Checking Out the Myanmar Amusement Park “Happy World”: An All-star Lineup from Mickey Mouse to Doraemon to…BATMAN?!

When traveling overseas, we like to check out the nearby shopping malls and amusement parks, too, whenever we can. But we don’t waste our time with the famous amusement parks that everyone and their mother has been to. For us, it’s the local, never-before-heard-of amusement parks that we love. Why? Because that’s where you can really see the way the local people live… and some of the clever stuff they’ve come up.

So, this time around, we headed to “Happy World” in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma), located right in front of the world-famous Shwedagon Pagoda.

Out of nowhere…Bugs Bunny!?

As you approach the entrance, you can see a sign with “Happy World” written on it. If you look closely you can make out a full lineup of characters, including what look like Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, and a rather questionable Doraemon. (If you’re not familiar with the name, Doraemon is a much beloved Japanese cartoon character that looks vaguely like a large robot cat.) So that’s what we have to look forward to. Alright! Let’s do it!

The mouse is in the house!

At the entrance, we were greeted by Pluto, who was helping hold up a shish kebab cart. As we proceeded into the park, there were a bunch of Happy World flags. And among them was none other than Disney’s Mickey Mouse!

The Puny Batman

Going further, we came across a Teletubbies statue. But the eyes… oh, how horrible! With a cuteness rating of zero, they were simply terrifying and if we had kids with us we’d be ushering them by as quickly as possible to avoid countless nights of bad dreams and bed wetting. After recovering from that ordeal, we headed into the facilities, and a number of suspicious Mickey Mouse figures appeared! Even legendary Japanese superhero Ultraman made an appearance, just sort of hanging out. But the best, without question, was the puny Batman we spotted in a quiet corner, a definite must-see.

Admission fee: 21 yen (US$0.21)!

All things considered, we were really looking forward to seeing some costumed characters, but, unfortunately, they never showed up. Maybe it was too hot? Still, the admission fee was only 200 kyat—about 21 yen (US$0.21). Extremely cheap! And even at that price, we could enjoy the attractions all we wanted!

Basically an indoor amusement park

While there weren’t any flashy attractions like big roller coasters, there was a haunted house, a mirror maze, an indoor Ferris wheel, and a winter room. It was a great place to play around, kind of like an indoor amusement park. And the haunted house was actually much better than we expected. (Check out the end of the video below to get an idea!)

Alcohol? No problem!

For adults, there were also some billiard tables to be enjoyed. And if you felt like relaxing, even just hanging out in the gardens around the premises was great! Then, after you’re done having fun, you can sit down and gulp down a frosty Myanmar beer. Yep, that’s right, this is a pleasure land with all the alcohol you want! If you have the time, be sure to check it out!