Considered by most as Korea’s very own Disneyland, Everland offers a lot of thrills for both theme park enthusiast and plain wanderer alike. Located at the city of Yongin in the province of Gyeonggi, the park is just around an hour by bus from Gangnam Metro Station. Another station in Southern Seoul where bus connections could be found is at Jamsil in Songpa, meaning you could combine your Lotte World and Everland tours for one day of jam-packed thrill, but I would suggest that you allot a day each for both. Inside the theme park are various gardens including a big rose garden, Mardi Gras inspired parades in the afternoon, an animal safari, various rides including a wooden roller coaster considered as the steepest in Asia and second worldwide, and lots more. Next door is a water park called Caribbean Bay, the entrance fee for which you have to pay for separately.
As usual, I woke up late and my brilliant plan to arrive at the theme park by 9 AM and be first in line in everything was once again foiled. Sleepyhead. It was my last day at the guest house and I was planning on just staying at Silloam again for my last two nights in Seoul, this night and the next. Thus, I had to bring my 7-kilo backpack with me to Everland, along with a laptop bag and a paper bag of souvenirs. I could have left them at the guest house since it was allowed but I did not want to go out of the way and go back there just to retrieve them after an exhausting trip. Besides, there are lockers in Everland that would accept my things with open arms. Or open doors.
Ending? Well, I
roamed the streets of Gangnam looking for the bus like a tourist kicked out of
his guesthouse, bags and all. Still, I managed to drop by Dunkin Donuts to buy some breakfast in the form of bavarian and strawberry filled munchkins
accompanied by a glass of iced choco. I immediately saw the 5002 bus headed to
Everland after walking a few meters from the subway exit, but I just had to buy
those munchkins. Of course the bus was gone when I came back. What am I, a VIP
guest? I had to wait for the next one.
I was paranoid
because I did not know how to ride their buses. I know you lift one leg and step
on the bus entrance before doing the same thing with the other leg. And then
walk until you find a vacant seat. Thanks, genius. What I did not know was how
to pay. Seoulites have that card thingy they bring along with them that they
use to pay for their fares. I did not have one of those. It turns out you could
just pay in cash. Put your bank note on the plastic container and the driver
pushes some button for some coins to pop out. Grab the coins and go.
The route map
inside the bus was confusing. It was an inverted long C and I could see two
“Everland” stations facing each other. So, there are two Everlands? Or did they
just run out of ink to close the inverted C into an oval so that the two
Everlands actually met? But if that is the case, then there should just be one
Everland written there! After almost getting a migraine, I just munched on a
munchkin and slipped out of consciousness. After almost an hour, we reached a
bus stop which had signboards clearly stating “Everland”. You then transfer to
their shuttle, which brings you uphill to where the theme park is located.
Everland and Enchanted Kingdom share one similarity: their location
just an hour outside the capital. Put that aside and Everland beats EK in all other
aspects. The mere existence of Caribbean
Bay next to it would
already be a big advantage, although you would think twice before swimming
there. Because of the altitude, expect to feel very cold, not to mention it actually
drizzled while I was there, which contributed to my decision not to go swimming
anymore. It is quite pricy too with both entrance fees amounting to almost
40,000 won each. Besides, if you are the type who just loves to ride anything
you can, one day would not be enough for you. Moving on, no discounts for HSBC
this time around! Boo that.
I started by
depositing my things in one of the lockers. Be wary about lockers in Seoul. Your ignorance
will surely cost you a few thousand won every time. I have been double charged
many times for not knowing how to operate those things. Anyway, my bag was tailor fit
inside the 2,000 won lockers with just enough space for the laptop bag and the
paper bag. Done. Adventure, here I go!
I began my adventure with the rodeo ride, which was simply a cowboy version of the flamboyantly gay spinning teacups in other theme parks. Not that thrilling, but could easily turn you into a vomit projectile machine if you have low tolerance for anything that spins. Next in line was their version of Anchor’s Away, which had double the width and actually had a partner. Yes, there were two ships, but only one was operational. Fortunately, there were few people that day!
I then went to the Hurricane ride. Everland has many rides of the spinning and swinging kind. This one rotates wildly while swinging
back and forth, meaning it was like a combination of the first two rides I had,
as if I have not had enough swinging and spinning already. Well, there was more
to come, but I had to ride a roller coaster first. I went to the Fairy Park
for a warm-up. There was a hare chasing a turtle, or the other way around, by
the entrance. The roller coaster itself was not too bad although a bit boring.
It was in the middle of Fairy
Park. Of course it was
boring, unless you are five and still peeing your pants.
Next in line was a rock music inspired ride shaped like a guitar,
very much like Lotte World’s Waikiki Wave in terms of seating capacity except
that this one does not twist and twirl as if it had epilepsy. It just swings you
around and ends with a flip. What is the catch? The seats themselves also flip,
which means you are in for double flipping, and not always in the same
direction. You might want to leave your loose items in one of the lockers in
front. This, by the way, is one of the good things about Everland. The lockers
are inside the area of the ride itself. Since no one would really risk having
their heads or a limb chopped off while a ride is operating, we can say that
your personal belongings are safe.
Another roller coaster came after that, this time with two loops.
I do not like loops that much because they are anti-climactic. They are
intimidating at first but the speed of the roller coaster just kills the excitement
once you pass through them, unless they are very high. I prefer high drops. The
Rolling X Coaster settles for second after the T Express in terms of the thrill
factor. Next to it is the Let’s Twist ride, which has around five seats in each
row and revolves in an angle.
I rode the Sky Way
cable car ride down to the main square where a parade was ongoing. The cast
were mostly Caucasians. Perhaps they are foreign students doing part-time jobs?
Anyway, the T Express came next. It is the steepest wooden roller coaster in Asia and the drops are just wow. This is definitely THE
ride in this theme park. I felt like my back was split in two afterwards but
who cares! Adrenaline rush. Adrenaline rush! Orthopedic visit. Orthopedic
visit!
I had early dinner at China Moon. The fried rice was not that good
and I did not like the sweet and sour viand. There are many restaurants and
food stalls in the area offering different cuisines. Take your pick. Most of
them are clustered around the rose garden area. Oh yes, the rose garden. Lots
of roses! Perfect for camwhoring activities! Just do not pick them.
The line to get in the Safari took more time than the Safari tour
itself. There you see lions, tigers, a liger (the product of the forbidden
union of two promiscuous felines), an elephant, giraffes, bears who stand and
look cute by the bus window, and some vultures near the exit. Or maybe not. They
were big, black, and looked vicious. They looked at me like they wanted to tear
my flesh and claw my eyes out of their sockets. No, I am quite sure that those
were not just color deprived peacocks.
I thought the Amazon attraction would be similar in that it would feature
live anacondas chasing Jennifer Lopez. It turned out to be just like that Rio Grande ride at Enchanted Kingdom,
but with giant plastic animals striking a pose in the background. Or was that
fiber glass? Who cares! Prepare to get wet though, although the probability is
lower because the seats have vinyl or nylon strap-on thingies that you could
use to cover you up to your neck.
Everland is Lotte World for the big boys. Do I love Everland? Of
course I love Everland! If I could live in one those fake houses in the Alpine
Village area, I would, just to ride that roller coaster on a daily basis. The
whole day spent here was well worth it and I would not mind coming back in the
future, perhaps with a side trip to Caribbean Bay by then.
YONGIN: 01 - Everland!
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