I am a more than a bit behind in updating this blog for our family and friends out there. So I will attempt to bring you up to date in the next few postings.

We left off just after the rest of the family joined Reid and I here in Loosdrecht. I then took a holiday from work and we toured around to the some of the usual sites and some not so usual. Among these were the Delft Flea Market, Den Helder Maritime Museum, the fortified village of Naarden and the family theme park, Efteling.

Being big Disney fans (World not Land, let’s be real), we made our way to the Netherlands most famous theme park.

Comprised of fantasy elements from Brothers Grimm, among others, and a few roller coaster and water attractions, the park is located about 90 minutes south of Amsterdam and is large enough that you can spend a full day to explore.

The park opened in 1952, three years before Disneyland.  Efteling attracted over 5 million visitors in 2017, compared to 18 million in Disneyland. I find that to be quite an impressive number given how relatively unknown Efteling is outside of the Netherlands compared to Disney’s global brand recognition. And, at only $38 for an entry ticket, it is also very good value.

I found that the best thing about Efteling is its extensive grounds. At 175 acres, it is quite large and boasts some beautifully sculpted gardens and very picturesque walks through areas like the Fairytale Forest.  There are castles and medieval villages and many water attractions with bridges and trails.  Even on a busy summer day,  we were able to walk slowly down a well groomed back trail,  enjoying creamy ice cream and running into no other visitors. And, ice cream was nice, but on a hot day, beer can be even better, so yes,  adult beverages are also available in the park. Nice.

And, although we obviously visited in the summer, the park appears to do a very good job in providing seasonal themes, shows and attractions so that there is always something new to experience.

The oddest thing about Efteling is the fantasy themes. Outside of the familiar Brothers Grimm characters, there are a host of characters that were unknown to us, which is of course fine, but some of them are kind of just odd. For example, the main mascot of the park is Pardoes, a court jester. He has a carnival flair to him and seems harmless enough, just not really compelling. Of course, he hasn’t had the same opportunity for top billing in countless short films like Mickey and the gang, so perhaps we will warm to him over time.

And then there is the legend of the five Woudenberg brothers and sisters that provides story lines in several of the attractions.  If I have this right, legend is (Efteling legend, not Dutch)  that the siblings, upon moving to the edge of a forest, discover an old city gate. The gate is an entrance to the oppressed city of Raveliejn where the tyrant Olaf Grafhart reigns supreme. The five then become determined to fight Grafhart and regain the city for its people. And, it must be mentioned, they have cool warrior outfits. But then, the odd part comes in again. For example, the sword-wielding Woudenberg girls, nowkeep in mind their bad-ass costumes, all list mice as their biggest fear.  And they all list baked bread rolls as their favorite food. Huh? Carbs and mice? What the what? OK, not the most bizarre, but grant me it is whacky.

 

 

Now, Efteling is really best suited for little kids. The characters and majority of the attractions are for little kids. But, if you have tweens or teens who are up for trying anything new and can get in the spirit, then they will have a great time as well.  And, there are a couple of rides specifically for them like the Python roller coaster and the Baron 1898 deep dive roller coaster you can see a bit of in the video below.

Wacky characters aside, Efteling has a very fresh European (non-Disney) vibe coupled with very well done building designs and landscape architecture that made this a fun day and I am sure we will visit again in a different season.