| Efteling in Brabant |
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Originally the park catered towards children with a fairy tale theme. Nowadays Efteling appeals to both young and old with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic themes and its variety of amusement rides. 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. In 1992 Efteling received the IAAPA Applause Award for Best Amusement Park in the World. History There is some debate about whether May 31st, 1952 is 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 erected. 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. Design 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 The park 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 (Adventure Realm (literally: Rough Realm)) and South became Anderrijk (Alternative Realm). Most of these names are rather 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 the park a very special and unique 'nature park' feeling. Together with the large ponds and gardens (with thousands of flowers and an army of gardeners) it gives the park a green and friendly feeling which is rather unusual among the world's leading themeparks. 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 great looks (and theming!) are putting a bit of a stopper on a truly successful year-round opening. 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.
Hotels in the region: Find direction to the Efteling on this map.
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