November 21, 20177 yr comment_254146 Genuinely a fantastic idea - I love the idea that those using the VR can have a link to those on the ride, so that they're sharing the experience. Such a clever idea, and it'll really make the difference. Good on Efteling, hope it works...
November 21, 20177 yr comment_254147 Saw someone on Twitter ask/suggest something similar for Villa Volta... Would not be surprised if we see something similar (though I'm surprised disabled visitors have a separate thing for Villa, considering Hex has full access with a quick disembark for the ride)...
November 21, 20177 yr comment_254149 Definitely a good idea for Efteling, especially to offer a way for those less able to experience the attraction to some extent. I believe Droomvlucht received a major safety update around 2008 which I read recently. Not sure if less abled people have ever been able to ride.
November 21, 20177 yr comment_254152 Genius! Nicely played and the sort of behavior I've come to expect of Efteling. Almost had several heart attacks when I skim read VR and Droomvlucht though, Benin you tease!
December 24, 20177 yr comment_254821 Christmas trivia, as Loooooooooooooopings goes into the depths of Symbolica... https://www.looopings.nl/weblog/7968/Efteling-ontwerper-onthult-geheimen-van-nieuwe-attractie-Symbolica.html So many unnecessary details
December 24, 20177 yr comment_254822 It's ludicrous how much detail and thought is in there. Especially the names of books being references to general stuff - it shows just how much fun the designers had too. It's good as well that the overall quality is high as well. In all things entertainment, it's easy to focus on all the little details, creating all these references and in jokes, that you lose track of the bigger picture and the overall product then doesn't work. But with Symbolica everything works, and the added hidden layers are just massive bonuses.
December 26, 20177 yr comment_254849 The amount of details put into Symbolica is clearly phenomenal. from it’s large set pieces, trackless cars down to the hidden nooks and crannies hidden throughout. The building is beautiful too,even above. I found after each ride, I adored it even more. It’s one of my favourite dark rides by far and proves you don’t need a flashy brand IP or screens galore to make the perfect modern dark ride. In other news Looooooooopings are reporting of a ‘currently’ mixed decision regarding the future of the Bob ride. It is expected the ageing attraction will either receive an extensive refurbishment or be demolished for redevelopment.
January 2, 20187 yr comment_255028 Double Post (technically) but Loopings report of a new expansion area within the Efteling where development for new attractions will be brought in. Interestingly it mentions of a road being rerouted and the first attraction scheduled to open in 2020. Some rumours suggest a launch coaster of some kind or a hyper (which seems out of character).
January 3, 20187 yr comment_255031 Excuse the crude drawing attached, but I believe the development is taking place somewhere in the red region, with the yellow line being the road Timber is talking about. If memory serves me correctly, that's an important road which links to a couple of the hotels, so rerouting it is essential. It would mark a significant development for the park, as it's the first time in a very long time the actual park has expanded in the size (and at 8 hectares, this new zone is quite big!). So it'll be very interesting to see what they do with a complete blank slate. 11 hours ago, Timber Creek said: Some rumours suggest a launch coaster of some kind or a hyper (which seems out of character). Both of those might sound out of character, but then again, people said the same thing about Baron when that was first coming out. But Efteling were apparently impressed with B&M, Baron filled a gap and gave a wider audience a reason to visit. So another 'big coaster' (even if it's more a big family coaster) certainly seems to be where the park should turn to next. A launch coaster would be a very good choice in my books. Doesn't have to have powerful launches, but a solid length, weave in and out of theming, etc. Certainly could fit the bill for an Efteling style coaster.
January 3, 20187 yr comment_255038 If they do any re-routing of that road, I would love them to actually put some thought into linking the hotel sites together (be it through another land train or something), as it feels disappointing that you're kinda left to deal with whatever your hotel has to offer... Which as nice as the main hotel is, the best hotel restaurant is clearly at Bosrijk... But the 30 minute walk between them isn't particularly enjoyable...
January 19, 20187 yr comment_255318 Efteling have more formally announced their intentions for expansion: By 2030, they want to expand the park by 8 hectares, of which 3 hectares will be done for the 2020 new attraction (which they're still keeping secret for now). Planning permission had been put in today, and they've worked closely with locals, so the granting of that seems little more than a formality now. 2020 is still rumoured to be a major coaster, and I keep hearing a launch coaster crop up. Another one I've heard recently is a Mack suspended coaster a la Arthur, which would be very Efteling..
January 19, 20187 yr comment_255319 Wouldn't a Mack Suspended be too Dreamflight like though? But yay Efteling expansion!
January 19, 20187 yr comment_255320 5 minutes ago, Benin said: Wouldn't a Mack Suspended be too Dreamflight like though? But yay Efteling expansion! That was my thinking too. I guess if it was more coaster than dark ride and had a different enough theme, the distinction could be made. Launch coaster seems more likely than that, thank goodness.
January 19, 20187 yr comment_255323 Efteling themed Mack launch coaster would basically make every other park in Europe redundant
January 23, 20187 yr comment_255438 A twist in the tale... https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/efteling-gaat-uitbreiden-en-opent-nieuwe-attractie-in-2020~a73bf047/ Efteling's director has seemingly hinted that the 2020 thing won't be a coaster... It will not be a little one, but certainly not sixty meters high and not even shrieking. [And the theme] can be anything just keep it on Reizenrijk Efteling are able to build up to around the 60m mark on the land they're expanding into, but that seems to be for the distant future in the remaining 5 hectare expansion. This part of the expansion will add to the Reizenrijk area, which is loosely themed around travelling, and includes the Pagode, Vogel Rok and Carnival Festival. So really, it could be themed around anything. A flying theatre would be a likely option I reckon. Suits Efteling down to a tee, suits the theme and explains the 'not small but won't make you scream' idea. At the same time, part of me hopes for something else - would love to see a log flume a la Chiapas and that'd be a great space for one...
January 23, 20187 yr comment_255440 A themed launch coaster (ala Taron or Helix) would suite the park to the ground. Whatever the 2020 is remains difficult to be said, however I did hear they want to minimise tree removal due to remaining in their position as a nature park (as well a theme park). With this in mind it could be anything really, but a dark ride seems more feessble perhaps especially given it’s close proximity to the Efteling hotel. Could they even consider a water attraction even? A Chiapas style flume (with an Efteling theme) would do wonders for the park.
February 6, 20187 yr comment_255718 The track replacement is going along quickly: https://twitter.com/Jaysen_Leslie/status/960466186894041090/photo/1
February 17, 20187 yr comment_255938 In interesting news, it turns out that Efteling viewed the recent trial of a Reserve n Ride style system as a success, and will be continuing with the trials when Python reopens in a month and a half's time. The coaster's queue is receiving modifications whilst it is being rebuilt, which will include a SRQ (after successfully implementing it on Baron and Symbolica), so it'll be interesting to see whether the new queue is built with RnR in mind. Furthermore, the park will trial RnR on Symbolica on selected dates too. They want to see if it'll be successful on a ride that's more centrally located, more popular / newer and has wider appeal. Given Symbolica had a decent throughput and was still gaining huge queues, it'll be interesting to see how that goes down. The RnR system differs to Thorpe's one in 2 major ways: 1) No normal queue. You book your slot, turn up, and join a small buffer queue which will be limited to - at most - 15 minutes. 2) You can book your slot via a machine. You can either use your phone to reserve a slot, or go outside the ride and pick a paper copy of the reservation. As I've said before, if RnR is going to work anywhere, it'll be Efteling, because of their large selection of other things to do. But at the same time, I heard mixed reviews of the original trial, and I can easily see people being lost half way through the Fairytale Forest, for example, when their time slot is due...
February 17, 20187 yr comment_255947 4 hours ago, BaronC. said: I can easily see people being lost half way through the Fairytale Forest, for example, when their time slot is due... Wonder where I've seen that thought before? I literally saw nothing from the trials, but could be interesting to see how it goes on Symbolica...
February 18, 20187 yr comment_255963 20 hours ago, Benin said: Wonder where I've seen that thought before? I literally saw nothing from the trials, but could be interesting to see how it goes on Symbolica... Great minds think alike...or at least that's how I've convinced myself to steal your thoughts... The trials were met with the same confusion that Thorpe had really, along with a fair few technical hitches. In some ways it was worse because people couldn't join a normal queue if they wanted, but it was at least all inclusive thanks to the machines outside the ride. But I guess Efteling have enough faith in the system to continue with it. Or invested too much money that they don't want to give it up so quickly.
March 6, 20187 yr comment_256340 Call it old news if you want but Loopings have mentioned that 2020’s development will be a launch coaster built by Intamin, which will be constructed near to the Efteling hotel and become part of the theme area, Travel Empire. Given the different ideas and theories this development seems to feature more twists and turns than Taron.
March 6, 20187 yr comment_256356 Intamin launch has every chance to be fantastic given the latest incarnations of Intamin launches. I'm not expecting a Taron-style coaster, in terms of speed or intensity. And with rumours of it featuring trick track in an indoor section too, I don't see it being like Juvelen either.. So I guess a standard sit down coaster, with one fun launch, airtime, interaction, etc. Probably non-inverting to give a bit of variety. I can see them wanting to introduce something which will thrill the older audience (especially after Baron's success), but being more open for everyone.
March 11, 20187 yr comment_256505 So Efteling reportedly received 5.2m visitors in 2017, a near-10% increase compared to 2016. The park aimed to reach 5 million visitors by 2020. So clearly Symbolica and the new accommodation where a massive hit with guests, as well as their continually expanding marketing approach. The next milestone target is to safely be between 6-7m visitors by 2030, which is when they'll have fully finished the park expansion, along with plenty of other resort expansions too. If the park continues to invest as it's done over the past few years, I wouldn't be surprised if they edge towards the 6m mark by 2025...
March 12, 20187 yr comment_256527 This is very good news as far as the park is concerned. Efteling is a charming park who definitely emphasise on dedication and experience. Symbolica looks like it did the trick. With the 2020 project (amongst others), the park looks to be on track with increasing numbers. The Efteling also want to increase accommodation offering further too in the next few years, which I expect will be along the lines of Bosrik and Loonsche Land. With 5.2 million visitors, this makes Efteling the third most visited european theme park, behind Europa Park (approx 5.6 m) and Disneyland Paris (approx 8.4 m).
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