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By Fung Yu Author's Note: This article uses virtual reality technology to provide an immersive experience. Click the images to view the 360-degree VRs. Adobe Flash 10 or higher is required. Average VR size is 2.2Mb each.

Eldar's Tent was filled with soap bubbles reflected against multi-colored stage lights, the interior was made to appear like an underwater scene. The play was a summer special entitled "An Under the Sea Experience" which showcase the talents of EK's cast members and select GMA artists.

Dressed in colorful costumes, cast members serenaded the audience with songs and dance that told the adventures of the sea creatures with the surface dwellers. The musical play captured everyone's imagination, and for a brief moment, it can truly be described as magical!

Together with a group of select bloggers, this writer was invited to experience Enchanted Kingdom's many attractions, foremost being the newly launched "Magicalympics."

Magicalympics is a team building activity that fuses certain tasks with the park's rides in order to accomplish a team's goal in the least amount of time. Call it ala Amazing Race with a little twist. It was meant to foster camaraderie amongst the participants while being immersed in the challenges of a competition--all in the spirit of goodwill.

Notable challenges include catching tomatoes with a net while swinging in the Anchor's Away ride; retaining the most amount of water in a cup atop your head while taking a precipitous slide aboard the Jungle Log Jam; capturing flags in bumper cars with sentries blocking your way; singing your lungs out in the karaoke competition; and identifying landmarks atop the Wheel of Fate.

Prior to the start of the Magicalympics, all of us were treated to a 4D showing of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" starring Brendan Fraser. 4D being, apart from the 3D visual effect, the viewer gets to experience added new sensory sensations with the upgraded 4D Theater.

The day ended with a 5-minute fireworks display and with the satisfaction that our team won 2nd place in the Magicalympics, but more so in the relief that I survived the various thrilling rides, without screaming like an eight-year old kid!

All VRs taken on May 10, 2009. Enchanted Kingdom's website: www.enchantedkingdom.com.ph. Article archive at: www.virtualjournals.net. The author can be reached at: fung@firefly.ph

FILIPINO celebrity kids Paul Salas, Jane Oineza, Eliza Pineda, Kristel Fulgar and Micah Torre pick their favorite dinosaur and talk about lessons they learned from the Dinos Alive World Tour currently open to visitors at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, Philippines. Watch this video report of INQUIRER.net multimedia reporter Izah Morales.

Dinosaurs from the Jurassic and cretaceous periods will be invading Manila, courtesy of the Dinosaurs Alive World Tour (DAT). These interactive dinosaurs (almost real creatures of prehistory) will dazzle you starting November 28 until January 11, 2009. The dinosaurs will be housed in a 12,000-square-meter theme park -- which is the size of 30 basketball courts combined-- at the SM Mall of Asia, according to James White, vice president for Sales and Marketing of Max Entertainment. “The dinosaurs will be quite interactive. They move, make the sounds that dinosaurs would have made. They will also jump out at you. You will be scared by them. You will be surprised by them,” said White during a recent briefing. White said the makeshift theme park will give kids “dino passports” containing games and information about 31 interactive dinosaurs made of latex. Some of dinosaurs featured are the Tyrannosaurus, Triceraptors, Velociraptor, Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus and Megalosaurus. This is first time that Max Entertainment will hold a tour during a Christmas season, Max Entertainment said. “The Christmas Season is I think a festive season in the Philippines and here in Manila, a lot of people come back home during the Christmas time and visit their families. So it’s a good time to catch people when they’re here, when in they’re in the mood to go out,” White said. Aside from the “scary” dinosaurs, the theme park will also feature magicians, fire-eaters, jugglers, puppets, clowns, face painters, balloon sculpting, dino train rides, reptile shows (iguana, albino python, kumingi dragons and crocodiles), fossil digging and a theatre. The Philippines is the third stop of DAT. It has toured in Bangkok in 2006 and Jakarta in 2008. Tickets on weekdays are priced at P550 (adults), P400 (kids below a meter), and P1,600 (family package-2 adults + 2 kids + 1 free ticket). On weekends, tickets are priced at P600 (adults), P450 (kids below a meter), and P1,750 (family package-2 adults + 2 kids + 1 free ticket). The place will be open to the public from 10am to10pm on weekends and 12pm to 10pm on weekdays at Block 5 of the SM Mall of Asia.