Efteling: A Trip to The Netherlands (3/25/2025)

Preamble:

My partner and I took a trip with our travel buddies to Amsterdam in The Netherlands. All of my experiences with amusement/theme parks have been limited to North America and I've been eager to experience how other countries present and manage their parks. And while I've made attempts to visit foreign parks (twice in Japan), weather or time has ruined my plans. So with this trip to Amsterdam, I vowed to make this happen.

I asked a few coaster buddies if my partner and I should visit Walibi Holland or Efteling. They responded unequivocally with Efteling and connected me with Sean, the founder of CoasterKings, a site and podcast devoted to coasters all over the world. Sean, who is a Dutchmen himself, gave me the rundown of how to use the country's rail and bus system to get to the park and which rides to prioritize. We found out that Sean would be in The Netherlands for work and we'd likely visit the park on the same day. How awesome

Transit:

Getting to the park was a 2-hour process that didn't feel like 2 hours. We took the subway in Amsterdam to a station where we could jump on their Intercity rail. We road the train for a quick hour and 15 minutes (I am a big fan of rapid transit so all train rides feel quick because I'm so excited) and transferred to a bus for another 20 minutes ride. All transit in The Netherlands is tap-to-pay so while we could by passes and likely save some money, it was more convenient to just use our phones or credit cards to pay. The entire cost of transit was under $60 both ways without a pass.

The Park:

Efteling is a beautiful park, even in early spring. From the moment we saw the entrance, this massive and ominous structure, we knew we were in for a very different adventure. Getting into the park was as easy as scanning the QR codes from the tickets we purchase the day before. They were about $50. All over the park, there were beautiful, elaborate buildings housing their dark rides. None of the foliage had grown back yet, but even in the semi-sleepy state of the park, what was there was highly manicured. Each land felt distinct and given that I went into the park mostly ignorant of what was there, I found myself constantly surprised. While the layout wasn't always intuitive and ride entrances aren't always obvious, I actually think this is a GREAT thing. You have to actively explore the park and peak into buildings to know what they are. We used the list from Sean and the park app to tell us where things were, but we had no idea if something was a thrill ride or a family ride. This meant surprises at every turn.

The Food:

My partner and I didn't eat very much at the park. We did grab fries, which are popular in The Netherlands and they were actually some of the best we'd had on the trip. They were also pretty inexpensive (as were most things at the park). This is likely the slow season for Efteling (Sean said it can get insanely packed), so a lot of the food stalls were closed.

The Coasters:

Quick note: Efteling is not a coaster park. It's a theme park. So while I will review the coasters, I want to also review the dark rides we encountered as well. I also want to note that I've backed away from marathoning coasters and instead I've been trying to experience all of what a park has to offer.

• Baron 1898 (10 minute wait): Baron is the only coaster in the park that I recognized given that it is one of the most highly themed dive coasters I've ever seen. The queue is set up similar to other highly themed rides where your group is moved from one room to the next, going through the story of the ride and watching fun theatrics play out. Unfortunately, but understandably, much of the audio was in Dutch, so we didn't know the specifics, but we could pick up bits and pieces based on the show and certain words we could understand. The theming was top notch, especially for a regional park. There was a sense of uneasiness as rooms came to life. Even the main station itself is obscure until doors open for you to go through. The ride itself is a standard dive, but my god is it elevated thanks to the theming. One thing to note is bags are allowed in line. You give it to an employee and they give you a bracelet. Once you are done with the ride, you pass on the other side of the area and give your bracelet back to the employee and they give you your bag.
• Python (10 minute wait): When I first saw Python, I figured it was an old Arrow or Vekoma looper and also figured it would be painful. I texted Sean and he said it was actually quite smooth and I was shocked to see he was right. Python is a fun little looper that is wildly comfortable to ride. No jarring turns, just a fun ride. Funny story here...you are allowed to bring a bag or backpack and you ride with it between your legs. The park says due to the forces of the ride, your bag will stay in place. My partner had his book bag and I kept saying, "THIS WOULD NEVER BE ALLOWED AT CEDAR POINT!!!" Despite all that, the bag stayed in place. Shows that there is a lot of Security Theater in our amusement parks...
• Joris en de Draak or George and the Dragon (10 minute wait): This dual-tracked woody by GCI was just so much fun. Not nearly as intense as Mystic Timbers or Thunderhead, but it gives the same feel. The dueling aspect worked so well as the coasters danced around each other. We rode both red and blue sides and while I enjoyed the blue side more, my partner liked red best. This was another coaster where he was instructed to place his book bag between his legs while riding. Wild. This is likely a great ride to experience at night. I also love the high, wooden walls in the queue. You never really know how far you have to go to get to the station.
• Vogel Rok or Bird Roc (10 minute wait): The entrance of Vogel Rok is marked by an absolutely massive statue of a bird spreading its wings. The structure itself is just impressive to see, but also gives no indication of the ride inside. If there was any signage, I didn't see it because I was stuck looking at the massive bird. Honestly, I can't remember much of the theming either. The ride itself is fun and thrilling. Our ride was almost completely dark until the end, but thrilling in the same way The Mummy at Universal Studios Resort is thrilling. No bad or jarring transitions. While I do love completely dark rides, I think there could be an opportunity to add a few lighting effects like they do towards the end. This was one that I wished I re-rode.

The Rides:

• Danse Macabre (15 minutes): The building that houses Danse Macabre was my first indication that Efteling takes theming very seriously. The building was so detailed that it looked like it had been there for years. I found out it was built last year. Similar to other theme parks, you are put in different sections leading up to the ride itself so the story can be explained. Again, this was in Dutch, but given the name and the cemetery we were walking through, I had a good idea of the story. Inside the show building, it was extremely dark. Initially, we thought our eyes just needed to adjust, but nope...they lined us up in pitch darkness with only a few dim lights. My partner is a White guy and I couldn't see him at times. The ride itself is a highly themed spinning ride, but don't worry...as someone that always needs Dramamine, I was able to ride with no problem at all. But again, this is the great thing about Efteling...if you go in blind, you have no idea what ride you're going to get. Danse Macabre was my favorite of their dark rides.
• Droomvlucht or Dreamflight (15 minutes): Droomvlucht is a family dark ride that reminded me a lot of ET at Universal. There were a lot of animatronics in a fantasy environment and I wasn't quite sure if there was a story to follow. But again, the detail was great. Every scene had a specific feel without it being jarring from one room to the next. We boarded a suspended car that had the ability to turn depending on what way the ride wanted us to face. i wouldn't call this a thrill ride, but there is a downward spiral in one of the last rooms that was a lot of fun.
• Symbolica (20 minutes): This was my first trackless flat ride! This is another family ride...in fact, when my partner and I were about to board the car, two parents behind us asked if they could sit in front with their son so he could control things and of course we said yes. Before you board your car, you pick which tour your want to experience: Treasure, Hero, or Music. Much of the ride is the same no matter what you pick, but there is a room that differs depending on the tour you choose. We went with Hero's Tour. Can I just say how impressive tech has come that these cars can move around without a track at all? It was just cool dancing around other cars and not know exactly where you were going (as long as you didn't look at the wear marks on the ground).
• Pagoda (Walk on): This is one of the weirdest and coolest observation towers I have ever witnessed in my life. You can see this thing from all over the park and it looks like a floating castle being lifted by a crane. I mean, look of photos of this thing and it just looks out of this world in how it elevates above this beautiful park like some odd UFO. You can't not ride it. It gives a stellar look at the park and turns slowly enough that there is time for photos and observation. One of the coolest experiences in visiting the park.
• Fata Morgana (Walk on): We hit Fata Morgana on our way out of the park. As soon as we walked into the building, we knew it would be a boat show ride, but given how highly themed the park was, we knew it would be a good one. What you get is a series of scenes and rooms with animatronics based on 1,001 Arabian Nights. The animatronics are older (this ride opened a year after I was born), but so ****ing good. I was so excited to enter each room because there was something new. And there are scenes on both sides of the boats, so chances are, you'll need a couple of rides to notice everything that's going on. Of course, the best part was passing through the legs of the MASSIVE JINN that comes out of nowhere.

Overall:

Efteling is such a great theme park. I understand why CoasterBot said he's not a coaster enthusiast, but instead, a theme park enthusiast. If you are purely looking for roller coasters, Efteling may not be your park. Their coasters are good, but there aren't a lot of them and they aren't scary. But Efteling does an amazing job at transporting you to different worlds for far less than Universal or Disney would charge you. It is absolutely worth the trip, especially in the summer.

Oh, and I did get to meet the CoasterKing himself, Sean. He was visiting the park with his husband Alex (also a Coaster King) and his brother. We didn't ride together, but we chatted outside of Pagoda. Great dudes. I hope to see them again when they visit Cedar Point.

Great trip report!

Efteling is a truly special place with such a unique soul and perhaps one of the strongest theme park musical legacies outside of Disney. Concepts like fantasy, imagination and wonder aren't just marketing buzzwords but a driving design philosophy for everything they do.

Thanks for the report. I'm jealous.

The old Cypress Gardens (pre-Legoland) used for have the "Island in the Sky" which looks like the same ride as the Pagoda. I actually thought the Cypress Gardens one was the only one built until now.

https://www.floridamemory.c...how/330972

Intamin Flying Island. I think there are three left, Cypress had the one and only in North America. I got to ride both it and Pagode and was so obsessed with those totally unique rides that I rode each many times, which wasn’t hard to do. They are so high in capacity that there’s seldom a wait past one cycle. I see them as typical of an Intamin era when rides were made from gargantuan steel beams and poles, like the double and triple wheels, the observation towers, and the drop towers. And it’s probably an expensive way to do things now, and they took up a long narrow piece of real estate - anyway, the Flying Island is a thing of the past.
I loved Efteling, it was my first European park. I got to spend 2 days there but it’s been years ago- Symbolica was just under construction. I thought it was perfect, and so gorgeous, and wasn’t mad that it wasn’t a big thrill park. And Jephry, there are a few things I hope you didn’t miss, but it sounds like your time was limited. Villa Volta, Flying Dutchman, and the indoor, antique steam carousel come to mind off hand. I’m glad you got to go- it’s a park that doesn’t get a lot of attention from US enthusiasts.