№ 001 · the fairy-tale forest · spring 2026
Forty-eight years of going to Efteling, in writing. Notes on the architecture, the rides, the fairy-tale forest, the four hotels, and the seventy-four years that brought the park to where it now stands. Updated when there is something worth adding.
From the archive · 10 vignettes
A standing index of ten favourite moments from the park. Hover any tile for the name. Click to read the essay it belongs to.
Long-form · 8 essays
Long-form notes on the park, in no particular order. Some are about specific attractions; some are about the design history; some are about how the park changes with the seasons.
How a single illustrator's pen line shaped a theme park for sixty years. Notes on Pieck's design archive at the park, on the rules he gave the builders, and on what has survived him.
The original heart of the park — twenty-eight tableaux of European folk tales, walked in the order I usually walk them, with notes on which ones are seasonal and which ones are nearly forgotten.
The park is organised into five themed regions — Marerijk, Anderrijk, Reizenrijk, Ruigrijk, and Fantasierijk — each with a distinct visual idiom. Notes on what is in each, and on how a single afternoon can be planned around them.
Not the biggest, not the newest, not the most popular — eight specific attractions in the park that reward sustained attention, with notes on why each one is worth the time.
The fountain-and-fire water show on the central lake runs once a night during the open hours of the park. Notes on watching it sober, on watching it many times, and on what to listen for in the music.
The park opened in 1952 as a small fairy-tale forest on the edge of a village. It is now one of the most-visited theme parks in Europe. Notes on the four expansions, on who built what, and on why the village still owns it.
From mid-November to early February the park reopens as Winter Efteling — same paths, different atmosphere, snow on the fairy-tale forest. Notes on what changes and what stays.
Efteling owns and operates four on-site accommodations: Grand Hotel, Wonder Hotel, Bosrijk, and Loonsche Land. Each has a different idiom. Notes on what distinguishes them, for a friend planning a stay.
"The rule against straight lines began as a half-joke at that first meeting in 1951 and became the structural law of the park's architecture. It is still in force." — from Anton Pieck and the visual idiom of Efteling