I will start off by saying that this has previously been mentioned on Eftelist, however it is also something that I noticed the last time I visited Efteling.

Cinderella was installed in the Fairy Tale Forest in 2009, designed by Karel Willemen, who has worked on many Efteling creations, including numerous fairy tales and rides.  The building that Cinderella is housed in is very nice, very large compared to the buildings near to it (Snow White and the Wishing Table).  However, inside, it seems to be rather tiny in comparison to some of the other fairy tales in the forest.  Saying that, none of them are too big, but they all seem to provide enough room for people to move through them at a steady pace, providing everyone with a good view.  In the case of Cinderella, you are presented with a very dark, very small, standing area in front of the scene, with a step in front of you.  Bear in mind that it is dark, so, you probably didn’t see the step when you walked in!  There are also pillars in front of the scene, housing the glass that separates you from Cinderella and the Prince.  Add to the darkness and the pillars a few guests; arm some of them with babies in strollers, and there you have it, a very painful viewing experience.

I mentioned Eftelist at the start of this.  Their issue with the scene was that, unless you are stood at the far right of the scene, you can’t see the most important part of the story: the Prince putting the glass slipper on Cinderella.  If you haven’t seen it before, he does actually do it!  It is kind of clever.  As Eftelist put it, and this is a Google translation, so apologies if it does not say this in Dutch, but it made me laugh anyway…

‘The princely butt blocks the view of the scene almost completely’

So, maybe if we had a side view of the pair, rather than a perfect view of the Prince’s behind, the audience would be a bit happier!

 

I hope I didn’t bash this fairy tale too much, because it is nice; just not on a busy day when you can’t see it properly.