We had to make a quick trip to Seoul a couple weeks ago to get a few things at IKEA. To make the journey at bit more worth our time, we stopped for a day at Everland, Korea’s largest theme park.
Everland was originally a nature park – if my poor translation of a plaque in the park was correct – then was turned into a theme park in 1976 named “Farmland.” Lots of gardens and animals. Then more animals. Then a snow sled. Then more animals and more rides. And eventually big fancy rides and a water park and, as of last year, pandas.
It was, honestly, a fabulous place. It felt like Disneyland back in the day, before everything became too pricey and commercialized (Hyperspace Mountain? Really?). The park was huge, with a variety of things to do, much of which was kid-friendly – everything from a K-Pop hologram concert to Korea’s largest wooden roller coaster to pony rides (!!) to a safari drive. Tickets were reasonably priced at about $120 for the family (compared to $120 for 1 adult ticket at Disneyland). The food was reasonably priced and the things we ate were delicious (compared to Tokyo Disney, where we spent $30 for a palm-sized pizza and shrimp burger that were gross). There was a shaved ice stall on practically every corner, a beer garden (beer garden!), and, of course, churros galore.
The only downside was the lines. Lots of people, lots of lines. However, since Korea is not an early rising kind of place, you can enter the park when it opens at 10 am and knock out several rides before the crowds start showing up around noon. This was not the case in Japan – a country seemingly full of morning people – where Disneyland had a massive line of people waiting an hour before it opened at 8 am and all the Fastpasses were gone by 11 am.
Everland also had several thoughtful elements of convenience – something I’ve noticed is typical in Korea. For example, throughout Korea, bathrooms have special kid features, such as kid-height sinks and bathroom stalls with kid-sized toilet seats and even baby chairs on the wall with a five-point harness so the mom who is using a baby carrier has someplace to put baby. Everland sits on the side of a hill, with many sloping paths, so in addition to chair lifts and gondolas, there are several moving walkways to save you having to walk uphill.
They also still allow families to bring in practical items, like wagons and food coolers. We even saw one fellow standing on the back of a motorized wagon. I didn’t even know they made those.
So, I’m pretty sure we’ll be returning to Everland at some point, if for no other reason than the churros and beer.
