IT has been years since we have been in BestZOO. In that time they have built a lovely new entrance…read morebuilding with a nice restaurant. The zoo itself is relatively small, but has a few animals that you do not necessarily see elsewhere (we loved the wombat, the Chinese crane and the variety in birds). Nice for a couple of hours. It would be good if the cat enclosures could be modernised and enlarged, though.

We have been coming to Dierenrijk since it started as Dierenrijk Europa. And the zoo has developed…read morewell and is still improving. Of course, it is a small zoo, but knowing that, it is ideal for a nice walk. The best part of the zoo are the small mammals (the red panda is great) and the fantastic aviary. Also, don't miss the little fish that nibble your hands. If there is a weak point it is the bigger animals that could have bigger enclosures.

It has been quite a few years since we went to Zoo Parc Overloon. We liked it then, we were blown…read moreaway today. The walk is like before very pleasant and park-like like before. However, the upgrade in spectacular animal enclosures is remarkable. An enormous variety in animals in great settings with different viewpoints at different levels. Not the biggest zoo, but absolutely fantastic.

Klein Costa Rica is located in the middle of nowhere. So, when you find something special it is a…read morebig surprise. The butterfly garden is nice with beautiful butterflies, a nursery and one iguana. The second part is spectacular with a fantastic pond and a large variety of colourful and large fish, nice birds and a giant iguana. The last one we spotted on the walking bridge. We didn't"t spend a long time (1 hour max) but the visit was well worth it.

This is a great play centre for the kids. It's reasonably priced (seven euro when I am writing…read morethis) for a couple hours. They have indoor and outdoor activities for children. The have a cafe inside which is also reasonably priced with a decent enough selection of food and my favourite part, they have a bar with a few beers on tap.

All I knew about Droomvlucht was that it involved fairies and was one of Efteling's signature…read moreattractions. This review is full of spoilers so be warned. The popularity of this ride was evident from the large (but boring) queue. The ride vehicles were quite interesting. The vehicles, which seat two, move forward while you are looking out one side. However, unlike other similar ride systems your "train" of around six people separates and goes off by itself. The ride soon opens into an absolutely enormous open-air room that is made to look like a forest. Every inch is decorated with flowers, plants, and mythical creatures. Even more surprising is that the vehicle turns a corner and goes into another room that is just as large. I can't imagine how much work it was to create those two rooms. The vehicles go through an extended part where the area is dark expect for "stars" that are lit around you. The starfield is a disorienting and cool effect. I was extremely confused when it felt like we were climbing a lift hill in the dark. The vehicles soon give you a view of a creature (troll?) swinging like Tarzan on a vine above some treetops. Then in a completely unexpected twist the vehicles start speeding up and you spiral all the way down *around* the trees in question until you reach the bottom. The trees had to have been several stories tall. I know I'm making this sound like a thrill ride but it's something you can take your grandma on. It's such a unique, interesting ride mechanic that I've never seen before. I immediately wanted to ride again to get a better look at it. After I got home and did my homework I was gobsmacked to learn that the ride opened in 1993. It's held up so well and I actually liked it better than the new signature attraction Symbolica. I never would have expected that.

This is Efteling's new signature attraction and it was number one on my "must do" list for my first…read morevisit to the park. I have to say that it did not disappoint. The pre-show introduction to the ride was very clever and unexpected. Once that's over when you progress further into the line you have to pick one of three colors to get in line for. Each color has a slightly different experience for the riders. We picked red because that had the longest line so we assumed it was the best. When you ride as a single rider you can't pick your color. When I rode a second time as a single rider I was hoping to get assigned to another color and I got red of course. I did notice the other colors going to different rooms on my second ride. I had never been on a trackless ride before and always assumed that I would first ride one at a Disney park, but Symbolica was my introduction. With a trackless ride system you don't see the track on the floor and your vehicle can do so many more interesting maneuvers such as go into a cubby hole and back out. The effect is best used in the finale when you twirl around on a dance floor during a banquet with other ride vehicles and characters. I think what impressed me the most was that everything in the ride that you look at outside of your vehicle is a practical effect. It seems nowadays with parks like Universal all you do is stare at screens from your vehicle. Here at Symbolica everything is real and moving in front of you. Besides the ballroom I mentioned there's an absolutely gorgeous planetarium/library as well as a "garden" that gets an unexpected visitor. The show building is wonderfully themed inside and out. The flat roof isn't visible from the ground but it is from the observation tower ride. What really impressed me was how they arranged the solar panels with symbols and patterns to make it look nice even though most people won't ever see this. The back of the building has a waterfall built into it so that it looks nice for people walking through that section of the park. It all fits into the park seamlessly and was so well done. This is a great addition to Efteling!

This is absolutely one of the most unique and entertaining rides I have been on, which includes…read moreover twenty world class parks spanning three continents. Despite the fact that it is most recent addition to a park older than the original Disneyland, the external design and central location inside the park make it feel like the everything else was built around it. The queue was only around 30 minutes on a weekday in July, and a fair bit of it was either shaded or inside. They make minimal use of the dreaded switchbacks, avoiding them almost entirely outside of peak times. They also have a special entrance for hotel guests who get there at least 10 minutes before the regular park opening time. There is another magical surprise awaiting guests once they enter the castle. At the front of the line, you get to switch between three similar but different themes before embarking on your magical voyage. The ride employs the latest the trackless technology for even more excitement. The rest of the journey is best experienced first-hand to maximize the thrill factor. Dark rides are by far my favorite type of ride, and this ride provides an excellent addition to a park already full of very good attractions. The ride is similar to Mystic Manor in HK Disney, but I will need to wait until I return to HK next month before I can pick a favorite. Tokyo DisneySea has been my favorite park since my first visit, but this addition to Efteling is definitely giving me cause to reconsider my ranking.

When all the effects are on, this roller coaster in the dark is surprisingly fun and effective. The…read moretrouble is, sometimes the effects (or lights) are off. Since it's a roller coaster in the dark, that diminishes the experiences and it's just a roller coaster in the dark. It's loosely about birds. The queue has a vaguely Middle Eastern theme. It involves a very narrow staircase (the queue). You sit in pairs. Now that there are pandemic precautions, they don't fill the entire car. You can tell that Vekoma is the ride manufacturer because their name is emblazoned across the bar in front of you. Some of the scenes you see are a huge bird egg, stationary birds and lights but the coolest part is [spoiler] when you enter a huge skeletal mouth. In all, this coaster is short but surprisingly fun.

Wow, what a surprise this was. It's not possible to see everything that Efteling has to offer in…read moreone day so I was being very picky about what attractions to visit. When I heard that this was an indoor coaster with no inversions and a max speed of 40 mph that sounded like a hard "pass" to me. Because of the Efteling app I was able to see that the wait was really short when I happened to be near the ride so I figured I'd give it a go. What a mistake it would have been to miss this ride because I loved it! The exterior of the building is a giant bird statue (the biggest in Europe according to Wikipedia!). The coaster cars allow two people to sit next to each other. You don't get launched but rather go up a lift hill in the dark with green lasers breaking the darkness. There's a wonderful background song that starts pumping from inside the cars and you'll feel wind blowing on you before you start accelerating. It's a wonderful effect. There are a couple of "bird things" that light up during the run but otherwise you're in complete darkness. I don't know if the darkness was a factor in it but I felt like I was going so much faster than 40 mph. There's one turn in particular where you really feel the G-forces but it's not jerky at all. I never would have believed the max speed of this ride if you had told it to me if I went in not knowing anything. The ride ends with the coaster entering the mouth of a colorfully lit snake. As soon as I went out the exit I immediately went back into the entrance to ride again. If I wasn't on such a time crunch I would have rode it a third time. Vogel Rok rocks!