Legacy Entertainment, a leading theme park and resort design company, has revealed that its latest development is receiving a high level of interest from consumers, meaning the park will have been regularly at capacity since its opening.
The new park follows more than thirty years after the original Lotte World park opened in South Korea. The operator’s second park can be found in the southern city of Busan.
Lotte World Adventure Busan is the result of five years of design and construction, with anticipation for the new park resulting in sold-out tickets for the first few weeks.
Legacy, currently celebrating its 20th anniversary in the industry, designed the park to contrast with the grey-toned architecture of urban Busan. The result is a colourful garden aesthetic, benefiting from spacious landscapes and sprawling bodies of water.
One of Legacy’s owners and creative director for the park, Taylor Jeffs, says: “In Busan, we wanted to create environments that would be timeless, and that meant not adhering to any particular time or place. Our goal was to give our guests a stage upon which they could step away from reality and, for a brief moment, forget about the pressures of their everyday lives.”
A whole new Lotte World
The park features six carefully crafted areas, of which guests will first discover the ‘River Village of Tinker Falls’, featuring the high-rising cascade of Ogre’s Flume, provided by ABC Rides.
The village leads on to a central hub, utilising the popular ‘spoke and hub’ park configuration that was popularised by Walt Disney himself. The hub features the Talking Tree, one of the park’s numerous icons, and a perfect meeting point for guests who will reenter the plaza several times during their trip.
Each land has been carefully crafted to be immersive with unique scenery and surprises. The Rainbow Springs area features the Garden Stage for live performances, a nod to the iconic entertainment venue at Busan’s sister park in Seoul. Around the corner at Wonder Woods, visitors can’t miss the sight of Giant Splash, a Mack Power Splash, and the Roller Coaster Restaurant, with both experiences being installed in Asia for the first time.
Nearby Queen Lorry’s Royal Garden features the park’s castle icon, as well as a lit fountain garden incorporating a Swan Lake-inspired family ride. Joyful Meadows features more family-friendly fun with the largest selection of attractions at the park for younger families.
The park has something for the whole family, including a dedicated area for thrill-seekers. Underland is packed with adrenaline-inducing rides, with a design aesthetic linked to Ogre’s Magic Club, a traditional Korean fairytale. The area is signposted by two major attractions, the Giant Swing (a Zamperla Giant Discovery), and the Giant Digger (a Mack Launched Multi-Looping Coaster).
“Lasting emotional connection”
Legacy Entertainments believes that the park has the potential to represent a new model for regional theme parks in second-tier markets. Remarkably, the firm adds that the entire project was designed and constructed for less than the budget of a single large attraction found at a Disney or Universal park.
Jeffs continues: “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.”
“Just as happened at Lotte World over three decades ago, I believe visitors will make an instant and lasting emotional connection with this beautiful park from the moment they first step through its gates – and just like the gardens that inspired it, both that connection and this park will grow stronger and more beautiful with time.”
Another Asian Legacy Entertainment project was recently named “Most Popular Attraction” at the China Cultural Tourism Innovation and Development Forum.
