Efteling Theme Park: Netherlands Theme Park
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Efteling is one of the best theme parks in Europe. If you’re like us and love a great amusement park, Efteling is an absolute must-do. The park is one of the oldest in existence opening with the Fairy Tale Forest in the early 1950s.
Getting to Efteling by Train
Unless you have a car, getting to the park is not easy. We decided to add the visit to Efteling to our time in Brussels. Leaving Brussels Centraal by train the journey took about 2.5 hours. We took the train to Tilburg with a connection in Breda. At the Tilburg station, we went upstairs to catch a bus directly to the park. Bus lines 300, 301, 136, and 801 will get you there. We bought train tickets at the station in Brussels and paid the driver directly as we boarded the bus (cash or credit cards accepted).
How Much Time Do You Need in Efteling?
We opted for two days in Efteling and we were glad we did. We visited on a pretty slow autumn day and were able to do about two-thirds of the park on the first day. The second day allowed us to finish up the park and experience some of the smaller attractions. Efteling does not have a “FastPass” or “front of line pass” so there really is no way around waiting in line.
Staying at the Efteling Hotel
We stayed overnight at the Efteling Hotel. This was a great decision. The hotel is on the pricier side, but the fee includes park admission. We stayed only one night but we were able to access the park on both the day that we arrived and the day that we checked out.
Day tickets range from USD$45 - $55. By staying in the hotel we saved about USD$200 in park tickets. The night in the hotel was about USD$350 with breakfast included. We also got early park admission and free bag storage with our room. The bundled deal ended up being well worth the initial higher cost.
The hotel is just a few steps from the rear entrance to the park, making it by far the most convenient place to stay. We looked into cheaper options near the park, but all the nearby hotels would have involved a bus or cab ride to and from the park. They were too far away to walk.
The hotel rooms were really fun. The room-theming was whimsical and fitting to the Efteling Experience. My favorite was the tiny mouse hidden behind the bed.
What Are the Best Roller Coasters in Efteling?
The park’s newest coaster, Max & Moritz, is a two-track, two-train coaster with each train and track offering a slightly different ride. It’s a good family speed coaster with great surprises.
Baron 1898 is a dive coaster with a steep drop plunging riders down a crazy-steep slope and into an underground tunnel. The ride is fun but very short.
De Vliegende Hollander, The Flying Dutchman, is a really cool coaster, it’s part water ride, part coaster, and part dark ride. It was one of the most unique rides I’ve ever been on.
Also in the park is Python, a 1980s-era looping coaster, that’s fun but nothing special, and an average wooden coaster called Joris en de Draak (George and the Dragon).
One of my other favorites in the park was Vogel Rok, an indoor coaster in the same vein as Disney’s Space Mountain.
Other Great Attractions in Efteling
Symbolica is an indoor dark ride on a trackless system with some really cool special effects. It’s inside a castle at the center of the park. Carnival Festival is a dark ride with a circus theme. It’s a slow-moving barrage of ridiculous circus scenes. A quaint white boat ride, Gondoletta, takes riders on a lazy trip around one of the park’s lagoons.
There’s a subpar raft ride called Piraña that’s best skipped unless it’s a hot day and you’re in need of a soaking.
The Fairy Tale Forest has been the park’s signature attraction for almost 70 years. You could spend all day slowly exploring the trails of the forest. As you make your way around the many forest paths you will come upon scenes from famous (and not so famous) fairy tales. Some of the scenes are low-key, and some are absolutely unbelievable. Do not skip the Fairy Tale Forest, it is incredible. We spent almost four hours there.
Throughout the park are numerous other small rides and classic attractions like the Stoomcarrousel, built in 1895.
The day ends with Aquanura, a water show in the park’s giant lagoon. The nighttime spectacular is themed to the Princess and the Frog story. It’s a great way to end the day.
What makes Efteling amazing is how the park manages to hide surprises around every corner. Little flourishes like talking trash cans and windows with animatronics create a magical world that ties the park’s history with first-class modern coasters and attractions.
If you’re into great European theme parks, check out our time in Europa-Park or Phantasialand.
This is an add-on to our Three Day Brussels Itinerary.
