Awesome Everland Theme Park

As of this writing I am back in the Philippines visiting my parents. It was good seeing my folks after more than four months, and my precious pets too. The only downside is the stifling, scorching hot weather. Winter was tough, but nothing has prepared me for this sudden, vicious heat. The fact is, we live in the hottest and most humid place in the Philippines. Adjusting from sub-zero to 38 degrees temperature was a shock. More like coming from the freezer to the microwave oven. It's definitely the height of summer here, while in Korea, flowers are blossoming and the weather is perfect. I am sure people are out and about. I will miss Korea for a while. In a few days, my brothers and their family are also coming home from abroad. I look forward to our reunion.

I want to talk about Everland Theme Park in this post. It's halfway through spring, and we're already in the month of May - which means that I have been working on this post for more than two months, yay!!! Haha.

Everland is a world-class theme park in South Korea. Set on a beautiful landscape surrounded by rolling hills, it boasts of five theme zones which includes a zoo (Zoo-Topia), Global Fair, European Adventure, Magic Land and American Adventure. Each zone offers a different kind of fun and rides. Everland is owned and operated by the Samsung Group.

The ticket booths. Foreigners get 20% off the price of admission tickets (print a discount coupon from the Everland website), which is inclusive of all rides, entrance to the zoo, and just about everything. That's plenty of bang for the buck!

Different festivals are organized throughout the year, with themes representing the different seasons. This is the festive decor of the main gate during the Snow Festival, which ran from January to February.

A Fairy Tale Place. I have been to Everland twice now. We were there during the Snow Festival in winter and the Tulip Festival in spring. Winter is an off-season. There were less people, which was good for us. Springtime was jam-packed, which was quite disappointing. It seemed like the entire population went there after months of "hibernation". Nonetheless, both ended up with great experience. I was so amazed! The place is like a fairyland.

The giant Everland tree stands in the middle of the park right after the entrance. The decorations on the tree change every season. Decked up as a snow tree (left) in winter, and a tulip tree (right) in spring.

This picture was taken during the Tulip Festival in March. Those tulips were breathtaking ––they smell good too!

Everland is huge and it offers a dizzying array of attractions. A map, which is available at the gate, is helpful to determine which places you would want to visit first. It's a challenge to squeeze everything in if you only have a day to spend. The best tip I can give you is to be there before the gate opens, and visit on a weekday!

For an animal lover like me, first stop was... Zootopia! 

It was my first time to see a white Siberian tiger and a polar bear, so you can imagine my excitement. We stayed a fairly good time at the zoo. What a joy to see those wonderful animals.

Go Africa is an indoor exhibition of animals from Africa like meerkats, crocodiles and lemurs.

Bird Paradise showcases a variety of bird species such as flamingos, snow owls, giant swans and pelicans.

A spectacular view of the  wooden coaster T-Express, the main attraction of the European Adventure zone. Fans all over the world describe it as the "mother of roller coasters". Expect long queues during the peak seasons - spring and summer months. Fast Facts: World's steepest at 77 degrees. Drop: 187 feet - 7th in the world. Attraction time: 3 minutes - the longest in Asia, 7th in the world. Altitude: 184 feet - the highest in Asia, 3rd in the world. Maximum speed - 104 kilometers per hour (65 mph) - the fastest in Asia, 8th in the world. (Source: Wikipedia)

More heart-pounding rides at The American Adventure zone: Let's Twist (top picture - ride that looks like a propeller), Double Rock Spin (lower left picture), and The Hurricane (lower right picture). I am no adrenaline junkie, so I did not make a beeline for those. Back in the day, I enjoyed being thrown at every direction while screaming at the top of my lungs with the rest of the gang. Now, I'm fine with the "kiddie" rides. Lol! Sky Cruise (top picture - gondola) and Sky Way (lower middle picture - lift) were pretty relaxing and it got us from one section of Everland to another. 

The highlight of the Snow Festival— and our favorite part of our trip to Everland was the Snow Buster! Here with my sister, Pia. Surprisingly, it didn't take long to wait in line because there were two slopes.

Hook the tube to the sledge lift and enjoy the ride up the hill. That was already half the fun!

Me sliding —Weeeeeee!!! I can do this forever!

The Magic Garden lived up to its name with the Christmas trees, roller coaster, choo-choo train, windmill, the snow covered ground and the colorful country houses as backdrop. It looked like a page come alive out of a children's story book!

This is a favorite spot for couples. And this was our "happy-ever-after" pose :-))

The Nutcracker was the centerpiece and theme of Magic Land during the Snow Festival. 

The same centerpiece in Magic Land—is actually a fountain in spring.

Everland is also famous for its gorgeous botanical gardens. The colors were so brilliant - reds, yellows, purple, pink, orange. Having my photo in a field of tulips was a dream come true.

A Trevi fountain-like area at the European Adventure zone.

Roman-inspired sculpture at the Four Seasons Garden.

A Kid Again. I got my my thrill doing simple things like eating corn on the cob (they were so yummy!), petting sheep, teasing monkeys, smelling flowers, watching Pororo 3-D Adventure, riding the boat and singing with the dolls at the Global Village! I have definitely gone back to my childhood.

I found Global Village really cool. Those who think the dolls were creepy either have a wild imagination, or might have had too much of Chucky. Haha. The dolls were good cultural representations from all over the world—and I'm still singing their song..lalalalalalala...lalalalalala! 

The Pororo 3-D movie was in Korean, but still a whole lot of fun. Pororo cartoon is now exported to 120 countries, which makes it as as famous as their K-dramas. It's about the adventures of a sprightly little penguin named Pororo and his equally cute friends.  

Still part of Magic Land is Aesop's House and Fable Garden. 

The second time around in Everland with my friends—the Royal Jubilee Carousel behind us.

The Holland Village offers 12 themed European-style restaurants. Delicious food, affordable prices, large servings.

Aside from gift shops and snack bars, other amenities like first-aid stations, lockers, ATMs, money exchange booths, wheelchair/stroller rental, lost and found booths, are readily available for park visitors.

The Global Fair Zone is lined with gift shops and restaurants featuring castle-like architectural designs from different countries. I'm sure the night lights and the fireworks display are magnificent, but it takes time to get out of there to Seoul, so we headed for home.

I had the grandest time going through this park. I'd say Everland is one of the best places to visit  in South Korea. I don't even want to compare it with Disney or other famous parks because it has it's own character. This place is for everyone, kids and adults alike. I am sure to be back. See you in the Summer Rose Festival, Everland...

Location. Everland is located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, which is about 40 kilometers from Seoul. City buses takes longer to get there. It leaves Seoul at 10 a.m. and reaches the park almost midday. That's almost half the day wasted.

How we got to Everland from Seoul. We want to be there really early to avoid traffic and long queues, so we chose the off the beaten track— the subway. I can't say this is the best way but it worked well for us. We rode from Anguk Station, orange line no. 3. Changed to the Bundang yellow line at Dogok station. Got off at Bojeong station in Yongin (click this subway map), where we took a taxi all the way to Everland. We paid 12,000 won for the taxi. Not bad.

How we got back home. We were knackered by the end of the day so that's when we took the bus--and dozed off. There's a free shuttle bus service from Everland to Yongin Terminal. From Yongin, we rode bus no. 5002, and alighted at Gangnam Station, right in front of Krispy Kreme.

Left photo -That's when we knew we're already in Everland. Middle photo - The Everland shuttle bus brought us to Yongin bus terminal. Right photo - At Yongin bus terminal where we waited for Gangnam Bus no. 5002