More than 30 years on from the opening of Lotte World in
Seoul, its sister park has opened, and it’s very different from
the original. We find out how the first few months have gone
Lotte World Adventure Busan was designed by Legacy Entertainment / Photo: Lotte World/Legacy Entertainment
Opened in March, Legacy Entertainment’s second Lotte World theme park, Lotte World Adventure Busan, has been five years in the making. Legacy Entertainment – which designed the park together with Lotte World – announced that more than half a million guests visited the theme park in its first 100 days, equating to around one in seven Butan residents.
The original Lotte World theme park, which opened in Seoul in 1989, is one of Asia’s most popular attractions, with between 5m and 7m visitors a year. Lotte World Adventure Busan was deliberately designed to look very different from the original park, with a colourful garden aesthetic “conceived to contrast with the grey-toned architecture of Busan’s densely packed urban districts.”
The new park features six themed zones, including Rainbow Springs, featuring live performances on the Garden Stage; Queen Lorry’s Royal Garden, home to the park’s iconic castle; and Joyful Meadows, with rides and attractions designed for young children.
The park is the flagship of Busan’s Osiria Tourism Complex – a 900-acre development designed to raise the city’s profile as an international leisure destination.
“The last decade has seen an influx of joyless, soulless parks all around Asia, and Lotte World Adventure Busan is proof that it doesn’t have to be that way,” says Legacy owner and Lotte World Adventure Park creative director Taylor Jeffs. “In Busan, we wanted to create environments that would be timeless, and that meant not adhering to any particular place. Our goal was to give our guests a stage upon which they could step away from reality and forget the pressures of their everyday lives.”
The summer saw the launch of two new additions – the Roller Coaster Restaurant, in which food is served to diners on an elaborate network of roller coaster-style tracks, and Ogre’s Flume – a log flume ride created by ABC Rides and inspired by the popular Korean fairy tale Ogre’s Magic Club.
Here Lotte World Adventure Busan official Kim Min-gyu answers our questions.
How would you sum up the design of Lotte World Adventure Busan? Themed as a fairytale kingdom, Lotte World Adventure Busan offers six thematic zones. Each zone consists of different characters and building types which fit its own theme, but they also come together to create one storyline, which can be heard from the Talking Tree, located in the centre of the park.
Can you highlight any particularly innovative features of Lotte World Adventure Busan? The newly opened Food Drop Restaurant is the first ‘rollercoaster restaurant’ in Korea, and the 10th in the world – it’s a unique restaurant that combines food and fun, where dishes are served on a rollercoaster rail. It serves western-style food suitable for the whole family.
Which rides are proving particularly popular with guests? The so-called ‘three Giants’ are the must-ride attractions at Lotte World Adventure Busan.
Giant Digger is the first launched rollercoaster in South Korea, which features improved speed and acceleration when compared to traditional chain or cable lift coasters. It runs at speeds of up to 105 km/h on a track that is 38 m-high and about 1km-long. It’s a thrilling ride that becomes even more thrilling when the track rotates 360 degrees while the vehicle rotates 360 degrees at the same time.
Giant Splash (Mack Rides) is a steel launched rollercoaster that’s proving very popular, and is perfect for a commemorative photo.
Our Giant Swing thrill ride lifts visitors 45m off the ground, offering them a view of the coast of Gijang. It has a central axis of about 28m rising to up to 120 degrees from left to right, moves at a maximum speed of 110km/h and has a radius of rotation of about 120m, giving visitors a strong sense of weightlessness. It is also a popular photo spot as it passes narrowly as if to reach Giant Digger on the left and Jamstone Dining (Lotteria) on the right.
What does the opening of Lotte World Adventure mean for Busan? The park is expected to play a key role in promoting tourism in this region of South Korea. As the only theme park in Busan, it will contribute to the local economy through employment.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 3
Profile: Bernard Donoghue
When COVID-19 hit, ALVA’s CEO stepped up. He talks us through lobbying government, getting results and supporting the sector through incredibly tough times
Museums: Long walk for freedom
As architects BIG unveil their designs for the National Juneteenth Museum in Texas, partner Douglass Alligood tells us why it’s one of the most important projects of his career
Theme Parks: Lotte World – on a roll
More than 30 years on from the opening of the highly successful Lotte World theme park in Seoul, we take a look at its new sister park
Show review: IAAPA Expo Europe
The industry came together in London to meet, celebrate and plan. We round up some of the show’s highlights
Museums: Going global
Taking a museum or attraction’s retail offer international can have profound and sometimes surprising results, says retail design expert Callum Lumsden
Immersive experience: Stranger & Stranger
Netflix has partnered with live entertainment discovery platform Fever to launch a Stranger Things immersive experience, and it’s proving popular
Research: Time to celebrate
Are celebration and special events worth the investment for attractions? Kathleen LeClair looks at the numbers
Theme Parks: Creating the magic
Disney Imagineers have shared some of the secrets that went into creating the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction at EPCOT
More than 30 years on from the opening of Lotte World in
Seoul, its sister park has opened, and it’s very different from
the original. We find out how the first few months have gone
Lotte World Adventure Busan was designed by Legacy Entertainment / Photo: Lotte World/Legacy Entertainment
Opened in March, Legacy Entertainment’s second Lotte World theme park, Lotte World Adventure Busan, has been five years in the making. Legacy Entertainment – which designed the park together with Lotte World – announced that more than half a million guests visited the theme park in its first 100 days, equating to around one in seven Butan residents.
The original Lotte World theme park, which opened in Seoul in 1989, is one of Asia’s most popular attractions, with between 5m and 7m visitors a year. Lotte World Adventure Busan was deliberately designed to look very different from the original park, with a colourful garden aesthetic “conceived to contrast with the grey-toned architecture of Busan’s densely packed urban districts.”
The new park features six themed zones, including Rainbow Springs, featuring live performances on the Garden Stage; Queen Lorry’s Royal Garden, home to the park’s iconic castle; and Joyful Meadows, with rides and attractions designed for young children.
The park is the flagship of Busan’s Osiria Tourism Complex – a 900-acre development designed to raise the city’s profile as an international leisure destination.
“The last decade has seen an influx of joyless, soulless parks all around Asia, and Lotte World Adventure Busan is proof that it doesn’t have to be that way,” says Legacy owner and Lotte World Adventure Park creative director Taylor Jeffs. “In Busan, we wanted to create environments that would be timeless, and that meant not adhering to any particular place. Our goal was to give our guests a stage upon which they could step away from reality and forget the pressures of their everyday lives.”
The summer saw the launch of two new additions – the Roller Coaster Restaurant, in which food is served to diners on an elaborate network of roller coaster-style tracks, and Ogre’s Flume – a log flume ride created by ABC Rides and inspired by the popular Korean fairy tale Ogre’s Magic Club.
Here Lotte World Adventure Busan official Kim Min-gyu answers our questions.
How would you sum up the design of Lotte World Adventure Busan? Themed as a fairytale kingdom, Lotte World Adventure Busan offers six thematic zones. Each zone consists of different characters and building types which fit its own theme, but they also come together to create one storyline, which can be heard from the Talking Tree, located in the centre of the park.
Can you highlight any particularly innovative features of Lotte World Adventure Busan? The newly opened Food Drop Restaurant is the first ‘rollercoaster restaurant’ in Korea, and the 10th in the world – it’s a unique restaurant that combines food and fun, where dishes are served on a rollercoaster rail. It serves western-style food suitable for the whole family.
Which rides are proving particularly popular with guests? The so-called ‘three Giants’ are the must-ride attractions at Lotte World Adventure Busan.
Giant Digger is the first launched rollercoaster in South Korea, which features improved speed and acceleration when compared to traditional chain or cable lift coasters. It runs at speeds of up to 105 km/h on a track that is 38 m-high and about 1km-long. It’s a thrilling ride that becomes even more thrilling when the track rotates 360 degrees while the vehicle rotates 360 degrees at the same time.
Giant Splash (Mack Rides) is a steel launched rollercoaster that’s proving very popular, and is perfect for a commemorative photo.
Our Giant Swing thrill ride lifts visitors 45m off the ground, offering them a view of the coast of Gijang. It has a central axis of about 28m rising to up to 120 degrees from left to right, moves at a maximum speed of 110km/h and has a radius of rotation of about 120m, giving visitors a strong sense of weightlessness. It is also a popular photo spot as it passes narrowly as if to reach Giant Digger on the left and Jamstone Dining (Lotteria) on the right.
What does the opening of Lotte World Adventure mean for Busan? The park is expected to play a key role in promoting tourism in this region of South Korea. As the only theme park in Busan, it will contribute to the local economy through employment.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2022 issue 3
Profile: Bernard Donoghue
When COVID-19 hit, ALVA’s CEO stepped up. He talks us through lobbying government, getting results and supporting the sector through incredibly tough times
Museums: Long walk for freedom
As architects BIG unveil their designs for the National Juneteenth Museum in Texas, partner Douglass Alligood tells us why it’s one of the most important projects of his career
Theme Parks: Lotte World – on a roll
More than 30 years on from the opening of the highly successful Lotte World theme park in Seoul, we take a look at its new sister park
Show review: IAAPA Expo Europe
The industry came together in London to meet, celebrate and plan. We round up some of the show’s highlights
Museums: Going global
Taking a museum or attraction’s retail offer international can have profound and sometimes surprising results, says retail design expert Callum Lumsden
Immersive experience: Stranger & Stranger
Netflix has partnered with live entertainment discovery platform Fever to launch a Stranger Things immersive experience, and it’s proving popular
Research: Time to celebrate
Are celebration and special events worth the investment for attractions? Kathleen LeClair looks at the numbers
Theme Parks: Creating the magic
Disney Imagineers have shared some of the secrets that went into creating the long-awaited Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction at EPCOT
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
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.
