Escape Theme Park was an outdoor theme park located inside NTUC Downtown East, Pasir Ris in Singapore. It was opened in May 2000 and a water park named Wild Wild Wet located adjacent to it was opened in June 2004. Its slogan is "360 degrees of fun". The theme park operates on Saturdays, Sundays, gazetted school and public holidays. It had been a non-smoking park from 2005 until it ceased operations on 26 November 2011 for redevelopment. In 2012, reports confirmed that the park would make way for an expansion of Wild Wild Wet.
 | |
| Location | Downtown East, No 1. Pasir Ris Close, Singapore 519599 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 1°22′47″N 103°57′19″E / 1.37972°N 103.95528°E |
| Status | Defunct |
| Opened | May 2000 |
| Closed | 26 November 2011 |
| Owner | NTUC Club |
| Slogan | 360 degrees of fun |
| Operating season | Year round |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 12[1] |
| Roller coasters | 1 |
| Water rides | 2 |
History
editThe Government of Singapore have planned to have a first integrated theme park in Singapore. So therefore they were placed a name called Escape Theme Park to be located at Pasir Ris, Singapore which is at NTUC Downtown East which is announced somewhere in 1997. So they started construction in 1998 and were to initially opened in 2000. And later it was opened in May 2000 with 17 rides.
Between 2005 and 2010, 5 of the following rides have been removed from amusement park which cause problems from Singaporeans and as well as some accidents. Panasonic Alpha 8 have been closed due to an accident in December 2005. Revolution was closed in 2007 due to Singaporean complaints, Flipper and Inverter was closed in 2009 due to Singaporean complaints and used for future use and Rainbow was closed due to an accident in Liseberg, Sweden on 15 July 2008 but was closed in 2009 and removed in 2010.
Attractions
editThe park featured an equal mix of thrill rides and family rides. Some thrill rides include a pirate ship, 2 go kart tracks, 1 of which was catered to younger riders, fairground style rides, a walk-through haunted house, as well as the highest log flume in Asia.[2] There used to be an indoor roller coaster, but was closed to the public after an incident in 2005.
There were also numerous family attractions such as bumper boats, a family coaster, a Ferris wheel and a central pavilion with many funfair-style games.
| Operating from 2000 till 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thrill Rides | ||
| Name | Type | Notes |
| Daytona Beginner's Track | Go-Kart | A primer course to the challenging Daytona Go-Kart, featuring a two-seater car. |
| Daytona Go-Kart | Go-Kart | A much more challenging course and somewhat faster than Daytona Beginners' Track. |
| Pirate Ship | Pirate ship | Consists of an open, seated gondola which swings back and forth, subjecting the rider to various levels of angular momentum. |
| Wet & Wild | Log flume | The highest log flume ride in Asia, with the second drop measuring up to 5-storey high. Consist of 2 drops. |
| Family Rides | ||
| Name | Type | Notes |
| Bumper Boats | Bumper boats | Guests climb aboard individual boats and manoeuvre them, while trying to splash water against their opponent with the water gun. |
| Central Pavilion | Carnival games | Carnival games that operated on a "pay per play" basis. (Roller Derby, Water Vertical Game, Skatter Ball, Hook Me, Ring Toss, Hoops, Bull's Eye, Over Under Board and Spin 2 Win) |
| Choo Choo Train | Miniature train ride | A classic miniature train ride, with an engine boiler. |
| Family Coaster | Steel-Junior roller coaster |
A Junior Coaster located near the entrance of the park. The only remaining roller coaster in the park. |
| Ferris Wheel | Kiddy Ferris wheel | A miniature Ferris wheel for the children. Located above the Haunted II ride, it gives the guest a panoramic view of the park. |
| Haunted II | Haunted house | An indoor dark ride. Guest enters a well-themed haunted house, with controlled lighting and sound effects. |
| Kite Flyer | Cliffhanger | Guests lie on their chest as the ride slowly rotates and ascend in height. |
| Red Baron | Fly Around Ride | Guests climb aboard these miniature planes, as it slowly rotates around its core. |
| Remote Control Boats | Radio-controlled boat | Guests get to control the boats on the water. |
| Defunct | ||
| Name | Type | Notes |
| Panasonic/Alpha 8 | Steel-Wild Mouse | An indoor high-speed dark wild mouse coaster. |
| Inverter | Inverter | From a central pivot, the Inverter swings through cycles of 360 degrees. |
| Rainbow | Rainbow | Swings to a height of 9 storeys before falling back down again. It is the last Rainbow carriage to be built in the world. |
| Flipper | Tilt-A-Whirl | Sloped gondolas spin around a central axis while swinging back and forth. |
| Revolution | Enterprise | Gondolas spin individually, as the ride rotates and ascend around its own axis. |
Accident
editOn 2 December 2005, two girls were critically injured after being thrown from the subsequently discontinued "Alpha 8" Roller Coaster and falling 3 metres. The cause of the incident is thought to be a faulty safety restraint.[3]
Closure
editWith effect from 26 November 2011, Escape Theme Park has ceased operations. NTUC Club, the parent company of Escape Theme Park said that the theme park will be redeveloped to meet the changing needs of guests.[4] The land which Escape Theme Park was on has been used to expand Wild Wild Wet and Costa Sands Resort.[5] Escape Theme Park had entertained more than four million people since it opened in 2000.
Awards and accolades
edit- 2007 Accredited Pro-Family Business[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ List of attractions Archived 10 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine in Escape Theme Park
- ^ Asia's highest log ride. Escape Theme Park (Wet & Wild) Archived 10 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Two kids fall off ride at theme park, suffer serious injuries". Channel NewsAsia. 2 December 2005. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2007.
- ^ Wong, Wendy (3 November 2011). "NTUC Club re-developing Escape Theme Park". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 6 December 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ Lip, Kwok Wai; Chia, Alice (19 July 2012). "Downtown East gets S$200m facelift". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- ^ NTUC NeXus Accolades & Achievements