Lotte World in Seoul: Where Magic Happens!

Описание: Lotte World is one of two of South Korea's most popular theme parks along with Everland, each offering unique attractions & experiences. Lotte World in Seoul is like the Star City in Manila which is an indoor theme park with a more controlled environment making it an all-weather amusement park & a better option during rainy days. On the other hand, Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province is like the Enchanted Kingdom in Santa Rosa, Laguna, both larger than their rivals in the city with a wider variety of rides including thrilling roller coasters.

Lotte World, however is a world of its own. Opened in July 1989, the recreational complex consists of a large indoor theme park called Lotte World Adventure & an outdoor amusement park called Magic Island in an artificial Seokchon Lake. It also has shopping malls, a luxury hotel, an observation tower - the tallest in Korea, a Korean folk museum, sports facilities, an aquarium & movie theaters. Lotte World is open all year long, without any holiday closings. Its operating hours are from 10 am to 9 pm.

On the 4th day of our family vacation in South Korea, we decided to go to Lotte World (our original plan was Everland) providing for a safer, more secure & pleasant environment for our kid's entertainment. Our day tour tickets included admissions to Lotte World Adventure, the Folk Museum & the Aquarium. The Folk Museum is located in the upper floors within Lotte World Adventure while the Aquarium is walking distance to the Lotte World Tower Mall. It's like visiting the Star City, Manila Ocean Park & the Ayala Museum in one go.

The Lotte World Folk Museum is a museum showcasing the ancient lifestyles of Korea. It exhibits artifacts from the prehistoric era to the Japanese colonial period, divided by historical eras. Particularly noteworthy is the miniature village, featuring over 2,000 dolls at a scale of 1:8, depicting various aspects of life during the Joseon dynasty, including the 4 seasons, seasonal customs, 4 ceremonial occasions & the lives of the yangban & commoners with remarkable realism.

Meanwhile, the Lotte World Aquarium is the largest aquarium in the metropolitan area. It dreams of a happy world where humans & nature live in harmony. With 55,000 marine friends of 650 species in inhabitation water tanks, it provides 365 days clean water quality, Korea's highest-level life support system. A 25-meter wide sea-like spacious water tank - Korea's largest, gives a new home to various fishes including sharks.

Face painting was our kid's most favorite here, a visually stimulating & engaging activity for children & even adults, she enjoyed using her face as canvas for arts & enhanced the atmosphere of all her rides. Let's take a look at some of the rides we tried with our 5-year old kid in the Kidzone & other areas of Lotte World:

1. World Monorail - ride the sky train & take a trip around Lotte World
2. Dream Boat - fantasy boat ride into a mysterious forest of fairies
3. Camelot Carousel - graceful run of wooden horses in a dreamy trail
4. Brother Moon & Sister Suns - the new ride giving our kids a different kind of funny scream
5. Bumping Jesters - children's chance of making exciting drives on cute bumper cars
6. Dragon Wild Shooting - show your amazing shooting skill against grumpy queen dragon
7. Swing Pang Pang - Lotty & his friends visiting the land of fairy tale, riding a circling basket
8. Jumping Fish - exciting underwater journey, just jump, jump to avoid the scary shark
9. Wild Jungle - forget the boring box of old, leave for adventure looking for ancient remains
10. Wild Valley - this is a real adventure, a thrill chase thru strong winds