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Efteling: General Discussion

A few years back they might have opened later if it was busy, however during 2012 they only extended ride close a couple of times. In the UK we are unfortunately used to early ride close :(
 
I'm so glad to hear about the small drop towers, Efteling needs to learn to add minor investments, as well as major ones, so this is very nice to see! The plaza near Halve Maen really needed an update too, so that's amazing news too.

I'm so excited as to what might come from the Raveleijn upgrade. Puy Du Fou is ridiculously good at what they do, so for Efteling to share in this magic is really quite exciting.
 
The Puy de Fou is awesome so bring it on.

Corine- Alton isn't that busy in August usually. 6pm is early but to be honest you'll have no problem getting round. October/early November is peak time at Alton now!

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How do they expect to double their visitor numbers by 2025 if their entire additions for the 2013 and 2014 seasons combined are two kiddy drop towers?
 
Surely the rumoured second park would go some way of fulfilling that aspect?

Besides, isn't Efteling about more than just the rides?
 
AstroDan said:
Corine- Alton isn't that busy in August usually. 6pm is early but to be honest you'll have no problem getting round. October/early November is peak time at Alton now!

Thanks for the information. I still think it's a shame though. We are kind of used to the fact that we can get home from work in the Summer, have dinner at Efteling and still spend a couple of hours in the park. I already didnt like it when they went from closing at 9:00pm to 8:00pm, but this is another level. Especially when we visit a park that we haven't visited before, we like to eat in and just wander around a bit in the evening. We'll reconsider then going in Autumn :)

Roger Ramrod said:
How do they expect to double their visitor numbers by 2025 if their entire additions for the 2013 and 2014 seasons combined are two kiddy drop towers?

I guess you took that bit of information from the 'second gate-topic', but that is lost in translation. The article states that the -to be created- leisure boulevard needs to double visitor numbers by 2025, mind you, that is what the local government has stated as its aim. The current number of visitors to the area is ten million. Efteling visitor numbers, while having a substantial contribution to that, aren't even half of the current ten million. I don't know if you've ever been there before, but the Netherlands' largest national park is next to Efteling alongside other tourist attractions. For instance, a beach and an area with lots of paintball, off-road driving like activities. Just building a large number of hotels in the region as they want to facilitate should already be a large contribution.
 
From Efteling's Facebook, via Google Translate:

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"Have you ever tasted a delicious potato twister of the Eigenheymer?

A special machine pulls the potato in the striking spiral shape and places them on a bamboo stick. The potato twister is briefly fried in 100% vegetable oil and available in the flavors cheese, salt & acid, BBQ or sea salt.

Enjoy a potato twister for € 2.75 at The Eigenheymer on the Ton van de Ven square at Dream flight."

Not sure how old this is, but looks nice!
 
Roger Ramrod said:

That's a very ornately detailed food stall, looks awesome. Efteling have a knack for putting amazing detail into such little things, it's a stunning park, i really need to go soon!

Also,

Roger Ramrod said:
From Efteling's Facebook, via Google Translate:

A special machine pulls the potato in the striking spiral shape and places them on a bamboo stick. The potato twister is briefly fried in 100% vegetable oil and available in the flavors cheese, salt & acid, BBQ or sea salt.

LOL, Google Translate ftw :p
 
Salt and Acid eh?

Darn those liberal Europeans!

Snack and Cart looks lovely - and a nice easy snack on the move, though not sure I'd like to go on any rides after the above topping!
 
That outlet has been there a while. It was delicious!

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Screamscape may have come across (at least one) of the reasons why Hartenhof has been so heavily delayed:

2015 - Hartenhof - (5/7/13) It has been awhile since we’ve heard much of anything about the delayed Hartenhof attraction for Efteling. While I’m not really sure of the cause of the delay, I have been told a bit more about the ride system that the park intended to use back when they wanted it open by 2012.
The artwork previously uncovered as belonging to Vekoma does seem to be the real deal. Efteling wanted to create their own dark ride experience that would have offered a similar experience to that of Universal Orlando’s Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. As seen, this was intended to be a much more beefy platform, able to hold and toss around 24 seats all at once instead of just four, which meant fewer cars on the track at once. It is possible this issue alone may have been the cause of the delay as they were wanting a ride system as swift and nimble as the Harry Potter KUKA arm system, but with six times the capacity per vehicle. I don’t know if they’ve been forced to go back to the drawing board on this system or if they have elected to simply go an entirely new route. Hopefully we’ll know a bit more later this year.
 
Apparently the park have added Single Rider to Bobbaan. Which is nice to hear.

Interesting news about Hartenhof. Is that still meant to be on for a 2015 opening? As much as I look forward to it, I can't shake the feeling that after so many years of anticipation the final product will disappoint. I'd like to see the ride get open now so the park can focus on new things.

Is there still rumours about something new going on family wise in 2014?
 
Old news (July!) from Eftelist.

The park have indeed added single rider to Bob.

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The Octopus restaurant has had improvements including new paving and a new sign out front.

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It seems like from the translation that Dreamflight and Fata Morgana have had ORPs added, which weren't there before.

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Shop looks a bit bland imho.

Cafe refurb:

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Some other weird Efteling news, and I don't really understand it. It seems that the nearby town of Nieuwkuijk have built and opened their own mini Efteling. You can see a full report on its opening here. It's certainly not unsubstantial. It's not clear though whether this is an official Efteling project, or a fan project. I would hazard a guess that it's a community project, partly funded by the park, to create a small new public park for local people...? Looks very beautiful either way, especially their own take on 'long neck' :)

No word yet on any new attractions for 2014, so I presume there won't be any (again).
 
Isn't 2014 Aquanura 2?

Apparently Bart De Boer no longer being CEO makes the chances of Hartenhof happening off the cards.
 
Another little Efteling update from Eftelist.

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Much-needed refurb work on Dreamflight continues. The outside queueline is finally being addressed with roots and vines hanging down from the ceiling, or something like that.

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New lighting around Fata.

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The local authority are redesigning the road system around the park and building a new flyover to cope with the traffic.

The Troll King in the Fairytale Forest has re-opened after refurbishment, with a new animatronic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGW9yMqYj-4#

VERY good job considering this isn't Disney/Universal!

No photos, but the restaurant in the hotel has also apparently just re-opened after a major refurbishment. Next year, the bar will also be refurbished and extended onto a terrace. I remember that bar being tiny.
 
Efteling on Facebook said:
Good news! Dream flight is more open!

The maintenance is very successful and from 25 november you can visit the attraction again.

Dream flight this year 20 years exists and is ready for the next 20 years!

Curious?

According to De Vijf Zintuigen, the ride was supposed to reopen on 13 December but it is far ahead of schedule.

The gondolas have had a major refurbishment:

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The queueline has been improved with a new green ceiling...

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And another big project! During the winter season, the slightly neglected Pirana rapids ride is also getting an overhaul.
 
Well nobody else gives a toss about Efteling but I don't care because I like it. :p

The park has a new map. Here's the old, oft-criticised map, below:

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And the new map, as spotted on park in its winter incarnation (Pirana closed!) by Eftelwesley on De Vijf Zintuigen. As you can see, Efteling have rotated the map, presenting it from a different perspective for the first time ever.

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A definite improvement, navigationally. Apparently, this map is almost exactly true to the proportions of the park, which is impressive. Joris which looked squashed and tucked away on the old map now looks resplendent.

My only criticism would be unnecessary clutter, which is becoming a problem with a lot of maps these days (I'm looking at you, tube map). Do I need to know that there are two places to eat in the Spookslot building, since it doesn't tell me anything else about them? And the same for the food place near Bob? Why is there a random eye outside Villa Volta? I should be able to work out what that means without looking at the legend. Apart from that, big improvement.

In other minor news...

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New sign outside Villa Volta which all the Efteling fans seem very unhappy about for some reason.

The new Efteling app should also launch tomorrow, featuring queue times among other things.

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Still no word on a new attraction for next year, so I presume it isn't happening. A real shame - the first year the park haven't put in anything new for a while, and I kinda hoped those bad old days were over. They need to put in a few well-themed family flats to be honest, just to soak up capacity. Something like a high-quality and well-presented starflyer or ferris wheel wouldn't go amiss in my opinion. :)
 
This topic never loads on my mobile devices due to the image content!

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I give a toss about Efteling!

The new map is a definite improvement, it might even help me find my way out of the fairytale forest for the first time.
 
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