A Trip to Everland

I want you to close your eyes and think after reading this question; do you have a favorite theme park? When you open your eyes what comes to your mind? There are two main theme parks here in Seoul, Lotte World and Everland. There are probably a lot of people who visit Seoul, South Korea and think why would I go to a theme park but really you should be wondering why have you not visited one of these famous theme parks here. I want to tell you all I can about Everland and the different parts of the amusement park.  You can find thrilling rides at Global Fair, American Adventure, Magic Land, and European Adventure and after riding those thrilling rides you can find yourself at ZooTopia, but before we get into those wonderful areas let me tell you a bit about Everland.

Everland is an amusement park that opened on April 20, 1976. The park was created by and is still operated to this day by Samsung C&T (Construction & Trading) Corporation, which is an additional group of the Samsung Group. Also known as a prominent South Korean conglomerate. It is known as the largest and most popular theme park in South Korea. The park was the first place in Asia to have a safari park. When Everland first opened its doors, they had 880,000 visitors whereas now they have about 6.6 million people visiting.  Now that you have learned some history about Everland let me explain to you my journey of getting to Everland.

To start my journey to Everland I of course had to purchase a ticket. I kept thinking where can I find a good ticket and well I was able to get one off of Klook - Everland. I got the Everland Day Tour B ticket that comes with admission, a guide, and the shuttle bus for 62,400 won (47.80 dollars). The shuttle bus only takes an hour to get you to Everland. When you take the shuttle bus, they have you meet for the bus either in Hongdae or Myeongdong and you ride with other people who got tickets for the same day. If you decide you want to travel to Everland on your own but still want to purchase a ticket from Klook you can get a ticket for 50,900 won (39.05 dollars).

As I said before Klook also provides you with a guide which I found to be extremely helpful for someone like me who does not speak very good Korean. The guide spoke three different languages: Korean, English, and Chinese. He provided us with a Everland guide booklet and taught us how to use the Everland app. Him showing us how to use the app was a big thing to me because the app is in Korean but he showed us how to switch the app to English. Once he had given us our tickets, he showed us how to scan our ticket to the Everland app so it would be easier to get into the park and around. After he showed us how to put the tickets on the app, we then were taught how to use the ‘Smart Queue’ in the app. The ‘Smart Queue’ helps you make reservations for any of the rides before 2pm such as any thrill seeking rides such as the T Express or if you just want to do something relaxing like going on their Lost Valley safari. Now that you know about the start of the adventure of getting to this huge theme park, let’s get into the thrilling and classic rides of this theme park.

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Thrilling Rides of Everland

When you visit Everland there are so many different rides for all ages. The most popular ride is the T Express. It is a wooden roller coaster that was created on March 5, 2008. The T Express is considered the longest roller coaster globally. It is 1,640 meters (about 5,380 feet) long. The roller coaster gets to a speed of 104 kilometers per hour (64 miles per hour).  In order to ride on the T Express, you have to be a certain height of 120 centimeters (roughly 47 inches) or taller. The T Express can be found in European Adventure.

The thrilling ride I got to enjoy was Thunder Falls. Thunder Falls has been open since the summer of 2015 and is located in the Magic Island area of the park. Thunder Falls is a water rafting ride that will also give you a sense of adventure like the T Express but in its own way. Thunder Falls has one of the largest water slides in South Korea. The drop height is 20 meters (65 feet) and the drop angle is steep at 45 degrees. This water ride has a speed of 70 kilometers per hour, it is for certain that you will be wet so make sure you take a rain jacket or a poncho with you when you visit this ride.

One more ride that is always nice for all ages is the carousel. The carousel at Everland is called The Royal Jubilee Carousel. Just like any carousel you see at other theme parks it is a classic and iconic attraction that you can also find in European Adventure. This merry-go-round has a royal theme which hints at the name of it. The horses and the carousel's design have royal colors, lavish details, and gold accents which gives the ride a majestic and elegant look to it. Once you have gotten to ride a lot of various rides why not relax in Plant Topia that can be found in European Adventure.

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Plant Topia

Plant Topia is a very nice place that is filled with so many flowers and trees. When you visit this area, you will find that there is a beautiful rose garden. Every year Everland holds a Rose Festival where you get to see all of their roses and other flowers in full bloom. Another garden they have near the rose garden is the Four Seasons Garden. The Four Seasons Garden has different flowers every season. In this garden there is a little section where there are benches that are made like pages out of a book that you can just sit on and enjoy the garden. While you are surrounded by these beautiful flowers you can also chill out on one of their beanbags and watch a performance from their Grand Stage. Once you have visited Plant Topia we have to finally talk about our final stop ZooTopia.

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ZooTopia

ZooTopia  is an area in Everland that has wildlife and an experience you will never forget. Zootopia is where you can find all the beautiful animals. There are so many animals to be seen in this area of the park. The most popular part would probably have to be Panada World. At Panda World you are able to meet the first cutest panda born in Korea named Fubao. Fubao is the chilliest panda you probably will ever get to see. After leaving Panda World you will eventually run into Tiger Valley where you will see the endangered Korean tigers. In the same area of the tigers, you also have a chance to see seals, sea lions, and the little guys you always see dressed to impress, the penguins. There are two places in ZooTopia that are very memorable besides Panda World and they are the Lost Valley and Safari World. In Lost Valley you get to meet elephants, giraffes, and rhinos. You can even feed the giraffes if you like. While at Safari World you are sitting in transportation getting to see lions, tigers, hyenas, and bears. of meaning for Korea. It is known as the guardian god of the western sky. If you love going to the zoo, I suggest you visit Zoo Topia while you are in Korea.

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Operating Hours:

10:00 – 22:00 Everyday

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Tickets:

Klook - Everland

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Homepage:

https://www.everland.com/web/everland/main.html

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Address:

199 Everland-ro, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do

경기도 용인시 에버랜드로 199

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How to get there:

Shuttle Bus

Everland - Shuttle Buses

Klook - Everland Shuttle Bus and Ticket

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Summary

Would you consider Everland being one of your favorite theme parks after reading about it or even after visiting the adventure park? My favorite part of Everland would have to be Zoo Topia. I really enjoyed seeing all the different animals. The Panda World and Safari World were my favorite parts of it. I loved that you get to see wildlife roaming around and just doing their own thing while you just drive by them. I would visit again and go back to those same places but also visit the Lost Valley since I did not get the chance to do that when I was there last time. I hope that you consider going there with family and friends.  You could just do what I did and take a trip there by yourself and enjoy some thrilling rides and zoo animals or just even relax in one of their gardens after you have walked around so much. Thank you for reading this blog, now go out and have an adventure of your own.  

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