Efteling
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Location | Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands |
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| Website | www.efteling.com |
| Opened | 1952 |
| Operating season | April to October and December to January |
| Rides | 32+ total
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Efteling is the largest and most popular theme park in The Netherlands, and one of the leading theme parks in Europe. It is also one of the oldest theme parks in the world. Efteling is located in the town of Kaatsheuvel, in the municipality of Loon op Zand. Efteling was opened in 1952.
Originally the park catered towards children with a fairy tale theme. Nowadays Efteling appeals to both young and old with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic themes and its variety of amusement rides. In over fifty years the park has evolved from a nature park with playground and a Fairy Tale Forest, into a full-size theme park along the lines of Disneyland. In 1992 Efteling received the IAAPA Applause Award for Best Amusement Park in the World.
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[edit] History
Efteling 'officially' opened on May 31st 1952, when the Fairy Tale Forest (het Sprookjesbos), designed by the famous Dutch illustrator Anton Pieck, was declared open. Initially, the Fairy Tale Forest was home to some ten different fairy tales. All of them were brought to life using original drawings by Anton Pieck, alongside ingenious movements, lighting and sound effects designed by the Dutch film maker Peter Reijnders. The life-size fairy tales, displayed together in an atmospheric forest, proved to be an enormous success. In 1952 alone Efteling welcomed 240,000 visitors.
There is some debate about whether May 31st, 1952 is the actual start of Efteling. Some argue that 1950 should be considered the official year of the park's establishment, since in that year Stichting Natuurpark de Efteling, or Efteling Nature Park Foundation, was founded. Others prefer 1953, when Efteling was declared 'open' by a government official, coinciding with the opening of the park's second large restaurant facility that still exists as De Ballonvaarder.
[edit] Design
The success of Efteling has been attributed largely to its high-quality ride designs and architecture and its pleasant green environments and gardening. The park, under the aegis of its creative directors, has always had high standards. When Anton Pieck was asked to design the initial fairy tales for the park, he made sure the park would live up to his personal high standards: there would be no use of cheap building materials, plastic or concrete. Pieck's illustration style, somewhat grim and dark, yet also romantic and nostalgic, was the thematic base on which most future expansions were built.
Pieck worked for Efteling until the mid 1970s, when his position as chief designer was passed on to the young Ton van de Ven. Van de Ven had already been working for Efteling for several years and Pieck was very pleased with his work. The Haunted Castle (het Spookslot), which opened in 1978 as the park's first new large ride, was the first attraction designed entirely by Van de Ven (although he used some ideas from joint brainstorming sessions with Pieck). Later on he designed many more successful rides and new fairy tales, leading him to be considered by some as the world's best 'imagineer' after Disney.
Van de Ven continued his work until 2002, when he retired. A new team of imagineers is currently working on new Efteling rides.
[edit] Divisions
Efteling has been divided in three sections: one running the park (1952), one running the four-star Efteling Hotel (1992), and a division running an 18-hole golf course (1995). The hotel was operated with Golden Tulip for some years, but Efteling decided recently to manage it independently. All three divisions are profitable (2003), although it took the golf course several years to reach the breakeven point. The divisions are contained in commercial corporations, but all shares are still held by the not-for-profit Efteling Naturepark Foundation (Stichting Natuurpark de Efteling).
[edit] The park
Efteling currently covers approximately 160 acres (650,000 m²). This area has changed only marginally over the course of its history. However, the park's foundation owns a much larger area of land, covered mostly with young forests, some grassland, roads and an 18-hole golf course.
The park is divided into four themed areas or 'realms', though these are not entirely comparable to Disney's 'lands'. Originally, the park was divided into four areas called North, West, East, and South, with most of the park's historical rides and attractions, like the Fairy Tale Forest, located in West. When the park reorganized its infrastructure in the late 1990s (adding the Pardoes Promenade and a central hub called Efteling Brink), it also changed its area names. North was changed to Reizenrijk (Travel Realm), West became Marerijk (Fairy Realm), East became Ruigrijk (Adventure Realm (literally: Rough Realm)) and South became Anderrijk (Alternative Realm).
Most of these names are rather cryptic and whether they suit their areas is debatable, because the park was not built with this division in mind at all. Perhaps the area most suited to its name is Ruigrijk, where most fast rides like the double-loop roller coaster Python (constructed in 1981) are located. However, on closer inspection the other names make some sense too. Marerijk is the home to the Fairy Tale Forest and the Fairies of the Droomvlucht, Anderrijk has some rides that are inspired by non-Western cultures (e.g. Fata Morgana and Piraña) while Reizenrijk has the Carnaval Festival ride, which travels through several different 'countries'.
Not only the Fairy Tale Forest, but almost the entire Efteling park was built in a rather rural area, with lots of pine trees, giving the park a very special and unique 'nature park' feeling. Together with the large ponds and gardens (with thousands of flowers and an army of gardeners) it gives the park a green and friendly feeling which is rather unusual among the world's leading themeparks.
The only large park that seems to get close to this special atmosphere is Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, Dutch climate and the reliance on greenery and trees for a huge part of the park's great looks (and theming!) are putting a bit of a stopper on a truly successful year-round opening. Efteling used to be closed all winter (only being open from April through October), but the park's management, struggling to make the park more profitable and creating a better return-on-investment, has been experimenting with a so-called 'Winter Efteling' since 1999. Thanks to great efforts to decorate the park using loads of pine trees and thousands of Christmas lights in winter, 'Winter Efteling' is growing more popular every year, reaching a climax during the holidays when thousands of people visit the park.
[edit] Attractions, rides and fairy tales in Efteling and their designers
1952 - Fairy Tale Forest (Anton Pieck)
1956 - The Steam Carousel (bought from L. Janvier)
1958 - The Paper Gobbler (Anton Pieck)
1958 - The Flying Fakir (Anton Pieck)
1966 - The Indian Waterroses (Anton Pieck)
1969 - The Efteling Steam Train
1971 - Diorama (Anton Pieck)
1978 - Haunted Mansion (Efteling)(Ton van de Ven)
1981 - Python (a rollercoaster built by Vekoma)
1981 - Gondoletta
1982 - Halve Maen (the Crescent Moon, a ship swing - Ton van de Ven)
1983 - Piraña (a River Rafting Ride, Ton van de Ven)
1984 - Carnival Festival (Dutch: Carnaval Festival) (darkride, Geesink)
1985 - Swiss Bob
1986 - Fata Morgana (darkride, Ton van de Ven)
1987 - Pagode (flying island, Ton van de Ven)
1988 - Troll King Fairy tale addition to the fairy forest
1990 - The People of Laaf (Dutch: Volk van Laaf) (Ton van de Ven)
1991 - Pegasus
1993 - Dreamflight (Dutch: Droomvlucht) (dark ride, Ton van de Ven)
1996 - The House of the Five Senses (the park's spectacular entrance, Ton van de Ven)
1996 - Villa Volta (madhouse, Ton van de Ven)
1998 - Bird Rok (Dutch: Vogel Rok, indoor coaster, Ton van de Ven)
1999 - The Chinese Nightingale Fairy tale addition to the fairy forest
2002 - Efteling Theater (Ton van de Ven) and PandaVision (3D cinema, Van Doorn and associates)
2003 - Anton Pieck Square revision (Michel den Dulk)
2004 - The Little Match Girl Fairy tale addition to the fairy forest (Michel den Dulk)
2007 - (in production) The Flying Dutchman (Dutch: De Vliegende Hollander) (Water coaster, Karel Willemen)
[edit] Awards
- In 1972 the Efteling received the Pomme d'Or for best European themepark. The Pomme d'Or (Golden Apple) is the highest award in the European tourist industry.
- In 1992 the IAAPA Applause Award was awarded for the best themepark in the world.
- In 1997 Villa Volta as first 'new style' madhouse in the world receives the Thea Attraction Award.
- In 2005 the Efteling received the THEA Classic Award. This Classic Award is the ultimate token of recognition for an amusement park, because it is awarded by other people in the industry. The Efteling is the second park to receive a prize for their entire oeuvre, the first being the park Tivoli Gardens.
[edit] The Disney connection
The Efteling has a good relationship with the Disney themeparks. Disneyland Paris consulted the Efteling during its construction and design phase, to have the American park adapted to European culture. As a token of appreciation the Disney Company gave the Efteling a small statue. Ton van de Ven (former Creative Director) is also a good friend of Disney's Tony Baxter (Senior Vice President of Disney Imagineering). Former Efteling employee Cees Kikstra, who used to be a manager at Efteling, worked for Disney Benelux at first and later for Disneyland Paris.
[edit] External links
- Efteling on Google Maps
- The official park web site, in multiple languages
- (Dutch) Wonderlijkewcweb.org, The largest and most popular Efteling related web site, maintained by fans
- (Dutch) The latest news on the Efteling
- (Dutch) Article: "Walt Disney spent a great deal of time studying Pieck's work at Efteling before beginning his own parks."
