We are saddened to learn today that the former Efteling designer Ton van de Ven has passed away suddenly at 71 years old following a stroke.
He was responsible for the design of many attractions in Efteling, including Spookslot (his first), Droomvlucht, Fata Morgana, Villa Volta, Vogel Rok, and many fairy tales in the Sprookjesbos.
He worked with Anton Pieck during his early years at the park, translating Pieck’s drawings into the attractions that we see today. In 1989 he became the creative director of Efteling. Although taking early retirement from Efteling in 2003, he would sometimes make appearances at the park during special events. The corner of the park where you can find Droomvlucht and Villa Volta was named ‘Ton van de Ven Plein’ in later years, just as there is an ‘Anton Pieck Plein’ in another part of the park; a very high honour.
The world has lost an inspirational designer, who will be remembered for his unique creative talent which will continue to be enjoyed by all who visit Efteling.
We were excited to see the Villa Volta illusions more than any of the others. It didn’t disappoint! One thing that was slightly annoying however, was the generic Efteling music playing in the background on a speaker next to the attraction…at the same time! So, dramatic as the illusions were, the naughty speaker to the right was a bit of a distraction! Either way, they were still enjoyable. Here’s the video, complete with Efteling staff sneaking out of the front door and of course, the rogue speaker 😉
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! 😉
Recently, Droomvlucht received a big refurbishment, and is looking lovelier than ever, as we talked about here. Piraña has also been getting some TLC over the last month, click here for photos.
So what should be next on the checklist of attractions to get a makeover?
Well, according to loooping.nl, Villa Volta definitely needs some love! Click here if you would like to see the issues they have with the current state of the ride, including a few photos. A lot of the problems with the outside of the building seems to be paint wearing away, but we did cringe a little bit when we saw the crack down the middle of the pillar, next to the entrance. It isn’t just the outside that needs some freshening up, the inside is definitely due for something new. A couple of years ago, Hugo was given a new mask, which looks much better than the last one, but the ride in general, wonderful as it is, could definitely use something else. Maybe they could stick a troll in there swinging on a curtain tassel?!
Another attraction that we think could definitely do with a clear out/ something added to it, is Spookslot. That’s right, not even PandaDroom, but Spookslot! After visiting the park many times, the one thing we have gotten bored with, is Spookslot. Spooky is great, dark is great, and who doesn’t love to see dancing gravestones, however, the whole thing seems to be very anti-climactic. Even the Spookslot section of Aquanura has more drama in it than this. If Efteling refurbished this, it could be so so much better than it is now.
Is there anything else that could really use some TLC from Efteling? No PandaDroom jokes please 😉
We were contacted yesterday by somebody who is trying to find out about some of the architecture in Efteling. We did some rummaging around and found a few things, but of course a lot are in Dutch! We would love to hear from you if you have any information about this, or could spare 5 minutes to have a look. Here’s the original message:
Hello all at Efteling UK
I am currently undertaking a dissertation project which is, in part, looking at Architecture in Efteling. I was wondering if anyone knows where one might find more information on:
-The design of Villa Volta, its architectural style and sources on the legend behind it
-The design of the House of the 5 Senses
-The design of De Vliegende Hollander.
Cited sources/academic sources naturally favoured over non-academic ones, but any information is good really!
Thanks.
If anyone could be of any help with this, it will be appreciated!
The signs on the wall before you entered Villa Volta used to be in the style of giant scrolls, and they were written in a few languages. Yesterday, we noticed new signs, and what can we say…they don’t really fit in with the rest of the building. They are like animal skins stretched over small logs, and the story seems much shorter on these signs than they were on the last ones. Oh dear.
The other day, as several guests sat themselves down in Villa Volta, they got quite a shock when the ride started to move. Why? Well, the usual music didn’t really play as normal, but a choir that were dotted around the ride started to pipe up, singing the whole Villa Volta tune! It was the chamber choir Capella Brabant who were providing the music, and it sounded pretty good! Of course, this just had to be filmed, especially to see the shock on the guests’ faces!
…but what is it selling? It does not open until July 18th, but Efteling posted a picture of the cart to their Facebook wall. It is hard to tell what it will be selling, though the image on the top of it looks like fries on a stick. It appears to be located outside and to the right of the Villa Volta. Any ideas as to what it is?
Well whatever food it will produce, it does look very nice!
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If you have been to Efteling and you don’t understand Dutch, you will know how it is. Standing there pretending to know what is going on when in actual fact, you have no clue! You know the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but what is the Troll King saying? And what is Hugo talking about in Villa Volta? Well, thanks to a good friend of Efteling UK, you can now understand everything, because she has translated a good chunk of the Efteling attractions! Thanks Milena!
So now, you can stand there with your head up high, because you read all of the stories before you left to visit Efteling. There are fairy tales to read, as well as the story of the Laafs and that all important Villa Volta transcript (it is a long time to stand and listen to something which you don’t understand!) There are also sound clips in English, if you don’t feel like reading the story.
Recently we learned that a projection show, technically known as video mapping, would be taking place on the Villa Volta, Spookslot and the Flying Dutchman. Well, the first show has taken place on the Villa Volta, and I am happy to share with you this video of it, as it is wonderful! Don’t watch if you are planning to visit in the near future though, I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise!
It looks amazing, especially with the Villa Volta’s dramatic music and dark story. My jaw actually dropped when I saw this! After seeing this, I look forward to seeing the other video mapping technology on the two attractions mentioned above.
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We are saddened to learn today that the former Efteling designer Ton van de Ven has passed away suddenly at 71 years old following a stroke.
The corner of the park where you can find Droomvlucht and Villa Volta was named ‘Ton van de Ven Plein’ in later years, just as there is an ‘Anton Pieck Plein’ in another part of the park; a very high honour.
