Flights are booked, movers are scheduled, and we are just playing the waiting game now as we prepare for our move State-side. And we are so excited to return to the States – while simultaneously mourning having to leave South Korea. But I’ll probably share all my feelings about all of that at another date. For now, I’m back to catching up on one of the MANY adventures we experienced in September: Seoul Land. We’ve experienced our fair share of Korean amusement parks at this point. But I have to say that this one was our favorite so far. With its cutesy, Disney-like charm, it’s plethora of family rides, and its variety of food choices, if we had to pick ONE amusement park to visit in SoKo, it would be Seoul Land.
Seoul Land Amusement Park in Gwacheon
During our short time on the Peninsula, we’ve visited Legoland Korea, Everland, and Lotte World Adventure – all of which had their own charm and fun. We even had plans to visit Lotte World Adventure Busan, but canceled that when our Busan trip ended up being rainy beyond reason. That’s okay though, because the week after we got back from Busan, we headed up toward Seoul to visit the last amusement park that was on our list: Seoul Land.
We didn’t do a LOT of planning before our day at Seoul Land, so we didn’t bother to look up tickets on any kind of third-party site. However, I did find a deal on Klook that gets you a Seoul Land Admission ticket for only $14 (compared to the regular price of about $36 per adult). We didn’t think about it ahead of time and ended up paying full price for our tickets at the gate. So do as I say and not as I do and just get the discounted ticket on Klook. Even with paying over double what we would have if we used Klook, the visit was worth it (just don’t tell Brandon how much money we could have saved… ha!).
Because we visited on a Monday with afternoon rain in the forecast, the park was DEAD. When we first arrived, we weren’t even sure it was open because of how few people were there. But open it was and the rides were up and running (except for a few attractions here and there that weren’t open for one reason or another). Our first stop was the Black Hole 2000 roller coaster – which goes 100km/hour (about 62 miles/hour) and has a double-cork-screw. Was I dizzy after riding it? Yes. Did I ride it two more times that day? Also yes.
Overall the rides were much simpler and less “flashy” than the rides at Everland and Lotte World Adventure. But, there were also shorter lines. I’m not sure if Seoul Land is generally less popular than the other parks in the area, or if it was just because of the time and season we went (when we went to Lotte World Adventure it was Wednesday, but still busier than anything I’ve experienced), but I’d be lying if I said the short wait times didn’t influence our opinion of it. Had we waited for 30+ minutes for some of the rides, we would have been underwhelmed. But, since we didn’t wait for more than 5 minutes for any of the rides, it made for a great time.
Some of our favorite attractions (besides the Black Hole 2000 – which was fun, but also insanely jerky) were the Alice Wonder House – which is basically a knock-off of Alice in Wonderland – the Flume Ride, and the Pirata – one of those huge swinging Viking ships. We rode each of our favorite rides more than once, and Brandon and the kids rode the variety of spinning rides over and over again (while I sat back, took pictures, and enjoyed NOT getting sick).
When the older kids went off to ride Black Hole 2ooo about 5 times in a row, I sat and relaxed as M and H ran between Frog Hopper and the mini Viking ship. I snacked on some potato skewers and Mango Diet Pepsi while they had a blast and it was in that moment that I realized what a mom I am. I remember my own mom being perfectly content to sit on the sidelines when we’d take trips to Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah. I never understood it. And yet, here we are. I don’t necessarily care about riding all the rides – as long as my kids are having a good time, then so am I. That is, unless we’re at Disneyland – in which case I’m all about riding every single ride.
One of the best things about Seoul Land was the amount of rides that our entire family could ride together. This was something that was lacking at Everland (and Lotte World Adventure was far too busy when we went to experience much of anything), but Seoul Land felt the most Disney-esque in this regard. There were so many rides with a minimum height of 80cm – which worked out well since H (age 2) is just over that. She was even able to ride the Flume Ride when accompanied by an adult.
Another thing that they did so well was mixing the larger rides with the smaller ones. While they really didn’t have a LOT of really big rides, close to the ones they DID have were smaller rides for kids. This made it really easy for Brandon to head off to the larger rides with the big kids while I waited with the little girls, and then come back and swap with me – without feeling like we had to walk miles.
Our trip to Seoul Land was spontaneous and the perfect way to spend a Monday when Brandon had a day off. Of course, we got rained on during the last few hours of our time there, but the rides all stayed open and we enjoyed it still. If you’re looking for something to do on a weekday, I highly recommend checking out Seoul Land.
’til next time…
Ash
How to visit Seoul Land in Gwacheon
Directions & Parking: Seoul Land is located in Seoul Grand Park which is about an hour from Camp Humphreys when traffic is good. There is a small parking lot near the East Gate of Seoul Land (Naver link provided below), but it filled up fast. If that lot is full, Seoul Grand Park has a huge paid parking lot that is about a 10-minute walk from the entrance of Seoul Land. There is also an elephant train that you can take between the parking lot and Seoul Land for a small fee.
Naver pin – Seoul Land (or paste 경기 과천시 광명로 181 into Naver)
Naver pin – East Gate Parking Lot
Naver pin – Seoul Grand Park Parking Lot (larger lot if the East Gate Lot is full)
Cost:
General Admission
Adults – ₩49,000
Youth (13-18) – ₩46,000
Children (3-12) – ₩43,000
Children under 3 – FREE – bring identification to ensure free admission for children under 3
Admission after 4:00pm
Adults – ₩42,000
Youth (13-18) – ₩39,000
Children (3-12) – ₩36,000
Children under 3 – FREE
Discounted tickets
Klook has a deal for Seoul Land Admission tickets for only *$14 each
*Discount subject to change without notice. Check Klook for more information.
Hours:
Hours change depending on the day, season, and events that are going on. Please see the official Seoul Land Website for exact hours (or check on Naver).
Elephant Train Cost & Hours:
Cost
Adults – ₩2,000
Youth (13-18) – ₩1,500
Children (3-12) – ₩1,000
Children under 3 – FREE
Hours
The Elephant Train runs from 9:00am until 15 minutes after the zoo closes, according to the Seoul Grand Park Website.
Amenities: There is no shortage of food available inside the park and we found the prices to be decent for a theme park. There are plenty of sit-down restaurants, as well as snack bars and convenience stores to choose from. The only prices that seemed completely ridiculous to us were the snacks at the convenience stores – which were much higher than what we normally get at 7eleven, CU, or GS25. There are bathrooms all around the park, as well as plenty of places to sit down and rest.
Accessibility: The entire park is wheelchair and stroller friendly. We brought our small umbrella strollers, but if we go back, we will bring our larger wagon instead.
