Why I Love the Efteling
“Are you okay? Are you still having fun?” my wife calmly asked our three year old son as we carried him off the third ride we’d been on that morning.
Since we’d arrived in the Efteling he’d been absorbing everything in stunned silence. He’d never experienced a theme park before and we’d just taken him on Symbolica, Droomvlucht and Villa Volta in quick succession. Villa Volta had maybe been a bit of a gamble but he usually enjoys swings.
He took a moment to assess the question, slowly took in his surroundings and then without making eye contact replied with a long drawn out, “jaaaaa.” It wasn’t very convincing to be honest. Luckily a huge grin appeared on his face a few moments later (especially when he saw the nearby train). We didn’t have to ask his older sister if she was enjoying herself. That was already obvious by the way she’d been cheering all morning. I was not surprised by either reaction. I love the Efteling too.
What Makes the Efteling so great
When I first arrived in the Netherlands I did not know about the existence of the Efteling. I had no idea that I lived so close to such an amazing theme park experience. Luckily, my wife introduced me to the theme park shortly after we’d met and I have been in love ever since (with the theme park as well as her).
There are so many great things about the Efteling. It’s a theme park with an amazing sense of history but it does not feel old. Quite the opposite in fact. It manages to be innovative and highly inventive while still remaining true to the things that (I suspect) made it special and unique when it first opened, style and storytelling.
Style
A large part of the amazing style (if not all of it) is thanks to the parks original designer, the famous Dutch illustrator Anton Pieck. It’s a style the park still follows today even after Pieck’s passing in 1987. He even has an area of the park named after him, Anton Pieck Plein.
Not only is it a very beautiful and strangely unique style but it’s also what gives the park that sense of history (without feeling old) that I was talking about. The style ties everything together and makes the park feel like a whole rather than a random collection of rides.
Storytelling
Everywhere you go in the Efteling it is obvious that storytelling is deeply important too. Not just theme, but story. You can see it in everything from the calmest family ride to the highest adrenaline filled roller coasters. Almost everything has a story to tell.
It’s not surprising considering the park started in 1952 with the Sprookjesbos. It’s a forest walk which included scenes from famous fairy-tale stories. The Sprookjesbos has continued to grow with the rest of the park. It remains an important and delightful part of the Efteling experience.
Music
Another thing I have to mention about the Efteling is the amazing music. The Efteling has the best ride music of any theme park I’ve been to. The music from rides like Villa Volta, De Vliegende Hollander, Fata Morgana are all so recognizable.
In the case of Festival Carnival that music is also very catchy and impossible to get out of your head. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself singing the tune several months (or years) after being on the ride. If you are ever with a group of Dutch people and want to know who might have been to the Efteling just start singing the tune and see who joins in.
Amazing Rides
All of the things I have mentioned are what make the Efteling and its rides so amazing. It’s very difficult for me to pick out my favorite ride or rides. There are too many great ones. However, I can at least mention a few of them (in no particular order).
Droomvlucht – A magical family ride through the land of dreams were you will see castles floating in the sky, visit fairies and drop into the goblin forest.
Villa Volta – Based on the local legend of the Bokkenrijders this ride invites you into the cursed home of Hugo van den Loonsche Duynen. Within the walls of the house visitors seem to be swung upside down as the room spins around them.
Carnival Festival – A fun cartoon style family ride through the different countries of the world with the for mentioned music that will never leave your brain.
De Vliegende Hollander – A spooky and atmospheric boat ride/rollercoaster hybrid that takes you through a dark and stormy night at sea, hunted by the ghost ship known as the Flying Dutchman, before dropping you into high speed twists and turns.
Symbolica – Guests are invited to an audience with the king in the castle of fantasy and imagination. However, the slightly mischievous Pardoes decides to take them on a magic filled tour of the castle first.
Fata Morgana – A boat ride through the world of 1001 Arabian nights, from busy market place and decadent palaces to dangerous jails and guarded treasure troves.
Baron 1898 – A dive coaster that drops into a haunted mine where vengeful spirits guard their gold from anyone who would try to take it.
Growing Obsession
Since we got home from our visit our children’s obsession with the Efteling has continued to grow.
Our son has developed the habit of (randomly and without reason) walking around the house saying, “papier hier.” Sometimes he does this for more than 10 minutes straight.
Our daughter has already declared that on our next visit she is going to ride all the roller-coasters. This is despite not daring to do so this time. She is already preparing herself by studying videos of the roller-coasters in action on youtube. She is already determined to go on the Barron (a dive coaster and the fastest ride in the park) first. Luckily for her we are already planning our next visit.
Tell me in the comments below what you love about the Efteling? Never been? Then find out more about the amazing Dutch theme park at the official Efteling website.
If you would like to see more about our trips to the Dutch theme park check out the time we took Alex de Leeuw to the Efteling.
Sprookjesbos… one ‘o’ in the second bit.. ;)
But yeah, kids love the Efteling and everything in it. Adults too, but shhh…. it’s a secret ;)
Papier hier! :D
Oops. I thought it was two. Thanks for letting me know. I just fixed it.
We still haven’t been! I think the Amsterfam will be there soon, especially after this description! (And I “ahhhhh”ed at the “in love ever since’ bit!)
You have to go :D I’d love to see what you think about it and read one of your great blog posts about the experience.
I LOVE this place – been going since I was a child, and now take my 2 children. Try to go every 1 or 2 years – I dream of living in Holland so I can visit more often, and my kids want to work there when they grow up! :-)
I’m a grownup and part of me wouldn’t mind working there.
Then there’s the Winter Efteling, with fake snow, Christmas lights, hot chocolate, mulled wine, fairy tale figures wearing winter clothes, campfires……
It’s lovely!
We are going to the winter Efteling this year. The kids don’t know yet but we are going :)
We live quite close, and had a year card since July last year that just expired. After a few times, you go less for the rides and more for just how incredible the park looks and the wonderful ambience there. Part of it is the incredible attention to detail that is visible everywhere and in everything. No matter how often you go, there is always something you haven’t noticed before.
That is so true and now I wish I had a year card too :D
I’m sad to admit that I haven’t been there since.. Highschool I guess, so around 20 years ago. At this point, at least half the park will be new for me if I ever go back, and i hope I will. One ride is even gone. I would have liked to get on their oldskool wooden rollercoaster once more.
The good news is they replaced it with another wooden roller coaster. they have built a lot of great new rides in the last few years. It’s worth going again.