PLAYTIME Creating World’s Largest Indoor Soft Play Area Complex for Lotte World in Seoul, South Korea

August 25, 2010

“PLAYTIME is stretching the boundaries of soft play with Lotte World, a major recreation and shopping complex in South Korea,” says Grant Walter, PLAYTIME EVP. “This 10,000 s.f. project will be the largest, most unique soft foam play experience in the world!”

Lotte World is “a city within a city” with indoor and outdoor amusement parks, an artificial island inside a lake linked by monorail, shopping malls, a luxury hotel, a Korean folk museum, sports facilities, and movie theaters, all in one place.

Lotte World promotes its shopping center as a destination “family site” which is divided into five shopping neighborhoods including a “Street of Youthfulness.”

The new PLAYTIME installation at Lotte World will include five different soft foam play areas with classic storybook themes, and PLAYTIME’s DuraSoft Safety Flooring System with custom-printed carpet, as well as wall and ceiling theming.

“For the first time, we will incorporate non-motorized and motorized moving parts, like a soft foam, motorized raft and carousel,” says Walters. “There is also a mushroom walk and the mushrooms are on springs that wobble and play sounds when the kids step across.”

PLAYTIME is not new to the international play scene. It has designed and installed play areas in Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.

Walter says that the Lotte World project proves PLAYTIME’s recent move to its new, 65,000-square-foot facility was well worth the investment.

“We would not have been as capable of handling this project without this new facility,” he says. “This sends a strong message about PLAYTIME’s manufacturing muscle and its capabilities to deliver projects that are much more comprehensive in design and involve new innovations.”

The new Lotte World play area opens later this year.

Opened in 1989, South Korea’s Lotte World is regarded as the world's largest indoor theme park. About 8 million visitors come to Lotte World each year. Visit www.lotteworld.com.