As you are reading this, today we are off to Efteling! We have spent the week mainly in Belgium, however, for one of the days we crossed over the border and headed to the Netherlands to go to Efteling. Efteling is a theme park in the south of the Netherlands that is all about fairytales. I guess it is like a European version of Disney with all the classic fairytales and not the Disney version of them. I have been here before on two occasions and I have so many fond memories of my time here and as I write this, I am beyond excited about going back.
The first time I explored Efteling was in 2004. I had such a wonderful day here and I remember it being so magical and wonderful.
I then ventured back when I was a little older (16 😂) as we were on a Guide trip to Belgium actually and we also crossed the border for a day and went to Efteling. It wasn’t quite as magical this time as I ended up going round with a group of people who were more interested in rides than going around the Fairytale Forest. However, I still had an incredible day and honestly it was the best day of the trip!
So ahead of my trip (even though as you read this it will be after) I would write a little Bucket List post of things that I would like to do at Efteling. There is so much to do there that I 100% know that I won’t get it all done, however, I am going to try and get as much ticked off as possible!
Joris en de Draak
Now, I could be wrong here, but I think Joris en de Draak translates to George and the Dragon. Anyway, when I last went to Efteling in 2014, I had the best time on this ride. I remember the queue being super long, but it was well worth it in the end. Joris en de Draak is I believe Europe’s largest wooden racing rollercoaster. When you queue you have to pick whether you want to defeat the dragon using fire or water. Essentially, you have to race to the finish line and the cart who gets back first wins and defeated the dragon. Both tracks are slightly different and I think last time I did the fire side and we won, so it will be interesting to go on the water side and see what the difference is.
De Vliegende Hollander
This literally translates to ‘The Flying Dutchman’. I went on this ride back in 2014 and wet myself with fear. This ride is about a Captain who decided to set out to sea despite the bad weather in search of wealth and riches. The Captain ordered his crew to sail on Easter Sunday, which was forbidden and since that day everyone on board is doomed to sail on the seven seas. So from that little description, you can kind of tell that this is a haunted boat ride. Half of the rise is a dark ride and is inside (its pretty scary) and the other half is outside and is a water ride. I do remember being terrified of this, but it was a lot of fun and I really want to scare my Mum with this ride!
Volta Volta
This ride technically speaking is awesome. How they pull off this technique, I have no idea, but it works. I also went on this ride back in 2014 and it was amazing. I don’t really want to spoil it, but this is a cursed villa where you can’t tell what is the ceiling and what is the floor.
Droomvlucht
This is a dark ride and I have no idea what this translates too. I had to check the spelling multiple times to make sure that I had it right! I think that this is the only ride on this list that I did on both occasions that I have been to Efteling. This ride is a fairytale themed ride where unicorns and forest animals come to life. Cities start to float as night falls and when the sun comes up the forest awakens. This ride gets quite busy, so this will be one of the first things that we do when we get to Efteling. Plus, it will also be a nice gentle one to start Mum off!
Fairytale Forest
This is an outdoor walk through that has models of our favourite fairytales, from Sleeping Beauty to Rapunzel, from Little Red Riding Hood to Hansel and Gretel. From both memory and the little bits that I have seen online, this looks so magical and wonderful. I love fairytales so the fairytale forest is somewhere that I really need to be. Unfortunately when we go, Snow White will be closed for refurbishment, which is unfortunate as its my Mum’s favourite fairytale, however, there are so many more to look at, I don’t think it will matter!
Eigenheimers
THESE ARE THE BEST SNACKS OF ALL TIME. There I said it! I will try and describe these as best as I can, but its a tad difficult. It is probably best to google this (if I can’t find a picture of me eating one, which I am sure that there is somewhere!). Basically, this snack is a whole potato that is cut in a spiral and then fried. They then place a flavouring on the potato and it is so delicious!
Revaleijn
This is a show that I don’t think I have seen before. I have looked a pictures online and I don’t recognise it, so this is a must for the day! Revaleijn (please never ask me to pronounce this!) is a 20 minute show that features five-headed monsters, horses, princesses, knights, fire breathing dragons and by the looks of it so much more. I have no idea what the narrative of this show is, but I know that I am going to need to factor the 20 minutes into my day!
Aquanura
Aquanura is a water show that is really magical. From what I remember (and what I have read online! I’m trying not to watch it cause #spoilers!) the show has four frogs that spirt water and there is a story to it. It has been described as a water ballet that brings our favourite fairytales to life. It is super spectacular as it has over 200 fountains and over 900 lights in the show and it is apparently the biggest water show in Europe.
I hope to get as much as I can done whilst I am at Efteling. I only have the day here and it is unfortunately the Dutch Summer Holidays when I go, PLUS we will be going on a Saturday so thats basically theme park suicide right?! Hopefully, I will be able to go again in the near future and tick off more of my Efteling Bucket List. If you liked this post, then I have written other bucket list posts such as my Belgium bucket list, however you can check out all of my bucket list posts here!
