Apparently almost-four-year-olds love amusement parks. All Spring I was trying to get Jamie to do things: eat vegetables, go to bed, drink milk, walk up and down the hill without complaining, by telling him that he had to grow 100 cm in order to go to Lotte World. Come Summer - guess what? My newly taller boy was keen to discover the joys of big-boy rides at Seoul's favorite indoor amusement park. Turns out, for most rides, you have to be 110 cm - but still Jamie and his school friends enjoyed train-riding, and frog-hopping, and merry-go-rounding. Jamie was also keen on the magic donkey who, upon insertion of coin, would poo out a jelly candy. Lotte World's chief advantage is that there is an indoor section - and since this was the summer of intense heat and lots of torrential rain, that is a bonus. It is, however, fairly expensive (even with Seoul Grand Sale discount), especially since we could only go on rides for the 100cm and below set. It is far away, lines are long after noon, and Jamie is a little bit afraid of costumed characters - even if they play tubas. He is similarly none-too-fond of Korean puppet shows involving wolves eating a family of furry lambs or 4-D dino movies involving biting teeth. Also they don't stamp your hand or give you a ride bracelet so you have to keep digging out your ticket - which is near-impossible for frazzled and forgetful moms. None-the-less, a small taste of Lotte fun, and the boy had the amusement bug: "I want to go to a place with rides for kids that we haven't gone too before..."
We tried the more economical option of the amusement zone of Children's Grand Adventure Park. Here you pay as you go, and Jamie was happy to have coin after coin inserted in the various cars, planes, Santa sleds, and dwarf-driven-gondolas that were available for "kids to ride by themselves," rather than go on the more expensive amusement rides. Iris could also ride these, teaching her to say "ride ride ride" instead of her customary "walk walk walk." I ran out of coins sooner that Jamie ran out of desire, and I had to drag him away shouting "but I want this to be my house - I want to live here forever." The amusement park, to the adult eye, is pretty old and run-down, and we actually had to track the ride-operators down in order to have the rides run for us. There is not readily available food service, and the hideous beating sun nearly did me in - but luckily the rest of the Children's Grand Park includes a shade-covered stream where Jamie and his school friends usually enjoy splashing about.
Seoul Grand Park was the winner this Summer. We went on a very rainy day when lovely Isabel was visiting. The rain meant that the park was pretty much our own. There were no lines, and ride-operators who would not only open the rides just for us, but would mop off the very wet seats before we sat in them. (Yet they still gave their instructions in Korean via the microphone). Rides were run according to my children's desires. Iris signed "all done" and "down" while on the tree-hopper. The ride was stopped, she got off, and Jamie was allowed to ride 2 more times. Jamie got to try all of the covered vehicles on the truck race, some with Iris, some without, and only had to get off because Mommy and Izzy were soaked and hungry. As the only kid on the bumper cars, Jamie had his own personal chauffeur in the ride-operator. Apparently it is hard to remember to push the gas pedal all the time when you have finally achieved your ultimate desire of a "car to drive by myself that really goes." Both children were followed by the merry-go-round operator, who shouted at them "I love you I love you" and gave them lollipops. Strange for the grown-ups, but pretty standard for my young royals. There were many more rides for the 80 cm(Iris) to 100cm(Jamie) set than at Lotte World, including 3 kiddie roller coasters (one out-of-service). Although Jamie enjoyed the Santa reindeer coaster (they sure love Santa here), he screamed in terror all through the "Crazy Mouse." (though he later claimed that was a different boy who was crying.) His favorite game is now: "crazy-upside down-roller-coaster-that-only Daddy-can-ride," and he is champing to return to Seoul Land. Visa discount made it fairly inexpensive, wrist-bands made riding a breeze, and it is too big to see all of if you are small. Food service is less varied than Lotte but better than CGP; rain gear is available; and ride-operators are flexible. It is difficult to get to via taxi or subway, but there is ample parking if you drive. I'm not sure Seoul Land is a favorite for grown-ups (Everland, still to be visited, is the most praised), and some of the rides, like the "fun house," were not at all fun, and sort of smelled like a rabbit cage. However, for the soon-to-be-four-year-old and his tiny sister, both currently enchanted by all forms of motorized transit, it was the bees knees.
