Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Efteling

The Efteling is a theme park here in The Netherlands. It's located near Tilburg, which makes it only about a 30 mile drive from Eindhoven.

I think that The Efteling has a little bit of something for everyone. There is a good mix of slightly more tame rides alongside the horrifying terror of upside down loops (I used to LOVE roller coasters like that, but I think I'm getting old because they just aren't fun for me anymore).

Picture 1134
Martijn is near the back in a yellow shirt.

The best rides though, are the slightly more mellow indoor rides like the Droomvlucht (The Dreamflight). You get into a gondola and "fly" through scenes of fairies, forests, trolls, and other fantastical things. It seems like a lot of detail goes into getting the ambience just right, and the music that goes along really fits with what you're looking at.

Picture 1147
The entrance to the Droomvlucht

Honestly though, the main reason you need to visit The Efteling is Het Sprookjesbos (The Fairytale Forest). There are more than 20 different fairy tale scenes depicted in Het Sprookjesbos.

Picture 1173
Sign pointing the way to Little Red Riding Hood

Most are inspired by the brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault and brought to life with animatronics. You can watch the mean witch climbing up and down Rapunzel's long hair, the little red dancing shoes, and the wolf waiting for Little Red Riding hood among other things.
The Efteling
Collage of Het Sprookjesbos


Even the ATMs are cool!

Picture 1185
BANK!

I love clever little plays on words. The big couch is an ATM... the Dutch word for couch is bank. Get it? The bank is a BANK! Oh geez, I love it!

11 comments:

Amy said...

Wow, one of my favorite things in the world are fairy tales. I would love to go there just for that. I love that you share so much of the culture and what tourist attractions with the rest of us who don't really have anything cool nearby. Thank you so much. I get to live vicariously through you.

Noodle said...

That looks like so much fun... Wish I could come check out the forest of fairy tales...

Sonya said...

I want to go there sooooooo bad..lol I just love all the fairy stuff.The atm looks so cool!!LOL

Unknown said...

That place looks like a lot of fun. I was taken to a theme park in Holland when I was 11 and loved it. I was just told at the time that it was called the pony park, although that obviously is't its real name. I remember a lot of the details too and realise now just how much work goes in to making a good theme park.

Anonymous said...

Leanne: The park you went to was probably "Ponypark Slagharen", so you were told correctly :) When it was started as a 'normal' bungalow park, you could rent a shetland pony and a small cart, hence the name. They stopped doing this ages ago, but the name stuck. They only recently (2008?) changed it to "Attractiepark Slagharen". Sorry, website is in German and Dutch only..

Anonymous said...

Very cool! I wanna go now!

What do you mean only a 30 mile drive? :P

Unknown said...

This is really neat!!
I love your collage, very nice!

Kaycee said...

This looks like something I would love. Those are great pictures.

Little Nut Tree said...

Haven't been to The Efteling since I was about 16 - so glad to hear they still have the Droomvlucht, my favourite ride. We'd go on that one first and then last before leaving. The bank looks new. I can't wait for my girl to be old enough to enjoy it too!

Here from TTB.

Lori said...

Love the pics! That is sooo cool!!

Anonymous said...

I live in holland and i can tell you,it's th best park in europe.It's better than disney.Not only the dreamflight,wich is my favorite,but too the villa volta,a 'cursed villa' in wich you turn around on seats while the ceiling is beneath you and the floor is next to you :P it's just great.you can type in 'efteling' and try 'villa volta onride' or 'droomvlucht onride' or another favorite of mine,Vliegende hollander(flying dutchman)

it's just amazing.

Post a Comment

Related Posts with Thumbnails