Enter the magical realm of Efteling

She lay motionless in a glass case, her dewy white skin a stark contrast to her blood red lips and long black hair. And surrounding are seven little guys lovingly gazing at her. Just a little further down the forest, you chance upon a house made of gingerbread and covered with gobstoppers and candy. Welcome to the Fairytale Forest at the Efteling Theme Park.

I’ve become a huge fan of the series Once Upon a Time. I love how the show blends different fairy tales together and then, made a headlong collision with the real world. So you can imagine my elation when I (virtually) stumbled upon this wondrous theme park.

The largest theme park in the Netherlands, Efteling opened its doors in 1952 and evolved from a nature park with a playground and a Fairy Tale Forest into a full-sized theme park. The park measures twice as large as the original Disneyland Park in California and lets you escape into a fantasy world heavy on ancient myths and legends, fairy tales, fables and folklore.

Park designer Anton Pieck is a visionary who understands the meaning of escapism. Upon entering, it’s like you’ve been sprinkled with some fairy dust and transported to an other-worldly place. There’s lush foliage, water features and enchanting figures everywhere you turn. Piped-in music can be heard throughout, streaming from tiny mushrooms crowding around bushes.

Pieck was also apparently a stickler for details; he paid attention to the tiniest elements and stir up the right thematic concoctions for each realm At the enchanted Fairy Tale Forest is where you see life-sized fairy tale characters come to life. There’s a tower where Rapunzel letting her braid down for her savior, and round the corner is the castle where Sleeping Beauty lay in her slumber.

However, Efteling is not all pleasant, pretty and happy for kids. The park promises to have everything for everyone, and that includes satisfying some of us adults more twisted state of minds. Some parts of the park can be dark and scary for the little ones. After all, not all of Grimms tales are cheery. There are roller coasters for adrenaline junkies, smaller rides to keep the kids contented and a play park for the younger kids sick of waiting in lines.

Tip: There are plenty of shows and wandering entertainment worth catching. Typically, there’s a free show in the Efteling Theatre several times a day in summer. Smaller seasonal shows are also available, and the wandering street entertainments are always joyful to watch. If you don’t want to miss them, make sure to pick up the information leaflet upon entering the park.

The park is divided into four realms, Fairy Realm (Marerijk), Travel Realm (Reizenrijk), Rough Realm (Ruigrijk) and Alternative Realm (Anderrijk). The names may sound cryptic, but here’s an indication of what they mean. Fast rides like the double-loop roller coaster Python is located in the Rough Realm while the Alternative Realm is home to rides inspired by the mystical Middle East and exotic South America. The Travel Realm brings you to carnival rides that carry you through different countries.

Tip: If you want to experience the entire park without having to work your legs to death, take the steam train. There’s one station in the Fairy Realm and another in the Rough Realm that offer a scenic tour around the whole park.

Did you know:
Efteling is set in a real forest. A small contingent of gardeners brings truckloads of flowers into the park each season, peppering the place with their fragrance and adding vibrant dashes of color throughout.

The park used to be open only from April through October, taking a hiatus during winter. But efforts have been made to transform Efteling into a Winter Wonderland, with decorations and Christmas lights on the park’s thousands of pine trees. Now, winter is one of the park’s high traffic period.