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Ocean Park to The Sandbox metaverse. We will work with them on setting the first example of how entertainment can be leveraged with NFTs. Play-and-earn to engage and reward both local visitors and those from around the globe.”
Ocean park is not the sole theme park looking to adopt new technologies. Earlier this year, Disney announced that they had secured a patent for AR experiences across all their theme parks worldwide. Basically, the technology would facilitate headset-free augmented reality (AR) attractions at Disney theme parks.
Disney received a patent for a “virtual-world simulator in a real-world venue. It works by tracking visitors using their mobile phones. Then, generating and projecting personalized 3D effects onto nearby physical spaces, walls and objects in the Park. The possibilities are endless in terms of how it can elevate Disneyland’s iconic parade.
Ocean Park is Hong Kong’s unique home-grown theme park with a heritage of delivering family fun and fond memories. Since its opening in January 1977, it has developed itself into a world-class attraction connecting people with nature. In addition, it has gained consistent recognition for its wide array of experiences that blend entertainment with education and conservation.
Fast forward to 2022, it is counting on the metaverse to continue its dominance in the Asian theme park scene. The new digital technologies will pave the way for new products and bring in new customers. Tourism has taken a big hit, with the pandemic still in full swing. So bringing the well-loved attractions online can help the business recuperate and grow exponentially.