Danse Macabre has opened at Efteling. Inspired by Camille Saint-Saens' 1874 symphonic poem, Danse Macabre is the first installation of Intamin's Dynamic Motion Stage ride.
But Efteling never just installs a thrill ride when it can tell a story about it. The park's backstory for Danse Macabre starts with the disappearance in 1876 of conductor Joseph Charlatan and his orchestra. Charlatan's descendants have inherited an enchanted barrel organ, Esmeralda, which has led them around the cities where Charlatan's orchestra played, eventually bringing them to Huyverwoud - this newly themed forest area in the park. Is the chapel here the musicians' final resting place?
Efteling has created a suitably spooky replacement for its former haunted house walk-through. The ruin of a 14th-century medieval abbey provides the focal point for Huyverwoud, as well as a home for the Danse Macabre ride. Graves in memory of the lost musicians line the queue, which winds through an herb garden once used by monks in the abbey. Recycled items from Spookslot - Efteling's former haunted attraction which once stood here - dot the site, including a ruined wall from the old ride building, chandeliers in the Dr. Charlatan's Kwalycke Zaken shop and the In den Swarte Kat snack shop, and candle holders and dancing balustrades in the chapel at the heart of the new ride.
The Intamin Dynamic Motion Stage seats up to 108 riders, with three pews of six riders on each of six turntables. Those turntables sit atop a single, large turntable that rises and falls, horizontally or diagonally. More than 60 speakers surround riders with sound, while the lighting system supports multiple special effects during the 3.5-minute cycle time.
From this first-look on-ride video, it appears that, while Danse Macabre is a spinning ride, the speed and direction of the motion helps it feel more like you're dancing to spooky music rather than about to meet your maker.
Danse Macabre and the surrounding Huyverwoud area represent a €35 million investment by Efteling. An orchestra of 75 musicians recorded the soundtrack for the ride, which includes René Merkelbach's orchestration of Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre.
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As expected, the theming on this attraction looks incredible. However, I'm still trying to figure out the appeal of this ride system. I'm sure Efteling is still not showing everything that occurs during the ride cycle, but aside from a full platform "drop" (though it doesn't look it can drop more than 5-8 feet), the motion of the ride doesn't appear very dynamic or thrilling. It looks like a super slow teacup ride where the floor waves up and down. I expect the exquisite theming will plaster over the lack of thrill here, but it really doesn't present this ride system as the revolutionary attraction platform that was indicated when this was announced.