Day 14: Miffy Store and Lotte World Ice Skating Rink

Through watching various Korean dramas and variety shows, I came to know a little about Lotte World before my visit today, mainly that it was part amusement park and also part indoor skating rink. On several occasions, I've seen the amusement park and rink used as the backdrop for romantic scenes or family outings. As I was heading there alone, I made up my mind prior that I wasn't going to check out the amusement park part of it. I was going more to check out the ice rink instead. I knew there was also a mall component so I planned to do some window shopping as well.

I was familiar with the route to Lotte World as I had gone to the Jamsil area once earlier in my trip to visit the COEX Mall. Lotte World was located just a few stops East of that along the same line.

When I got to Lotte World, I found it to be a giant complex of shops, restaurants and indoor and outdoor entertainment. There seemed to be 2 distinct sections to Lotte World; the shopping mall section and the amusement park section with the two merging where the ice skating rink is.

I got off at Jamsil Station and after a short walk into the Lotte World Shopping Mall, my eyes grew big like a startled rabbit at the sight of a Miffy Store!

I love Miffy and having no idea that I would run into a Miffy Store, I was that much more excited when I saw it. I can’t really remember when my love for all things Miffy started but it was probably in my mid-20s or so (*^^*). I know, I should feel immature for liking Miffy but his cuteness is unstoppable and he is one of the sweetest little bunnies. Rabbits are my favourite animal and if I ever lived in a warm climate all year round, I think I would build an outdoor pen so that I could have a yard full of roaming bunnies. I really like the simple and cute design of Miffy and how he has such a big head relative to the rest of his body like a baby.

The Miffy Store in Lotte World had a large selection of Miffy merchandise and as expected, most of it was baby or children’s stuff like toys, clothes, lunch boxes, stationary and some house ware items. I really wanted to buy a mid-sized Miffy plush toy but the practical side that stopped me from buying one in Tokyo a couple of years back also stopped me again. If I had bought one, it would most likely just end up sitting alongside a few other stuffed animals I still have from my childhood in the corner of my room collecting dust. Not to leave empty handed however, I picked up a couple of mini Miffy’s. Remember to always buy in pairs or one will get lonely! They are about 10cms tall and have a ring that you can use to attach them to things like your bag. Aren’t they cute?

Here is a quick clip from outside the Miffy Store.

After getting my fix of Miffy, I moved on and eventually found the Lotte World Indoor Ice Skating Rink. The ice skating rink area is viewable from the first and second floors of the mall and the third floor actually forms part of the larger amusement park area which requires a separate admission.
The entrance to the amusement park located indoors and Magic Island outdoors was close by and judging from the people buying tickets, the place was as popular for families as it was for couples. Sigh…travelling by yourself has its advantages and on the whole is awesome except for when you come to places like this…. T.T

There is no shortage of food selection in and around the rink as it’s surrounded by all kinds of restaurants along the perimeter on the first and second floors. Most of the restaurants seemed to be of the Western variety and they range from desserts to your typical fast food places to more traditional dining places.

As for the rink itself, it was divided into 3 designated skating areas. The center of the rink was being used by staff to teach figure skating. The middle of the rink was dedicated to speed skating and the outer rink area was used by casual skaters.

As Korea typically does extremely well in speed skating at the world stage, it was no surprise to find many young kids donned in full speed skating gear aspiring to be future gold medalists for their country. While they did not appear to be the fastest skaters yet, they certainly had the winning forms of future medalists. See for yourself!

I checked out the rink from both the bottom and top levels and watched the youngsters train for a while and then grabbed a quick lunch at Lotteria (again!). I thought about renting a pair of skates and testing out my skating skills for the first time in decades but I thought better of it. I love skating but I can't remember the last time I actually donned a pair of ice skates. After doing a little more eye shopping, I left Lotte World and headed back to the Jamsil Station to go to my next destination. I was kind of sad that I didn’t get to visit the amusement park areas and Magic Island but I vowed to one day return with either an 애인 or family in tow.^^