Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Efteling (Netherlands). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Efteling, Sprookjesbos, and Land van Laaf. Also, be sure to include Droomvlucht in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Efteling (Noord-Brabant).
Table of Contents
Efteling
Theatre in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. Theater Efteling is a theatre in the amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It was designed by Ton van de Ven and opened its doors in 2002.[1]
Address: Europalaan 1, 5171 KW Kaatsheuvel
Sprookjesbos
Fairytale-themed amusement park. The Fairytale Forest is a 15-acre wooded section of the amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands, where a number of well-known fairy tales and fairy tale figures are depicted by animated statues and buildings. Most of the figures are inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Charles Perrault.[2]
Land van Laaf
Also known as: Volk van Laaf
Amusement park ride in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. The People of Laaf is an attraction in the amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It was designed by Ton van de Ven and opened its doors in 1990.
It is a small village, called “Lavelaer”, inhabited by the so-called “Laafs” ("Laven" in Dutch). The visitors can walk through the village and enter the houses, among which a bakery, a brewery, a windmill and a nursery and watch the Laafs do their normal daily activities. A monorail of 450 meters in length runs through the village at an altitude of about 3 meters. In the early years you had to pedal the monorail. This was discontinued because of the possibility of "crashing" into each other. Furthermore, if you stop pedaling, the ride would be blocked for other visitors.
For the children there are slides and distorting mirrors.
Little statues of Laaf people engaged in various activities were for sale in the souvenir shops in Efteling, but also in several garden centres until 2004.[3]
Address: Europalaan 1, Efteling
Droomvlucht
Amusement park ride in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. Droomvlucht is a dark ride in Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands. It was designed by Ton van de Ven, built by Translift and opened in 1993.[4]
Python
Roller coaster in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. Python is a double-loop corkscrew roller coaster in the Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands. It opened as the largest steel roller coaster on the European mainland.[5]
Villa Volta
Amusement park ride in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. Villa Volta is an attraction in the amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It is a rare type of ride known as a Madhouse, which is a sort of haunted house, where the visitors get the illusion that either the building, the visitors themselves or both are turned upside down. It has been designed by Ton van de Ven and was built by Vekoma in 1996. At the time it was the first of its sort; nowadays the concept has been taken over by a number of other amusement parks.[6]
Joris en de Draak
Roller coaster. Joris en de Draak is a wooden racing coaster in the theme park Efteling, based on the legend of Saint George.[7]
Piraña
Amusement park ride in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. Piraña is a river rapids ride in amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It was designed by Ton van de Ven, built by Intamin, and opened in 1983.[8]
Vogel Rok
Roller coaster in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. Vogel Rok is an enclosed roller coaster in the Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands.[9]
Address: Europalaan 1, 5171 KW Kaatsheuvel
Pagode
Pagoda is an unobtrusive variation of an observation tower in the Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands. It was designed by Ton van de Ven and started operating in 1987.[10]
Address: Europalaan 1, 5171 KW Kaatsheuvel
Diorama
Tourist attraction in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands. The Diorama is a miniature world in Efteling amusement park in the Netherlands. The highly detailed mountainous world, or Diorama, was designed by Anton Pieck and opened in 1971, in honour of the 20th birthday of Efteling.
The visitors can walk around a 60 metre long show-case with mountains, little villages, castles and churches, moving trains and automobiles and flowing water. Most of the Diorama is set in day-time, but a smaller part is devoted to night-time
The landscape has been built entirely out of styrofoam. The Diorama is the first attraction with contributions of Ton van de Ven, the creative director of Efteling at that time. He made some sketches for it, but they weren’t used for the Diorama; years later they were used for one of the scenes in the dark-ride Dreamflight.
The attraction was completely renovated in 2007, all rail tracks were replaced, switching mechanisms for the signals are removed and there are seven small attractions from the "real efteling" where added.[11]