Star City is a
amusement park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
in
Pasay
Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...
, Philippines. It is located in the reclaimed area of the
Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, part of
Bay City. The facility is owned by Star Parks Corporation, a subsidiary of Elizalde Holdings Corporation (the holding company of the FJE Group of Companies).
Star City was
hit by a fire on October 2, 2019, causing major damage to the main building and forcing its closure. Prior to the fire, Star City had an annual attendance of about 1.5 million people.
Star City had more than 30 different rides and attractions at the time of the fire, many of which were indoors. The park had initially planned to re-open by January 14, 2022, but due to a surge of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila brought by the
Omicron variant
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
, it has been postponed until February 24, 2022.
History
The park was established in 1991 as an offshoot of the annual Toys and Gift Fair, a Christmas
trade exhibition
A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and cu ...
by the Philippine Center for International Trade and Exhibit (PhilCite), which was first organized in 1976. In the 1990s under Fred Elizalde, the fair evolved into an amusement park later named Star City.
[ The former PhilCite building upon which the park was based upon was pulled down in the late 1990s to make way for the park's indoor rides.
]
2019 fire
Star City was hit by a major fire on October 2, 2019, which destroyed about 80 percent of the main Star City building, which housed over 30 rides and attractions. At least 25 of those were damaged in the fire, including Gabi ng Lagim, Dungeon of Terror, Bump Car Smash, and Snow World. The outdoor area, which includes the Star Flyer and Star Frisbee, was mostly spared by the fire. Initial damage estimates ranged from 15 million to 1 billion Philippine pesos.
2022 reopening
In December 2021, Star City's social media accounts posted a teaser suggesting that the amusement park would be reopened. The reopening was planned on January 14, 2022, however the opening has been postponed due to an increase of COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
cases in Metro Manila brought by the Omicron variant
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
amidst a pandemic of the disease which reached the metropolis in early 2020. After some delays, the park finally reopened on February 24, 2022.
Attractions
Prior to the 2019 fire, 70 percent of the facilities of Star City were covered and air-conditioned. The amusement park introduced various types of rides and attractions in the Philippines. It hosted the double-deck carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
, 360-degree-loop roller coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
(the Zyklon Loop), and water log ride (the Jungle Splash) in the country. It hosted Snow World, the largest permanent ice entertainment area in the country, which featured ice carvings, a snow play area and the country's longest ice slide.[ Another attraction in the amusement park was the inverted roller coaster Star Flyer, which opened in 2007 and was marketed as the first inverted coaster in the Philippines.
Star City hosts the Giant Star Wheel ]Ferris wheel
A Ferris wheel (also called a Giant Wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondolas, capsules ...
. It has 32 air-conditioned gondolas, each seating up to six persons. In 2012 it was said to be the tallest Ferris wheel in the Philippines. Conflicting reports credit it with a height of [ and tall.][
Within the amusement park complex are the Aliw and Star Theaters, with a combined seating capacity of 4,000.][
The amusement park has 25 operating rides upon its reopening in February 2022.]
Incidents
* September 9, 2006: a 13-year-old patron died due to falling off the Wild River (now Jungle Splash) ride. On September 19, four days after its quiet "grand opening," the Pasay city engineering office ordered the suspension of operations of the amusement park coinciding with the same day that the management has reached a settlement with the family of the deceased patron and another but non-fatal incident at the amusement park's bump car ride.
* February 6, 2009: The Star Flyer has temporarily ceased operations after a man fell off from the ride and died.
* February 7, 2018: The Star Flyer attraction suffered an electrical malfunction at 3:20 p.m., affecting about 10 riders came to a stop in the middle of its hanging tracks for about 15 minutes.
* July 8, 2018: A man died after falling from the top of the Giant Star Wheel ride on that night.
* October 2, 2019: A huge blaze caused widespread damage to Star City (see Star City fire).
References
External links
*
*
{{Manila Broadcasting Company
Amusement parks in the Philippines
Tourist attractions in Metro Manila
Buildings and structures in Pasay
Indoor amusement parks
1991 establishments in the Philippines