I’m a little late posting about this, so you may have already heard…
Although not officially confirmed, Pandadroom is rumoured to be getting an update at long last. The attraction has been open since 2002, and had never been a fan favourite. The technology in Pandadroom has become very outdated, leaving the attraction feeling stagnant, and definitely something to miss out on a visit to the park.
The new film is reported to be called Fabula and will feature a bear and a squirrel, keeping the nature theme.
The gift shop and restaurant will also supposedly be given a revamp.
This year, The Bob coaster which is very close to Pandadroom, will close and be demolished, to be replaced with a double coaster called Max and Moritz.
With thanks to my friends at Pinparade.nl, I have several Efteling Steam Train Company pins to give away. These are an edition of 1,200, and have been released to celebrate 50 years of the trains, of which the first, Aagje, started it’s service at Efteling in 1969.
The giveaway will be taking place on Facebook, so please take a look on there for the page if you’re not already a fan! Just search for ‘Efteling Fans UK’.
Winter Efteling came to an end at the end of January. A friend of the Efteling UK Facebook page sent over some lovely Winter Efteling photos, which I’m only just getting round to sharing now!
A new year means a new renovation schedule, and here’s the most intriguing one so far:
From early March to late May, Carnaval Festival will be closed for renovations. While nobody outside of Efteling knows exactly what will be changed in the ride, some people in the theme park community believe that it might include altering some of the ‘racist’ figures in the attraction. Whether you agree that racism is rife in the ride or not, it has been pointed out on several occasions that some of the ride’s figures are derogatory towards certain nationalities.
By the end of May we will know exactly what is getting changed; perhaps it is simply a Spring clean!
Until then, you can enjoy the ride as it is currently with this video:
Efteling have launched a mobile game called No-one Knows.
The idea is that you can use it to kill some time whilst standing in queues in the park, but it’s fun to play whenever or wherever!
Simply hold the phone against your forehead and the other person has to describe the character for you to guess. You can shake your phone to bring up the next card/character.
It’s kinda fun, and a good idea for those times when the lines for attractions do get a bit too long.
I’ve just been a little slow to update. So, in case you’ve missed any Efteling news, here’s what’s been going on!
First off, Winter Efteling has already begun, which means that the Ice Palace is now open for another season. It looks as beautiful as ever, and here’s a video from Eftelwesley if you need a little reminder of how wonderful it is!
There are a few new additions to Winter Efteling in terms of snacks this year.
Efteling.com
The first being glittery cotton candy (I’m not sure about this one!), hot waffles which are available with hot apple compote, cinnamon sugar, whipped cream and ice cream (yum!) and luxury syrup waffles which you can customise yourself with chocolate and toppings.
Efteling.com
It doesn’t stop at the food either; also available is coffee and hot chocolate with a choice of toppings: syrup waffle pieces, a gingerbread man, or marshmallows. All of these sit on a blanket of whipped cream!
Oh, and on the subject of food and drink, this year’s Efteling mug features Rider Thomas from Raveleijn.
Another addition to Winter Efteling this year is a ferris wheel which can be found opposite Bob in the Steenbokplein. Last year in this location there was a rodeo moose, so this seems like a much better choice for Efteling! It looks lovely, and it’s 6 gondolas provide a ride capacity of 24 people per ride. It will leave on January 31st, so if you want a ride, you have a deadline!
Moving away from the park, and the Efteling hotel is receiving a new themed room. It takes the place of the Northern Lights room on the 8th floor. The room will be themed around Raveleijn, and the children’s part of the room will be accessible via a secret passageway.
Efteling.com
I’m still holding out for a Droomvlucht themed room! Although this one looks rather interesting.
Back to the park, and work has started on the next fairy tale in the forest, The Six Swans! Unfortunately last night some employees reported a gas leak, and it turns out that during construction, a gas pipe has been disrupted. Oops! On the plus side, by next Autumn we will have a brand new fairy tale to enjoy 🙂
That covers most of what has been happening over the last month. If anyone wants to send any photos to me please send them to our Facebook page: Efteling Fans UK, there’s lots more going on over there!
We’ve all been there, you head over to a ride in a theme park and once you get there, you find that the ride is closed, just temporarily. Breakdowns happen of course, but this downtime can cause unhappy visitors, which isn’t what a theme park wants.
The possible solution to this problem is an AI that can hear machine failure, such as that in a rollercoaster. It makes it easier to find the problem, as the machine locates exactly where the malfunction is, meaning less time spent by maintenance staff looking for the issue, and therefore less downtime for the ride.
Although I realise that Spring has finally sprung (hooray!) and the Efteling tulips are almost in full bloom, I remembered that I had some wonderful Winter Efteling photos that I wanted to share.
Marianne sent me some photos back in January of a visit to Efteling on January 8th for her birthday. Better late than never to share them at least!
This year, Winter Efteling starts on November 12th, so maybe it is time to start planning a Winter trip now? These photos will surely inspire you…
If you’re a member of any social media platforms, such as Facebook, you will have probably seen a barrage of posts about the Python renovation. It was quite a short renovation, but a few days ago, the Python was back on track (literally!) and open to visitors. This great video by our friends at Vijfzintuigen shows the making of the new Python, and it even has English subtitles so we can all enjoy it at Efteling UK!
