New Fairytale Kingdom in South Korea and Turtle-Shaped Aquarium Opens in Vietnam
New Lotte World Theme Park Opens in South Korea
A new fairytale kingdom has awakened in Busan, South Korea. Lotte World Adventure Busan is the crown jewel of a 6 trillion won tourism initiative designed to turn the southern Korean port city into a luxury leisure destination. The park, Lotte World’s second, bears little resemblance to its smaller Seoul counterpart.
“The design goal was to raise the bar for what a boutique, Asian regional theme park can be,” says Taylor Jeffs, president and chief creative officer of Legacy Entertainment. “Our goal was to demonstrate that bigger isn’t always better.”
Lotte World Adventure Busan features six elaborately themed zones, spread over 1.7 million square feet. Among the 17 rides are three high-thrill attractions—“Giant Digger” (a Mack Rides Launch Coaster), “Giant Splash” (a Mack Rides PowerSplash), and a “Giant Swing” by Zamperla.
Vietnam Welcomes Turtle-Shaped Aquarium
The Sea Shell, one of the largest aquariums in Vietnam, recently opened in Phú Quốc. Vinpearl collaborated with Legacy Entertainment to create the nearly 300,000-square-foot facility, located within VinWonders theme park. The aquarium is shaped like a turtle and pays tribute to Vietnamese culture with its unique design.
“The opening of The Sea Shell signifies a new era for aquarium attractions in Southeast Asia,” says Eric Carnagey, Legacy Entertainment’s man-aging director. “With richly immersive environments, oversized habitats, and cutting-edge life support systems, every element of this new facility has been realized at a world-class level.”
As international travel resumes and borders throughout Asia begin to reopen amid easing COVID-19 restrictions, the hope is that the aquarium’s addition will be a key component to rebuilding Vietnam’s tourism sector, according to Legacy.
“Vietnam is emerging as one of the most exciting markets for location-based entertainment in the entire world, and we at Legacy currently have several active projects within that country,” Carnagey says. “Developers like Vinpearl are giving our dreamers and designers bold opportunities, the likes of which don’t come along very often. Where else in the world could you build a stadium-sized turtle?”
