With seven million visitors a year, Lotte World is one of the industry’s big hitters.
Now the company has announced plans to build 20 ‘little Lotte’ theme parks in China and beyond. Kath Hudson finds out more
By Kath Hudson | Published in Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Waterparks and theme parks are just part of Lotte Co’s extensive business portfolio, which includes property, F&B and retail companies
The world’s largest indoor theme park, Lotte World, pulls in more than 7.5 million visitors a year, mainly from South Korea, putting it in the big league in terms of attendance, ahead of the likes of Hong Kong Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood.
Still going strong after 26 years, the cartoonish theme park owes much of its success to its great location in downtown Seoul, with excellent transport links. Additionally, being indoors, the attraction is not affected by South Korea’s hot, humid summers or cold winters.
The six-storey venue is owned and operated by a huge conglomerate, Lotte Co Ltd. Founded in Japan and based in both Japan and South Korea, Lotte’s other businesses include candy companies, fast food restaurants, cinemas, shopping malls and department stores.
Expansion Plans Now, Lotte is looking to the future as it plans to open around 20 kids’ parks and expand the business beyond South Korea.
“The kids’ park concept will be an interesting challenge for us,” says Lotte World designer Liz Lee. “It’s our first attempt at making a theme park for a narrower target audience.”
The first is expected to open in December 2016 and the others are still under review. The 6,000sqm (64,583 sq ft) parks will have five rides: two family rides and three children’s rides as well as a live show and two play experiences. Using the Lotte World brand identity, they will target one to 10-year-old children and 31 to 40-year-old parents.
One of Lotte’s strengths is the fact it’s such a large company, with many complementary businesses so – going forward – the new theme parks are likely to become anchors of Lotte’s retail ventures.
“Our new kids’ parks will be designed following a strategy of making attractive anchor tenants for Lotte’s new complexes,” says Lee. “We hope we can use our theme park know-how to make different and more competitive shopping complexes.”
“Our goal is to open 20 kids’ parks, which will be like small versions of Lotte World, in South Korea and to expand the business into China. In fact, we are already developing a theme park in Shenyang, China, which will open in October 2018,” says Lee.
The 67,000sqm (721,182sq ft) Shenyang park will have five different zones: Adventure, Stars, Dream, Giant Ride and Heritage. There will be 25 attractions, nine F&B outlets and eight retail outlets.
“Of course, it will follow the brand identity of Lotte World, such as service and operations protocol, characters and facilities, but it will also introduce some new attractions,” says Lee.
Lotte’s Success Back in Seoul, Lotte World has enjoyed longevity, popularity and increasing success over the years thanks to its continual investment in new attractions.
The park now has more than 50 different attractions, including the adjacent outdoor park Magic Land, an aquarium with shopping and retail areas.
“Introducing new attractions is an important way of bringing in new visitors and keeping the site fresh for our loyal repeat customers,” Lee says.
When it first opened in 1989, just after the Seoul Olympics, Lotte World was mainly made up of zones depicting different countries. While this theme has provided the glue for the attraction over the years, Lotte World is now moving away from this to depict more of South Korea’s own fairy tales and to create new and unique fantastical experiences.
The involvement of the Goddard Group, a Hollywood, California-based masterplanner and consultant, has helped steer this new course. The Goddard Group came on board in 2006 as Lotte World looked to invest and modernise for its 20th anniversary in 2009.
Dream Park “When we came on board, we wanted to create a dream park rather than a theme park,” says Goddard Group executive Taylor Jeffs. “Creating a fantasy world has been a really successful way to bring Korean fairy tales and mythology into the park.”
“We saw this as a huge opportunity because no one else is doing anything like this,” says Jeffs. “Judging by attendance and guest satisfaction levels, this approach is working. When we first started talking in 2006, Lotte World was achieving 5.5 million visitors a year. In 2014, they were up to 7.6 million – that’s a huge gain.”
One fairy tale which has been adapted into a ride is Brother Moon and Sister Sun, about a brother and sister who are chased into a tree by a tiger and climb into the sky to become the sun and the moon.
The Tall Tale Ride has one tower themed as the sun and one themed as the moon.
“Lotte had two un-themed Frog Hopper rides and this story was a perfect fit,” says Jeff. “The ride lifts you up and the tiger swipes at you. It was a simple, low-cost way to bring in a Korean story.”
Another new area is Underland, a themed zone under the park, with restaurants and shopping. Lotte wanted to bring in a retail area, but also wanted to keep the area themed, so the Goddard Group designed a story about mischievous ogres living below the park. The ceiling and columns are covered with dirt and tree roots, and a sleeping ogre clutches a treasure chest.
“We made efficient use of the space to create Underland, and harmonised the story with the existing themes,” says Lee.
Kimhae Lotte Waterpark In May 2014, Lotte launched a $400m (£260m, €358m) brightly coloured, Polynesian-themed waterpark. It was an immediate hit, receiving approximately 18,000 visitors in its first four months.
The waterpark is not in the capital. Lotte chose the location of Kimhae in the south of the country, close to the its second-largest city, Busan, which has a population of 3.5 million and an international airport serving Japan, China and other Southeast Asian countries.
Phase one opened in May, followed by phase two in June 2015. Phase three of the waterpark – exclusively supplied by WhiteWater West – is yet to be completed. The waterpark’s icon is Volcano, situated in the middle of the park. When the volcano erupts, a big wave is created towards the main wave pool.
“There hasn’t been a similar themed waterpark in Korea until now, so we thought the Polynesian style would work well and offer a unique experience,” Lee says.
“We have both an indoor and an outdoor waterpark, with 43 attractions. The outdoor part is composed of a wave pool, torrent river zone and rapid river zone. We’re the biggest waterpark in South Korea and we have the longest slide and the largest wave pool in the nation as well,” says Lee.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Attractions: Gone, Not Forgotten
We find out what people thought of
Dismaland, Banksy’s twisted theme park
and contemporary art attraction – and
talk to one of the Dismal Stewards
Promotional feature: IdeAttack
Mysteries of China’s rich culture are at the heart of IDEATTACK’s new mixed-used tourism destination
Zoos & Aquariums: Turn over a New Reef
The Florida Aquarium is teaming
up with the National Aquarium of
Cuba in a bid to save and restore
the region’s precious coral reefs
About the Aquarium Lotte’s aquarium has 650 species and the country’s longest underwater tunnel. It provides various experiences, such as feeding koi carp, presentations on white whales, penguins and sea lions. Superflex G, the 21 screen cinema, has the world’s largest screen (34m x 14m) which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records last year.
Last year, a $7m (£4.5m, €6m) multimedia parade was developed to celebrate Lotte World’s 25 years of operation. Let’s Dream involves drones, holograms and 25 flying lanterns throughout the indoor park.
Lotte’s aquarium is divided into 13 themed zones
LOTTE SUPER-SCRAPER Lotte World Tower, a 123-storey, 555-metre (1,821 foot) skyscraper is currently under construction next door to Lotte World, and will be the tallest building on the Korean peninsula – and fourth tallest in the world – when it is completed at the end of 2016.
The conceptual design has a slender cone, with convex, gently curved lines. An exterior of pale-coloured glass is inspired by traditional Korean ceramics and feature accents of metal filligree.
The tower – designed by super-scraper specialist architects Kohn Pedersen Fox – will contain an aquarium, retail outlets, offices, residences, a luxury hotel and an observation deck called SKY123.
Also in development is a $109m (£71m, €98m), 2,036-seater concert hall, with a 5,000 pipe organ, slated to open in 2016. This will be supported by a cultural foundation which will invest $15m (£10m, €13m) annually in classical music.
The Lotte World Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox
Lorry is one of Lotte World’s mascots
The Let’s Dream night show, designed by the Goddard Group
Caricaturists at Lotte World
A Bird’s-eye view of the theme park
The Dragons Wild Shooting dark ride attraction , by Hettema Group and Alterface
COMPANY PROFILES
Taylor Made Designs
Founded in 1993, Taylor Made
Designs supply corporate clothing
and brand-enhancing merchandise
to [more...]
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
With seven million visitors a year, Lotte World is one of the industry’s big hitters.
Now the company has announced plans to build 20 ‘little Lotte’ theme parks in China and beyond. Kath Hudson finds out more
By Kath Hudson | Published in Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Waterparks and theme parks are just part of Lotte Co’s extensive business portfolio, which includes property, F&B and retail companies
The world’s largest indoor theme park, Lotte World, pulls in more than 7.5 million visitors a year, mainly from South Korea, putting it in the big league in terms of attendance, ahead of the likes of Hong Kong Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood.
Still going strong after 26 years, the cartoonish theme park owes much of its success to its great location in downtown Seoul, with excellent transport links. Additionally, being indoors, the attraction is not affected by South Korea’s hot, humid summers or cold winters.
The six-storey venue is owned and operated by a huge conglomerate, Lotte Co Ltd. Founded in Japan and based in both Japan and South Korea, Lotte’s other businesses include candy companies, fast food restaurants, cinemas, shopping malls and department stores.
Expansion Plans Now, Lotte is looking to the future as it plans to open around 20 kids’ parks and expand the business beyond South Korea.
“The kids’ park concept will be an interesting challenge for us,” says Lotte World designer Liz Lee. “It’s our first attempt at making a theme park for a narrower target audience.”
The first is expected to open in December 2016 and the others are still under review. The 6,000sqm (64,583 sq ft) parks will have five rides: two family rides and three children’s rides as well as a live show and two play experiences. Using the Lotte World brand identity, they will target one to 10-year-old children and 31 to 40-year-old parents.
One of Lotte’s strengths is the fact it’s such a large company, with many complementary businesses so – going forward – the new theme parks are likely to become anchors of Lotte’s retail ventures.
“Our new kids’ parks will be designed following a strategy of making attractive anchor tenants for Lotte’s new complexes,” says Lee. “We hope we can use our theme park know-how to make different and more competitive shopping complexes.”
“Our goal is to open 20 kids’ parks, which will be like small versions of Lotte World, in South Korea and to expand the business into China. In fact, we are already developing a theme park in Shenyang, China, which will open in October 2018,” says Lee.
The 67,000sqm (721,182sq ft) Shenyang park will have five different zones: Adventure, Stars, Dream, Giant Ride and Heritage. There will be 25 attractions, nine F&B outlets and eight retail outlets.
“Of course, it will follow the brand identity of Lotte World, such as service and operations protocol, characters and facilities, but it will also introduce some new attractions,” says Lee.
Lotte’s Success Back in Seoul, Lotte World has enjoyed longevity, popularity and increasing success over the years thanks to its continual investment in new attractions.
The park now has more than 50 different attractions, including the adjacent outdoor park Magic Land, an aquarium with shopping and retail areas.
“Introducing new attractions is an important way of bringing in new visitors and keeping the site fresh for our loyal repeat customers,” Lee says.
When it first opened in 1989, just after the Seoul Olympics, Lotte World was mainly made up of zones depicting different countries. While this theme has provided the glue for the attraction over the years, Lotte World is now moving away from this to depict more of South Korea’s own fairy tales and to create new and unique fantastical experiences.
The involvement of the Goddard Group, a Hollywood, California-based masterplanner and consultant, has helped steer this new course. The Goddard Group came on board in 2006 as Lotte World looked to invest and modernise for its 20th anniversary in 2009.
Dream Park “When we came on board, we wanted to create a dream park rather than a theme park,” says Goddard Group executive Taylor Jeffs. “Creating a fantasy world has been a really successful way to bring Korean fairy tales and mythology into the park.”
“We saw this as a huge opportunity because no one else is doing anything like this,” says Jeffs. “Judging by attendance and guest satisfaction levels, this approach is working. When we first started talking in 2006, Lotte World was achieving 5.5 million visitors a year. In 2014, they were up to 7.6 million – that’s a huge gain.”
One fairy tale which has been adapted into a ride is Brother Moon and Sister Sun, about a brother and sister who are chased into a tree by a tiger and climb into the sky to become the sun and the moon.
The Tall Tale Ride has one tower themed as the sun and one themed as the moon.
“Lotte had two un-themed Frog Hopper rides and this story was a perfect fit,” says Jeff. “The ride lifts you up and the tiger swipes at you. It was a simple, low-cost way to bring in a Korean story.”
Another new area is Underland, a themed zone under the park, with restaurants and shopping. Lotte wanted to bring in a retail area, but also wanted to keep the area themed, so the Goddard Group designed a story about mischievous ogres living below the park. The ceiling and columns are covered with dirt and tree roots, and a sleeping ogre clutches a treasure chest.
“We made efficient use of the space to create Underland, and harmonised the story with the existing themes,” says Lee.
Kimhae Lotte Waterpark In May 2014, Lotte launched a $400m (£260m, €358m) brightly coloured, Polynesian-themed waterpark. It was an immediate hit, receiving approximately 18,000 visitors in its first four months.
The waterpark is not in the capital. Lotte chose the location of Kimhae in the south of the country, close to the its second-largest city, Busan, which has a population of 3.5 million and an international airport serving Japan, China and other Southeast Asian countries.
Phase one opened in May, followed by phase two in June 2015. Phase three of the waterpark – exclusively supplied by WhiteWater West – is yet to be completed. The waterpark’s icon is Volcano, situated in the middle of the park. When the volcano erupts, a big wave is created towards the main wave pool.
“There hasn’t been a similar themed waterpark in Korea until now, so we thought the Polynesian style would work well and offer a unique experience,” Lee says.
“We have both an indoor and an outdoor waterpark, with 43 attractions. The outdoor part is composed of a wave pool, torrent river zone and rapid river zone. We’re the biggest waterpark in South Korea and we have the longest slide and the largest wave pool in the nation as well,” says Lee.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Attractions: Gone, Not Forgotten
We find out what people thought of
Dismaland, Banksy’s twisted theme park
and contemporary art attraction – and
talk to one of the Dismal Stewards
Promotional feature: IdeAttack
Mysteries of China’s rich culture are at the heart of IDEATTACK’s new mixed-used tourism destination
Zoos & Aquariums: Turn over a New Reef
The Florida Aquarium is teaming
up with the National Aquarium of
Cuba in a bid to save and restore
the region’s precious coral reefs
About the Aquarium Lotte’s aquarium has 650 species and the country’s longest underwater tunnel. It provides various experiences, such as feeding koi carp, presentations on white whales, penguins and sea lions. Superflex G, the 21 screen cinema, has the world’s largest screen (34m x 14m) which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records last year.
Last year, a $7m (£4.5m, €6m) multimedia parade was developed to celebrate Lotte World’s 25 years of operation. Let’s Dream involves drones, holograms and 25 flying lanterns throughout the indoor park.
Lotte’s aquarium is divided into 13 themed zones
LOTTE SUPER-SCRAPER Lotte World Tower, a 123-storey, 555-metre (1,821 foot) skyscraper is currently under construction next door to Lotte World, and will be the tallest building on the Korean peninsula – and fourth tallest in the world – when it is completed at the end of 2016.
The conceptual design has a slender cone, with convex, gently curved lines. An exterior of pale-coloured glass is inspired by traditional Korean ceramics and feature accents of metal filligree.
The tower – designed by super-scraper specialist architects Kohn Pedersen Fox – will contain an aquarium, retail outlets, offices, residences, a luxury hotel and an observation deck called SKY123.
Also in development is a $109m (£71m, €98m), 2,036-seater concert hall, with a 5,000 pipe organ, slated to open in 2016. This will be supported by a cultural foundation which will invest $15m (£10m, €13m) annually in classical music.
The Lotte World Tower, by Kohn Pedersen Fox
Lorry is one of Lotte World’s mascots
The Let’s Dream night show, designed by the Goddard Group
Caricaturists at Lotte World
A Bird’s-eye view of the theme park
The Dragons Wild Shooting dark ride attraction , by Hettema Group and Alterface
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
As designer Yinka Ilori prepares for his first solo gallery show in London, he speaks exclusively
to CLADmag about his mission to spread joy, the power of play, and his bold approach to using
colour (including the colours you won’t see in his work).
The government of Thailand is exploring plans for a THB300bn (£6.3bn, US$8.3bn)
entertainment complex in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with officials
proposing a large-scale theme park and sports destination as part of a broader tourism and
economic development strategy.
+ More news
COMPANY PROFILES
Taylor Made Designs Founded in 1993, Taylor Made
Designs supply corporate clothing
and brand-enhancing merchandise
to [more...]
An opportunity to reimagine one of the UK’s most recognisable towers has been formally
opened by Rivington Hark, as St Johns Beacon invites operators and partners to shape its
next phase. [more...]
