Abandoned Yet Alluring: A Look Into Fantasy World Batangas

When construction started back in 2001, the 30-hectare would-be amusement park, already backed by a billion-peso budget, was advertised as a world-class resort that rival Disneyland’s stature.

Stories would vary from hearsay to hearsay as to why construction had to cease, but government reports would reveal that ECE Realty & Development, the site’s owner and developer, failed to comply with disclosure requirements set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), despite extensions.

Today, Fantasy World is still owned by the same developer, who has now converted it into a photo park that charges for admission, and is managed and maintained by the neighborhood homeowners’ association. Therefore, the place still profits, leaving more room to wonder over what could have been.

For a fee of PhP1,000 (and PhP100 for additional heads), ten people can enter the park without any restriction whatsoever. Here are all the things you can do inside the abandoned amusement park!

Since the rides aren’t working and nothing is hardly moving, you might as well make the park your very own backdrop.

Nowhere is off-limits. Upon entering the park, the four towering castles around the quadrangle should capture your attention first as the perfect backdrop. You can also take a photo while sitting inside the stationary Ferris wheel booths or on the mechanical rides.

As a matter of fact, the place is a popular venue for prenuptial photoshoots, photo walks, and professional drone shots. You can schedule and pay the PhP5,000 fee for a special photoshoot session at the park. You can even spruce up the session and…

For PhP300, the attendants allow you to rummage through their medieval and fairy tale-themed wardrobe and rent out a costume for the day.

Don a royal garb and rest on the throne like a regal king or queen. Or wear a medieval outfit for couples and make-pretend a wedding at the local chapel inside the park grounds.

Fun fact: the local fantasy show Majika shot their scenes inside the park, which only goes to show how magical the place truly is. There’s no time limit in wearing the costumes and there’s hardly anyone to see you in them anyway so might as well create a character!

The Ferris wheels, roller coasters, and merry-go-rounds might not be working, but there are still plenty of rooms where you can play a round or two with friends.

There are rooms with billiard tables, bowling alleys, and table tennis courts for visitors to play at. There’s even a room with a lap pool! While the entire park is well-kept and clean inside and out, don’t expect any on-call attendant to help you put up pins or give you safety reminders, though, so explore and play with caution.

If it looks marvelous from the ground, wait until you’ve climbed the high parts and captured all the sights from up high.

For starters, all of the castles in the quadrangles have German-inspired architecture, which means they have tall towers with balconies offering a 360-degree view of the entire park and overlooking the nearby lake and forest. At around a hundred feet height, you can see just how barren the park can be.

There’s also a couple of tree houses connected by a hanging bridge, just behind the roller coaster track and the gazebos. While not as high as the towers, they’re an easier climb and a cozier spot to rest in.

If you don’t like scaling stuff, then maybe you’d be more comfortable playing hide-and-seek inside the green-laced walls of the maze garden on the ground.

Aside from the amusement rides, there’s an entire hectare of a well-maintained hedge maze perfect for a game of hide-and-seek with children or friends who are children-at-heart. Don’t worry, it’s not a closed labyrinth and is easily solvable and walkable!

Check out Yoorekka Magazine for more of the most beautiful places in the country!

The park’s peace and quiet might be best cherished inside the Fantasy World’s chapel, found inside the third castle along the quadrangle. It doesn’t have a resident priest, pulpit, or a gilded altar, but its pews are still well-maintained, all facing a humble cross and a sculpture of the Ten Commandments and an open-faced Bible at the front.

You can utter a short prayer to bless a friend or a family member, or to ask for the continued construction of the amusement park. Who knows, they might just be answered in a few years’ time.

Location: Diokno Highway, Barangay Mayasang, Lemery, Batangas

Travel time: Around 3 to 4 hours via commute and 2.5 to 3 hours via private car

Recommended budget: PhP1,000 good for ten people

Tip: Make sure to have enough people in your group. The admission fee of PhP1,000 is paid in full whether you have less than ten people, so might as well bring more friends to have more fun!

How to get to Fantasy World: via commute: ride a van from Starmall Alabang or Starmall EDSA-Shaw bound for Lemery, or ride a bus from Taft or Buendia bound for Nasugbu or Lemery. If riding a bus, ask to be dropped off at the terminal at the Cavite-Batangas boundary. Once there, ride a jeepney bound for Lemery and ask to be dropped off at Fantasy World; via private car: Enter SLEX and exit via Santa Rosa, Eton City, or Greenfield City. Enter Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road until you reach Silang Junction, then turn right onto Tagaytay-Nasugbu Road. At the Cavite-Batangas boundary, turn left. Drive straight until you see the Lemery arc, Fantasy World should be on your left.