Melo Villareal
Everland Theme Park in South Korea
On our second day in South Korea, we left Value Hotel Worldwide in Suwon at around 10am to visit Everland Theme Park. Everland is South Korea’s largest theme park and can be found in Yongin, a city in Gyeonggi-do province.
Entrance to Everland Theme Park
The theme park is quite far from our hotel but due to their effective traffic system and well-constructed roads, time flew by. Along the highway, I noticed a huge fence right beside the road; our tour guide explained to us that it was made specifically so that nearby neighborhoods wouldn’t be bothered by the cars passing by. There were also well-planned bike trails for those who prefer that mode of transport.
Famous Banyan Tree inside Everland
It took about half an hour before we reached Everland Theme Park; we were welcomed by the marketing team of Everland who joined us throughout our visit. We visited in autumn and were blessed with lovely weather; not too hot and not too cold. The theme park had already started to decorate the Park with Halloween decors for the upcoming holiday. During our visit, there were a lot of Korean students around for school activities and as we mixed with them, I felt like we were kids again. That feels good right?
Kids having a tour
Tiger at Everland
White Tiger
We followed our Park guide to Safari World and spent a few minutes at the souvenir shop while waiting for the Safari Bus. Unlike the real Safari Vehicles in Africa, Everland’s version was more spacious and air-conditioned. The Safari Tour itself was a bit short but we enjoyed seeing tigers, lions and playful bears. One amazing and unique resident of the Safari is the “Liger”. Being a hybrid cross between a male lion and a female tiger, she is definitely the star of the Safari.
Animals inside Lost Valley
Flamingos inside Lost Valley
Elephant inside the Lost Valley
After Safari World, we went to the Lost Valley. Here, we rode an amphibious vehicle to get close to free roaming giraffes, elephants, white lions and other amazing creatures. Our mini safari expedition was followed by lunch at one of the themed restaurants inside the park. The restaurant offers enough list of a la carte choices and while my friends ordered Italian food, I had Japanese Tonkatsu.
Tonkatsu Lunch
After lunch, I was a bit sleepy so I didn’t join my friend in conquering the T Express. The T Express is South Korea’s first wooden coaster and is also the first in Asia. It is also the world’s ninth fastest, fourth tallest, and sixth longest wooden coaster. Built on a hillside, they maximized use of the terrain. The ride was also ranked as the world’s best wooden coaster in Mitch Hawker’s online poll in 2008 and 2010.
Halloween decorated garden
Another attraction I skipped was Ghost Mansion. It was not my kind of adventure so I just waited outside while enjoying the theme park’s free Wi-Fi.
Four Seasons Garden
Our final stop was at the Four Seasons Garden; it is a huge garden decorated with beautiful flowers arranged in French garden style. Surrounded by Holland-style architecture, the gardens are the stage for seasonal flower festivals (tulips from April to June, lilies from July to August, and chrysanthemums from September to October and Romantic Illumination, light festival, in winter season), laser shows, fireworks and musical fountain shows.
Water Fountain inside Four Seasons Garden
There are other attractions in the Park but due to limited time, we decided to leave and visit the other sights of the Gyeonggi-do province.
Going back to the entrance gate
Everland Theme Park offers complete exciting attractions and entertainment for everyone. For families, friends, couples or even solo travelers, Everland has everything to make your visit more fun and enjoyable.
AirAsia’s Manila-Incheon (Seoul) flights occur twice daily. It’s the shortest trip, but AirAsia also offers flights from Cebu to Seoul once a day, and two-way chartered flights to/from Kalibo (Boracay), Incheon (Seoul), and Busan. For flight booking and reservations, visit http://www.airasia.com/. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
Everland Theme Park
Address: 199 Everland-ro, Pogog-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Telephone: +82 31-320-5000
Check the Map of Everland, Yongin, Geyonggi-do below:
Special thanks to Korea Tourism Organization and AirAsia for making this trip possible.
