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Efteling
Location	Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands,
Website	www.efteling.com
Opened	1952
Operating season	April to mid-January (from 2010)
Rides	32+ total

The House of the Five Senses, the entrance of the Efteling

The Flying Dutchman

The Fata Morgana by night

Langnek, A well-known icon of Efteling theme park

The Piraña, a River Rafting Ride in a pre-Columbian atmosphere

The Villa Volta, the first modern madhouse in the world

The Python

The entrance of the indoor rollercoaster Vogelrok

Haunted Castle

Gondoletta and Pagode

Efteling logo seen from Pagode

Herald Square (Herautenplein) in the Fairy Tale Forest

Efteling is the largest theme park in The Netherlands, and as it opened in 1952, it is one of the oldest theme parks in the world. Efteling is located in the town of Kaatsheuvel, in the municipality of Loon op Zand, and has received over 100 million^[1] visitors. In 1992 Efteling received the IAAPA Applause Award for Best Amusement Park in the World.

Originally the park catered towards children with a fairy tale theme. In over fifty years the park has evolved from a nature park with playground and a Fairy Tale Forest, into a full-size theme park along the lines of Disneyland. It is twice as large as the original Disneyland park and predates it by three years. Nowadays, Efteling appeals to both young and old with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic themes and its variety of amusement rides.

History

Efteling 'officially' opened on May 31, 1952, when the Fairy Tale Forest (het Sprookjesbos), designed by the famous Dutch illustrator Anton Pieck, was declared open. Initially, the Fairy Tale Forest was home to some ten different fairy tales, all of them brought to life using original drawings by Anton Pieck alongside ingenious movements and lighting and sound effects designed by the Dutch film maker Peter Reijnders. The life-size fairy tales, displayed together in an atmospheric forest, proved to be an enormous success. In 1952 alone Efteling welcomed 240,000 visitors.^{[citation needed]}

There is some debate about whether May 31, 1952, was the actual start of Efteling: some argue that 1950 should be considered the official year of the park's establishment, since in that year Stichting Natuurpark de Efteling, or Efteling Nature Park Foundation, was founded. Others prefer 1953, when Efteling was declared 'open' by a government official, coinciding with the opening of the park's second large restaurant facility that still exists as De Ballonvaarder.^{[citation needed]}

Design

The success of Efteling has been attributed largely to its high-quality ride designs and architecture and its pleasant green environments and gardening. The park, under the aegis of its creative directors, has always had high standards. When Anton Pieck was asked to design the initial fairy tales for the park, he made sure the park would live up to his personal high standards: there would be no use of cheap building materials, plastic or concrete. Pieck's illustration style, somewhat grim and dark, yet also romantic and nostalgic, was the thematic base on which most future expansions were built.

Pieck worked for Efteling until the mid 1970s, when his position as chief designer was passed on to the young Ton van de Ven. Van de Ven had already been working for Efteling for several years and Pieck was very pleased with his work. The Haunted Castle (het Spookslot), which opened in 1978 as the park's first new large ride, was the first attraction designed entirely by Van de Ven (although he used some ideas from joint brainstorming sessions with Pieck). Later on he designed many more successful rides and new fairy tales, leading him to be considered by some as the world's best 'imagineer' after Disney.

Van de Ven continued his work until 2002, when he retired. A new team of imagineers is currently working on new Efteling rides.

Divisions

Efteling has been divided in four sections: the theme park (1952), the four-star Efteling Hotel (1992), the 18-hole golf course (1995) and the new holiday park with bungalows. The theatre which was used for park shows is to be developed in a property to house big theatre productions which are not included in park admissions. The theatre can therefore be considered as a fifth section. The hotel was operated by Golden Tulip for some years, but Efteling decided recently to manage it independently. All three divisions are profitable nowadays, although it took the golf course several years to break even. The divisions are contained in commercial corporations, but all shares are still held by the non-profit Efteling Nature Park Foundation (Stichting Natuurpark de Efteling).

The park

Efteling currently covers approximately 160 acres (650,000 m²). This area has changed only marginally over the course of its history. However, the park's foundation owns a much larger area of land, covered mostly with young forest, some grassland, roads, and an 18-hole golf course.

The park is divided into four themed areas or 'realms,' though these are not entirely comparable to Disney's 'lands.' Originally, the park was divided into four areas called North, West, East, and South, with most of the park's historical rides and attractions, like the Fairy Tale Forest, located in West. When the park reorganized its infrastructure in the late 1990s (adding the Pardoes Promenade and a central hub called Efteling Brink), it also changed its area names. North was changed to Reizenrijk (Travel Realm), West became Marerijk (Fairy Realm), East became Ruigrijk (Rough Realm), and South became Anderrijk (Differ Realm).

Most of these names may sound cryptic and whether they suit their areas is debatable, because the park was not built with this division in mind at all. Perhaps the area most suited to its name is Ruigrijk, where most fast rides like the double-loop roller coaster Python (constructed in 1981) are located. However, on closer inspection the other names make some sense too. Marerijk is the home to the Fairy Tale Forest and the Fairies of the Droomvlucht, Anderrijk has some rides that are inspired by non-Western cultures (e.g. Fata Morgana and Piraña), while Reizenrijk has the Carnaval Festival ride, which travels through several different 'countries.'

Not only the Fairy Tale Forest, but almost the entire Efteling park was built in a rather rural area, with lots of pine trees, giving it a 'nature park' feeling. Together with the large ponds and gardens (with thousands of flowers, and maintained by an army of gardeners), the park's abundant green space is rather unusual among the world's leading theme parks.

The only large park that seems to get close to this special atmosphere is Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, Dutch climate and the reliance on greenery and trees for a huge part of the park's looks (and theming) prevent year-round opening in full. Efteling used to be closed all winter (only being open from April through October), but the park's management, struggling to make the park more profitable and creating a better return-on-investment, has been experimenting with a so-called "Winter Efteling" since 1999 (see index below for attractions closed during "Winter Efteling"). Thanks to great efforts to decorate the park using loads of pine trees and thousands of Christmas lights in winter, "Winter Efteling" is growing more popular every year, reaching a climax during the holidays when thousands of people visit the park.^{[citation needed]}

Attractions, rides and fairy tales in Efteling and their designers

1952 - Fairy Tale Forest (Anton Pieck, Peter Reijnders, Ton van de Ven, Henny Knoet, Michel den Dulk and Karel Willemen)
1956 - Steam Carousel (Dutch: Carrousselpaleis, bought from L. Janvier)
1969 - Efteling Steamtrack Line (Dutch: Efteling Stoomtrein Maatschappij, a large-scale train ride)
1971 - Diorama (Anton Pieck)
1978 - Haunted Castle (Dutch: Spookslot) (Haunted attraction, Ton van de Ven)
1981 - Python (double Loop Corkscrew Roller coaster, Vekoma) Closed during “Winter Efteling”
1981 - Gondoletta (Water ride, Ton van de Ven)
1982 - Half Moon (Dutch: Halve Maen) (Ship swing, Ton van de Ven)
1983 - Piraña (a River Rafting Ride, Ton van de Ven) Closed during “Winter Efteling”
1984 - Carnival Festival (Dutch: Carnaval Festival) (dark ride, Geesink)
1984 - Polka Marina (a combination of a carousel and a mini-rollercoaster)
1984 - Tin Lizzies (Dutch: De Oude Tuffer) (Car Ride, Ton van de Ven)
1985 - Bob Track (Dutch: Bobbaan) (Bobsled roller coaster, Intamin) Closed when snowing during “Winter Efteling”
1986 - Fata Morgana (dark ride, Ton van de Ven)
1987 - Pagode (Observation tower, Ton van de Ven)
1988 - Monsieur Cannibale (Teacups Ride, Henny Knoet)
1990 - The People of Laaf (Dutch: Volk van Laaf) (Ton van de Ven)
1991 - Pegasus (Junior Wooden roller coaster, demolished in 2009, Dinn & Summer)
1993 - Dreamflight (Dutch: Droomvlucht) (dark ride, Ton van de Ven)
1996 - The House of the Five Senses (the park's spectacular entrance, Ton van de Ven)
1996 - Villa Volta (madhouse, Ton van de Ven)
1998 - Bird Rok (Dutch: Vogel Rok) (Enclosed roller coaster, Ton van de Ven)
2002 - Efteling Theatre (Dutch: Efteling Theater) (Theatre, Ton van de Ven)
2002 - PandaVision (Dutch: Pandadroom) (a 4-D film cinema, Van Doorn and associates)
2007 - The Flying Dutchman (Dutch: De Vliegende Hollander) (Water coaster / dark ride, Karel Willemen)
2009 - Forest Realm (Dutch: Bosrijk) (Accommodation area, Karel Willemen)
2009 - The East (Dutch: Station De Oost) (Themed train station / dining facility)

Future extensions:

2010 - George and the Dragon (Dutch: Joris en de Draak) (Wooden dual-coaster, Karel Willemen)
2010 - Fairy Tree (Dutch: Sprookjesboom) (Extension Fairy Tale Forest, Pim-Martijn Sanders and Karel Willemen)
2010/11 - Ravelin (Dutch: Ravel(e)ijn) (Sander de Bruijn)
2012 - To be determined

Demolitions:

In 2009 the Pegasus was demolished. It is to be replaced by the wooden dual-coaster George and the Dragon (Dutch: Joris en de Draak) in 2010.

Awards

• In 1971 the Efteling was the first theme park to receive the Pomme d'Or (Golden Apple), in recognition of superior efforts in promoting and raising Europe's level of tourism. The Pomme d'Or is the highest award in the European tourist industry.^[2]
• In 1992 the Efteling was awarded the IAAPA Applause Award for best theme park in the world.
• In 1997 Villa Volta, as the first 'new style' madhouse in the world, receives the Thea Attraction Award.
• In 2005 the Efteling received the Thea Classic Award for the year 2004, a notable token of recognition for an amusement park, because it is awarded by other people in the industry.^[3] Efteling is the second park to receive a prize for their entire oeuvre, the first being Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Disney connection

Efteling has a good relationship with the Disney theme parks. Disneyland Paris consulted Efteling during its construction and design phase, in order to adapt the American park to European culture. As a token of appreciation the Disney Company gave Efteling a small statue. Ton van de Ven, who designed many of Efteling's attractions, is also a good friend of Disney's Tony Baxter (senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering). The relationship between the two parks was emphasized when Efteling won the 2004 Thea Classic Award, the highest honour awarded by the Themed Entertainment Association: Efteling had, as it turned out, been nominated by Tony Baxter.^[3][4]

There is in fact a legend of sorts connecting Disney and Efteling: for years, rumors have circulated that Walt Disney got his inspiration for Disneyland (which opened in 1955), from Efteling (which opened in 1952) — and in the early 1950s Walt Disney travelled to Europe a few times, visiting tourist attractions. Reportedly, a brochure from the IAAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, even states that Disney "spent a great deal of time studying Pieck's work at Eftling [sic] before beginning his own parks." However, the rumour was discredited by Efteling: one of the causes of the rumour was an off-hand remark by a PR person for Efteling, who had dropped to reporters that Disney could well have visited Efteling—the reporters accordingly dropped the hypothetical from the phrase, and a legend was born. Disney probably did not visit Efteling at all, though he did visit Madurodam and Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen; the latter actually did provide some inspiration for Disneyland.^[5]

Economy and Governance

Structure

The Efteling is a private company limited by shares. The Efteling Nature Park Foundation (Stichting Natuurpark de Efteling) is the only shareholder. The foundation was founded in 1950 by R.J.Th. van der Heijden, Peter Reijnders, and Anton Pieck. The company is led by two directors. They manage four sections: the theme park, the Efteling Hotel, the Efteling Golf course and the Efteling Theatre.

Since June 1, 2008, the company's CEO has been Bart de Boer.

Employees

In the high season the Efteling employs 2500. In 2000 the number was 1670, of which 400 had a permanent contract (24%), 450 were seasonal employees (27%) and 820 had temp jobs (49%).^[6]

Visitors

The Efteling welcomed 3.240.000 visitors in 2007. This sets it as the most popular theme park in the Netherlands.^[7] The record year is 2002, when the park had 3.417.000 visitors.

In its opening year (1952),^[8] the park had 222.941 visitors.

Most of the visitors are Dutch. 94% of the Dutch population has visited the park.^[9] 16% of visitors live in areas like Flanders (Belgium), Westphalia (Germany) and Southern England (UK).^[10]

A graph of the number of visitors of the Efteling during the period 1952-2008:

Ticket price

A graph of the ticket price in euro of the Efteling during the period 1952-2008:

From 1952 to 2002, the ticket price was converted to euro using a conversion factor of 0,45378. In 1952 the ticket price was 0,80 Dutch guilders (0,36 euro). The price was 1 Dutch guilder from 1956 to 1965. The price rose to 42 Dutch guilders in 2001 and became 21 euro in 2002, during the switch to the euro.

Investments

On December 11, 2008, theme park officials announced that they would spend 40 million euros during the years 2009-2012 on three large construction projects: a convention centre accommodating 1500 visitors, an arena from the Middle Ages for 750 show spectators, and a redesign for snack bar "De Likkebaerd" to turn it into a station for the park's steam train. They also said they didn't expect to suffer from the economic crisis because they have drawn more visitors in such periods in the past.^[11]

References

External links

• Efteling.com (official website)

Coordinates: 51°39′01″N 5°02′53″E / 51.65028°N 5.04806°E / 51.65028; 5.04806

From Wikitravel

Efteling is a theme park in Kaatsheuvel, North-Brabant, The Netherlands. It's themed around fairy tales and is the largest theme park in the Benelux. It's said that it can meet itself with Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen) and Disneyland Paris.

Although very suited to families with children, it is not childish: Efteling provides more that enough to do for any age category for at least an entire day.

Understand

Originally Efteling catered towards children with a fairy tale theme, nowadays Efteling appeals to young and old with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic theme and its variety of amusement rides. In over fifty years, Efteling has evolved from a general nature park with playground and unique Fairy Tale Forest, into a full-size theme park along the lines of Disneyland.

Efteling is famous for its great attention to detail, the green atmosphere and excellent dark rides. With over three million visitors annually, it's in the top ten of European theme parks.

The base for the park as it is now was created in 1950. Artist Anton Pieck and inventor Peter Reijnders set out to create a quality fairy tale forest. Pieck's remarkable, nostalgic style combined with Reijnders' ingenuity and the use of "real" materials created an enchanting forest that immediately profiled Efteling as a national attraction upon its opening in 1952. The style set by Pieck has been the base for many developments after that, setting the park apart.

The most important milestones in its development :

• 1933: A catholic complex of sporting facilities is founded.
• 1952: The park opens its Fairy Tale Forest, which instantly becomes a tourist hit; this is considered the start of the current Efteling.
• 1978: The Haunted Castle is the first "large scale" attraction.
• 1980: Efteling starts to build thrill-rides (rollercoasters and the like) to appeal to a larger audience.
• 1987: Efteling returns to its roots with building large attractions but always themed around the (broad) fairy tales and myths theme; continues until today.
• 1999: Start of Winter Efteling. The goal is to be open year round.
• 2004: Efteling actively works on expansion with more lodging and facilities, a theatre with musical productions and a golf course.

Efteling's Entrance

The summer opening is from April 1st (or easter, whichever is earlier) until October 31st. The park opens at 10 am. Closing time is 21:00 in July and August, 24:00 on Saturdays in those months and 18:00 the rest of the year. There's also a Winter Efteling that opens in the weeks around Christmas, see the web site for exact details.

Efteling is reachable in the following ways:

• By car: the park has good parking space for around €7 per day. The park is signposted from the nearby highways.
• By train: special buses depart from 's Hertogenbosch and Tilburg railway stations at least hourly in the mornings. There's special tickets for up to three people traveling together.
• By bike: Efteling provides a guarded bicycle parking for €1 per day. The surroundings are nice green routes, a bike ride to Efteling is recommended if you're staying in the neighbourhood!

The entrance fee is €27 off-season and €29 in the summer (2008). Discounts are available for tickets bought through their website or at resellers like all Albert Heijn supermarkets. Such prepaid tickets can save you a queue at the entrance on busy days. There's also a combination train+bus+entrance ticket, which is a good deal, but this can only be ordered from the NS website in advance. Children 0-2 are free of charge.

Once inside, all attractions and shows are free (except for the Game Gallery).

Season tickets are available for €130. Dogs are not allowed in but there's a kennel at the entrance building.

Get around

Once inside the park, everything can be done on foot. It's about 65 ha big, that's around 20% larger than Disneyland Paris. Wheelchairs are available for free, and carts to take kids around kan be rented for €3.

The park is divided into four realms: Fairy Realm (Marerijk), Travel Realm (Reizenrijk), Rough Realm (Ruigrijk) and Alternative Realm (Anderrijk).

There's a (real) Steam Train that services one station in the Marerijk and one in the Ruigrijk and provides a scenic tour around the park.

See

A division between see and do is not entirely clear for a theme park, but attractions will be considered under do.

The park itself is set in a real forest, and that shows: there's a lot of green to see, and the small army of gardeners bring in large quantities of flowers each season. There's also a collection of tame animals like peacocks, ducks, geese and other birds.

Also to see are the shows and wandering entertainment. During the summer there's a free show in the Efteling Theatre multiple times a day. Besides that, the park features lots of smaller shows which change by the season, and wandering theatrical entertainment. For an up-to-date list, be sure to catch the information leaflet when entering.

A remarkable figure around the park is Holle Bolle Gijs (see image below), a sturdy character similar to Humpty Dumpty, that is insatisfiable in his hunger for paper. He keeps on asking "Paper Here", and thanks visitors that feed him their waste.

When the park has reduced opening in the winter time, a yearly changing large-scale musical production is set in the Efteling Theatre.

Do

Below are the most important attractions in the park; either because of popularity or because of notability. They are divided by realm.

Fairy Realm (Marerijk)

This is where it all started with the fairy tale forest and playground. This is also the place where the style of founder Anton Pieck can best be observed.

• Droomvlucht (Dream Flight) is the most popular in the park and a must-do. You embark on a flying journey through the wonderful world of fairies, pixies and trolls in a beautiful surrounding. A real feel-good attraction.
• Fairy Tale Forest: A must-do. Take your time for a two-hour walk through this part of the forest, and be surprised at the next scene around every corner, such as the castle of the Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, the Flying Fakir and the Girl with the Matchsticks.
• Land van Laaf: a funny village where the Laafs originate.
• Anton Pieck square: a nostalgic Dutch square, with classic merry-go-rounds, and the Efteling museum.
• Villa Volta: in this so-called mad house, you join goat rider Hugo in his house. Suddenly, what you thought was up is now down. Can be scary.
• Carousselpaleis: discover a 100 year old steam caroussel, a train diorama and a water organ.
• Steam Train: this real steam train takes you around the park.

• Vogel Rok: indoor coaster (lightly) themed around Sindbad the Sailor; make a ride through the dark with Bird Roc.
• Carnaval Festival: a ride along different countries celebrating, similar of Disney's It's A Small World.
• Pagode: this flying temple gives excellent views of the park and its green surroundings.
• Other attractions: teacups ride, boat ride, trains, infant playground.

• Python: the first and still biggest rollercoaster in Efteling, with four loops. This was the largest rollercoaster on the European mainland.
• Pegasus: classic wooden coaster, also suited for younger visitors.
• De Vliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman): combination of walkthrough, dark ride, coaster and water splash.
• Other attractions: swinging ship, merry-go-round, oldtimer cars, game gallery.
• Most attractions in the Adventure Realm are closed during Winter Efteling.

• Fata Morgana is a must-do: travel through an Arabic world like in the stories of 1001 nights: from a busy market to the pasha on his throne. A lot of details, excellent audio-animatronics.
• Piraña, a surprising river rapids ride.
• The Haunted Castle is not really scary anymore – even if its atmosphere arouses a sweet uneasy feeling... – but still beautifully made : every ten minutes, the visitor can see a large gothic scene come to "life" at the hour of midnight.
• Pandadroom (Pandavision): a 3D cinema reminding us to care for mother Earth.
• Other attractions: bobsled ride, rowing boats.

All in all there's more than enough for at least an entire day of fun.

Buy

Spread around the park are merchandising stores which sell items related to the attractions as well as general convenience items.

At the Anton Pieck square, there's also three historic vending machines: a chicken, a goose and a little blacksmith. When a coin is inserted, they shortly come to life and produce some kind of small toy – it's a surprise what it will be.

Holle Bolle Gijs on the lookout for more paper to eat

Unfortunately, exquisite food is not Efteling's strong point. The park excels in snack food though, with lots of places to buy fries or pizza. Try the typical Dutch fries with Mayonaise at the Smulpaap in Marerijk. Also available are the Dutch "eating from the wall" vending machines that give you a warm snack when money is inserted.

Apart from snacks, there's two self-service restaurants: Witte Paard in Marerijk and De Ballonvaarder in Reizenrijk. Next to the latter is also a waited restaurant Welkom, and one in the theatre near the entrance. There serve relatively simple dishes and special children's menus.

Recommended is Het Poffertje across the Caroussel palace. Here you can eat authentic Dutch poffertjes -- very small pancakes served with butter and sugar.

In contrast to many other theme parks, bringing your own food is perfectly allowed. Although smoking is allowed in open air, tobacco is not sold inside the park.

Drink

Of course there's lots of places to buy a cola or a coffee. The restaurants also sell beer and wine. Want to hang around after closing time? Try the bar of the Efteling Hotel.

• Efteling Hotel is a four star hotel just outside the park. It's equipped with both regular rooms and specially themed suites. It offers packages for rooms with park entrance.
• Efteling is building Bosrijk, a bungalow park directly adjacent to the park with cottages and apartments set in the forest. Scheduled to open in 2009.
• There's a budget Formula 1 hotel in Waalwijk, about 2 km away.
• The village of Kaatsheuvel has some smaller hotels. Nearby cities Den Bosch and Tilburg have lots of facilities.
• There are several camp sites close to Efteling, raging from simple with a few tents to full holiday paradises.
• On its web site, Efteling has an overview of nearby facilities under the name of Efteling Dream Days.

• Efteling Official Website