Are you looking for yet one more theme park attraction starring a Princess and something small and green?
Next year, Dutch theme park Efteling will add a 31st scene to its Fairytale Forest attraction - The Princess and the Pea. Based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and inspired by a sketch created by park founder Anton Pieck, this installation will be placed between the Troll King and Mother Holle's well, on the forest's edge and behind the new Efteling Grand Hotel.
"To highlight something small in the foreground, Anton Pieck often placed a grand backdrop behind it," Efteling head designer and manager of the Design & Experience department, Sander de Bruijn, said. "We also apply that principle here. The impressive hotel forms a perfect backdrop for the gazebo, which is actually a royal annex of the Efteling Grand Hotel. With the same style elements and design, that connection is immediately made, and the link with overnight stays becomes extra applicable."
The Princess and the Pea tells the story of a queen who tested a young lady claiming to be a princess by placing a hard, uncooked pea underneath the collection of mattresses and blankets upon which she slept. Only a true princess would be sensitive enough to feel the pea, the tale goes. In keeping with the story, Efteling displayed "the pea" from the fairy tale in its museum for more than 50 years. The Princess and the Pea will be the first addition to Fairytale Forest since The Six Swans in 2019.
For a look at a few of the installations from the attraction, please see my 2017 trip report. Efteling's Fairytale Forest is one of the world's great theme park attractions - a park within the park that is filled with scenes from classic fairy tales and provides ample opportunities for visitors of all ages to explore.
Elsewhere at Efteling, the new Efteling Grand Hotel is now under construction for a planned opening next year. The seven-floor hotel will offer 140 rooms and two restaurants, next to the park's entrance. Later this year, Efteling will open Danse Macabre, an Intamin Dynamic Motion Stage that takes its title from Camille Saint-Saëns' 1874 orchestral work and is themed to an original story.
For tickets and transportation to the park, please visit our partner's Efteling tickets page.
To keep up to date with more theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter.
This article has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
