Best rides I've been on in a while! I am coming from the Orlando area, and I've tried all of the…read moreparks there without leaving as happy as I was in this park. It had all of the whimsy I LOVE without feeling like you were being forced to consume merchandise the entire time. I am absolutely going back the next time in the NL. For reference, I am 31 years old, and went with a friend. We had a blast. This is truly fun for all ages!

I was quite surprised by how much I loved Efteling. I grew up with trips to Disneyland and in the…read morepast 20 years I've grown more and more disenchanted with it. Efteling, situated in a forested area, and with a non-commercial essence from old fairy tales, was magical. It brought out my inner child. it was clean, mostly uncrowded, relatively inexpensive and fun. A few rides were totally unexpected and inventive.

Even if you're visiting Efteling for the thrill rides it is still worth your time to check out…read moreGondoletta. The ride system was something I haven't seen before called a "tow boat ride". The boats for Gondoletta look like they're moving on their own around a big lake. There's a giant rotating disc that the boats automatically dock with for loading/unloading. At the front of each boat if you look closely you can see a tiny bit of the cable attached to the boat that is pulling it forward along a track. It's a well done system. Even though each boat can seat around six they were letting boats go out with only two people on them. I was quite surprised at how long this attraction lasted and how much distance was covered. The ride was twenty minutes long! The boats travel under bridges, down a canal, and out into the middle of the lake! You get great views of some rides such as Symbolica and Baron 1898 as well as seeing some of the beautifully maintained landscape of the park. You even get to go by a waterfall! Efteling is a large park and after so much walking it was wonderful to get a chance to relax and still be entertained.

Easily the most unique roller coaster I've ever been on. Baron 1898 is a Bolliger & Mabillard dive…read morecoaster with unbelievable theming. I actually have a B&M dive coaster where I live (Sheikra at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay). Baron isn't as tall and only has one drop, but it makes up for that in theming and presentation. The lift hill is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's a giant green rectangle with intricate scaffolding and giant rotating discs at the top. It's something pretty enough to be in a town square and shows the extra mile the designers went when constructing this ride. The ride building is designed inside and out to look like a functioning factory. When you first line up they give you paper tickets, which I was initially quite confused about. I think it's supposed to be a system to spread out the crowd into different rows. I just followed the people in front of me and handed my ticket back later because none of the instructions were in English. When you get inside there are a bunch of what looked to be raincoats hanging from the ceiling. Some projections of ghosts then become visible. They sounded really angry about something but I don't know what about since they were moaning in Dutch. The next room has a nice animatronic of what I assume was the Baron overhead. He taunts you as you get closer and closer to the ride area. What really shocked me was that once you're in the vehicle and you've left the station the ride stops for another part of the pre-show. I can't remember ever riding a roller coaster that does this. The angry ghosts were back again to yell at us in Dutch and in a very cool effect they "pry" open a grate and disappear into it. After that it's time for the lift hill! Since I don't like heights it feels like forever when you're waiting for a dive coaster to drop you. Once it does you get dropped underground through some mist. The ride was smooth as glass and I was laughing the whole time. The single rider line was much appreciated and got me on the ride fairly quickly. Baron 1898 is a must-do at Efteling!

This is Efteling's new signature attraction and it was number one on my "must do" list for my first…read morevisit to the park. I have to say that it did not disappoint. The pre-show introduction to the ride was very clever and unexpected. Once that's over when you progress further into the line you have to pick one of three colors to get in line for. Each color has a slightly different experience for the riders. We picked red because that had the longest line so we assumed it was the best. When you ride as a single rider you can't pick your color. When I rode a second time as a single rider I was hoping to get assigned to another color and I got red of course. I did notice the other colors going to different rooms on my second ride. I had never been on a trackless ride before and always assumed that I would first ride one at a Disney park, but Symbolica was my introduction. With a trackless ride system you don't see the track on the floor and your vehicle can do so many more interesting maneuvers such as go into a cubby hole and back out. The effect is best used in the finale when you twirl around on a dance floor during a banquet with other ride vehicles and characters. I think what impressed me the most was that everything in the ride that you look at outside of your vehicle is a practical effect. It seems nowadays with parks like Universal all you do is stare at screens from your vehicle. Here at Symbolica everything is real and moving in front of you. Besides the ballroom I mentioned there's an absolutely gorgeous planetarium/library as well as a "garden" that gets an unexpected visitor. The show building is wonderfully themed inside and out. The flat roof isn't visible from the ground but it is from the observation tower ride. What really impressed me was how they arranged the solar panels with symbols and patterns to make it look nice even though most people won't ever see this. The back of the building has a waterfall built into it so that it looks nice for people walking through that section of the park. It all fits into the park seamlessly and was so well done. This is a great addition to Efteling!

This is absolutely one of the most unique and entertaining rides I have been on, which includes…read moreover twenty world class parks spanning three continents. Despite the fact that it is most recent addition to a park older than the original Disneyland, the external design and central location inside the park make it feel like the everything else was built around it. The queue was only around 30 minutes on a weekday in July, and a fair bit of it was either shaded or inside. They make minimal use of the dreaded switchbacks, avoiding them almost entirely outside of peak times. They also have a special entrance for hotel guests who get there at least 10 minutes before the regular park opening time. There is another magical surprise awaiting guests once they enter the castle. At the front of the line, you get to switch between three similar but different themes before embarking on your magical voyage. The ride employs the latest the trackless technology for even more excitement. The rest of the journey is best experienced first-hand to maximize the thrill factor. Dark rides are by far my favorite type of ride, and this ride provides an excellent addition to a park already full of very good attractions. The ride is similar to Mystic Manor in HK Disney, but I will need to wait until I return to HK next month before I can pick a favorite. Tokyo DisneySea has been my favorite park since my first visit, but this addition to Efteling is definitely giving me cause to reconsider my ranking.

The designers of this ride must have been big fans of Pirate of the Caribbean. At certain parts of…read morethis ride it felt like that's what I was on. The building for Fata Morgana is nicely decorated and sits next to the lake where the Aquanura show takes place. It's a tow boat ride that uses the same ride system that Gondoletta uses. You step onto a large rotating disc that the boats attach to and then you're on your way. When I finished my first ride I immediately wanted to ride it again to see if I could better understand the story. I can't say that I did. You start off in a jungle and I think a wizard (who appears twice) transports you to a far away land in Middle East. You'll go through a market, a palace, and underneath a giant squatting genie for some reason. I'm still not sure what the temple at the end with a giant snake statue with laser eyes was for. The music on the ride was excellent and some parts looked really good. Some things such as the tiger looked really beat up and could use a refurbishment. Overall I thought Fata Morgana wasn't a "must do" but it was enjoyable and you should definitely check it out if you have time during your visit.

I think that Aquanura needs to be seen at night to be fully appreciated. Aquanura is a fountain…read moreshow (the largest in Europe) that is performed in Efteling's lake that has the park entrance and Fata Morgana on opposite sides. I thought it was great that they scheduled the show for 6:15pm. The park closed at 6pm, which meant you could spend more time riding attractions instead of having to devote some of the that time to this. The fountains reminded me of the ones at Bellagio in Las Vegas, but Efteling incorporates fire into their show. I've seen video of this show being performed at night and it looks magical. The giant streams are lit up and there are colored lights under the water that light up in interesting patterns. The problem is that you don't see any of that in the daytime. The show went on for fifteen minutes and it really started to feel redundant. I want to come back to Efteling and hopefully I'll be able to see Aquanura at night when I do.