We made our way to a few Korean amusement parks this last month to check out all the hype. To preface this, we aren’t exactly amusement park experts, but we try to make the most of the time we have and take full advantage of the experience.

First stop was Everland: Korea’s biggest amusement park with various themed lands, a nice zoo portion and some fun to watch from the ground thrill rides. I do think if you understand both the language and the cultural references/nostalgia of these characters, you have a much better experience. We didn’t get the jokes or the references to the movies and characters that I am sure are beloved by many Koreans. We were able to enjoy ourselves none the less, and while it wasn’t the same love that we have for Disneyland, it was sweet in its own way. They have beautiful gardens and picturesque scenery that we enjoyed walking through. Much like the rest of Korea, it is all very clean with well set up spaces. All was well until we hit the spinning teacups and a backwards rollercoaster… it was two rides too many and we drove home feeling pretty motion sick. I’m not sure if we will be back, but never say never.

We also took a trip out to Alpaca World, about 2 hours outside of Seoul. The marketing on this was really much better than the actual space and while the kids enjoyed some of the exhibits, I don’t think I would visit again. There was plenty of alpaca’s and some other animals as well, but I didn’t love the condition of the enclosures in most cases. It was beautiful to be outside the city for a day, and I appreciated the scenery, but since we have seen some pretty great farm experiences, this was a bit of let down. I have high expectations for my animal encounters and farm like experiences… I want to see animals being loved, respected and top notch care. This just didn’t hit those marks.

So while we have a few more to try, we have learned that much of the amusement park experience is related to your child hood nostalgia of certain characters and spaces. Exhibit A for all my Oregonians, is Enchanted Forest. Most of us have memories that we want to share with our kids and that makes these places special. Perhaps as we get more clued in to Korean pop culture, we will be more inclined to love some of these places more.