Nic and Norb go to Lotte World

I'm on a roll with the posts so not going to stop now. I haven't had much time at school lately to blog so going to get a couple out now while I can :)

For those who are wondering...my nickname, Bron, backwards is Norb and Cola calls me that so hence the title. Moving on. Last weekend (01/12) Nic and I made the trip in the cold to Seoul, to go experience Lotte World. Initially we had planned to go to Everland, but with the colder weather having set in I was worried that it would be unpleasant and that some of the main rides would be closed. So we caught the 07:30 bus from Jecheon, arriving in Seoul around 09:30 and catching the subway to Jamsil Station where Lotte is located. It's really easy to find and we were in the massive line waiting to get in by 10:00. Things really moved smoothly though and we were inside before we knew it, ready to get our rides on.

Now I'm a huge theme park lover. I love the rides and atmosphere and everything that goes along with them. I used to complain that the theme park in Joburg, Gold Reef City was expensive but never again. Lotte cost \34 000 (we got foreigner discount but is usually \40 000) to get in, and although not overly expensive by Korean standards, it was much more than I would be willing to pay at home. The park itself is huge. Multi-level, both indoor and outside, with rides hidden everywhere. The outside part, Magic Island, is definitely more exciting, rides wise. Most of the rides were really short, and some (Sindbad and the Wave) made very little sense. For me, the Gyro Swing, Flume ride and French Revolution roller-coaster were the best rides. The rest were very tame, but still fun. Overall, Lotte is directed towards families with young kids more than those of us looking for a thrill. I wouldn't say this was a bad thing, just don't go there expecting the best rides of your lives. It's an experience, there is plenty to see and do and keep you entertained and although the lines get long, it's all very well run.

The inside

The classic boat ride, always a thrill

Magic Island, the outside part of LW

Gyro Swing - best!

Magic Island 

One of the most awesome things about going now is all the Christmas spirit vibes! There were 'Happy Christmas' banners everywhere, Christmas parades and lights, beautiful Christmas trees...enough to make anyone feel festive. Here are some pictures (bitches love pictures)...

Seeing the place light up at night is definitely beautiful and worth it! 

Beautiful Christmas tree!

A highlight for us was the Christmas Show...I believe it was called Cinderella's Christmas? It began with some monkey/cat/animal costumed gymnastic performers doing some tricks from the roof for us. Then the coolest and thinnest looking Santa I have ever seen came on stage to wish everyone a Happy Christmas before the curtains lifted and there were a bunch of white people. At first I thought they had made the Korean actors look white but there were definite white people, with a few Koreans mixed in (this was the case with the parade too). It was funny because all the carols were in Korean (interesting) and the performers just mouthed the words pretty badly. Back to the point. The show was amazing. They had massive screens at the back depicting different Winter and Christmas scenes, the costumes were really great and it was quite something to watch. An interesting twist of course is that Santa was the fairy godmother in this story, flying from the roof on a reindeer broomstick that had LED glasses, and he proceeded to rock out on stage. Oh Korea. It was certainly the most original take I've ever seen on the Cinderella story and on Father Christmas. They had the Lotte mascots out which was really funny, and as I mentioned, they sang many Korean Christmas carols which we could at least recognize by the tune. All in all it was really great to see, and was worth fighting the ajjummas to get a good spot.

Acrobats

Cool Santa

Awesome props and backdrop 

Santa on a broomstick 

Rocking out 

Carols

So much of pictures on this one. But really there isn't much to say, only that we had a blast, made the most of our day and Lotte is worth a visit. I would love to compare it to Everland but I don't think I'm going to get there before I leave. I'm glad we did Lotte though - it was a Nic and Norb adventure for the books ^^