A MAGICAL theme park in The Netherlands is being hailed by parents as “better than Disney” – and it’s only an hour’s flight away.
What’s more, Efteling has just announced a brand new ride that will open this year – the 30th new attraction in the park since it debuted in 1952.
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Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy-tale The Six Swans, the new attraction will feature a large castle monument home to the King and a miniature ride.
The Six Swans tale sees a princess rescue her six brothers, who have been turned into swans by an evil witch, breaking the spell by spending six years in silence while sewing six shirts from flowers.
To follow the story, six swan boats will be open for both adults and children to sail around in the castle.
The new ride will be in The Fairytale Forest, one of the first attractions to have opened in Efteling, and is home to other fairy-tales including Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood.
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Parents claim the theme park, while less fluffy than Disney – as it features darker themes to the fairy-tale rides – is better.
Guests can stay at Efteling overnight, where there are themed hotel rooms and holiday homes – it’s worth doing as the park spans 494 acres.
Visitors should also download the theme park app, which features the ride waiting times.
The theme park doesn’t offer the option to pay for queue jumping, so guests will have to wait their turn like everyone else.
Thrill-seekers should head straight to Baron 1898, with a 120 foot face-down free-fall drop from around the park, or Symbolica, a haunted house trackless ride which opened in 2017.
Other new rides coming to the park soon include Max & Moritz, a dual track rollercoaster, with plans for it to open next year.
It will take over from the park’s bobsled rollercoaster Bobbaan, and is part of a 20-acre park expansion which is due to open by 2021.
To get to Efteling, it is 30 minutes from Eindhoven airport, or a three-hour drive from Calais.
DFDS currently have a deal which offers a four-night break in the theme park with return ferry admission for £194 per person.
Or you can buy a day-ticket to the park for €40 (£35.89), which is much cheaper than Disneyland Paris where day-tickets cost £59.81.
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