| Added by |
 Bart Perdieus
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| General Description : | Efteling is the largest theme park in the Netherlands and one of the oldest theme parks in the world. It's located in the town of Kaatsheuvel, in the municipality of Loon op Zand. Over the years, the park has received over 100 million[2] visitors. Since its opening in 1952, Efteling has evolved from a nature park with a playground and a Fairy Tale Forest into a full-sized theme park. It now caters to both children and adults with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic themes, in addition to its wide array of amusement rides. It is twice as large as the original Disneyland park in California and predates it by three years. The park is fantasy-themed and its attractions are based on elements from ancient myths and legends, fairy tales, fables and folklore. The success of Efteling has been attributed largely to its high-quality ride designs and architecture, in addition to its pleasant greenery and gardening. The park, under the aegis of its creative directors, has always had high standards. When Anton Pieck was asked to design the initial fairy tales for the Efteling, he made sure the park would live up to his personal high standards. There would be no use of cheap building materials, plastic or concrete. Pieck's illustration style, somewhat grim and dark but yet also romantic and nostalgic, was the thematic base on which most future expansions were built. Pieck worked for Efteling until the mid-1970s, when his position as chief designer was passed on to the younger Ton van de Ven. Van de Ven had already been working for Efteling for several years and Pieck was very pleased with his work. The Haunted Castle (het Spookslot), which opened in 1978 as the park's first new large attraction, was Efteling's first to be designed entirely by Van de Ven (although he used some ideas from joint brainstorming sessions with Pieck). Later, he designed several more rides and new fairy tales, leading him to be considered by some as the world's best 'imagineer' after Disney. Van de Ven continued his work until 2002, when he retired. A new team of imagineers is currently working on new Efteling attractions. Efteling currently covers approximately 160 acres (650,000 m²). This area has changed only marginally over the course of its history. However, the park's foundation owns a much larger area of land, covered mostly with young forest, some grassland, roads, and an 18-hole golf course. The park is divided into four themed areas or 'realms'. Originally, the park was divided into four areas called North, West, East, and South, with most of the park's historical rides and attractions, like the Fairy Tale Forest, located in West. When the park reorganized its infrastructure in the late 1990s (adding the Pardoes Promenade and a central hub called Efteling Brink), it also changed the areas' names. North was changed to Reizenrijk (Travel Realm), West became Marerijk (Fairy Realm), East became Ruigrijk (Rough Realm), and South became Anderrijk (Other Realm). Although the park was not built with these divisions in mind and the names may seem cryptic, they do make sense. Perhaps the area most suited to its name is Ruigrijk, where most fast rides like the double-loop roller coaster Python (constructed in 1981) are located. Marerijk is the home to the Fairy Tale Forest and the Fairies of the Droomvlucht, Anderrijk has some rides that are inspired by non-Western cultures (e.g. Fata Morgana and Piraña), while Reizenrijk has the Carnaval Festival ride, which travels through several different 'countries'. Efteling was built in a rather rural area, with lots of pine trees, giving it a 'nature park' feeling. Together with its large ponds and gardens, its abundant green space is rather unusual among the world's leading theme parks. |
| Face value | 1,95 Euro |
| Catalog code | PB80 |
| Stamp colour | multicolour |
| Stamp use | Booklet stamp |
| Print run | 900.000 |
| Issue date | 14/05/2002 |
| Designer | Robbert-Jaap Jansen |
| Print technique | Offset |
| Catalog prices | No catalog prices set yet |
