Efteling 2,4,6

[MotherOfClogs]

Hi all

We are going to the Efteling for three days in half term as part of a longer trip to the Netherlands

Could I have your top tips with DC 2,4 and 6? The 6 year old is quite cautious and won't be pressing to go on big rides.

DH and I haven't been to a theme park since we were kids (and the only once or twice)

Thanks!

Ooh following as we are off next week too- my kids are much older though. 8 and 9.

I'm wondering how we get around, for example- normally if there is a lot of walking, we would put DC(2) in the buggy and then both big ones pile on the buggy board (!) or DC(6) gets pulled on the scooter.

If you want you can hire little wooden karts at the entrance. They have a small seat and you pull them around. You can also use the steam train to get from one side of the park to the other.
A few restaurants can be booked in advance including the pizza restaurant (Pinocchios) and the pancake house. We found they booked up at meal times days in advance so plan ahead. We particularly loved the pancake house with lots of incredible details in the restaurant theme including the large animatronic kitchen display that moves and plays music.
You can take your own food and soft drinks into the park. There are lots of picnic areas and seats around some of the larger play areas. We saw lots of families who had brought their own food. Our room in the Efteling Hotel had an empty mini fridge too so you could easily bring food from home.
You might want to pack your power pack for your phone. I found between using the Efteling app and taking photos, my battery didn’t last a full day.
Check ride times on the app. They do change frequently throughout the day. For example, Symbolica was really long at one point, a couple of hours later, just 5 minutes.
Reserve your seats for the shows like Raveleijn. Do this straight away so you can plan the rest of your day around it.
All the staff wear badges with little flags on them which show which languages they speak which is a clever idea.

There is a lot of walking but it’s a very pretty park with lots of trees. We take a picnic and buy treats on the way round. Sometimes finish the day at the pancake house but there are a few pancake restaurants in the local area which we prefer.

There is an area with two carousels and rides for smaller ones. I’ve never seen queues there. I always stop for a coffee there and let the kids roam. Also the boating lake is chilled and a good place to relax a bit and eat some sandwichs as the boat is pulled automatically so you can just sit there.

Mine are a lot older now but we’ve been going for years and my aunt lives locally and has a pass. She takes her little gc (similar age to yours) all the time so I’m sure your dc will enjoy it.

Thanks both! The carts sound like a good idea for lugging everyone about. I think we will bring food in (we are staying in a little house so will have fridge), and do one proper meal a day. There are so many ride I don't know where to start!

Following because I want to go next year!

Where are you staying @MotherOfClogs ?

We are staying in the loonshe land. The rest of the week we are staying with family elsewhere in the Netherlands.

Does anyone know- some rides say "not suitable for babies" (eg Droomvlucht)- what counts as a baby? My youngest will be just 2 and is tall for her age.

On the website it says dc over 1m in height for droomvlucht accompanied by someone over 16.

Sorry less than! You will be fine.

Droomvlucht is fine for young children. Enjoy!

Thanks guys- I'm getting excited about it now!

I love Efteling, we went last year when DS was 3, stayed in Bosrik in a woodland house. We're going again next summer, with six other family members! We raved about it so much they want to come too. I really liked the little wooden carts, it means DC walk/sit on shoulders but then if they get tired by the third day you can pick one up and much less hassle than a buggy.
If you're staying overnight you'll be offered cheap tickets to see Caro in the evening, go, it's wonderful. If you have time the swimming pool Badhuys is really good too in the evening after a long day.
DS asked if we could move there and live in Bosrik village!

Just back, we stayed in loonsche land.

I’m not a theme park person but I loved it as did the kids. Droomvlucht was just amazing and fine for smalls. Careful with the madhouse though mine did not like that at all.

although it was expensive we really liked the food- found great salad buffets for lunch for example.

queues were not bad at all last week but that was during the week, off peak. The bigger rides are clearly expecting big queues in summer.

highly recommend using the app which lets you know wait times for everything- we found all the times to be “worst case scenario” eg 15 minutes usually ended up being 7 or 8.

We were there a few years back and my friend brought her one year old on this ride and was not stopped. It is my fave ride in the park I have to say.