Mon, July 29, 2019

Bacolod-based developer Aton Land and Leisure Inc. will open "Magikland", the first outdoor theme park in the Visayas, in Barangay Guinhalaran in Silay City this coming October.

Company president Reynaldo Bantug said they are investing at least P800 million to develop a world-class, one-stop entertainment destination in Negros Occidental.

“It is not finished yet, but it is taking shape. We hope to open by the time MassKara (Festival) happens in October. So in October 2019, everything will be finished and we can showcase a project that is uniquely Negrense,” Bantug said in a press conference held at the project site on Saturday afternoon.

Bantug was joined by managing director Bea Lo-Yao, who welcomed reporters, bloggers, and tourism stakeholders to a preview of the theme park, more than two years after its groundbreaking in April 2017.

Magikland, situated on a five-hectare tourism enterprise zone, is themed after the Filipino legend of "Bakunawa", a moon-eating dragon, which has been turned into a friendly and happy creature to become the main mascot of the theme park.

Bakunawa is joined by four child warriors, whose names pay homage to the local landscape -- Boy Bakunawa, Mara Marapara, Pat Patag, and Kit Kanlaon.

Magikland has 12 rides, including a 25-meter high Ferris wheel dubbed the Silay Eye, as well as thrill rides Crazy Surf, Crazy Trail, Disk’O, and Sky Tower. Rides for both children and adults include Family Swinger, Magic Bike, Happy Swing, Carousel, Trackless Train, Mt. Kanlaon, and Bumper Cars.

The park also puts emphasis on education through its "edutainment"-centered programs, galleries, lectures and exhibitions.

During the press conference, Bantug acknowledged his uncle, lawyer Simplicio Palanca, chairman of Aton Land and Leisure Inc., as the man who started it all.

He said Palanca owned theaters, produced shows, and brought famed circus shows in Negros Occidental in the '50s and '60’s, and eventually thought of putting up a theme park in the province.

“It took time, until it was realized,” said Bantug, who assured patrons of affordable and reasonable cost in enjoying the rides, attractions and other facilities of Magikland.

Palanca’s grandnephew, former (3rd District) Rep. Alfredo Benitez, who is also part of the project, sees Magikland to become a tourism hub in Negros and jobs generator for local talents.

Bantug said they expect to provide jobs to about 300 Negrenses during the operation of the theme park, which has rides sourced from lead suppliers in Europe and Asia.

According to Aton Land and Leisure Inc.’s company profile, Magikland, a member of both the Philippines Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions and the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, is “designed and built according to the highest possible safety standards, and is governed by international rules and regulations in the amusement industry”.* (Nanette Guadalquiver)