Efteling Opens Danse Macabre its brand new dark ride Danse Macabre which will officially be open to all visitors from October 31st after the initial preview that took place today.
Tomorrow, on the spot where the iconic Spookslot Haunted House used to stand, Efteling’s newest attraction, Danse Macabre, will open its doors to visitors. Danse Macabre’s ride system is the first of its kind in the world and is making its debut at the beloved Dutch theme park.
Today, 600 lucky prize winners have been allowed to experience the creepiest part of Efteling for the very first time along with members of the invited press.
The competition received over 250,000 entries, with five winners coming from the UK.
Stepping foot inside the ride for the first time after a beautiful opening ceremony to commemorate the ride’s first official riders outside of Efteling staff.
Danse Macabre will be open to all Efteling visitors starting tomorrow, 31 October.
Danse Macabre is a ghostly spectacle full of dark twists that allows visitors to dance to the music of the piece by the same name. On a large 18-metre diameter turntable, topped by six smaller turntables, there are six choir stalls that can seat a total of 108 visitors.
The large turntable will rise, tilt and fall, spinning like a coin before falling flat. The expected capacity is 1,253 people per hour.
Danse Macabre is part of a completely new themed area. The surroundings are a mysterious setting in which the 20-metre-high attraction building immediately catches the eye. The themed area with catering, retail and matching entertainment forms the creepiest part of Efteling.
The attraction has an advisory age of eight years and a minimum height of 1.20 metres.
Koen Sanders, Director Product, Market and Image:
“Danse Macabre is unique in the industry. Nowhere else in the world can this ride system be experienced. Combined with the haunted show experience, visitors will be frightened the Efteling way like never before with a focus on the story of the entire themed area. Some 500 colleagues have worked hard for months to build this exceptional attraction, and I am extremely proud of the final result.”
Jeroen Verheij, Head Designer:
“It is the first time at Efteling that we are realising a completely new themed area in one go, adding hospitality and retail in addition to a major attraction. The entire themed area has been designed with great respect for and inspired by the iconic building of the Spookslot Haunted House. I am proud that my drawings were brought to life so beautifully by all the skilled people involved. Efteling visitors those who dare of course – will be completely immersed in a spooky world at Danse Macabre.”
Efteling is open all year round and has grown to become one of Europe’s biggest theme parks with a unique fairytale atmosphere and a wonderful array of immersive themed rides.
Danse Macabre is a great addition to the Efteling line-up and will no doubt be a hit for this wonderful theme park.
Danse Macabre starts with the disappearance in 1876 of conductor Joseph Charlatan and his orchestra. Charlatan’s descendants have inherited an enchanted barrel organ, Esmeralda, which has led them around the cities where Charlatan’s orchestra played, eventually bringing them to Huyverwoud – this newly themed forest area in the park. Is the chapel here the musicians’ final resting place?
The ride is set to the music of Danse Macabre written by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The piece is inspired by the legend of Death fiddling on Halloween and the late Medieval tradition of the Dance of Death.
The ride is a first-of-its-kind Intamin Dynamic Motion stage that can seat up to 108 rides with three rows each containing 6 riders across 6 turntables.
The turntable sits atop a larger turntable that rises and falls, horizontally and diagonally spinning like a coin. The surrounding experience is theming galore with 60 speakers surrounding riders and a lighting system along with special effects that accompany this orchestrated dance with a ride cycle of around 3-5 minutes.
