The Efteling Park in Streetview

The Efteling is the largest theme park in The Netherlands and as it opened in 1952, it is one of the oldest theme parks in the world. The Efteling is located in the town of Kaatsheuvel, in the municipality of Loon op Zand and has received over 100 million visitors. In 1992 the Efteling received the IAAPA Applause Award for Best Amusement Park in the World.

With today’s Streetview update from Google, you are now able to visit the Efteling Park on your computer… well a part of it at least.

The House of the Five Senses, the entrance of the Efteling.

The success of the Efteling has been attributed largely to its high-quality ride designs, it’s architecture and it’s pleasant green environments and gardening. The park, under the aegis of its creative directors, has always had high standards.

Efteling entrance.

When Anton Pieck was asked to design the initial fairy tales for the park, he made sure the park would live up to his personal high standards: there would be no use of cheap building materials, plastic or concrete.

Fata Morgana.

Pieck’s illustration style, somewhat grim and dark, yet also romantic and nostalgic, was the thematic base on which most future expansions were built.

Fata Morgana (left) & The Efteling Theatre (right).

The Efteling currently covers approximately 160 acres. This area has changed only marginally over the course of its history. However, the park’s foundation owns a much larger area of land, covered mostly with young forest, some grassland, roads, and an 18-hole golf course.

Octopus.

Gondoletta.

Originally, the park was divided into four areas called North, West, East, and South, with most of the park’s historical rides and attractions, like the Fairy Tale Forest, located in West. When the park reorganized its infrastructure in the late 1990s (adding the Pardoes Promenade and a central hub called Efteling Brink), it also changed its area names. North was changed to Reizenrijk (Travel Realm), West became Marerijk (Fairy Realm), East became Ruigrijk (Rough Realm), and South became Anderrijk (Differ Realm).

Entrance of the indoor rollercoaster ‘Vogelrok’.

Efteling.

Not only the Fairy Tale Forest, but almost the entire Efteling park was built in a rather rural area, with lots of pine trees, giving it a ‘nature park’ feeling. Together with the large ponds and gardens (with thousands of flowers, and maintained by an army of gardeners), the park’s abundant green space is rather unusual among the world’s leading theme parks.

Pagode.

The only large park that seems to get close to this special atmosphere is Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, Dutch climate and the reliance on greenery and trees for a huge part of the park’s looks (and theming) prevent year-round opening in full.

Efteling.

Efteling used to be closed all winter (only being open from April through October), but the park’s management, struggling to make the park more profitable and creating a better return-on-investment, has been experimenting with a so-called “Winter Efteling” since 1999. Thanks to great efforts to decorate the park using loads of pine trees and thousands of Christmas lights in winter, “Winter Efteling” is growing more popular every year, reaching a climax during the holidays when thousands of people visit the park.

Carrousel Palace.

The Efteling is more than just a theme park. It is a World of Wonders where almost anything is possible, both in terms of business and in terms of pleasure.