Efteling
EFTELING isn’t into the race for “biggest, fastest, longest, highest” in terms of theme park attractions. The Dutch park rightly distains that and leaves it to others, yet still retains its position in the top three parks in Europe and the top 25 in the world. It does it through what it terms “the Efteling way.” The
“way” is to keep to the principles and policies which have underpinned the park from its inception in 1952. It is a fairytale world with its own elements of magic which retains the fascination of its largely-family audience. “It is almost a tradition here for Efteling to enter the
lives of Dutch people at three essential points, as a child, revisiting as a parent and again as a grandparent,” says Koen Sanders, manager of communications at the park. “Almost all of the original attractions are still here and visitors often relate to a photograph of themselves as a child and make a point of having their photographs re-taken in exactly the same spot years later, and again with their own grandchildren.” That attitude makes Efteling an institution, but one which keeps its image fresh. Those original features which bring
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back the children as adults are still there in the first-built sections of the park and are carefully tended to appear as new and delightful as they were 50 years ago. And of course new elements and “lands” have been added over the years, rather like age-rings on a tree. The principle to which the owners of Efteling (a
foundation pledged to return all profits to the further development and improvement of the park and its facilities) adhere is to keep with the original philosophies. Those are to conserve the park’s ecological environment, entertain with innocent pleasure, theme the location into fairytales – Grimm, Andersen and new Efteling stories – and construct within the park strictly in the character laid down 50 years ago by the famous Dutch artist Anton Piecke. His original designs for the infrastructure, with quaint fairytale villages, are still everywhere to be seen and have been faithfully followed with all new developments. It brings Efteling around 4,000,000 visitors each year and
the park has occasionally hit the 50,000 mark in one day. Of those generally around 90 per cent are Dutch, with the bulk of the remainder coming from across the Belgian border a Continued on page 40
PARKLIFE
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