Efteling
| Efteling | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Entrance building |
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| place | Kaatsheuvel / Noord-Brabant | |||
| opening | May 31, 1952 | |||
| Visitors | 5.4 million (2018) | |||
| surface | 72 hectares | |||
| staff | 2381 ( 2014 ) | |||
| Website | www.efteling.com (De) | |||
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Coordinates: 51 ° 39 ′ 1 ″ N , 5 ° 2 ′ 53 ″ E
Efteling is an amusement park in the Dutch province of Noord-Brabant . It is located near Kaatsheuvel, a small town in the municipality of Loon op Zand , adjacent to the city of Tilburg .
In 2018, the park was the largest amusement park in the Netherlands in terms of visitor numbers and the third largest amusement park in Europe.
history
Efteling has its origins in 1935 with the opening of a sports and hiking park. After the project fell asleep over the war years , the Stichting Natuurpark de Efteling (Efteling Nature Park Foundation) was founded in 1950 to rebuild the park. After a pond that still exists today was dug and a tea house was built in 1951, the fairy tale forest was opened on May 31, 1952 - a date that the park now regards as its official founding date.
At the opening, a total of ten fairy tales were shown in the park's fairy tale forest, which were designed under the direction of the Dutch artist Anton Pieck . The fairy tales of the early years include Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, Frog King, Frau Holle, Snow White and the Chinese nightingale.
Anton Pieck remained the main designer responsible for new attractions in the park until 1974. In 1958 the flying fakir followed , the depiction of a fairy tale written for this attraction, which was regarded as a sensation at the time due to the complex technical and creative implementation, and in 1966 the Indian water lilies , which implemented a fairy tale by the Belgian Queen Fabiola .
When Anton Pieck withdrew more and more in the 1970s and his longtime assistant Ton van de Ven took over the position of Creative Director , the change of the Efteling from a pure fairy tale and nature park to a modern amusement park began. The reason for this was, among other things, the growing competition from the newly established amusement parks Attractiepark Slagharen and Walibi . In the course of this change, attractions such as the Python (1981), which with its four inversions was the largest and fastest roller coaster on the European mainland at the time, the Halve Maen ship swing (1982), and the first Rapid River in Europe, the Piraña (1983) opened.
Only a few years after the start of this investment offensive, another process began that made use of the historical legacy of the park around designer Anton Pieck. The opening of the oriental themed Dark Rides Fata Morgana (1986) and the opening of the Dark Rides Carnaval Festival can certainly be seen as steps that expanded the thrill concept aimed at young visitors with the traditional elements of the old Efteling. At the beginning of the 1990s, this synthesis was further reinforced with Pegasus (1991), the first wooden roller coaster in the Netherlands, and the anniversary attraction Droomvlucht (1993; German: "Traumflug") of the Darkride type, which was delayed by a year - with success, because in addition to increasing visitor numbers 1992 also won the Applause Award , the prize for the best amusement park in the world.
Since then, De Efteling has usually opted for a combination of technical and design features, as shown by the world's first Mad House , Villa Volta (1996) and the Vogel Rok dark roller coaster . In 2002 the 4D cinema Panda Droom followed , and in 2007 the Flying Dutchman , a combination of a water roller coaster and a dark ride.
The fairy tale forest, which is still the actual core of the park today, has been continuously expanded since its opening in 1952 and has been able to enjoy new representations at regular intervals, such as the girl with the sulfur woods (2004) and Rumpelstiltskin in the 90s and 2000s (1998) and Rapunzel (2001).
At the same time, since the beginning of the 1990s, Efteling has not only consisted of the actual park area, but also offers products and attractions on other levels. From 1992 the Efteling Hotel offered the opportunity to stay overnight near the park and to visit the park for several days in a row. The holiday home park Bosrijk (German: "Waldreich"), which opened at the end of 2009, also serves this purpose. Furthermore, the Theater de Efteling has existed since 2002 (until 2008: Efteling Theater), which since August 2008 has only been the venue for musicals and other musical performances outside the park opening times.
Since the second half of the 2000s, other new business areas for the amusement park have also been various media: In 2008 the so-called Efteling Radio went on air; the first park-owned series Sprookjesboom (German: "Märchenbaum") has been a great success in the Netherlands since 2006 and has also been broadcast in Germany on the regional television station NRW.TV since 2009 . In the long term, according to CEO Bart de Boer, a separate television station is to be founded.
After small investments in the fairy tale forest ( Sprookjesboom , 2009 and Cinderella , 2010), large new offers and attractions followed in the years from 2010 to 2012. In July 2010, the two-section racing wooden roller coaster Joris en de Draak was put into operation, replacing the overhauled wooden roller coaster Pegasus . In April 2011, the first performance of a new park show took place in the Raveleijn open-air theater, which had been the administrative headquarters since November 2010.
For the 60th birthday party on June 1, 2012, the 17 million euro water show Aquanura opened in the park . The attraction, which was designed by the American manufacturer WET , was created on a lake on the Fata Morgana themed trip . According to the park, it is the largest water show in Europe and the third largest water show in the world. In the second half of 2012, another fairy tale in the fairytale forest followed - The Emperor's New Clothes .
In 2015, the park opened the Dive Coaster Baron 1898 for around 18 million euros . The attraction includes a free fall from a height of 37.5 meters and reaches a top speed of 90 km / h. In March 2016, Pinocchio was the 29th attraction in the fairy tale forest.
Investments
35 million euros were invested in the Symbolica attraction , which is based on the older concept of the Hartenhof and opened on July 1, 2017. The Hartenhof was originally planned for the anniversary year 2012, but had to be postponed again and again due to difficulties with the driving system. In Symbolica is a dark ride in which the background history of the park mascot Pardoes is examined more closely.
In parallel to this development, the overnight capacities were further increased. The Loonsche Land Park has been in operation since May 2017 . This has 1000 beds in a hotel and 66 holiday apartments on 8 hectares .
The park
Division of the park area
Originally there were four areas in the park named after the cardinal points , with most of the attractions in the west with the fairy tale forest. At the beginning of the 1990s, it was decided to divide the park into four areas, which, however, hardly differ in their design. Only the themes of the attractions show a certain connection to the realm in which they were established.
Rich in the park
The Marerijk (fairytale land ) is located in the north-western part of the park. It includes the Darkride Droomvlucht and the Mad House Villa Volta . Furthermore, the fairytale forest, which is important for the park, is located in the Marerijk . The Reizenrijk (country of travel) can be found in the northeast of the park . In what is probably the smallest of the four areas, the Vogel Rok dark roller coaster and the Dark Ride Carnaval Festival stand out. The "Anderrijk" (Andersland) includes attractions in the southwest that deal thematically with other cultures. The Anderrijk includes attractions such as the Piraña wild water course or the (Swiss) Bobbaan , as well as the (oriental) Fata Morgana . Most of the thrill attractions are located in the Ruigrijk Adventure Land (Rohland), which is located in the southeast of Efteling. These include the Python loop roller coaster, the De vgende Hollander roller coaster dark ride and the Joris en de draak wooden roller coaster .
Attractions
There are currently 36 attractions on the 72 hectare park area.
roller coaster
Six roller coasters are currently open in the park. The newest run is the Dive Coaster Baron 1898 , which opened on July 1st, 2015. Also known are the racing wooden roller coaster Joris en de Draak , the looping roller coaster Python (1981), which was one of the most modern roller coasters in Europe at the time, and the water roller coaster De Vgende Hollander .
The Vogel Rok dark roller coaster can also be found in the park .
| Surname | Height (in m) |
Length (in m) |
Speed (max. In km / h) |
g-force (max.) |
Type | Manufacturer | layout | Opening year | Costs (in millions of euros) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| python | 29 | 750 | 75 | 3.5 | Steel roller coaster | Vekoma | - | 1981 | 4.5 |
| Vogel Rok | 25th | 643 | 65 | 3.5 | Dark roller coaster | Vekoma | Ton van de Ven | 1998 | 12.7 |
| Flying Dutchman | 22.5 | 420 | 70 | 2 | Water roller coaster | Kumbak Coasters | Karel Willemen | 2007 | 19.2 |
| Joris en de Draak | 25th | 810 (2 ×) | 75 | 3 | Racing wooden roller coaster | Great Coasters International | Karel Willemen | 2010 | 13 |
| Baron 1898 | 37.5 | 501 | 90 | 3 | Steel roller coaster | Bolliger & Mabillard | - | 2015 | 18th |
Dark rides
Dark Rides have been built in the Efteling since 1984. The most famous and popular attraction is the gondola-operated Droomvlucht . There are a total of four dark rides in the park.
| Surname | Length (in m) |
Type | layout | Manufacturer (driving system) | Opening year | Costs (in millions of euros) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mirage | 290 | Dark Water Ride | Ton van de Ven | Intamin | 1986 | 11.3 |
| Carnaval Festival | 240 | Dark ride | Joop Geesink | Mack Rides | 1984 | 4.5 |
| Droomvlucht | 240 | Dark ride | Ton van de Ven | Vekoma | 1993 | 12.7 |
| Symbolica | Dark ride | Sander de Bruijn | ETF Ride Systems | 2017 | 35 |
Water rides
With the Rapid River Piraña (1983) and the natural boat trip Gondoletta (1981) there are currently two water rides in the park.
| Surname | Length (in m) |
Type | layout | Manufacturer (driving system) | Opening year | Costs (in millions of euros) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gondoletta | 1081 | Water slide | - | Intamin | 1981 | 0.9 |
| Piraña | 350 | Rapid River | Ton van de Ven | Intamin | 1983 | 7.25 |
More rides
| Surname | Type | layout | Manufacturer | Opening year | Costs (in millions of euros) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrousel Palais | Steam carousel | Hendrik Janvier (1895) | Hendrik Janvier (1895) | 1956 | 0.007 |
| Carousels on Anton-Pieck-Platz | Carousels | various | various | 1954 (square) | ? |
| Monsieur Cannibale | Coffee cups | Henny Knoet | Mack Rides | 1988 | 0.68 |
| D'Oude Tuffer | Classic car ride | Ton van de Ven | Mack Rides | 1984 | ? |
| People of Laaf | Monorail | Ton van de Ven | Vekoma | 1990 | 1.4 |
| Children's spur | Pedal train | Anton Pieck and Ton van de Ven | ? | 1954 | ? |
| Polka Marina | carousel | Ton van de Ven | Vekoma | 1984 | ? |
| pagoda | Flying Island | Ton van de Ven | Ride Trade & Intamin | 1987 | 3.6 |
| Efteling Stoomtrein | Steam train | various | various | 1969 | ? |
| Halve Maen | Ship swing | Ton van de Ven | Intamin | 1982 | 0.9 |
Walkable attractions
The accessible attractions summarize all the attractions that visitors enter on foot. The most popular walkable attraction today is the Avonturen Doolhof maze , which has been located next to the Monsieur Cannibal coffee cup carousel since 1995 .
| Surname | Type | layout | Manufacturer | Opening year | Costs (in millions of euros) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spook slot | Haunted house | Ton van de Ven | De Efteling | 1978 | 1.6 |
| Water organ | show | Anton Pieck | De Efteling | 1966 | ? |
| Avonturen Doolhof | maze | Henny Knoet | De Efteling | 1995 | ? |
| Diorama | Model railway | Anton Pieck | De Efteling | 1971 | ? |
| Game Gallery | Shooting galleries | Henny Knoet and Ton van de Ven | De Efteling | 1981 | ? |
Other attractions
| Surname | Type | layout | Manufacturer | Opening year | Costs (in millions of euros) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fabula | 4D cinema | Marieke van Doorn | De Efteling | 2002 | 16 |
| Villa Volta | Mad House | Ton van de Ven | Vekoma | 1996 | 4.54 |
| Aquanura | Water show | ? | WET design | 2012 | 17th |
Fairytale forest
The fairy tale forest, officially called Sprookjesbos , is the centerpiece of the Efteling. There are currently 27 fairy tales in the fairy tale forest.
| Surname | German translation | basis | layout | In the fairytale forest since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doornroosje (Kasteel) 1st extension: Doornroosje en slapende koks 2nd extension: Boze heks |
Sleeping Beauty (Castle) 1st extension: Sleeping Beauty and sleeping cook 2nd extension: Evil Witch |
Charles Perrault | Anton Pieck and Ton van de Ven (2nd extension) | 1952, expanded in 1953 and 1981 |
| Kabouterdorp | Gnome Village | park's own idea | Anton Pieck | 1952 |
| De zes dienaren: Langnek | The six servants: long neck | Brothers Grimm | Anton Pieck | 1952 |
| De sprekende papegaai | The talking parrot | park's own idea | Anton Pieck | 1952 |
| Vrouw Holle (De Put) Extension: Vrouw Holle zelf |
Frau Holle (fountain) extension: Frau Holle in her little house |
Brothers Grimm | Anton Pieck and Robert-Jaap Jansen (extension) | 1952, expanded in 2006 |
| Sneeuwwitje (Grot van Sneeuwwitje) Extension: Kasteel van Stiefmoeder |
Snow White (Grotto) Extension: Stepmother's Castle |
Brothers Grimm | Anton Pieck and Henny Knoet (extension) | 1952, expanded in 1999 |
| De kikkerkoning | The Frog Prince | Brothers Grimm | Anton Pieck | 1952 |
| De magische klok | The magic clock | park's own idea | Anton Pieck | 1952 |
| De Chinese Nachtegaal | The Chinese nightingale | Hans Christian Andersen | Anton Pieck (1952) and Ton van de Ven (1999) | 1952–1979, since 1999 |
| Roodkapje | Little Red Riding Hood | Charles Perrault | Anton Pieck | 1953, rebuilt in 1960 |
| De rode schoentjes | The dancing shoes | Hans Christian Andersen | Anton Pieck | 1953 |
| Hans en Grietje | Hansel and Gretel | Brothers Grimm | Anton Pieck | 1955 |
| Het Bruidskleed van Genoveva | Genoveva's wedding dress | park's own idea | - | 1957 |
| De Vgende Fakir | The flying fakir | park's own idea | Anton Pieck | 1958 |
| Tafeltje dek je, ezeltje strek je en knuppel uit de zak (Ezeltje strek je) Extension: Herberg met Tafeltje dek je en Knuppel uit de zak |
Little table set you, gold donkey and stick out of the sack (golden donkey) Extension: Hostel with little table cover you and stick out of the sack |
Brothers Grimm | Anton Pieck and Henny Knoet (extension) | 1958, expanded in 1999 |
| De Indian waterlelies | The Indian water lilies | Fabiola de Mora y Aragon | Anton Pieck | 1966 |
| De Kleine Zeemeermin | The little mermaid | Hans Christian Andersen | Anton Pieck | 1970 |
| De wolf en de zeven geitjes | The wolf and the seven young goats | Brothers Grimm | Anton Pieck | 1973 |
| Draak Lichtgeraakt | Draak Lichtgeraakt | park's own idea | Ton van de Ven | 1979 |
| De trollenkoning | The troll king | park's own idea | Ton van de Ven | 1988 |
| Little Duimpje | Little Thumbnail | Charles Perrault | Ton van de Ven | 1998 |
| Repelsteeltje | Rumpelstiltskin | Brothers Grimm | Ton van de Ven | 1998 |
| Raponsje | Rapunzel | Brothers Grimm | Ton van de Ven | 2001 |
| Het meisje met de zwavelstokjes | The little girl with the matchstick | Hans Christian Andersen | Michel Den Dulk | 2004 |
| Assepoester | Cinderella | Brothers Grimm | Karel Willemen | 2009 |
| Sprookjesboom | Fairytale tree | park's own idea | Karel Willemen | 2010 |
| De Nieuwe Kleren van de Keizer | The Emperor's New Clothes | Hans Christian Andersen | Pim-Martijn Sanders | 2012 |
| Pinocchio | Pinocchio | Carlo Collodi | ? | 2016 |
| De zes Zwanen | The six swans | Brothers Grimm | ? | under construction; Opening 2019 |
various
More empires
In addition to the four large park realms, there are three other realms, each describing different business areas of the Efteling: The Bosrijk , the Torenrijk and the Uitrijk .
The Bosrijk ( Forest Realm) is a holiday home park opened in 2009 right next to the park area, which is primarily used for multi-day visits to the park.
The Torenrijk (roughly: Empire of the Towers) includes both the Efteling Hotel , which opened in 1992, and the Efteling Golf Park , which was built in 1995 .
The Uitrijk (roughly: Reich at the exit) is located directly at the park entrance. It includes the entrance building, the House of the Five Senses and the Efteling Theater .
Visitor numbers
While the park had 223,000 visitors in the opening year, it has recently been visited by 5,186,945 people annually. In 2009, the one hundred millionth visitor was also received.
Holle Bolle Gijs
Efteling is known for its 13 talking rubbish bins (Dutch: Holle Bolle Gijs ), which are widely distributed across the park and are shaped like fairy tale characters “Paper here! Paper here! ”And after you have thrown something in it, say“ Thank you ”(meaning:“ Thank you ”or“ Thank you ”).
Finances
In 2011 the park had a turnover of 144 million euros . Compared to the previous year (130 million euros) this means an increase of 10.77 percent.
However, the company's gross profit fell compared to the previous year: In 2010 a profit of 11.4 million euros was achieved - this year the total fell by around 18 percent to just 9.1 million euros.
Awards
- 1972 - Pomme d'or, awarded by the Fédération Internationale des Journalistes et Ecrivains du Tourisme (FIJET)
- 1992 - Applause Award , presented by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA)
- 2005 - THEA Classic Award, presented by the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA)
literature
Park history
- Henk vanden Diepstraten: Kroniek van een Sprookje . Tirion, Baarn 2002, ISBN 978-90-439-0416-2 .
- André Sonneville: "Mam, een duppie voor de kip?" De Efteling, Kaatsheuvel 1992.
- Bob Venmans: Het Sprookje van De Efteling . Elsevier , Amsterdam / Brussels 1962.
- 'Zijn we d'r al?' Unieboek, Houten 2012, ISBN 978-90-00-30570-4 .
Attractions
- Dimp Nelemans: "Mam, ik wil het paard!". De Efteling stoomcarrousel 100 jaar draaiend . De Efteling, Kaatsheuvel 1995.
- De vgende Hollander. Hoe een say tot leven kwam . 2008.
people
- Ben van Eysselsteijn, Hans Vogelsang: Anton Pieck. Zijn Leven, zijn Werk . 4th edition. Zuid-Hollandsche Uitgeversmaatschappij, Amsterdam 1981, ISBN 978-90-235-0338-5 .
- Rob Smit: Peter Reijnders, 1900–1974. Biography . SST producties, Eindhoven 1990.
Web links
- Official website of the park (German)
Individual evidence
- ↑ 5.4 million visits in 2018. Efteling, April 9, 2019, accessed on August 6, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Horeca Top 100 2015 number 26: De Efteling , MissetHoreca , 8 May 2015
- ↑ Interview with GFM Rieter, the former chairman of the "Naturpark Efteling" foundation , April 1993. Accessed on May 25, 2010
- ↑ Ready for the first guests: New group accommodations opened at Efteling holiday park Bosrijk. parkerlebnis, July 24, 2019, accessed on August 6, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Efteling is planning its own TV channel ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . German, accessed on August 10, 2010
- ↑ Efteling is building the largest water show in Europe ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . German, accessed April 23, 2011
- ↑ De nieuwe Kleren van de Keizer from now on in Sprookjesbos . German, accessed on August 13, 2014
- ^ Duane Marden: Baron 1898. rcdb.com, accessed July 1, 2015 .
- ↑ Pinocchio celebrates its preview - Eftelingfansite.de. In: www.eftelingfansite.de. March 24, 2016, accessed August 30, 2016 .
- ↑ Hartenhof comeback - Symbolica opens in 2017 - Eftelingfansite.de. In: www.eftelingfansite.de. January 11, 2016, accessed August 30, 2016 .
- ↑ Bart de Boer gives farewell interview - Eftelingfansite.de. In: www.eftelingfansite.de. September 7, 2013, accessed August 30, 2016 .
- ↑ Start of construction and artwork for the new Loonsche Land holiday park - Eftelingfansite.de. In: www.eftelingfansite.de. April 5, 2016, accessed August 30, 2016 .
- ↑ History of the Efteling from 1933 to 1979 ( Memento of the original from August 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Dutch, accessed March 8, 2010
- ↑ 5.18 miljoen bezoekers voor de Efteling in 2017. Efteling, accessed on April 22, 2017 (German).
- ↑ Magical number of visitors . Dutch, accessed March 8, 2010
- ↑ a b Finances 2011: Almost ten percent increase in sales . German, accessed April 8, 2013
- ↑ a b Finances 2010: Turnover grows, profit falls . German, accessed November 13, 2011
- ↑ Efteling Yearbook 2005/06
- ↑ List of the "LISEBERG APPLAUSE AWARD - International" winners of the IAAPA
- ↑ List of the winners of the THEA Awards 2004 ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
