Fata Morgana (Efteling)
| Mirage | |
|---|---|
Forecourt with tower |
|
| Data | |
| Travel time | approx. 8 min. |
| surface | 4500 m² |
| Route length | 285 m |
| Amount of water | 2500 m³ |
| Boats | 14th |
| speed | 0.55 m / s, 2 km / h |
| capacity | 1800 people / hour |
| Animatronics | 130 pieces |
| costs | 15,000,000 NLG |
Fata Morgana is a dark ride in the Dutch theme park Efteling with the theme 1001 nights . The opening took place on March 27, 1986 after several years of planning. A Gondoletta system with 14 boats for 16 to 20 people each from Intamin is used as the transport system.
The facade of the attraction is modeled on an oriental palace with turquoise and gold domed roofs. The entrance is under a 25 meter high tower that serves as an eye-catcher.
history
The ride was designed by Ton van de Ven, who was also based on the designs of his predecessor Anton Pieck . Pieck had traveled to Morocco in the 1950s and brought back inspiration for oriental theming from there. Some of the fairy tales in Efteling's Sprookjesbos (Fairy Tale Forest ) were also designed according to these ideas. The Pirates of the Caribbean cruise, which opened in Disneyland in 1967, also served as inspiration . Although the topic is different there with piracy , but some of the motifs and the rendering of certain clichés on the respective topic are similar. Ruud Bos composed five pieces of music especially for the themed trip: The Harbor , Eastern Jails (prisons of the East), Harem , Jungle (jungle) and Market Place (market square). The soundtrack is available on CD in the park .
The opening of Fata Morgana was originally planned for 1984, but the preparations turned out to be more complex than anticipated, which means that construction work could not start until this year. An early draft suggested redesigning the existing Gondoletta boat trip , but this was discarded in favor of an independent project.
Likewise, the idea to tell a specific fairy tale from the fund of 1001 nights was not implemented. Instead, a story of its own was made up. The announcement of the novelty took place in 1985 under the name Fata Medina - De Verboden Stad (German: "The Forbidden City"). Since it was feared that the religious feelings of Muslims would be hurt - Medina is considered the second most important holy city in Islam - the name was changed to the current one.
With an investment of around 15 million guilders , it was the amusement park's most expensive project up to that point.
technology
The boats, pulled by a revolving rope, travel in a 285 meter long canal with a depth of 1.2 meters and a water capacity of 2500 m³. The rope and pulleys run under water and are barely visible. The distances between the boats and the design have been chosen so that no other boat can be seen during the journey, giving the impression of being alone on the journey. The journey takes about eight minutes and up to 1,800 people can be transported per hour. Entry and exit takes place via a turntable that moves synchronously with the boats. In contrast to transport systems with a flow drive, tight curves and turns are also possible thanks to the cable pull and the pulleys.
The 130 animatronics used in Fata Morgana are not computer-controlled, but purely mechanical, similar to the figures of the French Jacques de Vaucanson , which he constructed in the 18th century. In the self-developed system, several discs with a diameter of approx. 70 cm rotate on one axis per figure. Various indentations on the edge of the discs transmit movements to Bowden cables which are directed to the movable limbs of the dolls. Relatively natural and flowing movements are achieved in this way. The controls for the artificial people and animals are located in the basement of the facility, about two meters below the driving route.
For the sound reproduction via the 150 loudspeakers, 26 Revox tape recorders were initially used. As part of the modernization of the technology, these have now been replaced by systems with digital sound storage on EPROMs . By eliminating mechanical components, the sound technology has become significantly more maintenance-friendly.
720 spotlights are used for the lighting inside . When the park is opened in the dark, for example during the winter rain , the building is also illuminated in color from the outside.
Trip description
After having passed the entrance under the tower, the visitor is in the largest room of the Fata Morgana, the station. The queue is led around the actual entrance in a gallery adorned with arches at a height of a few meters. The visitor has a good view of the arriving and departing boats, while at the same time he is attuned to the oriental theme with the piece of music Harem by Ruud Bos. In the middle of the station above the rotating boarding platform is the control room, from which the journey is monitored and controlled.
To leave the station, a velvet curtain opens and the boat drives into a jungle, apparently in the distance the silhouette of an oriental city can be seen at dusk. After a turn, a magician with a long beard, a splendid turban and a magic wand is standing in a niche on a rock . He points his magic wand at a large gate, a laser beam shines on the lock and the gate opens to let the boat through. Behind the gate, the boat drives past scenes that are supposed to be reminiscent of a poor part of an Arab city. Many shutters are closed, a dog sits barking in the street, a man tries to push his donkey onto a rickety bridge.
The boat then sails past a busy oriental market. Traders offer their goods, some of which are piled high, for sale, a basket maker seems to be watching the passers-by, people are waiting to have their teeth pulled at the barber's on the street. After driving through a portal another market scene follows, a flute player lures a cobra out of a basket with his flute, a man sits on a carpet that rises into the air. At the end of the market, some figures warn not to drive any further. They shout: “Don't go any further, danger to life!” The boat is now entering a dark, foggy tunnel, crocodiles appear on the sides from the water.
After the tunnel, the boat now seems to have arrived in front of a Moorish fortress. When driving through a portcullis stops just above the heads of the passengers. Heavy gates close behind the boat. The boat is being shot from above, and bullets appear to be splashing into the water to the left and right.
The journey continues through a torture cellar. A man with a vulture on his shoulders is guarding the key. Prisoners do their laps in a gopel with whips and use them to drive a large bellows.
A rock blocks the journey. The magician from the first scene reappears and uses a beam of light from his wand to split the rock in two parts so that the boat can pass through. Behind the rock, the passengers find themselves on a starry night in front of the walls of an oriental palace. In a harbor there is a large merchant ship and in front of it a magnificently decorated white boat. A big tiger growls in a niche on the left.
After a left turn, the boat drives through a portal into the palace, first past its harem. The rooms are richly and sumptuously decorated with brass objects and carpets. A small orchestra plays oriental music. In the main hall of the palace, the ruler sits on a throne while a feast is celebrated around him. A belly dancer dances on a small stage, servants fan the ruler with large fans made of ostrich feathers. At the end of the throne room a curtain opens again to let the boat through. The passengers now see a gigantic Djinn guarding the ruler's treasure. The boat continues its journey between its columnar legs.
We continue back into a dark vault. The magician appears one last time and disappears with a flash of light and a bang after he has shown the boat the way. The journey continues through a gate into a storm. The water begins to boil, the boat tips a little to one side and the room appears to be sloping. Another gate can be seen in the distance. At the end, the path leads through a jungle again before the last gate to the station opens.
literature
- Verena von Pidoll u. a .: Fata Morgana - The construction of the forbidden city in dark + ride, special edition of the club magazine park + ride of the Freundeskreis Kirmes und Freizeitparks eV
Web links
- Fata Morgana on the Efteling website
- De Verboden Stad, Fata Morgana - on Het Wonderlijke WC Web (Dutch)
Coordinates: 51 ° 38 ′ 49 ″ N , 5 ° 2 ′ 44 ″ E