Who loves theme parks? Me, that’s who! Whenever I head over to a certain location with a well-known theme park, you can bet I’d allocate one whole day for that (and that I’d bug EVERYONE with me to wake up early so that we can be at the gate as soon as the park opens!)

Well, Seoul was no exception. I knew I wanted to go to a theme park, but I only had one day, so the question was which one – Everland or Lotte World?

To decide, I assessed both parks against the following criteria:

And the winner is… EVERLAND! I thought that, as a whole, Everland looked far more interesting, and I was willing to spend a bit more time to get to the park. After all, I’ve already traveled 3+ hours to get to Seoul, what’s another hour for the park of my dreams???

Now that I’ve explained my thought process (in case anyone cares), time to move on to the meat of this blog!

Table of contents

• How to buy Everland tickets
• How to get to Everland from Seoul and back
• How to maximize your Everland experience

How to buy Everland tickets

I swear, Klook is my new best friend, and is now my go-to site whenever I buy tickets to tourist attractions! Anyway, if you’re a foreigner, you get to enjoy 30%+ off your tickets. On top of that, if it’s your first time to download the Klook mobile app, you can get an additional discount by inputting mobile10 in the promo code! Note that you also earn Klook credits for every purchase, which you can then use as cash next time. Such a good deal, I love it!

In my case, I paid ~34,000 won (~ PHP 1,600) –> that’s equivalent to an ~18,000 won discount (~PHP 850 savings)!

On the day itself, just make sure to download your voucher / have the ticket with QR code available on your Klook app + bring a photo of your passport as proof that you’re a foreign citizen

How to get to Everland from Seoul and back

In trying to figure out how to get to Everland, I got a bit confused as there are a multitude of ways, including a direct shuttle from Seoul to Everland (which is obviously the most expensive option. If you prefer this option, I suggest you book through Klook too!)

Therefore, what I’ll be suggesting below is just one way (of many), but based on my assessment, this should be comparatively the most cost-effective way (cheap, but still fast) amongst all the public transport options. See below for step-by-step instructions

• Take the train to the Gangnam Station, and exit at Exit No. 10
• Walk ~200 meters to the bus stop. Note, it’s a couple of blocks away, just be on the lookout for a bus stop with Bus No. 5002 written on it. Other blogs indicated the stores that were found near the bus stop. The stores here change regularly though, so I won’t bother as it might just confuse you (it confused me!!) Here’s a picture of what the bus stop looks like though, in case helpful. Please just consider that the look may have changed by the time you go

• Once at the bus stop, there should be a stand to the side, which is the start of the queue for the direct to Everland bus (Bus No. 5002). We missed this. We were happily sitting inside the bus stop, only to realize that a queue had been forming the entire time… boo us 🙁
• Wait ~15-20 minutes for the bus. Once the bus arrives, you can pay with your T-Money card or cash (ready ~2,500 won). The total duration takes ~45mins – 1 hour, so feel free to take a nap during this time. Don’t worry, it’s a direct bus so you can’t miss your stop
• Alight at Everland Bus station and transfer to the free shuttle service (~3 mins walk). There’s a bathroom along the way, which you can use if you’re in serious need of a toilet break!
• Tada, you have arrived!!! Run to the gate now

To go home, follow the same route and just take bus 5002 back to Gangnam

How to maximize your Everland experience

For adrenaline junkies

If you’re an adrenaline junkie like me, this section’s for you 😉

Public service announcement: Be prepared to feel dizzy afterwards, but isn’t that part of the fun? Ok, so in my opinion, there are only four rides worth trying for that craved-for adrenaline hit:

• T-Express: Loved this ride!!! Combination of 77-degree incline and the fact that it’s a wooden roller coaster (which always ups the suspense factor as you can HEAR the train chugging up the tracks) made this an unforgettable experience. Definitely a must-try! I suggest you run straight here when you arrive though, as the queues can be ridiculous!

• Double Rock Spin: Wow, this was an unexpected treat! The ride undergoes FOUR complete 360 degree spins, which was completely unexpected
• Let’s Twist: Another crowd-pleaser, this ride was soo unpredictable with its twists and turns ++ the music was just so fun!
• Rolling X-Train: Quite a conventional amusement park ride, but the spiral oblique rotations and the two complete 360 degree loop-to-loop sections have justified its place on this list

For camera whores

Allot at least ~1-2 hours for your photo taking sessions, because Everland has SO MANY instagrammable shots, it’s crazy!

My top picks are: Music Garden and the Magic Garden! I think if you’re considering a place for prenuptial photos (or a date), you should head here. The mood is SOOO romantic, replete with beautiful flowers, dim lights, and heart wrenching love songs!

Additional tips

To plot your route ahead of time, do check out the theme park map in link. Where you want to focus (for adrenaline junkies) are the European Adventure and American Adventure sections

If you want to cut queues, you can opt to do so using the Q Pass. For more details, see link. To be honest though, I found the entire thing too confusing and didn’t bother trying to understand it

If you want to avoid long queues (without paying), you can take advantage of:

• Timing: The first hour immediately after opening hours are usually the best. Likewise, lunch time (around ~12:30-1:30PM) are also good, as most folks break for lunch. In some instances, after 4:00PM is also really good as the students and families with kids go home by then. In Korea though, the after 4:00PM rule doesn’t seem to apply as theme parks like Everland and Lotte World actually sell cheap night-time only tickets
• Season: Winter time usually has less queues… I wonder why (please note the sarcasm). Anyway, if you head there mid-November onwards, queues are pretty short which is great, but then it also means the ride is typically not full, which is less fun (after all, part of the fun is hearing your fellow riders scream their heart out!!)

You can bring in your own food and drinks, they’re not strict at all! They didn’t even check our backpacks. Wish we had known this in advance, we would’ve packed snacks for us to munch on while we were in the line

And that’s it! Hope you enjoy your Everland adventure – and don’t forget to check out my other blogs too:

A step-by-step guide on how to hike up Dobongsan Peak

Eating my way through Seoul – top picks!