In my research for this trip, I came across a mention of “Dutch Disney,” a fairytale theme park that was said to be part of Walt’s inspiration for Disneyland. It was supposed to be magical, so we planned two days. I was a little worried that our kids would be too old for it, but thankfully that was not the case. It was hard to get to, but we were staying at the onsite hotel so it was easy. The hotel advertised great breakfast, and they weren’t lying. River had the traditional Dutch breakfast of toast with chocolate sprinkles.
We found it to have a lot of similarities to Disneyland, but also a lot of differences. The biggest difference we noticed right away was the prevalence of nature at Efteling. Everything is nestled into the forest.
We entered the park from the back, and we were surprised by how lax the security was. We started at a children’s playground, which had some hilarious features. The rocking toy had eyes that went back and forth as we rocked, which was kind of creepy.
Our first ride was Vogel Roc, which was kind of like space mountain, all fast twists and turns in the dark. Instead of being space themed, you get swallowed by a giant bird and fly through its digestive tract.
We went on one that felt like small world, but it was very Dutch. There was a steam powered carousel that the kids rode over and over. There was another ride that reminded us of Pirates of the Caribbean, but set in the Middle East with camels.
The food at the park was surprisingly good and inexpensive for a theme park.
It was unseasonably hot in the Netherlands, but we still had a great time wandering around what felt like a magical land.
Droomvlucht (Dream Flight) was a gorgeous ride full of fairies and elves.
After we got off the ride, we saw fairies dancing around.
One of the fairies came over to chat with us. She stayed in character.
There were a lot of live performances happening randomly around the park. Most of them were in Dutch, but still entertaining.
We also went to a show called Caro one evening. It was beautiful, and we were really impressed by how they could tell such a lush story about the circle of life and love with very little talking.
We snacked a lot. The kids were enchanted by the automated vending machines serving hot snacks, especially the chicken nuggets and the cheese snack. They were excited that they could have the slushies, since they use natural colors. I was please to find a pistachio coffee drink.
We told the young woman at the cotton candy booth that the kids can’t eat it in the US, because it always has dye. She made it a little bigger for us… please enjoy these photos of the children’s shock.
We had no choice but to have warm, freshly made Stroop waffles. It’s a classic Dutch treat which we have at home, but we have never had them fresh.
There were some manual power rides that got the kids moving.
There were flowers everywhere!
There was a ride called Baron 1898. It was a fantastic coaster a bit like hang time, but the theme was forcing people to mine for corporate profits. It dropped into a below ground wall of mist which was really cool. The theming was thorough – the no smoking sign was even on theme.
The gift shops were gorgeous, and different from home. Can you imagine Disneyland selling little hookah souvenirs?
Liam really wanted to rent one of these little kiddie wagons to pull River around in.
I just can’t say enough about the fairytale/storybook vibe of the place. There were tons of little castles covered in moss and ivy. There were mushrooms and fairies. There were random little groves filled with flowers.
We rode a monorail inside a snail!
As a Dutch park, of course there is an homage to pancakes.
They had a show like World of Color, but they showed it every hour after dark.
The magic continued at the hotel. Our room had a little game in it that River enjoyed, and we all slept so well after long days walking around. In the bathroom, there was backwards text on the wall. When looking in the mirror, it was readable (with google translate.) It said, “Don’t look over your shoulder too often. Be proud, look ahead, and never grow up.”
It was so hard to leave, especially knowing that we would never be back.