A few videos have appeared online of Efteling’s test runs of their new dive coaster, Baron 1898.
It is thought that the coaster will open in July, to coincide with the Summer. Those of you familiar with a similar coaster at Alton Towers called Oblivion will notice that the cars on Baron 1898 do not take a brief pause at the highest point on the ride. Possibly it will stay like this when it opens, or maybe it will also make a brief stop at the top. Either way, what goes up must come down, so there’s not much need to delay the inevitable 😉
This Summer, Efteling will open their newest attraction, a Dive Coaster called Baron 1898. Efteling have been releasing videos on their YouTube channel updating everyone of the progress being made on the coaster, and this is the latest one:
It’s coming along nicely. This is what it looked like on our visit back in December:
December 2014
It isn’t even finished yet, and you can see how well it is going to blend in with the other attractions, particularly the Flying Dutchman beside it. This is something Efteling gets right every time, the theming! When this is finished being constructed, it will look like it’s been there for years, just like every Fairy Tale and every ride they build.
Well only one dive coaster actually, but a lot of pancakes! This week, Polle’s Keuken attempted to beat the world record for pancake stacking. With a lot of pancakes and some Efteling magic, the two bakers, Humphrey and John managed to beat the record with a stack of 242 pancakes(!) reaching 91.2cm high. That is a lot of pancakes to try and keep upright, and they had to remain in the stack for 5 seconds to break the record. There’s even some English in this video for those who don’t speak Dutch!
On the subject of the new dive coaster which we’ll see open next year in the park, it now has a name! It’s a little bit of a mouthful maybe but…ahem…
Baron 1898.
Tada! It doesn’t completely roll off the tongue, however we imagine it will end up getting called ‘Baron‘ for short. The theming looks great, but we don’t expect anything less from Efteling, a real theme park!
In our last post we talked about the updates that are happening in Fata Morgana right now. It’s due to open again at the start of October, but that’s only the beginning of the construction going on in the park. The bulk of the work is of course the installation of the new dive coaster near to the Flying Dutchman. Recently, they have chopped a corner off the Gondoletta lake so that they can move the path over that currently exists there, allowing more space for the coaster. There isn’t a whole lot to look at yet ride-wise, but construction is definitely underway! Here’s a video taken by Eftelwesley yesterday:
In addition to a new coaster, Bosrijk is currently in the process of receiving 18€ million worth of new accommodation. The sign outside reads:
‘We’re continuing to build on dreams…Expansion of Efteling Village Bosrijk’.
Concept art for the new accommodation.
Construction is set to finish in mid-2015. Click here to see how it’s coming along.
Also getting some TLC is the house of the five senses. Mainly the roof. That thatched roof must look it’s best since it’s the bold and beautiful entrance to the park! Efteling are currently fixing some bald patches (that happens when you get older, even to thatched roofs) and most likely removing a lot of moss that has being growing there for a while. It is mainly the Efteldingen store that is covered over at the moment.
Next up: Villa Volta. As pointed out last year by looopings.nl, Villa Volta’s exterior had seen better days. Basically, crumbling and cracking in the walls etc was making it look like less of a magnificent mansion and more like a haunted house. Well at the moment, the maintenance walls are up! We can only hope that they will take down these horrible signs while they’re there…
Last but not least…well, we actually don’t feel too excited about this last one in honesty. It seems as though there’s an Aquanura 3 on the way to Efteling. Yes, 3…already. Some WET employees (the guys who created the show) have landed in Efteling and have been testing some new sequences out at the Vonderplas. It seems very early for phase 3 of the show considering that part 2 only started earlier this year (with preview shows at the end of last year). Also, most of the music from the park has already been used in the first two shows, so that does leave the question: which music will they use next?
It has been pointed out that this could be a show specifically for Winter Efteling, but that’s pure speculation. It’s a mystery for now, so we’ll wait and see!
The Pagoda is also listed as reopening at the end of October.
It was said when the new CEO of Efteling, Fons Jurgens came along, that he would be concentrating more on maintenance of what was in the park rather than adding new things. Well there’s a bit of both going on at the moment and that’s great!
We’re still hoping for a Spookslot overhaul too, and it is closed for 5 days in November, but that’s only time for a mere dust! 😉
Efteling recently shared the news that next year they would unveil a new coaster. Since then, several Efteling fan sites have reported that the new coaster will be themed around a Dutch coal mine. It is also believed that it will be located behind the Flying Dutchman.
More information will undoubtedly emerge in the coming months. After all, the ride is said to be ready for next year, and there is much work to be done!
Oh, and as a side note, when we brought you the news of the new coaster initially, we did read that the drop was going to be 37ft high, so that’s what we posted too. What it really is, is 37 METRES, of course! So about a 120ft drop. That’s slightly more hair-raising! In comparison, Oblivion at Alton Towers which is the same type of ride, has a 65ft drop. That’s quite a difference between the two.
