Our eighth day in Seoul, we plan to have some fun at South Korea’s version of Disneyland and Universal Studio – Lotte World which is opened daily from 9.30am to 11pm..
After breakfast at the hotel, we will head for our nearest subway station-Samcheong Station which is opposite our hotel. There we will take the subway line 2 and alight at the 3rd stopwhich is Jamsil Station. We will head for exit no4 which is directly connected to Lotte World via a underground shopping arcade. Lotte World can be reached via trains travelling on or transfer onto Line 2 and Line 8 if you are coming from other stations or subway lines.
Lotte World is a theme park packed with interesting rides, an ice-skating rink, parades, a folk museum, a lake, and much more. About 6,000,000 tourists come here every year and it is open all year round, regardless of what weather is it as a large number of the attractions are indoor or underground.
Lotte World has two themes. Inside the building is the ‘Adventure’ theme while outside is the ‘Magic Island’ theme next to Seokchonhosu Lake. The ‘Adventure’ theme has certain areas representing different countries together with many facilities and souvenir shops. You can watch parades, films, laser shows and even savor international cuisine. The Magic Island theme consists of the amazing Magic Castle as well as high-altitude rides. There is also a serene trail around the lake for walking.
Tourists usually frequent Lotte World for the amusement rides. The most famous are the Gyro Drop and Gyro Swing – which have a steep drop of 70 meters. It is advised to take off your shoes before getting on. Besides that, there is The Flume Ride, which is a long boat with a high-altitude wave. There is also the Spanish Pirate Ship, which swings at 75 degrees. Other than amusement rides, Lotte World’s parades and laser shows are also spectacular. The World Carnival Parade sees 200 performers sing and dance to music. It takes place at 2.00 pm and 7:30 pm. Those keen on watching the laser show can catch it at night at 9:30 pm.
You can find out more about the attractions and related information at Lotte World’s website : http://www.lotteworld.com/Global_eng/Main.asp
For those looking for a good discount, you can go there after 4pm as passports are priced at 28000W instead of the usual price of 35000W. Passports allow you to have free usage of most facilities. Those who just want to stroll around can get the cheaper admission passes at 24000W and 21000W after 4pm. Children tickets are between 16000W to 21000W.
Some reviews we saw about the Lotte World was that food prices inside the park were well within acceptable standards. A food court is located at the Lotte Departmental store where one can eat and watch people ice skating. After that, one can go to the speciality shops and the duty free shopping area located there. However, be prepared for huge crowds as on sunny days there might be one million Koreans coming to Lotte World (as there is not so much else to do for kids in Seoul). In that case you would have to wait over one hour for a ride. Since a picture says a thousand words, you can visually experience a video clip of some of Lotte World rides at the following blog: http://shanewei.blogspot.com/2009/03/lotte-world.html . For first-timers like ourselves, we read that it is recommended to take the monorail located on the second floor first to get our bearings. The monorail spans both indoors and outdoors. For an aerial view of the indoor theme park area, it is recommended to take the “balloon ride” situated on the third floor.
Those who are keen on Korean culture or walking through a miniature world can visit the Lotte World Folk Museum which provides an excellent experience of Korea's history and culture through miniature and life-sized representations of everyday and special events. The museum provides diverse cultural programs for children and teenagers, performance events along with special exhibitions and constantly adds new features and special shows to avoid stagnation. The museum has several viewing areas (Historical Exhibition Hall, Miniature Village) and viewer participation areas (Performance Hall, Traditional Korean Market). The traditional wedding plaza also offers visitors the ability to experience a traditional Korean style wedding.
(Above) Indoor portion of Lotte World
During the summer season from July, Lotte World is especially popular because it has an indoor portion for it’s theme park which means shelter from the summer sun.In anticipation of the many attractions there from the rides to the shopping mall, we expect to devote a whole day there at Lotte World. This is also taking into consideration the need to wait for the rides which can result in one queuing between 45minutes to 4 hours for just one ride. After we have done all we can at Lotte World, we will take the subway from Jamsil Station to Samseong Station where our hotel is and have a good night’s rest for our weary legs.
No comments:
Post a Comment