Efteling | Symbolica | ETF Rides Trackless Dark Ride
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Pink Cadillac
Giga Poster
Pink Cadillac
Giga Poster
Re: Efteling to Open Symbolica in 2017
Looking even more 'Mystic Manor' by the day. Still has that Efteling feel to it though.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/MartvGerwen/status/780328540524904448[/tweet]
The rocks now have water running over them
Looking even more 'Mystic Manor' by the day. Still has that Efteling feel to it though.
[tweet]https://twitter.com/MartvGerwen/status/780328540524904448[/tweet]
The rocks now have water running over them
Pink Cadillac
Giga Poster
Re: Efteling to Open Symbolica in 2017
Last edited:
GuyWithAStick
Captain Basic
This is going to be amazing, especially considering that Efteling is doing it.
Crazycoaster
Giga Poster
The theming in Efteling is so rubbish, they should look at how Merlin themes things.
CarolinaRider
Mega Poster
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.Crazycoaster said:
Lofty
CF Legend
Ok, I'm gonna be brutally honest - I was really excited about this project... until I visited Efteling on the Ghosterforce trip. The outside, minus the water features has extremely similar aesthetics to most of the other buildings in that area, there's nothing completely brand new and astounding about it, apart from the fact they've used a bit of rock work... wahoo?
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
Oh my god I'm glad it's not just me.
I get there's a distinctly Efteling aesthetic and I think - to be honest - the ornate, middle-eastern inspired buildings, all dressed in very drab and dry tones, is just not my cup of tea. But Lofty is right, so much of Efteling looks so samey, so that the extravagance is kinda lost?
I much preferred the water coaster from an aesthetic point of view to anything else at the park back when I visited, pre Baron. And I like the look of Baron too.
I think the "Efteling aesthetic" just isn't my cup of tea, I guess. And saying I'd like to see more variety is far from fair given that a.) their latest additions haven't been in that vein and b.) this ride is, if I'm understanding correctly, supposed to be SO Efteling.
Lofty
CF Legend
Definitely what you've said.
For me, the park just didn't offer the 'magic' that most people talk of. Yeah, there's a very stylised aesthetic to Efteling, that's undebatable - the quasi-Middle-Eastern fantasy/gothic style of look, but it's completely broke up at parts and isn't cohesive whatsoever.
Villa Volta, Baron, De Vliegende Hollander, Joris en de Draak and Python don't share this look. I found it to be sort of distracting that there's so so so many different themes in this one park, and I don't even find it too distracting at Thorpe or Alton - I think it comes down to Efteling being renowned for the theming of fairytales etc., but that to me was only part of the park, a small part of the park compared to the large expanses of nothingness that a lot of it seemed to offer.
For me, the park just didn't offer the 'magic' that most people talk of. Yeah, there's a very stylised aesthetic to Efteling, that's undebatable - the quasi-Middle-Eastern fantasy/gothic style of look, but it's completely broke up at parts and isn't cohesive whatsoever.
Villa Volta, Baron, De Vliegende Hollander, Joris en de Draak and Python don't share this look. I found it to be sort of distracting that there's so so so many different themes in this one park, and I don't even find it too distracting at Thorpe or Alton - I think it comes down to Efteling being renowned for the theming of fairytales etc., but that to me was only part of the park, a small part of the park compared to the large expanses of nothingness that a lot of it seemed to offer.
ThomVD
Giga Poster
The thing that makes Efteling stand out for me is how it feels like its own world, a feeling that I don't get in any other theme park I've visited. Once you step into the park it feels like you've entered a different world, with its own style, architecture, way of telling a story, characters, use of language (which is obviously missed out on for non-Dutch speakers), consistent use of music throughout the entire park and just a coherent atmosphere of cosiness and magic. I do agree with the park having many different kind of themes in the newer areas, but I don't feel like any of the extensively themed rides really doesn't fit the overall feel of the park. They are all historical and magical at least. I'll admit that Bob and Python do stand out because they are not themed. The only reason why they are still there is due to their iconic status.
As for the old areas versus the new ones. I like to think that it is similar to how a country or a city has evolved throughout the history. The old part of Efteling (Fairytale forest and the big square with the carrousels) is the center (or the heart) of the park. It's the equivalent of the historical old-town quarter of a city. It has a coherent and consistent style. The new additions of the fairytale forest are carefully made so that they don't stand out too much among the rest, and I think they succeeded at that. Then the surrounding areas are additions that have evolved over time. They have a more modern feeling, while not feeling out of place compared to the rest of the park. I find it beautiful to see how the park has expanded and evolved over time, comparable to how it happened in the real world/cities. Walking from ride to ride feels a bit like travelling across the countryside to go from settlement to settlement.
I absolutely love Phantasialand and find it extremely immersive. However, the use of real-life country themes simply makes me immersed in a different way than Efteling. I don't think of Phantasialand as its own fantasy world like I do with Efteling. The same goes for every other park I've visited so far. It's hard to explain, and I'm not saying Efteling is more immersive than those other parks, but just in its different own way. Efteling is not a park for everybody because it's so different and unique, with a lot of depth and layers. But it's a park that you really fall in love with more than any other place in the world if you really explore all of its history and if you delve deep into the world that it offers. It's a park that unlike most other parks, gets better the more time you spend in it. It's like a really complex song, film or book. Not everybody is going to get it right away, not everybody is going to love it in the end, but for some people who are willing to invest time in it, it's incomparable to anything else. That also explains why most Dutch people are so passionate about the place, and why it is such a big part of our culture. It's so much more than just a theme park for us.
I realise that to some people all of this might not make sense or sound really pretentious, but that's just how I feel about the park. I think Symbolica is going to continue that trend. They will give one of the main characters in the world of Efteling some more spotlight after being semi-neglected the past years, compared to back in the day.
As for the old areas versus the new ones. I like to think that it is similar to how a country or a city has evolved throughout the history. The old part of Efteling (Fairytale forest and the big square with the carrousels) is the center (or the heart) of the park. It's the equivalent of the historical old-town quarter of a city. It has a coherent and consistent style. The new additions of the fairytale forest are carefully made so that they don't stand out too much among the rest, and I think they succeeded at that. Then the surrounding areas are additions that have evolved over time. They have a more modern feeling, while not feeling out of place compared to the rest of the park. I find it beautiful to see how the park has expanded and evolved over time, comparable to how it happened in the real world/cities. Walking from ride to ride feels a bit like travelling across the countryside to go from settlement to settlement.
I absolutely love Phantasialand and find it extremely immersive. However, the use of real-life country themes simply makes me immersed in a different way than Efteling. I don't think of Phantasialand as its own fantasy world like I do with Efteling. The same goes for every other park I've visited so far. It's hard to explain, and I'm not saying Efteling is more immersive than those other parks, but just in its different own way. Efteling is not a park for everybody because it's so different and unique, with a lot of depth and layers. But it's a park that you really fall in love with more than any other place in the world if you really explore all of its history and if you delve deep into the world that it offers. It's a park that unlike most other parks, gets better the more time you spend in it. It's like a really complex song, film or book. Not everybody is going to get it right away, not everybody is going to love it in the end, but for some people who are willing to invest time in it, it's incomparable to anything else. That also explains why most Dutch people are so passionate about the place, and why it is such a big part of our culture. It's so much more than just a theme park for us.
I realise that to some people all of this might not make sense or sound really pretentious, but that's just how I feel about the park. I think Symbolica is going to continue that trend. They will give one of the main characters in the world of Efteling some more spotlight after being semi-neglected the past years, compared to back in the day.
