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Efteling: General Discussion

I don't think it's strictly required for the ride control system to monitor the restraints on a typical GCI coaster. I'm fairly sure Wicker Man does it, which results in occasional restraint re-checks, but I'm not sure how many of the others do.

Either way, a physical check by the staff should always be performed which should have prevented this. Relying on sensors alone is never a good idea.
 
Rob said:
I'm surprised that a relatively modern coaster such as a GCI woodie is actually able to dispatch with a restraint not being locked. And also surprised that it did not fall in to a locked position automatically with how those restraints work.
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I witnessed Heidi at Plopsaland dispatch with someone’s lap at still up and the rider frantically waving as he went up the lift hill.
 
John said:
I don't think it's strictly required for the ride control system to monitor the restraints on a typical GCI coaster. I'm fairly sure Wicker Man does it, which results in occasional restraint re-checks, but I'm not sure how many of the others do.
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this is correct, from ASTM standards there are essentially G-force limits which define each type of restraint that can be used, starting with essentially no force (e.g train ride), then some force (e.g blade) will required a lap bar, with the more thrilling the ride getting more and more measures, I can't remember at which point it becomes a requirement to have seat sensors but there are all of those (such as over the sholder restraints)

I am also pretty sure I have seen the wickerman having seat sensors

I can't recall the exact classes and their rules but my guess would be that the seatbelts are an alternative (either mandated by GCI or the regulations, or efeling has a lower G-force ride), I would guess the wickerman went with sensors also as it reduces human error and would allow for quicker dispaches (as they only have to check the train once) and matches all of the other big coasters at the park.
 
flyingguitar said:
this is correct, from ASTM standards there are essentially G-force limits which define each type of restraint that can be used, starting with essentially no force (e.g train ride), then some force (e.g blade) will required a lap bar, with the more thrilling the ride getting more and more measures, I can't remember at which point it becomes a requirement to have seat sensors but there are all of those (such as over the sholder restraints)

I am also pretty sure I have seen the wickerman having seat sensors

I can't recall the exact classes and their rules but my guess would be that the seatbelts are an alternative (either mandated by GCI or the regulations, or efeling has a lower G-force ride), I would guess the wickerman went with sensors also as it reduces human error and would allow for quicker dispaches (as they only have to check the train once) and matches all of the other big coasters at the park.
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It will be the seat belts that previously meant there wasn’t a need for automatic restraint checks not the g-force levels.

Wodan was the 1st GCI without seatbelts and that can also have seat rechecks needed. My guess however is all modern GCI’s will have the central computer checks regardless of having a seat belt or not.
 
The park have made a very small update to Vogel Rok. Sounds subtle but as it's the ride we will probably go on the most i'm hoping to spot it this summer!

Love how they are always making little improvements on old rides.

The Efteling has provided a new light effect in Vogel Rok, but most visitors will not notice it. During the ride in the dark roller coaster, stars have been projected on the ceiling for years. Now the laser projectors also show a different shape.


When the train reaches the top of the lift, long streaks of light are visible for a short time. This simulates speed. The recent adjustment is mainly visible from the last cars of the train, although the effect is so subtle that passengers have to pay close attention.

www.looopings.nl

Nieuw lichteffect in Efteling-achtbaan Vogel Rok, voor bezoekers met een scherp oog

De Efteling heeft gezorgd voor een nieuw lichteffect in Vogel Rok, maar de meeste bezoekers zullen dat niet opmerken. Tijdens de rit in de donkere...
www.looopings.nl www.looopings.nl
 
I always thought Vogel Rok would benefit from some additional lighting effects. Whilst the musical score is excellent, there are some rather dead spots in the ride, not helped by some of the existing lights being rather dim and therefore a little underwhelming.

Hopefully we’ll see these changes continue.
 
StajBeetle said:
So I've just spent 3 days at Efteling. Wonderful park, however, naturally they've decided to completely change Danse Macabre's sequence the day after we leave for Toverland. Cheers!

From: https://youtu.be/TJg5vCM4djk?si=nlR4Sldl6arKAmq5
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Looks superb, I visited in 2023 and can’t wait to get back.

It really is the perfect example of how far technically, stylistically and in terms of quality of installation, Merlin are to many competitors.

Compare and contrast this to what happens with Hex.
 
Planning my first Efteling trip for this fall, this is the biggest park in Europe I haven't yet been to and as someone with Disneyland/dark ride brain I have a feeling I'm going to love it. Going to roll the dice and book a spot in the new hotel, half because it's vaguely inspired by Wes Anderson and half because it has a sauna.

A couple of questions about overnight stays: Is the big after-park show any good? I hadn't heard of it until I went to book the room, it's like a 90-minute show for €13 a person starting after the park closes so I figure it can't be that bad of a deal for one of the evenings unless it's got truly dreadful reviews. And what's up with food in the evenings? There are two restaurants in the new hotel but I'm not sure if Efteling's food has as good of a reputation as their dark rides. Any other tips/tricks/must-sees for a first-time visitor? I think I've seen all the trip reports here but if there's a decent FAQ thread I missed, please hit me with the link :)
 
Llama said:
Planning my first Efteling trip for this fall, this is the biggest park in Europe I haven't yet been to and as someone with Disneyland/dark ride brain I have a feeling I'm going to love it. Going to roll the dice and book a spot in the new hotel, half because it's vaguely inspired by Wes Anderson and half because it has a sauna.

A couple of questions about overnight stays: Is the big after-park show any good? I hadn't heard of it until I went to book the room, it's like a 90-minute show for €13 a person starting after the park closes so I figure it can't be that bad of a deal for one of the evenings unless it's got truly dreadful reviews. And what's up with food in the evenings? There are two restaurants in the new hotel but I'm not sure if Efteling's food has as good of a reputation as their dark rides. Any other tips/tricks/must-sees for a first-time visitor? I think I've seen all the trip reports here but if there's a decent FAQ thread I missed, please hit me with the link :)
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We love Caro (the evening show) seen it twice now and honestly the 13 euro deal is a bargain, I'd avoid spoilers but its very Cirque du Soleil style and has alot of Efteling references.
One slight spoiler incase you have emotionally sensitive people in your group and I will keep it vague:
Part of the show deals with the death of a parent which may effect some people

I actually really like the food on park, decent quality and well priced for a theme park. Try to fit in Polles Kuchen and Poffertjes, the bakery near Max and Moritz is great for snacks as are the hot food vending machines and the Stoopwaffles in Fairytale Forest which should be open again by then.
Only place I would say to avoid is Pinocchio's by Caro, we had a very disappointing and overpriced meal there and have heard many reviews saying the same.
 
@Llama I really wouldn't bother with Caro unless you're into very long very schmaltzy over the top drama. There is also no escape once it starts - you are prisoner until it ends even if you realise you've made a terrible mistake. It doesn't help that on the night we went, it started late, over ran, and we missed the last queue of the day for Danse Macabre by 2 minutes even though we left the place like scalded cats the minute the doors opened. I will never forgive Caro for that 🤣

Ravelijn, on the other hand, was right up our street and included in entry. Fire, dragons, horses, jousting and sword fighting 11/10 would recommend.
 
Thanks everyone! Laughing at the very mixed reviews for Caro :D. The only reason I'm considering it is because we'll be going mid-week September and the park closes at 6pm, with the show starting at 6:30, so there wouldn't be any potential for it to cut in to park time. I am not completely opposed to schmaltzy over the top drama but I will do some more research before committing, as I would probably be just as happy heading to the bar after the park. (And at this point if there are any recommendations for post-park drinking, please share.)

My last remaining question about food is: given a 6pm park closing, where would you recommend having dinner? The new hotel has seemingly fancy restaurants which would be fine for an evening or two but it would be good to have some less involved (or, more accurately, less expensive) options for the other nights. I see on the website that there's a filter for restaurants that are "open after park closing," does that mean into the evening or just right after the rides close?
 
The in-park restaurants on the main street close at either 6.15 or 6.30 today FWIW. Not sure how that changes with crowd levels
 
Alix said:
@Llama I really wouldn't bother with Caro unless you're into very long very schmaltzy over the top drama. There is also no escape once it starts - you are prisoner until it ends even if you realise you've made a terrible mistake. It doesn't help that on the night we went, it started late, over ran, and we missed the last queue of the day for Danse Macabre by 2 minutes even though we left the place like scalded cats the minute the doors opened. I will never forgive Caro for that 🤣

Ravelijn, on the other hand, was right up our street and included in entry. Fire, dragons, horses, jousting and sword fighting 11/10 would recommend.
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Ah that does make it different, as I say I love Caro BUT I've never had to choose it over park time it's started at ride close both times for us. Probably wouldn't pick it over 1.5-2 hrs of park time.
 
As @John said a handful of restaurants in the park stay open a little after ride close (Polles Keuken, Fabula and Pinokkios I believe) and you won't be kicked out until you've finished eating - though I have to say Fabula rather lacked atmosphere at 7 o clock this evening with us the only ones still in there.

On resort, the Bosrijk and Loonsche villages each have their own restaurants which are decent although there's not a huge amount of choice. Efteling Wonder Hotel has the newly refurbished Saga Restaurant which does a fixed price menu of four of five small plates over three courses. Generally it seems encouraged to use your own hotel restaurant - you can book this easily on the app but if you want to eat in a different hotel you have to call them. I managed to book us into Saga Restaurant despite staying at Bosrijk but had to call them over a month ago and it was subject to availability. I've since heard they're not accepting bookings from non Wonder Hotel guests due to popularity although this was only hearsay through a Facebook group.

Our meal at Saga was pretty good, there was lots of choice, the food was all good quality and the staff were happy to adapt most dishes to suit my gluten intolerance. Only the portion sizes seemed rather inconsistent - my husband's gnocchi portion was enormous despite being sold as a "small plate" and my starter was pretty small compared to the other two we ordered. But it's a new menu I believe so perhaps they're still tweaking things like portion sizes.
 
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Llama said:
Planning my first Efteling trip for this fall, this is the biggest park in Europe I haven't yet been to and as someone with Disneyland/dark ride brain I have a feeling I'm going to love it. Going to roll the dice and book a spot in the new hotel, half because it's vaguely inspired by Wes Anderson and half because it has a sauna.

A couple of questions about overnight stays: Is the big after-park show any good? I hadn't heard of it until I went to book the room, it's like a 90-minute show for €13 a person starting after the park closes so I figure it can't be that bad of a deal for one of the evenings unless it's got truly dreadful reviews. And what's up with food in the evenings? There are two restaurants in the new hotel but I'm not sure if Efteling's food has as good of a reputation as their dark rides. Any other tips/tricks/must-sees for a first-time visitor? I think I've seen all the trip reports here but if there's a decent FAQ thread I missed, please hit me with the link :)
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I've just done Efteling as I mentioned a few posts up, I'm actually currently at Walibi as I'm writing this haha. Food was decent, the restaurant in the Anton Pieck Square had a lot of variety and was very good, Het Witte Paard is the name I believe. Really enjoyed the Loonsche Land hotel restaurant and Polles Kitchen too, wouldn't recommend the chicken place near the entrance/Max + Moritz however as that wasn't great. Also had a Unox hot dog as recommended by a couple of Dutch people I spoke to. If I remember I'll post a full trip reports of this entire trip when I get home.
 
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Home from a lovely 3 day stay at Efteling this week (Tues-Thurs) and really enjoyed getting back to the park since last visiting back in 2022. Danse Macabre is a fantastic addition to the park's dark ride line up. Managed 8 rides on it across my visit including 2 on the 'new" program. I'd say it was a noticeable change on the Thursday if you've previously ridden it in terms of the rides projections and animatronics being more noticeable but it's still very much a family spinning ride on the intensity scale. Only small niggle is the squeaking mechanical sound that became more noticeable after re-riding but I've heard Intamin are working on remedying that. I'd love to see some other parks purchase one of these... Phantasialand Geista Rikscha replacement?!

Back to my trip and ops were excellent throughout with short queue times, never waited longer than 20 minutes for anything over the 3 days. Was great to get back on Flying Dutchman its amazing how effective something as simple as heavy fog and a great soundtrack are for building atmosphere on a dark ride. Joris and Baron both as great as I remember and I really enjoyed getting back on Symbolica and Droomvlucht. I really hate seeing vlogs that trash this park for not having an intense RMC or a crazy launch coaster. It's just not what Efteling is about. Yes a Taron type coaster would probably work very well here and I'd personally love it but it's not really needed imo. For me Efteling is about more than a collection of great rides in a pretty park, because whilst it is that it's the smaller details and random little things you stumble across whilst exploring that make it for me. Buying a bag of bird seed from the shop in the fairy tale forest and feeding the feathered residents. Take a delicious snack on a gondaletta and just drift off - pure themepark zen.

On the subject of snacks the Backerei Krumel store near Max and Moritz is an absolute must. The noodle snacks from the vending machines are top tier and Polles kitchen had lovely pancakes. I'd say snacks and quick service are Efteling's strongest cuisine offerings. The sit down meals I had at Pinokkios and the Loonsche land restaurant were both fine but maybe a little bland. Certainly didn't compare to say Rutmors or Uhrwerk at Phantasialand for example but I guess not many themepark restaurants do. So overall a great visit and I'm glad this park is getting on more brits radars as opposed to just going to Disneyland Paris for a themepark fix. I genuinely believe Efteling is the far better option.
 
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