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| Giant snowmen at the entrance |
Since all themeparks in Holland close after Halloween/october,
we'd been suffering some time without themepark trips. Luckily,
the Efteling has been experimenting for some years with opening
the park around the X-mas holidays. So we went saturday, dec 23,
2000. The weather was great. It had been snowing the week before
and it was freezing with a clear blue sky, lot's of sun and the
snow was still there, with added to the already nice theming of
the Efteling.
At the entrance, we had to wait for a while for the park to open.
They had placed two giant snowman at the entrance, made from straw
and covered in snow. Two of us (Aviva and Marianne) were running
late and when the park opened, the four of us (Bart, Henk, Ernst
and me) who were already there decided to on Vogel Rok, an indoor
rollercoaster, while we were waiting for the others to arrive.
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| Entrance to Vogel Rok (Bird Rok) |
It was the first time I went on Vogel Rok and I liked it a
lot. A bit short and no inversions, but a lot of fun. Outside again,
we had to wait for a while longer for the remaining two to arrive,
so Bart and I went on Monsieur Cannibale. A ride where you sit in
a cooking pot which you can turn around and all the cooking pots are
mounted on a round platform which turns around. We got out a bit dizzy.
Aviva and Marianne finally arived and we went to Droomvlucht (dreamflight),
an all indoor family ride. All the families with kids want to ride
this one, so there was quite a queue. The ride broke down while we
were waiting, which didn't help either. It was quite a nice ride,
well themed, not very exiting, but some nice helixes at the end. It
did break down again while we were halfway through the ride and we
were stuck for a while. They turned on the lights so we could have
a look at the way they had created the theming. After Droomvlucht
we went to Villa Volta. There was hardly any queue, so we got on pretty
soon. Personally, I like Villa Volta more than Merlin's Magic Castle
at Six Flags Holland. Better theming and a (little bit) better story.
Apart from the story and the theming, they are identical. You sit
in a room which rocks a little sideways (it can tilt along one axis)
and the room can turn around it (vertically), which gives you the
impression you're upside down, while you're not.
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| Bart, Aviva and Henk having fun |
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| Ernst and Henk at the Volk van Laaf |
Outside next to Villa Volta is a small playground where Bart, Aviva
and Henk had a lot of fun (see picture on the left). We then proceeded
to the Volk van Laaf Where we went on a little ride around. This is
really an attraction for kids or families with kids, but with a crowd
that enjoys the playground, you can expect anything. As you can see
on the right it's a slow ride on a monorail. After this ride we decided
to head for Fata Morgana, an indoor boat ride. On our way there, we
got through Spookslot (Haunted Castle), Fun to watch. Next thing we
saw while walking to Fata Morgana, was the Bob. It's one of the rides
that is not supposed to be operating during Winter Efteling (part
of the Efteling stays closed, like the outdoor water rides and some
of the rollercoasters), but during good weather (which we had), the
Bob will be open.
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| Henk, me and Ernst on the Bob |
There was a queue for the Bob, but it's worth
waiting for (especially if it's one of the two only coasters operating).
Finally arriving at Fata Morgana, we ended up in another queue. The
queue winds around the turning platform where you get on the boats.
Fata Morgana can best be compared to EuroDisney's Pirates of the Caribean.
Same kind of boats, traveling through an indoor canal between well
themed areas (theming of Pirates of the Caribean is a bit better though
in my opinion). You haven't been to the Efteling if you haven't taken
a look at the fairytale forest (unique to the efteling), so after
Fata Morgana, we headed for the fairytale forest.
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| Me, on a toadstool in the fairytale forest |
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| Henk, wanting a souvenir coin |
The fairytale forest really is a kids/family kind of thing, but since
our little group had such fun in the playground, why not here too
(and whether you like it or not, you really gotta see this part at
least once). Having been on the rides we really wanted to do, we went
on to have a look at some special Winter Efteling stuff, like the
skating-rink and a big tent with some snowfilled slopes inside down
which kids can slide down and where hot drinks and traditional Dutch
winter food were sold. We even went on Carnaval Festival, after which
the little bit of annoying music will really stick inside your head
like Disney's it's a small world will do to you. Really a kids ride
and a bit of a torment for the adults.
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| The 'flying' Pagoda |
Meanwhile it got late in the afternoon, early in the evening and
we ate some pancakes in one of the restaurants and went for a ride
on the Pagoda, which offers a really nice view of the park. Having
done just about anything, we filled the remainder of the time with
riding Vogel Rok and the Bob again and again, in the end walking
out of the exit of Vogel Rok and straight back into the (empty)
queue.
It was really a fun day, Winter Efteling has nice winter theming,
like the giant snowman, little foodstalls, some bonfires, snowslopes
and a skating rink. Even though some of the major rides are closed,
there is enough to do and see to have fun for an entire day and
evening. It's really something to get you through a winter of closed
themeparks.
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