Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Seoul Day 2 – Lotte World

Day two (Tuesday, May 10th) we decided to go to Lotte World!!  (it’s pronounced latte, like the beverage).  It’s the world’s largest indoor theme park, and it has an outdoor portion too.  It’s basically Disneyland but not Disneyland.  The castles, the rides, the characters, and even the souvenirs all eerily resembled Disney.  Some of the pictures (like in Snow White’s castle) looked almost identical to the Disney versions.  We had fun.  I would recommend it on one condition – absolutely do not go there on a national holiday (eg Buddha’s birthday) because school’s out and everyone will be there!!! 
INSANITY!!
There were so many people, I could hardly breathe (remember, most of it’s indoors).  We had to go outside to “Magic Island” just to find some oxygen.  Lines for the big rides were anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour (I only waited in a long line once).  There are “Magic Passes”  (identical to Disney’s “Fast Pass”) but of course you can only have one at a time.  It didn’t matter, though, because most of the little kid rides had short lines, and that’s the company we brought with us to the park anyway. 
I remember vividly the din of voices, impossible to recognize a single syllable either because they all blended together into one cacophonous buzz, or I don’t understand Korean.  It didn’t help either that the noise was amplified by the acoustics of the great building.  Earplugs would have been helpful.
Anyway, in the end, we all had a great time and yes, good memories were made this day.  Did I mention that you should NOT go on a national holiday? 
Enjoy the pics.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Everyone loves a carousel – Mark: because he loves horses, especially the kind that go up and down, around in a circle.  Me: because lots of people can ride it at the same time so I don’t have to stand in line as long.
 DSCN0899
Random colorful car spinning in circles ride – Lyana’s favorite.
DSCN0916
Streetcar patrolling through the main level.
DSCN0920 
Most amusement parks these days have a “hopper” ride.  This one’s called “Treeble Hopper.”  What’s a treeble? 
DSCN0926
View of Magic Island.  Remind you of another theme park?  I’ll give you a hint: starts with ‘D’ and ends in “isneyland.”
DSCN0934 
Mark’s first ferris wheel.  Lasted three minutes.  He smiled the whole time.  It’s the smiles on my kids’ faces that I’ll remember the most from this day. 
DSCN0943 
Another staple of any decent theme park – the pirate ship.  Only this one’s pint-sized.  Anyone OVER 110 cm was barred from boarding.
DSCN0949 
Alex in the cage, I mean, Ferris Wheel.
DSCN0953 
Waiting for the Tree Swings. 
DSCN0956 
Alex could hardly contain his excitement.
DSCN0959 
It seemed only fitting that I should take a picture of the most expensive gummy bears and jelly beans I’ve ever had the courage to buy.  $4 per 100 g (that’s 3.5 oz).
DSCN0971 
After everyone was finished with the rides, we headed over to the Folk Museum.  There was a hall lined with contemporary art, perfect for picture taking, on the way to the museum.  You could say we had a bit of fun with it.
What are you thinking about?
DSCN1007
Tasty morsels, if I do say so myself.
DSCN1009 
Careful.  Careful . . .
DSCN1011 
Then on to the Folk Museum itself, where oddly enough, the kids had a pretty good time.  That is, until the meltdowns (yes, plural) at the end.
DSCN1022
Got Katya a new backpack at the gift shop.
DSCN1030
It’s Gulliver’s Travels, Korean style. 
DSCN1041
And so the day ended with happy hearts and sore feet.  Dinner that night?  I think it was at the TexMex place in the Hotel.  Too tired to go any further.
One more photo I had to sneak in.  Quite striking, I’d say.
DSCN1044
Stay tuned for more
Robert

1 comment: