Your Winter Guide To Everland
elcome to Korea’s largest theme park! If there’s anything South Korea does well, it’s theme parks and I would estimate there’s at least 10 major theme parks in South Korea alone. This is particularly amazing when you compare that to Australia, which only has about 6 theme parks and is a whopping 78 times bigger than Korea! As Korea’s largest themepark, Everland is also one of the 4 major theme parks in the world.
Everland’s sole aim is to make people happy, and it does. But is Everland always magical every day of the year? Let’s find out.
For those that don’t know, Everland has annual festivals much like Disneyland, where the park’s decorations, shows and parades all change to suit the new theme.
If you’re traveling in winter, there are two festivals in Everland:
- Nov – Dec: Winter Wonderland (formerly known as “Christmas Fantasy”)
- Jan – Feb: Snow Festival (previously known as “Winter Wonderland”)
As someone who went to both Winter Festivals, one greatly outshone the other. Let’s compare both experiences:
The highlight of Everland is the T Express. The T Express is Korea’s first wooden roller coaster. The steepest drop is on a 77 degree angle making it the world’s fourth steepest roller coaster…!
Everland’s Winter Wonderland Festival: Nov – Dec
hen I went to Everland the first time I went on December 17th during the Christmas Fantasy Festival (now called Winter Wonderland) and it was absolutely beautiful. I had never seen so many Christmas lights. Judging by the images online, the newly named ‘Winter Wonderland’ looks very much the same, just with a different name.
What you can expect during this festival is the entire park to be immaculately covered in lights, with a Christmas theme.
How it differs from the Snow Festival (Jan – Feb):
- All rides and food stalls are open and operating.
- The parades run as normal.
- The Park closes at the regular time, meaning the night light shows such as The ‘Moonlight Parade‘, ‘Lighting Ceremony‘ and ‘Magic in the Sky‘ are still showing.
Everland Attractions Nov & Dec
FOUR SEASONS GARDEN
Millions of flowers welcome you in a magic garden all year round. Enjoy the fascinating themes of seasonal flowers, including the tulips and roses of spring, the lilies of summer, the chrysanthemums of autumn and the snowflakes of winter.
MAGIC IN THE SKY
Magic in the Sky is a winter night performance that includes lasers, searchlights and a snow machine. It’s an impressive winter night experience!
MOONLIGHT PARADE
A brilliant parade lights up the night of Everland.
LIGHTING Ceremony
The lighting ceremony takes the day garden and lights it up in spectacular fashion to welcome the night. In winter you can expect a winter wonderland of fairylights, decorated pine trees, and the central highlight – a giant Christmas Tree!
T EXPRESS
The steepest wooden roller coaster in the world presents sudden drops and sharp rises at 104 km per hour!
Welcome to Everland’s most thrilling experience. During the Winter Wonderland festival, the T Express is operational unless there is severe weather.
SNOW BUSTER Sledding
Sledding fun for the whole family!
Festival Highlights: Do not miss the Lighting Ceremony and Magic in the Sky Performance!!
Everland’s Snow Festival: Jan – Feb
oving Everland the first time, I decided to take Siree there when we traveled to Korea about two years later. We visited during Everland’s then “Winter Wonderland Festival”, now known as the Snow Festival. Unfortunately, it is probably the worst season to visit Everland. This is due to a couple of reasons:
- Many rides and food stalls were closed because of the cold – this included things like T Express and Safari Adventures – Both MAJOR park attractions.
- The park closed early and was not open at night.
- Due to point two, there is a lack of parades and shows, particularly those at night – The ‘Moonlight Parade,’ ‘Lighting Ceremony’ and ‘Magic in the Sky’ weren’t on during this festival. They were so magical the first time I went.
- The entire back section of the park was closed off. During other festivals, this section is completely decorated and lovely to walk through.
On the plus side, there are significantly less people during this time of year, so lines for rides are not as long.
Snapshot of a parade during Jan – Feb at Everland
Everland Attractions: Jan & Feb
Yes that’s right, there’s only TWO outdoor events. But in some cases, there may even be only one outdoor event available – when we visited the four seasons garden was closed off. The only way to see what will be open during your visit, is to check the Everland Schedule. Unfortunately it only shows the schedule for the current week, so you’ll only be able to check it within a week of your visit.
FOUR SEASONS GARDEN
Millions of flowers welcome you in a magic garden all year round. Enjoy the fascinating themes of seasonal flowers, including the tulips and roses of spring, the lilies of summer, the chrysanthemums of autumn and the snowflakes of winter. This attraction is closed in February.
SNOW BUSTER Sledding
Sledding fun for the whole family! During the Snow Festival the Snow Buster sledding is only available in February. It is closed in January.
Festival Highlights: The seal show ‘Dartagnan and the Sea Lion Trio‘ and the ‘Adventures of Peter Pan’ are both great. They involve animals doing AMAZING tricks
Everland entrance gates
The T Express
The Verdict: Should you visit Everland in Nov & Dec OR Jan & Feb?
When it comes down to it, visiting Everland is always going to be fun no matter what season you visit, however you definitely get more value for money when you visit during March – December than you do in the months of January and February. The reason for this is that while the entrance fees stay the same price through out the year, the park during January and February is a little lack lustre. As mentioned in this blog post, during this time a lot of the major attractions are closed like the T Express & Safari Adventures, food stalls are deserted, the park closes early so you don’t get the opportunity to see the night shows and so on. Overall, if you’re visiting Everland in winter, plan to visit in November or December.
Everland General Information
Entrance Fees
- Day Ticket: Adult: 56,000 won | Child: 44,000 won
- Night Ticket (after 5PM): Adult: 46,000 won | Child: 37,000 won
- Two Day Pass: Adult: 87,000 won | Child: 69,000 won
Foreigners also get a special discount coupon: click here!! View more coupons here.
Opening Hours
Spring, Summer and Autumn: 10am – 10pm
Winter: 10am – 9pm and 10am-8pm (sometimes it’s even earlier, check the opening hours.)
Transportation:
This really depends on where you are travelling from, but if you are staying Seoul based, you want to catch a train to Gangnam Station (Line 2) then catch bus #5002 from Gangnam.
Map
Click on the map above to download the larger version from the official Everland website.
- Limited offer – 1 Day Ticket Discount
- Round Trip Shuttle Bus – From Myeongdong, Hongik Univeristy and Seoul Stations
- Round Trip Shuttle Bus – From Yeongdeungpo, Sindorim, Sinnonhyeon and Gangnam Stations
- If you’re in the area longer, discover Gwangmyeong Cave, Hwaseong Fortress, Korean Folk Village and Everland at your leisure with the Gyeonggi Province Hop on, Hop off bus.
- Ramada by Wyndham Yongin – Located 400m from Everland Subway.
- Hotel Cullinan Yongin – Located 12 km from Everland
- Golden Tulip Yongin – Located 1.7 km from Everland
- Hotel Yaja Yongin – Located 6.4 km from Everland
- IN Motel Suwon – Located 15.7 km from Everland – don’t worry there are direct buses from Suwon to Everland. I stayed in Suwon the first time I went to Everland and it was super convenient.
- Learn about Korean Culture at the Korean Folk Village
- Read our 48 hour guide to Jeonju – the home of Korean bibimbap.
- Discover the quirky vibes of Insadong
Updated 10 July 2018
I really liked visiting Korea, I only made it to Lotte World but Everland was on my list! I want t visit Everland during the summer to go to their caribbean bay!
Great and insightful post!
http://www.foxandmint.blogspot.com
Thanks Olivia! Definitely you should go to Everland, I want to experience it in summer too~
Yeah I’ve never been to Carribean Bay because winter in Korea is just wayyy too cold!
Everland is gorgeous! I’ve been tossing between Lotte World and Everland and just like you the first time, I’ll be visiting Seoul during winter so I was worried about the rides not operating.
But with the immaculate lighting and fun parades, I’m sure my family wouldn’t mind going EVEN if the majority of the rides aren’t operating. They will not be able to pass up a photo opportunity!
Thank you for all the pretty pictures, I cannot wait to go >//<
CLICK HERE – for korean beauty, tutorials and reviews~
No problem Sandy!
We hope you have a great time there with your family (because we sure did!).
Make sure to bring a lot of heat packs with you – it’s freezing in Winter!
Xx
Siree
In your opinion is it worth going here for the rides in the winter time? I’m going on a trip and I really want to go here but I’ve heard it is really bad during winter. Are most of the rides really closed? Or are some still open if I go during the Christmas Fantasy time?
Hi Lia,
If you go during the “Christmas Fantasy” season (from 9 November to 31 Dec) I really recommend it, majority of the park is open and almost all rides are available.
The Winter Wonderland season is just after the Christmas Fantasy season, and generally it’s colder in Korea at this time. Because of this most rides are closed, food stalls are closed. Overall the park still looks quite pretty, but just not as good as the “Christmas Fantasy” season. Hope this helps!
hi what date you visit everland because it feels so cold
Hi Kimv!
We most likely went to Everland in Dec-Jan which explains why it looks so cold.
Xx
Siree
Every season is wonderful enough to choose when to visit Everland , I must say. It’s so magical, felt like you’re in a dreamland.
Hi Mike, Thanks for your comment, I definitely agree that all seasons are good. I think the Snow Festival doesn’t offer as much value as the others due to many rides being closed, earlier closing times and less parades.
Hi, we plan to visit Everland btw 13 – 16 Dec. Is it a good time? will there be snow cos my kids would love the snow.
I also read there is sledding and winter fishing
Hi Aveline! I loved visiting Everland during that time. The first year I went was Dec 17th and it was great! There is sledding available during that time.
Visiting in January wasn’t so good because a lot of the park is closed.
Great tips and sharing!
http://sepatuholig.blogspot.com
IG @grace_njio
No worries Grace! Glad you found the article useful!
Beautiful. For those planning a holiday must include some theme park visits to make your holiday as exciting as possible.
Couldn’t agree more Leland!
Hello, we’re planning to visit on 14th Feb. Do you think this date is still very cold in Korea? Were hopeful to be able to ride the T-express.
Hi RM,
Thank you for your question and for taking an interest in our post about winter in Everland!
February is still cold in Seoul and if you have plans to ride the T-express, there could be a high chance it is still closed for the winter period.
As mentioned in our blog post:
If you still want to try your luck, you can check the Everland Schedule but again as mentioned, it only shows the schedule for the current week, so you’ll only be able to check it within a week of your visit.
If you are looking for a winter-friendly theme park experience, we suggest maybe Lotte World would be a better option.
You can read more about our experience of Lotte World in our blog post.
Is snow buster sledding available from 30th November 2023 – 3rd December 2023?
Hi Wynn, sorry for the late reply, I hope you found your answer from the link to the Everland schedule in our blogpost. That is your best bet to find the latest information as our experience only covers what was available at the time we went. Here it is again for anyone else reading: https://www.everland.com/everland/map you can click on attractions to find out what’s on :)
We are only just getting back into blogging now. I have been missing in action because I had my first baby last year.