Efteling has an excellent collection of world-class thrill rides, but what sets it apart as one of the best theme parks in the world are the smaller and less intense attractions that round out a guest’s day. There are plenty of people in the world that can ride coasters and thrill rides non-stop. Many successful theme parks like Cedar Point and Six Flags Magic Mountain have centered their businesses around thrilling guests, but many of the best theme parks in the world strike a balance between thrills and more sedate entertainment in order to appeal to wider audiences. It’s these less intense, yet highly themed and entertaining attractions and experiences that make Efteling a top theme park.
Efteling has amazing collection of dark rides, led by Symbolica, which was voted as Theme Park Insider’s best new dark ride in 2018. It was one of the first dark rides in the world to utilize trackless vehicles, and the wonders inside this richly themed environment deliver, even if you can’t understand a single word spoken within. The exterior of the attraction is something straight out of storybook with a fantastic silhouette.
Even when viewed from above aboard the park’s Pagoda spinning observation tower, Symbolica’s design demonstrates an immense attention to detail.
The surrounding area includes a beautiful fountain that doubles as a splash pad for the little ones and a Sword in the Stone-esque experience with a large staff and massive treasure chest.
However, it’s inside the attraction where designers have pulled out virtually every dark ride trick in the book to create one of the most complete experiences I’ve ever witnessed. Once inside the pre-show room, guests are grouped in front of an elaborate staircase where a human animatronic character begins to speak (in Dutch of course).
A second jester-like character then appears and “Fantasma” cues a room effect that almost certainly inspired the creators of Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway pre-show theater scene. Guests are then directed into a hallway where they can select one of three ride pathways: hero, music, or treasure. Each of the 3 themes represents a slightly different path your ride vehicle will take during various portions of the attraction, though there are a number of scenes shared by all of the vehicles. Each vehicle is also equipped with a touch screen (only for guests in the front row) that we played with on our first ride, but really couldn’t figure out what tapping the screen actually did and whether it impacted our experience on the attraction. Nonetheless, the ride is filled to the brim with exquisitely detailed scenes and tons of special effects that you’ve probably seen on other dark rides around the world. One of the most memorable was a scene that appeared to be a greenhouse that magically turned into an aquarium containing a giant whale that caused the glass to crack and leak – likely an inspiration for a Mosasaur scene in Jurassic World at Universal Studios Hollywood. The beauty of Symbolica is that while it uses a complicated and technologically advanced ride system, the attraction still relies on a lot of traditional practical effects and traditional dark ride tricks like forced perspective, Pepper’s ghosts, and animatronics. Unlike a lot of modern dark rides, this one doesn’t rely on a lot of screens. There’s not much of a real story that we could glean from Symbolica, probably because we didn’t understand much of what was being said throughout, but the sights and sounds along the course are magnificent.
Another well-themed dark ride at Efteling is Fata Morgana which is a lot like Pirates of the Caribbean with an Arabian theme. Unlike the American versions of PotC, Fata Morgana pulls boats along the course using cables to ensure guests go through the attraction at a steady pace without having to rely on water currents to push boats along the inevitably create jams along the course. Inside the attraction is a lush environment full of hundreds of animatronic figures and highly detailed scenery. Like many Disney attractions, you could probably ride Fata Morgana dozens of times and see something new on every ride. The exterior of the attraction is equally detailed with an Arabian square that could slip right into EPCOT’s World Showcase. In the square, there’s a giant troll puppet that is used by 2 actors to perform a show for guests passing by. Again, we had no idea what was being said, but the show was mesmerizing, and reminded me a lot of the Mystic Fountain at Islands of Adventure as children would be encouraged to walk up and interact with the giant puppet (minus the water spraying).
Another highly themed dark ride reminiscent of a Disney attraction is Carnival Festival. This omni-mover ride is clearly inspired by It’s a Small World with clown-esque characters filling in for the children in different scenes from around the world. It’s a cute little ride, and happily (I guess for some) is lacking the incessant earworm of the Disney classic.
Droomvlucht is a suspended dark ride that takes guests through a forest filled with fairies and other fantastical creatures. The ride system is a bit similar to E.T. and Peter Pan, but this attraction has a section of the ride that allows vehicles to freely roll down the track, which adds some excitement to the experience. Droomvlucht is the only attraction at The Efteling that utilizes a virtual queue, and in order to utilize it, you must be physically close to the ride. However, if you plan on seeing Raveleijn, the park’s impressive stunt show, you can get into the virtual queue for Droomvlucht while you watch the show, and most likely won’t need to wait very long to get on the popular dark ride.
Speaking of Raveleijn, it is a show that is not to be missed. It’s staged in a massive amphitheater that can even accommodate guests enjoying a meal during the show a la Medieval Times. The show is a combination of jousting, stunt show, special effects show, and magic show.
The language barrier isn’t too much of a concern with Raveleijn as the story is pretty simple with a group of warriors trying to prove themselves to earn special weapons that are used to defeat the villain.
The action occurs across and around the expansive stage, which means every part of the theater gets some great views (and some not so great views) of the action. We didn’t spend a ton of time in the theme parks we visited to take in the shows, but of the ones we did see, Raveleijn was the most memorable.
The other show we didn’t want to miss was Aquanura, which is the evening water-based show that occurs on the lagoon near the front of the park. The show runs multiple times over the course of the evening, but it’s probably best viewed after the sun goes down. Aquanura is more like the Fountains of Bellagio than it is like World of Color or Fantasmic (or the retired Rivers of Light). The show is composed of fountains and lights dancing to a symphonic soundtrack and is mesmerizing with its beauty and impeccable synchronicity. I probably wouldn’t rate it above Disney’s iconic water-based shows, but Aquanura is still a wonderful “kiss” goodnight to departing guests.
There are a few other smaller rides around the park including Gondoletta (a long, slow moving outdoor boat ride around a large lagoon), a classic steam carrousel (Stoomcarrousel), and plenty of smaller rides for the little ones.
However, the real heart of The Efteling is the Fairytale Forest. Any visit to this park is not complete without taking a stroll through this masterpiece of theme park design.
There are no rides here, but you can easily spend an hour or longer just walking around and taking in all of the stories.
There are 30 different fairytales represented, many that you will be familiar with and some that you may not.
Some of the stories are told through scenes inside small houses/huts, while others are told through elaborate displays and special effects.
Animatronic figures are everywhere, and some of the scenes allow guests to hear the narration in different languages, including English, which is a big help for some of the lesser-known stories.
Of course, you can’t leave the Fairytale Forest without seeing Donkey Lift Your Tail, which is actually equipped to take digital forms of payment so you can secure a souvenir medallion from the ass, literally.
Efteling is a marvelous theme park and should be looked at as a standard other parks strive to achieve. It has exceptional balance in its attraction lineup, though it would be better if the thrill rides were better distributed around the park. It puts theming first, and then builds an experience around the theme instead of the other way around. The park is further enhancing their collection of resorts that are already exceptional with the addition of the Efteling Grand Hotel and will be adding another unique attraction later this fall (Danse Macabre). Any European theme park vacation cannot be complete without spending at least a full day at Efteling.
Next up – Hotel Charles Lindbergh
Previously – Liseberg, Legoland Billund, Efteling's thrill rides
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had the wonderful experience of visiting The Efteling July 2018. Did a good bit of research on what we could see in an 8 hour time frame, but for some dumb reason, made the mistake that Villa Volta was just a "crooked house" attraction so we opted to skip it. Ugh!!!
@Mbrussmco - As with many Mack Madhouse attractions, Villa Volta is incredibly unreliable from an operational perspective and was not running either day we were in Efteling (we missed Hex when we visited Alton Towers last year, and Houdini at SFGAdv has been closed more often than it's open the last half dozen times we've visited that park). I'm sure Efteling's Madhouse is one of the best versions of the attraction in the world, though the one we would ride later in the week at Europa Park (Casandra's Curse) was the best ride of this type I've personally experienced.
Can't wait to go! Will be there in October and I really hope Villa Volta is working but the main thing I wand to do is Symbolica. We were planning on skipping the show since we don't speak Dutch but now I think will make the time for it since it does look pretty neat.
@Russell Meyer, appreciate the info. it was open the day we were there. will just give me an excuse to go back, not that i need one.
Francis 24, Symbolica is a wonderful experience as are all of Efteling's dark rides. don't miss any of them. i am also really excited for Danse Macabre.
@mbrusmco - oh yes all the dark rides or top of my list. Gonna miss Danse Macabre by 3 days! :(
At least its just a flat ride and not a new dark ride so I don't mind to much but still would have been nice to see it.
@Francis 24, you will still have a wonderful time. Efteling is such a beautiful and whimsical place...Will look forward to reading your trip report. Enjoy!!
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I really appreciate the attention to detail by making sure the top of Symbolica's ride building is themed out. The only bit of a bummer is the area around Vogelrok could use a bit more themeing. Carnival plopped right there doesn't really go for the whole "sinbad" idea.