Monthly Archives: July 2013

Efteling Gets Flooded and Golf Club Catches Fire!

29 Monday Jul 2013

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Wherever you are in the UK, you may have noticed a lot of rain last Saturday night, and apparently, so did Efteling.  Of course, Efteling is open until midnight during the Summer season, but a few attractions had to close slightly before that due to water pouring in by the bucket load!  The last showing of Aquanura was cancelled due to the engines getting wet, as well as the Carousel Palace, the White Horse, the Efteling Theatre and Raveleijn all being affected by the storm.  Apparently, the car park was also turned into a huge puddle as the whole park tried to leave in their cars.  Thunder and lightening are frightening, but hundreds of theme park guests trying to drive out of a car park at the same time, horrifying!

Also, the Golf Club caught fire.  However, it was a small one that was warded off with a couple of fire extinguishers.  Click here for the photos.

 

Restaurant Booking on Efteling Site

27 Saturday Jul 2013

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So, we are about 6 days away from heading to Efteling (happy faces!) and we’re trying to book a couple of restaurants.  The only option to add on to your booking is the Raveleijn dinner package; aside from adding golf and champagne etc.  On the ‘restaurants’ section of the site, you can however book other restaurants, but once you get them to the checkout, they won’t take your credit card.  Maybe you must have a Dutch card to book them?  Either way, if anyone else is thinking of doing the same from the UK, I advise calling Efteling directly!

Efteling UK is 2 Today!

24 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in All Updates and News, Building Efteling UK, Updates from 2013

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It doesn’t seem like 5 minutes since we were sitting in Het Witte Paard in Efteling, thinking that it would be cool to create an English Efteling fan page.  Two years later, here we are!

We've Been Handing Out the Party Hats Again...

We’ve Been Handing Out the Party Hats Again…

We have 87 Twitter followers, 222 Facebook ‘likes’ (and growing!) and our site has had over 38,000 hits!  Also, we recently had our first article outside of Efteling UK published on MiceChat.com 🙂

Aside from these numerical statistics, and most importantly, we have made a great number of friends who share our love of all things Efteling.  A big thank you to the people who continue to contribute to, and follow the site.

Remember to share us with your friends!

And now, out comes the Laaf beer 😀

Efteling Article on MiceChat.com

21 Sunday Jul 2013

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A while ago, we were asked if we wanted to write an article for MiceChat.com about Efteling.  So of course we couldn’t pass up the opportunity!  We asked you all to send us your thoughts on Efteling, and a few of you did, which we included in the article.  Today, it was published on the site, and we’re happy to share it with you now 🙂

Click me!

With thanks to Keith Gluck and Dusty Sage.  

Efteling in Slow Motion

20 Saturday Jul 2013

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The Seven Squares Festival at Efteling is under-way, and Efteling have created a slow-motion video of it so that you can get a better look!  We especially love slow-motion Donkey!

A Video for a Sunny Day

17 Wednesday Jul 2013

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Today, you may not feel like doing anything, except soaking up the sun!

Taken outside of the Pagoda.

Droomvlucht News, Death in Efteling, and a Trip Report from Mushroom Productions

12 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by in All Updates and News, Dream Flight, Products/Souvenirs, Updates from 2013

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If you are part of our Facebook army, you will have seen us share a photo from Eftelist’s Twitter of the new Droomvlucht Photos.  We mentioned that the ride would be getting these a while back.  Fata Morgana is also due to get on-ride photos installed.  The photos look ok, but it is basically you in your black ride vehicle, with a Droomvlucht border around the photo (if you choose to buy it).  It is cute though, a nice souvenir if you are a Droomvlucht fan!

Keesje Zwaan

Keesje Zwaan

Sadly, on 10/07/13, the Black Swan that lived on the island in the middle of the Gondoletta lake passed away.  She had been living there for the last 25-30 years according to Efteling.  She never saw any shame in swimming over to visitors in their boats and looking for some food!  There is a Facebook page for her if you would like to leave your condolences, as many others have.

Finally, Mushroom Productions have sent us a link to their trip report of Efteling.  We thought that we would share it with you; we do love a good trip report!

Some Efteling Videos to Brighten an Already Sunny Day!

11 Thursday Jul 2013

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Our friend Leonard has some pretty cool Efteling videos from earlier in the year, and we wanted to share them with you.  The first is a brief tour of the park, the others are a Fata Morgana ride-though and a Droomvlucht ride-through.  They have been making us homesick!

Remember, if you haven’t been to Efteling before and are planning a visit, there are massive spoilers in these videos that you may not want to see!

Enjoy!

Thanks to Leonard for allowing us to share these videos!

Racism in Carnaval Festival? Only if You’re Looking to be Offended…

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

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We were sent an article that was written on a blog called ‘a musliminah in NL’ which was about someone’s first visit to Efteling.  It isn’t a long article, and the only attractions mentioned are Sprookjesbos and Carnaval Festival.  The latter, all for the wrong reasons.  The writer seemed to enjoy the ride, until they got to the Japanese section:

‘We reach Japan and suddenly the dolls all have slitty eyes and are fat (sumo wrestlers) and there’s this ominous ‘Asian’ music filled with gong sounds. And of course there’s more slitty-eyed geishas shuffling around.’

Sumo

Sumo

Then they go through Africa, and aren’t keen on how the dolls are black and are hunting animals.

They say:

‘It borders on being racist and isn’t it time to update the exhibits?’

 

You can imagine that this doesn’t sit well with us, but of course, we are biased!  However, on the blog, it does state that the writer is ‘Muslim, Singaporean, politically Malay, historically a mix of Javanese.’  So maybe that is why they have a problem with only specific parts of the ride?  I mean, maybe I would go in there and complain that not all British people are white, and not everyone is a soldier?  How about the French?  In their part of the ride, there is a prostitute on the corner, but the writer seems totally fine with this.  Poor Germany is painted as a bunch of alcoholics, and apparently all Mexicans wear sombreros and ride donkey!  That’s fine though.  As long as the Asians and Africans are changed to be politically correct, then it’s all good!

They do also mention that they aren’t too happy about the figure in the middle of Monsieur Cannibale, but that is expected after their feelings towards Carnaval Festival.

Clearly this irritated us a bit.  Carnaval Festival opened in 1984, and hasn’t been changed massively ever since.  Political correctness was not in huge force then, and even still, do these dolls really offend anyone?  How about Disney’s ‘it’s a small world’?  Does that offend too?

If you’re going to Efteling, you are probably going there to have fun, so don’t take things too seriously; the things you see there are not intended to cause offence.

 

Read their article here

The Seven League Summer Begins! (And It’s 8 Weeks Long!)

08 Monday Jul 2013

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The Seven League Summer is upon us!  From today (July 8th) until September 1st, Efteling has their Seven League Summer.  This means longer opening times and extra street entertainment.  It is known as ‘The Seven Squares Fest’, as the park is divided up into seven sections where different types of entertainment take place.  We have copied the following entertainment info from the Efteling site, so apologies if it isn’t translated so well!:

Square 1: Efteling Brink

DJ Fee invites you to a musical feast in Efteling. Stomp and sing along with the famous Sprookjesboom songs, dance songs from then and now and go crazy with too crazy guest appearance!

Square 2: Carnival Festival Square

Sing along with the famous Dutch hits! Enjoy with the Red Noses, led by Jelle Amersfoort, a traditional Dutch festival sing-along.

Square 3: White Horse Square

Chic lanterns illuminate the trees and provide a sense of grandeur. Immerse yourself to the time of the Moulin Rouge and dance with the whole family can can. Pure nostalgia!

Square 4: Rough Empire Square

Disco Lights shine and roguish Porters mix the stars of heaven. Be amazed by national and international street theater. That is dancing, then great blow with a beer, a glass of wine and a tasty burger.

Square 5: Pirañaplein

Immerse yourself in South American atmosphere and an authentic feast of nachos, shake your hips loose during a swinging salsa and test your temperament during a capoeira lesson. Here only one thing counts: viva la fiesta!

Square 6: Capricorn Square

Marvel at incredible street. And enjoy a magnificent slot of your day with Aquanura Efteling, the largest and most sensational water show in Europe.
 

Square 7: Fata Morgana Square

Strolling along market stalls you find yourself in an oriental bazaar. Enjoy magical entertainment, intense colors and beautiful market bargains. Experience the mystique of 1001 nights …

The park is open daily until 8pm, and until midnight on Saturdays!  The perfect chance to catch Aquanura in the dark.

Below is the schedule, click it for a better look!

SevenSquare

If you are already planning on visiting Efteling on a Saturday over these 8 weeks, you can let them know you are attending by going onto Facebook and joining the event that corresponds with the Saturday on which you are visiting.  Click here for the August 3rd event page, and check Efteling’s Facebook for the other dates!