Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Phuket Fantasea - A Cultural Theme Park!

A live performance show, a animal park, amusement park, a parade, a photoshoot studio and gift shops with grand buffet restaurants. I can’t figure out what Phuket Fantasea was until we truly experience it ourselves.



Till today, the Phuket Fantasea theme song still rings in our heads! Emma enjoyed the place so much that she asked if we could visit the place once again! She even wanted to recommend the place to her friend who’s heading there soon. How mesmerizing it is!

It was a pity to miss the festival village when we visited due to rain. Thankfully, the park was very well sheltered and we still managed to enjoy the park. We spent 4.5 hrs there including 75 mins show and buffet dinner; and still didn’t have enough of it. It was no doubt an unforgettable experience, especially for Emma! We just had to visit it again to experience the cultural theme park fully!

Phuket Fantasea is a cultural theme park like no others! While it’s a theme park, it has no thrilling rides and only opens from the late afternoon. I love how it brings about so many unique experiences in just a few short hours. I would say it’s a one-stop tourist destination at Phuket! The theme park is extremely well maintained even though it has operated for close to 20 years!

1. Grand entrance


After an hour of mini bus ride in the rain and feeling sleepy, we were excited by the grand yet bustling sight of Phuket Fantasea. The Golden Elephant Cavern (ticketing office) and the Magic Fountain made the perfect welcome!

 
 


2. Festival village


Each corner of the festival village was a surprise and I’m wow-ed by the colourful Thai architecture of past eras and quality products from different regions of the Kamala Kingdom.



It features over 20 ships and 32 stalls.We walked through the shops on the first visit and they looked pretty typical. So, when we finally get to walk in the festival village, the experience was enchanting. Among all, I like to highlight 2 specific shops that our family enjoyed!



Legende de Bangkok 


We love the Legende de Bangkok, the costume rental & photo shop. That’s where our family had a dressed up photo shoot.



 
The experience blew our minds and definitely Emma’s. Her dream as a princess came true!! She still talks about it today and say "sawadika" with the most demure hands gesture.  
  
I was so glad that Avalyn could fit into the Thai coustimes. The girls looked super cute in them!!! Avalyn was totally clueless about what was going on but she was super cooperative throughout the change and phototaking.
 


Here she learnt the different hand gestures!

 
I highly recommend to splurge a little for the magical experience. It’s a great family keepsake and your little princesses would thank you for it!  
  

Chang & Eng Magic Emporium


Chang & Eng’s Magic Emporium is a gift shop not too be missed! It looks like a little toy town and has an indoor children’s playground in it. It’s free but socks need to be worn at the playground.


 
 
 

3. Viva Bangkok Stage Theater




Here's the outdoor performance stage by the day and night.

 
The 10-15 mins performances of Thai-inspired productions and events were a great after-dinner entertainment!
  

4. Golden Kinnaree and Suriyamas


Us at the most majestic buffet restaurant!


Golden Kinnaree serves buffet that offers Thai and international cuisines while Suriyamas serves seafood buffet.




Photo by Phuket Fantasea

We had the honor to dine in at Suriyamas to top up our royals experience! Besides the buffet restaurant, there are also several ala carte eating places within Phuket Fantasea.





5. Similan Entertainment Center


This bright and illuminating underwater-themed games arcade has games like bowling, shooting range, dart, fishing, basketball and more! Emma wished she could play more!







6. Tiger Jungle Adventure


This is the most beautiful animals enclosures that we have ever seen.



There are 12 exotic scenes featuring the magical animal world of Kamala Kingdom. You need to meet the white tigers, white peacocks and white birds!



I was glad to hear that the tigers (and elephants for the shows) in the enclosures only stay in the enclosure when the park is opened. They stay at the mountain when they are off duty!
 
The white peacock and white birds enclosures are really impressive!


This looks like Elsa's castle! Emma just had to do a walk down as if she's Elsa.




7. Palace of the Elephants

(9pm (main show), additional slot may be added based on the crowd)



The theatre is so impressive, grand and delicate. Our photos don’t do justice to it.

 
The 70 mins “Fantasy it a Kingdom” show is exciting and action packed. It is the longest running permanent show in Asia.



There are acrobat performances, dances, special light & sound effect, magic show and some animals (tiger, goat, chicken and elephants) performance. Photography and video-recording are strictly prohibited and devices needed to be deposited prior entering the theatre.


Photo by Phuket Fantasea

At the theatre lounge, you get to see and take photos with the baby tigers, elephants and casts. If you fancy an elephant ride, it’s also available outside the Palace Court on good weather. We didn’t get to see them in action as it was raining on our first visit and cloudy on the 2nd visit.


I would recommend to reach Phuket Fantasea around 5pm to enjoy the park thoroughly. We left around 11pm. We hardly stayed up till so late on holiday but the visit to Phuket Fantasea was worthwhile! It was past Avalyn’s bedtime, she slept through the show after milk then woke up for the final photo before going back to sleep. As for Emma, she did well and only knocked out on the way back.

My tips for the visit - buy tickets online, be there early and dress light!

Phuket Fantasea offers 2 types of tickets:

1. Show + theme park (~S$75)
2. Show + theme park + buffet (~$91)

* There are upgrade options for buffet and theatre seat. Private or minibus return transfer are also available. It might be hard to get a transport back with grab so I suggest booking transport in advance.
* Check out prices on site like klook for some savings!



Many thanks to the Phuket Fantasea for having us! It was a wonderful experience! Thank you friendly Lidia and Mint for bringing us around. Emma missed you 2!
 

Phuket Fantasea
Address: 99 M3 Kamala Kathu, Phuket 83150
Opening Hours: Every day except Thursday, 5:30pm ~ 11:30pm

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