Everland Resort is a theme park in Yongin, a city in Gyeonggi-do province, South Korea.
Everland Resort is a theme park in Yongin, a city in Gyeonggi-do province, South Korea. Everland is South Korea's largest theme park. In 2007, Everland ranked tenth in the world for amusement park attendance[1]. Along with its main attractions, Everland also includes a zoo and a water park known as Caribbean Bay. Everland is operated by Samsung Everland, which is a subsidiary of the Samsung Group.
Everland is often compared to Disneyland by those who have visited both parks, as some consider the architecture, scale, themes and general atmosphere to be very similar.[2]
The name of the park is of note, as the name is "Everland" of English origin. In Korean, the name is approximated as "Ebeoraendeu" - in other words, there is no authentic Korean name for the park. This park was formerly called "Ja Yeon Nong Won."
The T Express, debuted in 2006, is the first wooden roller coaster and the largest of any kind in South Korea. The T Express is the 6th longest wooden coaster in the world at 5,838 feet long. It is also the steepest, with the first drop inclined at 77 degrees. Its name comes from the logo of conglomerate SK's SK Telecom service.
Everland is divided into 5 distinct zones; Global Fair, Zoo-Topia, European Adventure, Magic Land and American Adventure.
Global Fair is primarily a place for food, souvenirs and pictures as visitors make their way into and out of the park. There are many shops, and restaurants as well as special services such as stroller rental and lockers.
Zoo-Topia is an animal themed portion. There is a petting zoo, pony rides, and animal shows. There is also a small zoo with polar bears, sea lions, penguins, bears, tigers and primates. A safari bus ride is available which shows animals such as ligers and bears roaming in a contained habitat. The visitors are caged up in the bus. Amazon Express is a raft ride, where most visitors get wet to varying degrees. The petting zoo provides animals such as goats and sheep to pet. Kosik, one of Zoo-topia's elephants, made headlines when he demonstrated an ability to imitate Korean words.
European Adventure has many restaurants in various European styles. The architecture imitates different European styles. There is a flower garden encircled by a train, games and arcades. A favorite attraction here is the Mystery Mansion in which visitors can shoot at the ghosts. In March 2008, a new ride named, "T Express" was added. It is the first roller-coaster in Korea to be constructed out of wood.
Magic land is an elaborate array of buildings and rides. There is a portion called Aesop's Village where the characters and themes are primarily drawn from the fables of Aesop. The Ferris wheel here provides a spectacular view of the whole park. There are also a log ride, futuristic flying ride, and robot ride, along with restaurants and arcades.
Themes from American history are presented in this portion of the park. There are old west rides, including "Eagle's Fortress" thrill ride, and the rodeo. In Rock Ville the theme is the 1950s and its music. The Double Rock Spin is a main attraction as live bands play near the Rolling X-Train, a roller coaster.
Ride | Year Opened | Manufacturer | Description |
---|---|---|---|
T Express | 2008 | Intamin AG | South Korea's highest, fastest, longest, steepest roller
coaster. Also South Korea's first wooden coaster.
It has world's steepest wooden roller coaster record (77 degrees, 2009) |
Eagle Fortress | 1992 | Arrow Dynamics | South Korea's first suspended coaster. Reached up to 40 miles per hour (64km/h) by a trim brake on the drop when opening, but now reaches 52 miles per hour (85km/h) by eliminating the trim brake. |
Rolling-X Train | 1988 | Arrow Dynamics (Trains built by Vekoma) | Built for the celebration of 1988 Seoul Olympics. Two loops and two corkscrews. Former name was "Fantasy Express" |
Herky & Timmy's Racing Coaster | 2005 | Vekoma | A Family roller coaster placed in Aesop's village. |
Dragon Coaster | 1987 | Zamperla | A two circuit powered roller coaster. |
Everland Speedway is South Korea's first racing track. The speedway has held racing events of various scales. It also gives opportunities to experience and enjoy race car driving for ordinary people with no previous racing experience..
Caribbean Bay is South Korea's Largest(2009) water park. Outdoor zone is not open all year due to weather conditions (Winter and Rainy Seasons). Aquatic center(inside) opens all year. It is divided into 5 distinct zones.
Wild River(opened at 2008 summer) is zone for extreme water play. It has 6 water tube slides including Tower Bumerango(the most extreme attraction in Caribbean Bay)
Main attraction in Sea Wave zone is Wave Pool. It generates 2.4m artificial wave. It also has sandy rest zone.
Aquatic Center is indoor zone in Caribbean Bay. It has several normal pools, 3 water slides, indoor wave pool, spas, and saunas. It opens all year.
Fortress is for fun water play. It has streaming pool(named ‘Lazy Pool’), Surfing Ride, Adventure pool and spas
Bay Slide is for water ride. It has 6 tube rides and 3 water bobsleighs.