Day 18 -- Lotte World!

This morning, I met up with Sandi, Sonia, and Adeline at Jamsil Station and together we walked to Lotte World, a massive theme park (mostly indoor, but partially outdoors) that is extremely famous in Korea. I have never been to a true amusement park before with actually scary rides, so I was a bit nervous but excited to step out of my comfort zone. 

When we first walked in, I was really surprised by just how big it was. I had seen pictures, but the area is so much bigger in person. At the same time, it was incredible how all of the rides fit into the space given how many there are and how much room they all take up individually. I was also surprised by the lack of tourists. I would say 95% of the people there were actual Korean people and not foreigners, which is a testament to what I have heard that Lotte World is truly a shared cultural experience among Korean people that almost everyone in Seoul has been to.

It turns out I stepped out of my comfort zone almost immediately upon arriving to Lotte World. The most popular ride at Lotte World is a roller coaster called French Revolution, and the lines for it can be multiple hours long, so since we got there right as it opened we went there immediately so we wouldn't have to wait for as long. We did still have to wait for 45 minutes, but it was definitely worth it. The roller coaster included some big drops (including some that were in pitch black tunnels so you couldn't see where you were going) and a 360 degree spin where we went upside down. It was quite the experience for my first roller coaster ride, but I really enjoyed it even though it was a bit scary too.

After French Revolution, we went to Battlegrounds World Agent. We first went into a cramped room with about ten other people and screens around us showed us in a plane taking off, and then getting shot down and crashing. As this was happening, the floor was moving and smoke was coming out of the ceilings so it really felt like we were there. In the next room, we did a practice round standing up for the final room, in which we sat down in chairs and had fake guns with which we had to shoot our enemies on a screen. The chairs moved and we had wind blowing in our faces so it felt like we were experiencing all of the things the screen was showing us, from getting into a car crash to falling off of a cliff. As it turns out, I am a good shooter (at least in the video game context) because I got third place overall in my shooting accuracy!

We got a quick snack next, and the four of us shared a churro, a corn dog, and a Korean snack that combines sausage and tteok (chewy rice cake) on a skewer.

Our next ride was Flume Ride. The wait was 90 minutes, so we each used one of our three "Magic Pass" tickets that we spent extra money on so that we could skip the line three times during the day. It was a great use of the Magic Pass, especially because the ride was so fun and without the Magic Pass we wouldn't have even attempted to get on it. In Flume Ride, the four of us went on a small boat and traveled along a stream before going up a hill, plummeting downwards, and getting completely soaked by the water below us. There was a second big drop in the ride before it was over, and at the end we were all covered in water. It was definitely worth it though, and it was one of our favorite rides of the day.

Next we went to Pharaoh's Fury, which was less of an exciting ride that we still enjoyed simply for the visuals. We went on a cart and traveled through fake Egyptian pyramids, with giant snakes and coffins around us throughout the course.

We went to Beyond Dark next, which was a 3D movie taking us through space with moving chairs, although this one was a lot calmer and less exciting than the one we did earlier. The next ride, though, was another absolutely amazing 3D and moving seats experience. It was called Fly Venture, and in it we were lifted up into the air and placed in front of a massive, rounded screen that was above, below, and in front of us so that it took up our whole field of vision. The chairs tilted up and down and it really felt and looked like we were flying through the air.

We went to get some more food next, and shared some tteokbokki, dumplings, and ice cream. We chatted for a while and rested before going out for two more moving chair shooting games (one of which was cowboy themed so we were on fake horses instead of chairs). 

We still had two more Magic Passes to use, so we decided to go on the French Revolution roller coaster again. The wait time was 2-3 hours and people had to reserve their seats hours in advance, but with our Magic Pass we were able to walk on to the most popular ride, which was very nice. After French Revolution, we went on Adventures of Sinbad, which was a lot like Pharoah's Fury in that the emphasis was on the visuals more so than the thrill, although there were two small drops in the ride.

We went to Lotte World's folk museum next, where we walked around models of traditional Korean villages, saw how hanbok (Korean traditional clothing) evolved over time, and looked at various styles of Korean pottery.

Once we were done with the museum, we went to the Magic Island outdoor section of Lotte World. It had been raining all day but once it stopped a few of the outdoor rides were dried and opened for a short period. Most of them had crazy wait times, but we spent our last Magic Pass to go on the Bungee Drop. We were all absolutely terrified to go on it because it involved dropping from 38 meters in the sky straight down at 90 km/hr, but it ended up being so much fun. At the top of the drop we got a beautiful view, and the experience of falling was like nothing I have ever experienced before. It was definitely scary, but I really loved it.

We were all tired and hungry by that point, so we went to a restaurant in Lotte World and at jjajangmyeon. We ate and talked for a while before going to the gift shop and finally heading back to the subway station to go our separate ways back to our dorms.