Hi everyone.
I've not logged in on this forum in about 2 years. I tend to come here to read park guides and trip reports though. iirc I asked why the Dutch park the Efteling isn't on the park guides. I was told that the park guides are made by members of the site and with their photos. I've noticed that since then, the park guide still hasn't been added, so I can only assume that no one's been there, or no one's taken photos.
The Efteling is celebrating its 60th birthday this year, and since I hadn't been there in a very very long time, I thought it was about time I went for a visit. I did not take many photos, because I never take a camera with me to a theme park. The photos that I did take are iPhone photos, so I am not sure if the quality will be acceptable for use on the park guides section of the site. The other reason that I didn't take many photos, is because the queues were very short throughout the whole day, so we were too busy having fun and kinda forgot about taking photos.
If however, these photos are good enough for the park guides (although I doubt it), feel free to use them.
The park started out as a "Fairy tale forest" in 1952. The original designer of this was the illustrator Anton Pieck. This Fairy tale forest is still an important part of the park, and many of the rides are based on fairy tales. There's a small museum in the park, where you can see some of the original drawings, among other things.
Even an ancient map of the park.
I visited the Efteling with my brother and his gf, last friday. The double wooden rollercoaster "Joris en de draak" (George and the dragon) was up first. It wasn't a busy day and we'd arrived around opening time, so the queues were only 5 to 10 minutes. The two sides are called "Water" and "Vuur" (water and fire). First we went on Water, then Vuur. And as you'd expect, we lost both times... :lol: I really enjoyed this one though. Although I loved the Pegasus that used to be on this site, this new wooden coaster is a much smoother ride. And surprisingly quick. It feels much faster than Walibi's Robin Hood, even though its top speed is actually lower.
Part of Joris en de draak and De Vliegende Hollander.
Next up was "Python". Simple, but imho great layout of 2 loopings and a double corkscrew. From what I remembered from last time I was here, I was expecting the ride to be quite rough. It wasn't, and as I was wondering why, it suddenly dawned on me that the trains looked brand new. Quite similar to the one on Speed of Sound, at Walibi Holland. Turns out I was right, the Python has been treated to a set of new trains december last year.
A little bit of history: When Vekoma built this rollercoaster in 1981, its 750m length made it the longest rollercoaster on the European continent. It was not made in sections and then transported to the park, as they'd do nowadays, but it was welded on site.
"De Vliegende Hollander" (the Flying Dutchman) had been closed earlier, but after our ride on Python, we noticed it was now running, but without passengers... We decided to go have a look and there was a 15 minute queue, and it looked like they'd be letting passengers on any minute. Of course, the moment we got into one of the boats, the lights went on and the announcement was made that they were having technical difficulties. We were told we could remain seated though, and wait. Nothing to worry about really, as I've heard this happens quite a lot. In fact, according to most people I know who have been to the Efteling, we were lucky the ride was open in the first place. After 15 more minutes the problem was fixed and we were good to go. At first I wasn't sure it was a good idea to get front row seats in this one, but I was happy we did, as everyone else got quite wet, but we didn't. :lol:
De Vliegende Hollander, the lift hill is inside:
After that we walked around for a bit and decided to go to "Halve Maen" (Half Moon). According to the sign, it's the world's largest ship swing (based on the capacity of 85 passengers). It is modeled after a Dutch East India Co. ship. It is one of the Efteling's icons and was built shortly after the Python.
Next was the "Pagode", which is the park's observation tower, which offers a nice view of the park and surrounding area.
The view, with the rollercoasters hiding between the trees:
"Vogel Rok" was up next. This is an indoors (dark) rollercoaster based on the story of Sinbad and the bird Roc, from 1001 nights. The on board music and the wind and light effects make this one a fun ride.
We then spent some time doing the other attractions, such as the "Carnaval Festival", the "Droomvlucht" (dream flight) and "Villa Volta". Villa Volta was the first Vekoma madhouse in the world, but imho the theming is not as good as the ones in Walibi Holland and Alton Towers. It is based on the local legend of the buckriders. Sadly, there were too many screaming children to be able to hear the story.
Of course we could not resist "Monsieur Cannibale"... In fact, the tune is still stuck in my head... :lol:
The "Bob" had been closed most of the morning, but as we walked into that area of the park, we could hear it was now operating, so we went there next. Just like the Python, this bobsled coaster has been treated to new cars since the last time I was here.
Next up was "Fata Morgana", a dark boat ride based on the stories of 1001 nights, and then "Piraña", river rapids ride with Mexican/Aztec theming. I didn't go on this one, as I didn't think the weather was good enough for it...
After that we had some time left for a couple more rides of Python and Joris en de draak. As we made our way back to the entrance of the park, we were surprised by the amount of visitors that had accumulated to watch "Aquanura". It was too busy to take photos during the show though... Aquanura was built for the 60th anniversary of the park and is the largest fountain system in Europe. It is based on the fairy tale of the Frog Prince. During the weekend, the park stays opened longer, and I guess that's when Aquanura is best viewed, because of the light effects, which aren't that visible during the day. But even without the light effects, I was quite impressed and loved the way the fountains were timed to the music.
I did take this photo after it finished. Aquanura is situated in the pond next to Fata Morgana.
I've not logged in on this forum in about 2 years. I tend to come here to read park guides and trip reports though. iirc I asked why the Dutch park the Efteling isn't on the park guides. I was told that the park guides are made by members of the site and with their photos. I've noticed that since then, the park guide still hasn't been added, so I can only assume that no one's been there, or no one's taken photos.
The Efteling is celebrating its 60th birthday this year, and since I hadn't been there in a very very long time, I thought it was about time I went for a visit. I did not take many photos, because I never take a camera with me to a theme park. The photos that I did take are iPhone photos, so I am not sure if the quality will be acceptable for use on the park guides section of the site. The other reason that I didn't take many photos, is because the queues were very short throughout the whole day, so we were too busy having fun and kinda forgot about taking photos.
If however, these photos are good enough for the park guides (although I doubt it), feel free to use them.The park started out as a "Fairy tale forest" in 1952. The original designer of this was the illustrator Anton Pieck. This Fairy tale forest is still an important part of the park, and many of the rides are based on fairy tales. There's a small museum in the park, where you can see some of the original drawings, among other things.
Even an ancient map of the park.
I visited the Efteling with my brother and his gf, last friday. The double wooden rollercoaster "Joris en de draak" (George and the dragon) was up first. It wasn't a busy day and we'd arrived around opening time, so the queues were only 5 to 10 minutes. The two sides are called "Water" and "Vuur" (water and fire). First we went on Water, then Vuur. And as you'd expect, we lost both times... :lol: I really enjoyed this one though. Although I loved the Pegasus that used to be on this site, this new wooden coaster is a much smoother ride. And surprisingly quick. It feels much faster than Walibi's Robin Hood, even though its top speed is actually lower.
Part of Joris en de draak and De Vliegende Hollander.
Next up was "Python". Simple, but imho great layout of 2 loopings and a double corkscrew. From what I remembered from last time I was here, I was expecting the ride to be quite rough. It wasn't, and as I was wondering why, it suddenly dawned on me that the trains looked brand new. Quite similar to the one on Speed of Sound, at Walibi Holland. Turns out I was right, the Python has been treated to a set of new trains december last year.
A little bit of history: When Vekoma built this rollercoaster in 1981, its 750m length made it the longest rollercoaster on the European continent. It was not made in sections and then transported to the park, as they'd do nowadays, but it was welded on site.
"De Vliegende Hollander" (the Flying Dutchman) had been closed earlier, but after our ride on Python, we noticed it was now running, but without passengers... We decided to go have a look and there was a 15 minute queue, and it looked like they'd be letting passengers on any minute. Of course, the moment we got into one of the boats, the lights went on and the announcement was made that they were having technical difficulties. We were told we could remain seated though, and wait. Nothing to worry about really, as I've heard this happens quite a lot. In fact, according to most people I know who have been to the Efteling, we were lucky the ride was open in the first place. After 15 more minutes the problem was fixed and we were good to go. At first I wasn't sure it was a good idea to get front row seats in this one, but I was happy we did, as everyone else got quite wet, but we didn't. :lol:
De Vliegende Hollander, the lift hill is inside:
After that we walked around for a bit and decided to go to "Halve Maen" (Half Moon). According to the sign, it's the world's largest ship swing (based on the capacity of 85 passengers). It is modeled after a Dutch East India Co. ship. It is one of the Efteling's icons and was built shortly after the Python.
Next was the "Pagode", which is the park's observation tower, which offers a nice view of the park and surrounding area.
The view, with the rollercoasters hiding between the trees:
"Vogel Rok" was up next. This is an indoors (dark) rollercoaster based on the story of Sinbad and the bird Roc, from 1001 nights. The on board music and the wind and light effects make this one a fun ride.
We then spent some time doing the other attractions, such as the "Carnaval Festival", the "Droomvlucht" (dream flight) and "Villa Volta". Villa Volta was the first Vekoma madhouse in the world, but imho the theming is not as good as the ones in Walibi Holland and Alton Towers. It is based on the local legend of the buckriders. Sadly, there were too many screaming children to be able to hear the story.
Of course we could not resist "Monsieur Cannibale"... In fact, the tune is still stuck in my head... :lol:
The "Bob" had been closed most of the morning, but as we walked into that area of the park, we could hear it was now operating, so we went there next. Just like the Python, this bobsled coaster has been treated to new cars since the last time I was here.
Next up was "Fata Morgana", a dark boat ride based on the stories of 1001 nights, and then "Piraña", river rapids ride with Mexican/Aztec theming. I didn't go on this one, as I didn't think the weather was good enough for it...
After that we had some time left for a couple more rides of Python and Joris en de draak. As we made our way back to the entrance of the park, we were surprised by the amount of visitors that had accumulated to watch "Aquanura". It was too busy to take photos during the show though...
Aquanura was built for the 60th anniversary of the park and is the largest fountain system in Europe. It is based on the fairy tale of the Frog Prince. During the weekend, the park stays opened longer, and I guess that's when Aquanura is best viewed, because of the light effects, which aren't that visible during the day. But even without the light effects, I was quite impressed and loved the way the fountains were timed to the music.I did take this photo after it finished. Aquanura is situated in the pond next to Fata Morgana.
