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Efteling: General Discussion

Hi, i did already ask in the dedicated Ride Access thread but in case it was missed i wondered if anyone has any real life experience of using the RAP/Facility Card system at Efteling?

Thanks.
 
Yes.

No time outs, the guidance slip they give you is detailed in terms of limits (I.e. max carers) and where to go (as some have dedicated entrances, some involve going into the main queue then splitting off).

No real issues with it bar missing the Baron pre-show and you can potentially wait forever if mistimed your arrival at Carnaval Festival. Joris is probably the "worst" one due to throughputs and location.
 
Rowe said:
Piraña is receiving an 8 million euro renovation between now and late June 2024. This includes brand new rockwork and water effects, new pumps, piping, LED lights, speakers and more. Also, a gift shop.

1699279495877.png

Source: Looopings
Click to expand...

Boo I’m taking my niece in May and was looking forward to taking her on this. Guess we’ll just have to visit again!
 
Aaaand another double whammy of Efteling news via, you guessed it, Looopings.

Firstly, the bad news: Efteling has postponed the Grand Hotel to 2025, due to construction company Byldis' bankruptcy. Whilst the prep work has been done for the site and the building work was supposed to start in September, it'll instead start from January 2024.

Secondly, the good news: Danse Macabre is planned to open for spooky season 2024 (October). Their Facebook and Instagram channels have been teasing followers about it today.
 
If you want to audibly visit the palace of fantasy from the comfort of your home the whole Symbolica sound track is now on Spotify

oj punctuel hello GIF by Efteling



From: https://open.spotify.com/album/5yMitUBI9nOO7vCYNwoEle?si=515cYdR_SrSvBAvCOoNoTA&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A5yMitUBI9nOO7vCYNwoEle
 
Just got back from my first trip to Efteling and I don't quite know what to think in all honesty. Having had the place built up to be a magical paradise, which to be fair, the majority was very nice, I was shocked with the state of the park in some places. Peeling paint in most ride queues and quite a few bits that felt unkept. Has this been other people's experience?

Also, a quick question about operations. On joris, they had a seatbelt as well as the lap bar meaning that they were constantly stacking trains and felt very unnecessary - have they always done this?
 
Aardvark747 said:
Also, a quick question about operations. On joris, they had a seatbelt as well as the lap bar meaning that they were constantly stacking trains and felt very unnecessary - have they always done this?
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Larger GCIs over a certain height do have seatbelts I believe. Not just Joris.
 
Aardvark747 said:
Just got back from my first trip to Efteling and I don't quite know what to think in all honesty. Having had the place built up to be a magical paradise, which to be fair, the majority was very nice, I was shocked with the state of the park in some places. Peeling paint in most ride queues and quite a few bits that felt unkept. Has this been other people's experience?

Also, a quick question about operations. On joris, they had a seatbelt as well as the lap bar meaning that they were constantly stacking trains and felt very unnecessary - have they always done this?
Click to expand...
I went for the first time in August and I didn’t notice really any areas that unkept and overall was impressed. Maybe the queue areas for Vogal Roc and the carnival dark ride could have done with some touching up but not something I noticed elsewhere really.
 
Aardvark747 said:
Just got back from my first trip to Efteling and I don't quite know what to think in all honesty. Having had the place built up to be a magical paradise, which to be fair, the majority was very nice, I was shocked with the state of the park in some places. Peeling paint in most ride queues and quite a few bits that felt unkept. Has this been other people's experience?

Also, a quick question about operations. On joris, they had a seatbelt as well as the lap bar meaning that they were constantly stacking trains and felt very unnecessary - have they always done this?
Click to expand...
This wasn't my experience on my last visit in May 2022, however there are a LOT of projects going on at the park right now, including Danse Macabre, the new hotel (which has been delayed) and a major refurbishments due this year on Pirana and Joris. They've also had a couple of setbacks recently with some unfortunate damage to Droomvlucht and a couple of fires at the Raveleijn show arena, which have needed addressing. It wouldn't surprise me if general upkeep has fallen a bit behind recently.
 
RE operations: seatbelts are fitted as standard on almost all GCIs, though I sometimes forget about them as the two I'm most familiar with (WM & Wodan) don't have them. This has resulted in me attempting to get out with the belt still fastened on at least 2 occasions on other rides. The difference belts makes to loading times is considerable - Joris can get a throughput of around 700/hour per side whereas Wodan will get 1100+.
 
Aardvark747 said:
Just got back from my first trip to Efteling and I don't quite know what to think in all honesty. Having had the place built up to be a magical paradise, which to be fair, the majority was very nice, I was shocked with the state of the park in some places. Peeling paint in most ride queues and quite a few bits that felt unkept. Has this been other people's experience?

Also, a quick question about operations. On joris, they had a seatbelt as well as the lap bar meaning that they were constantly stacking trains and felt very unnecessary - have they always done this?
Click to expand...

Are all the rides open at this time of year? Is Efteling 365?
 
Bowser said:
Are all the rides open at this time of year? Is Efteling 365?
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It is 365 but they have winter closure periods for maintenance on a lot of their rides. These are well advertised on the website:

www.efteling.com

Closed attractions - Efteling

Efteling attractions closed for maintenance.
www.efteling.com www.efteling.com

Personally I'd be giving it a miss now until much later in the year, or possibly 2025 as Danse Macabre isn't going to be opening until October now.
 
John said:
RE operations: seatbelts are fitted as standard on almost all GCIs, though I sometimes forget about them as the two I'm most familiar with (WM & Wodan) don't have them. This has resulted in me attempting to get out with the belt still fastened on at least 2 occasions on other rides. The difference belts makes to loading times is considerable - Joris can get a throughput of around 700/hour per side whereas Wodan will get 1100+.
Click to expand...

To be fair, the two tracks on Joris means that the queue does shift along at a fair pace.

As for grottiness the odd bit of Efteling feels a little dated, but I can't say I noticed it looking particularly tatty during my stay in September. The only unkempt area that stood out was the paving around far side of the lake, which had overgrown fairly significantly. It's a dead area, but is used as the route for on-site guests accessing Early Rider, as well as for Aquanara when it's particularly busy. Seemed like an oversight.

Saying that, the whole front portion of the park is currently a tip, and will remain so until the new hotel is finally completed. But otherwise the park feels relatively immaculate and becomes enveloping as soon as you're heading up towards Symbolica.
 
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I’ll be visiting in May so I’ll make sure to post a trip report, but I have to say, on my previous visits I’ve never found it lacking in maintenance. It’s likely, as mentioned above, the volume of work currently being undertaken as well as the time of season.
 
Efteling have just finished a significant refurbishment of the Bosrijk Village Eethuys and reception area, and ... er ... this is the result.


From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LL6UdYFDOo


I'm scratching my head a bit - on my last visit in 2022 this was a cosy, well-themed restaurant with nice murals depicting the Sandman, his owl and other animals. Definitely wouldn't have said it needed a refurb.
 
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