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Efteling Discussion Thread


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Today is snowing and I see baron open..
Hi' date='

 

Since it's a weekday on the 16th and in the low season you should be fine with one day. The only issue there might be is the weather. If it's too cold the outdoor rollercoasters may close. In February 2018 there was a freak cold chill that took it to -1 degrees Celsius, which closed all outdoor coaster except Baron 1898. I went to the park last on a weekday in February and got on 23 rides in only 7 hours (including 5 on Baron and 4 on Symbolica). I still had a great time and sure you will too.[/quote']

 

Enviado do meu ONEPLUS A6003 através do Tapatalk

They said 'except Baron' which means 'not Baron' (as I know English isn't your first language)

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Baron is the last (outdoor) coaster to close when it's freezing outside. I went last Saturday and the weather was around 0 degrees Celsius and only the Python was closed all day. Weather might be the biggest concern in January especially now because the weather is really unpredictable, Yesterday we had snow today I walked around with my coat open. That said crowds should be low, it's a week day in the second week after a holiday period, I'd say 40 minute Queue's at Max and that would only count for: Baron 1898, Symbolica and Droom Vlucht.

 

Anyway for what I came to do here in the first place: There is a major update on the expansion. 4 Parties have gone to the highest court in the Netherlands for one final attempted to prevent the plans form going through. One of them even asked to suspend the plan until the judge made his decision. In January the judge will reveal when the case is handled and if the question of suspension is valid enough to wait until he makes his rule.

What this means is that the park as of now isn't allowed to expand its borders. If the judge decides that the question of suspension doesn't have a valid enough reason they are allowed to expand, however the judge can still chance the agreement the park has with the local government and things can get complicated.

The judge also has to handle the case within 12 months and then has a maximum of 6 weeks before the final rule is said and done.

(I've been told that) After the rule the judgment is final, there is no need for further alterations or no further complications.

I thought this lat major hurdle was worth sharing. If I can I will try to update when there is more news.

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  • 1 month later...

Political correctness hits Efteling.

 

https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/01/efteling-amusement-park-to-update-characters-criticised-for-racist-stereotyping/

 

Efteling amusement park to update characters criticised for racist stereotyping

January 30, 2019

The Netherlands’ most popular amusement park said on Wednesday it is to overhaul the appearance of some of its controversial African and Asian characters to ‘to better fit in with today’s standards.

 

The Efteling’s Carnaval Festival fairground ride is to close for a three month period for a technical update and will take the opportunity to revamp animatronics criticised for yellow face and black face stereotypes.

 

This means the African figures will lose their nose rings and be dressed in traditional African costumes while the Asian dolls will be given more natural eyes and teeth, a spokeswoman told broadcaster NOS.

 

The Carnaval Festival attraction is based on a voyage around the world and has often drawn criticism. International visitors who had ‘not grown up with the attraction’ were particularly vocal, spokeswoman Femke van Es told NOS.

 

The attraction is due for a technical overhaul and this has provided the right opportunity to rethink the African and Asian scenes, she said. The total renovation project will cost an estimated €3m.

 

No plans have yet been made to update the Monsieur Cannibale attraction, in which visitors sit in a cooking pot presided over by a so-called cannibal in stereotypical garb. That attraction is 31-years-old and when it comes up for a refit, adaptions to the character will certainly be considered, Van Es said.

 

Not racist

 

However, Tilburg University proessor Hans Siebers told the AD that the the animatronics are not necessarily racist. ‘Like Zwarte Piet, these dolls do not have any inherent meaning,’ he told the AD. ‘An African doll with a ring through its nose is not necessarily insulting or hurtful.’ No problems are being solved with this, he said. ‘First Zwarte Piet had to suffer and now the Efteling dolls. Who is next, the carnival itself?’

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This new Forest Being at Efteling reminds of a couple of other tree characters in film...

EftelingForestfaerie.jpg.980308c512352d9917a141e935064eac.jpg

What's new in Efteling.

WizardOfOzAppleTree.jpg.e0d98366888a9207b299f8dc1aa2d6ba.jpg

That Apple Tree - "Wizard of Oz" - just before they run into Tin Man.

BabesInToylandForestNoRetorn.png.37fb877a1fd15fa53a10489d419166da.png

Disney's Babes in Toyland ~ "...this is the Forest of No Return..."

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Awesome! Glad they found a way to keep the attraction and still pay attention to the psychological impact of stereotypes.

 

Me too. I love Efteling but those stereotypes have stood out as a negative in reviews for years - that, and the many smokers.

The Asian dolls remind me of WW II and anti-immigration propaganda from the fifties, it's that bad.

 

They need to do this if they want to attract more international tourists. Same for Mr Cannibale (although that character represents a cannibal, is there such a thing as a non-stereotypical cannibal?)

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  • 4 weeks later...
There is a major update on the expansion. 4 Parties have gone to the highest court in the Netherlands for one final attempted to prevent the plans form going through. One of them even asked to suspend the plan until the judge made his decision. In January the judge will reveal when the case is handled and if the question of suspension is valid enough to wait until he makes his rule.

What this means is that the park as of now isn't allowed to expand its borders. If the judge decides that the question of suspension doesn't have a valid enough reason they are allowed to expand, however the judge can still chance the agreement the park has with the local government and things can get complicated.

The judge also has to handle the case within 12 months and then has a maximum of 6 weeks before the final rule is said and done.

(I've been told that) After the rule the judgment is final, there is no need for further alterations or no further complications.

I thought this lat major hurdle was worth sharing. If I can I will try to update when there is more news.

This Friday the judge made a decision on the suspension and ruled in favor of the people trying to stop the expansion. This means that the Efteling as of now isn't allowed to expand until the high court made it's final decision in December this year. If the Suspension was lifted Friday the park would have applied permits for construction for the rumored 2021 coaster but that's not going to happen now, most likely the park won't open the ride by 2022 if the park is still allowed to expand on the east side after the final rule.

 

It's a mojor setback for the park for sure. I hope they where somewhat prepared for this.

Now keep in mind the final rule will be made in December 2019 then we go into that 6 week window meaning that the final rule will not be out earlier then January 2020. So we basically have to wait for almost a year before we hear more.

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Curious, is it a noise issue? A sight issue? Creeping around on Google Street View, it looks like the only thing inside Efteling that you can see from the neighborhood to the north is the Pagoda tower. I could see the neighbors getting upset if their expansion plans included a coaster that could be seen above the tree line.

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It does look like there are two or three occupied homes along Horst though, with one being right up next to the hotel. So an eastward expansion would seriously affect the people who live along that road.

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As far as I know the homes at the east of the park are already in possession of the Efteling.

So the complainers we don't know them all, but from the party that asked for the suspension a couple of people have come in the news the past few days. They however all live at the West side of the park. This isn't weird as the plans include both the east expansion and a west expansion of the park. The people that have come out stated they are afraid of extra noise and extra traffic. There is also some people that are afraid the view is going to ruined.

As of now there seem to be no direct attacks on the east expansion just the west and traffic part.

 

The assumption is now that it would most likely go one of these ways:

1. The complainers lose and the plan will be allowed as it is now.

2. The 50/50 way the park isn't allowed to expand west, but is allowed to expand east.

3. The Efteling loses and the plan is rejected in it's whole.

 

Edit: Here is an artical in Dutch about the complainers. It sparked a lot of attacks from Dutch fans as the elderly woman admits she came to live there 12 years ago and didn't expect the park to have ambitions to grow. Also the man stated that the Efteling didn't communicate the expansion and only heard it after the approval of the local government, that also doesn't sit well with fans as the park had numerous information evenings to discuses concerns about the expansion and this plan as been openly in the works for several years.

I think these people are allowed to be afraid about the expansion plan with the extra noise, view lost and traffic problems, but both do make some dumb comments regarding about the expansion.

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That's a shame. I suspect they will approve the East-Side expansion in December.

 

Everyone has a right to be concerned about their living environment and I don't want to attack on the person, but these particular individuals don't seem very well-informed. Moving into a house bordering the Efteling in 2007, and then complaining about noise from a ride that has remained largely unchanged since 1986.

 

In her defence: luckily no-one lives next to Carnival Festival, that would warrant insanity!

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Efteling reveals new scenes from De Oude Tufferbaan

 

050319tuffer6.jpg.1ce3edec8ebd6a00b0f8b07e163ba37c.jpg

 

De Oude Tufferbaan in the Efteling is provided with four different interactive scenes. Today the theme park shows how the new scenes will look like. During a ride in the famous old-timers, visitors will soon pass a large number of farm animals. They react when passengers are horning.

 

It concerns hares, chickens on top of a broken car, chickens on top of a milkman's cart and chickens on a scarecrow. "When you horn to the animals, they respond to the new attraction music", the Efteling says. The scenes were sketched by Efteling designer Karel Willemen.

 

The family attraction has been closed since February 18 for a refurbishment of 1.8 million euros. In about two months time, the operating system, the vehicles and all the lights will be replaced.

 

The classic T-Fords from 1984 are history. Visitors will soon take place in one of the new cars and pick-ups of the German company Metallbau Emmeln. Only the drivers are dry at the pick-ups. Self-steering is no longer possible. The 580-meter long trail does not change.

 

050319tuffer1.jpg.a45229906a73fa441b9066751762427b.jpg

050319tuffer2.jpg.e07d6663ab899a3055b4908c8c73022a.jpg

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050319stuur3.jpg.113a9817f75e470eb0b7aba1bc094303.jpg

 

Source

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The Efteling updates PandaDroom: attraction finally gets new film and a different name

(Google translated from Loopings.nl)

 

The Efteling has plans for a large-scale renovation of PandaDroom. More than seventeen years after the opening, the attraction will finally be provided with a new 4D film. There will also be another name: Fabula. Various insiders report this to Looopings. The fairytale park does not want to confirm the news yet.

 

A conscious choice was made for a name that could also be pronounced by international visitors. Fabula's slogan becomes 'Dream of the Animal Kingdom'. Just like the current film, the new film is again all about nature. The souvenir shop and the restaurant at the exit will also be renewed.

 

SEE ALSO: Efteling replaces Bob with new double family roller coaster: Max & Moritz

 

Demolished

The exact closing date of PandaDroom is not yet known. More work will take place later this year near the attraction. The Bob, which is right next to PandaDroom, will be demolished from September to make way for the double family roller coaster Max & Moritz. Efteling is investing 15 million euros in this.

 

People have been talking about renewing PandaDroom for years. In fact, a new film was planned for 2016. That ultimately did not go through. Last year it turned out that the contract with the World Wildlife Fund (WNF) would in any case be extended until the end of 2020.

 

Issues

Efteling fans have not had a good word for PandaDroom since it opened in 2002. Whereas other Efteling attractions have the purpose of immersing visitors in another world, viewers here are consciously confronted with problems in the real world. These are successively melting ice sheets, trawl nets on the seabed and logging in the jungle. The public is then encouraged to become a member of the WWF for a fee.

 

In addition, the special effects and 3D technology have become quite outdated over the years. The call for the closure of the dated attraction has therefore become increasingly louder in recent years.

 

Comment

Efteling does not want to comment on the leaked plans at this time. "We will come later with more information about the future of PandaDroom", says a spokeswoman.

 

2019 seems to be the year of the new attractions. De Oude Tufferbaan and Carnaval Festival are currently closed for major renovations. Altogether, these costs amount to almost 5 million euros.

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  • 1 month later...

Great car ride! The vehicles are so big and it's really a nice long "country ride".

He's overdoing it on the honking a bit, especially back at the station.

But hey - that's what the horn's there for.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Eftleling has reopened Carnival Festival after a 3 million Euro rehab to update and eliminate "racist" scenes.

 

https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/editienl/artikel/4722206/carnaval-festival-efteling-weer-open-na-renovatie&prev=search

 

Carnival Festival in Efteling open again, nose rings and frizzy hair gone

May 23, 2019 10:57 AM : May 23, 2019 11:24

 

 

Carnival Festival in the Efteling is reopened after months of renovation. With an budget of 3 million euros, the amusement park tackled the technology and gave a number of dolls a new look.

 

The 35-year-old attraction closed in January for the major refurbishment. The Efteling reported that the 'current time picture' would also be considered.

 

Carnival Festival Efteling tackled, no more frizzy hair and nose rings

 

A number of dolls in the Africa and Asia scenes were given a whole new look. For example, the Chinese dolls no longer have large teeth and the dolls with nose rings and frizzy hair have disappeared completely. Dolls with instruments, shields and traditional clothing can now be seen in that section.

 

Criticism of old scenes

 

There was a lot of criticism of the old scenes, especially from foreign visitors. They would be racist and offensive. De Efteling, however, stated earlier that the changes were not a reaction to that, but were done in own initiative.

 

"Now all scenes fit in well with the original theme: partying through different cultures around the world."

 

454 LED lights

 

In addition to these adjustments, a hundred other dolls were given a new layer of paint. Efteling also took a thorough look at the technology. The existing lighting has been replaced by 454 LED lamps. The renovation of the 118 gondolas has not yet been completed, as they are being refurbished in phases.

 

Finally, there is a new photo point. That can now be found in the Confetti souvenir shop, which is located next to the Carnival Festival.

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I hope they still have that totem pole...for Canada's rep.... I think.

 

(I can't watch the videos, for some reason. Boo Hoo.)

341860595_ResizeofM-05.jpg.aa1099c716626035bf3a905ed7f47297.jpg

Yay! "Caaaa-naaaa-daaah"....I think. TPR 2010 Europe Tour.

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