Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
So when you post Archipel, will that be the last of Anderrjik?
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Efteling ~ World of Wonders
- Thread starter TheSorcerersApprentice
- Start date
For now, we will explore Sirocco and Archipel. Later on I'd like to offer some other suggestions for future expansions including the 'Strookrijk' expansion
There are still a few details that I'd like to share about the attraction.
An Eastern Storm and An Oasis of Exploration...
Firstly Sirocco is marked by an entrance to the attraction’s right, between two masts simulating shipwrecks and crowned with the ride’s signature logo. The queue, surrounded by bamboo deposits and sheltered with tent cloth, then runs around the back of the mill, with an entry more to the left. Nearby is also the exit which opens onto the Bazaar. Between the entrance and exit is the control booth, designed as a Seaside Trading Booth, partly recessed in the large thatched roof. Soon, we will participate in the trade delegation of Sindbad the Sailor and will be supported by a trader. During the trading of our merchandise, the trader's life hangs by a thread. he has to hold on to the elements that surround him. A water feature with boulders has been constructed around the attraction, between which other floating ship wreck pieces will be found, through which the queue of the attraction also leads like a kind of bridge. The planting is exotic, including large yuccas. Up to 60 visitors can sit in the trading ships per ride.
‘’Once this was the dungeon where the infamous Corsair Raackelbeyn was imprisoned. Yet he managed to escape! No one understood how that was possible.. Do you?’’
After exploring all these areas of Archipel we are able to return to the Middle Eastern Bazaar. However, this marks the complete tour of our first realm, Other Realm. Next we will pass by Mythos and Pirana and move into Ruigrijk (Tough Realm) and explore the adventurous worlds that lie ahead there…
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A Treasure Lies Beneath...
Although originally Ruigrijk was named 'Oosterpark', where Guests could find the Efteling’s parking lots and separate swimming pools. However with the later arrival of some of the park’s main thrill rides, this corner of the park grew a new reputation towards older Guests. However, even though there is a lot to do for the thrillseekers, the area is now also trying to attract younger Guests by sharing stories of heroism, bravery and sometimes more ominous themes. Tough Realm is where Guests are challenged to brave the stormiest seas to find the legendary ghost ship ‘The Flying Dutchman’, fight against the elements conjured by the dragon or train yourself as skilled heroes at Nest. Though traditionally we would enter the Realm through the gate situated near the central square ‘Hartenhof’, however as we are travelling from Anderrijk, we will now go past Pirana to an area between The Flying Dutchman, Gondoletta and the former Canoe Pond, where at that time there was only a large green strip. The sunbathing area of the swimming pool and the ‘Zwembadlaan’ used to be on this spot. The existing path was moved to the bank of the Gondoletta for the purpose of making way for ‘Baron 1898’.
From the queue, a staff member divides crews into two groups, who enter the left or right side of the same entrance portal via gate separated routes over the platform. Also within the room are two fences so that the two groups do not mix; the path between them is for the free passage of personnel. The same music is played as in the queue, ‘Kompels Gezocht’. In the space you can see various sight related to the building and the mining activities that take place there. On the side of team A, a ‘first stone’ has been built in the left wall:‘’This first stone was mined by the miners, Thomas, Joris, Yentl, Maurits, Jade under the supervision of my Baron Hubertus.’’
Also on this wall is a bust of the owner of the mine, Gustave Hooghmoed, and a yellow square non-smoking sign. There is a sign on the back wall to the right of this. It is recommended to pass. On the side of team B hangs an authentic wooden time clock on the back wall, on the side wall to the right of this a plate with tokens for the morning shift, afternoon shift and evening shift. Miners had to take their token with them and return it at the end of their shift, so that it was always clear who was downstairs. On the other side of a window hangs a yellow authentic mining phone. To the left of the entrance door is a small staff control panel with the ability to broadcast in the attraction. The comrades in the two groups line up in front of French doors next to each other in the back wall of the room with the text ‘To the Dressing Room, ‘Team A/Team B’’ above it. First we hear an announcement by Gustave Hooghmoed welcoming us to the mine and hurries us further into the Dressing Room. A drum roll is heard and the doors swing open so that we can walk through to the Dressing Room...
Glück auf, Miners!
The left and right sides of the room are still divided for team A and team B. This octagonal room has a tile floor and a hanging system for the mining clothes. The clothes can be seen on the ceiling. In the center of the room is a recess behind fences, where an old gramophone player plays the theme of the attraction. There is a sofa with clothes hooks with clothes and helmets hanging from it, empty bottles of milk and a lunchbox with sandwiches and an apple on it. On the bench is also the morning paper ‘De Morgenstond’, on which references can be found to Baron 1898 and other Efteling attractions. On the wall, above the door you enter, are two screens and above the doors to the next room the projectors hang in huge cabinets. A slide show is given here, and we hear Gustave Hooghmoed, explain that we have been hired as companions,
‘’Miners! Miners! It is my honor as baron Gustave Hooghmoed to welcome you in my beautiful mine, Baron 1898. I welcome you all of you mine workers from abroad in my beautiful mine. Today you will have the privilege to descend down the mine shaft that gives you access to wealth. I will train you to be the best miners. You are requested to receive your lantern and helmet. You will be responsible for my… a large profit. With my cathedral of steel, the shaft tower, you will descend into the underground treasuries and there in the deepest depths of the mine, gold will be there for the taking! Ha ha ha, this is my old mine. This is my gold mine…’’
The right screen shows the baron and mine in old photos. The left screen is a translation into English, and here and there the Baron himself translates parts of his speech into English. The White Women appear and destroy the equipment. They warn us not to go any further in beautiful song.
‘’Miners, go no further but return home. Us, white women guard the gold. You have been warned…’’
The lights turn off and the hanging clothes start moving as mysterious blue lights and green branches spread around the room. The gramophone sounds again and we hear Hooghmoed saying,
‘’Miners, surely you are not frightened off by some creation of superstition and magic tricks that call themselves White Women?! Do not be discouraged by the White Women! Hurry up, now! Continue on to the salary room and prepare yourself for the descent. Riches await!’’
When the doors open, a small administrative office behind glass can be seen on the right. Especially the miners who chose the most right door can see this well. There is a desk with a telephone and typewriter and a cupboard with all kinds of useful objects. Also on the wall is an enamel shield with the image of a magpie that warns against theft. In front of us is a staircase, which takes us to the Wage Room, a wood-panelled room in which they find three numbered closed counters in front of them with the indication ‘pay administration’ above it, behind which the sound of typewriters can be heard, and one floor higher a balcony where Gustave Hooghmoed addresses us and points out the line up in rows of three in front of the door of our number. There are three closed counters here, where typewriters can be heard from behind. An employee takes the tickets and points us to the door where we have to stand. There are plaques with numbers sealed into the floor as well.
‘’What is the daily yield of the previous descent? Tell me: how many kilos of gold is this? Has the first team already left? Make haste here! For my foreign mineworkers: please, take a closer look at the instructions above the doors. Line up in three rows of six in preparation for the descent. You will soon be expected in the collection building, where your transport is ready. Miners, time is money! You stay together. Wait for the signal and descend into the mine shaft. Mine the gold for me and riches will be yours. Glück auf!’’
In the meantime, an attraction employee has arranged the members of team B on the basis of their tickets in three rows in front of the door. A green lamp flashes, rousing the music and the doors open. They now enter the collection building. Then the Baron continues to speak to team A:
‘’Miners, the first team has gone before you. Now is the time for yourself to prepare for the descent. Move on! Arrange in three rows of six because your transport is already being prepared in the collection building. Ah in your gaze, I see the determination I so desperately missed on the previous team. You are my dearest miners: brave, steadfast and loyal. Wait for the signal and then descend into the darkness of the underground tunnel system. Once there, mine the gold for me, and receive wages accordingly. You should know that gold sweetens labour. Haha! Glück auf!’’
This team is also drawn up and leaves for the Collection Building. When there is a delay in the handling of the flow of visitors at the station of the attraction, the Baron has an extra monologue, turning around to a fictitious person behind the curtain who brings him the unwanted message.
‘’Yes, hello? There is delay?! Why are the signals red?! Are there any problems in the mine shaft?! What?! Is a group of miners retreating?! Dirty Cowards!’’
The Collection Building in Baron 1898 is the place where the compels are loaded into the mine train, so the station of the roller coaster ride. The track of the roller coaster runs through the large high space. Large wheels that guide a cable hang from the ceiling. Mining supplies are lined up everywhere. In the Wage Room, each team of 18 crews was already divided into three row, which here descend a staircase straight into their row into a waiting train. They can take a seat in the train while a gate in front of them still closes the entrance to the track, which is located under the text ‘To the shaft, Underground Passenger Transport’. Loose objects can be stored in three carousel boxes on the other side of the platform. The control room is also located on the entrance side. When everyone is seated, the attraction operator pulls a large lever, after which the gates open, the platforms sinks under the train, a fog cloud is created and the train starts moving. He drives a little forward into the machine room…
Attachments
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Bravery comes before the fall...
The Machine Room in Baron 1898 is the area where you enter after boarding the train and before going up the lift hill. Here we find a dark area with a large steam engine on the right that guides the same cable that could already be seen in the station. Water is leaking from the ceiling. A red lamp flashes. The white women emerge from a cauldron and sabotage the installations. They sing:
‘’You were warned… Disobedience. We, White Women watch over the gold.. and sabotage your descent. Bravery comes before the fall!’’
The train suddenly accelerates and shoots up the elevator, towards the top of a thirty-meter high headstock. The lift hill has an angle of 45 degrees. At the top we hang for a few seconds with a view over the park. The front row then slopes so far that the gaze is down, revealing a gaping hole filled with fog. Every now and then, the song of the White Women is heard coming from the tunnel. After standing still for two seconds, the train drops 37.5 meters with a steepest angle of 87 degrees and a speed of almost 90 kilometers per hour. During the fall, the first action photo is taken. The train shoots through the tunnel; the gold mine. The inside is also themed as a gold mine. Alternatively to its current track, the ride now enters the underground ride complex, which would be a unique extension to what I believe is to short of a ride for how impressive its storytelling and theme is. The train reaches the bottom of the first drop it rushes down through the tunnels past rushing and rattling mine carts. The oil lamps swing as we fly by into the underground tunnel system. The train makes an overbanked turn followed by a backward loop until it reaches a brake and is put on a turntable.
‘’Miners, you have ignored our warnings and braved our terrors. We, White Women can’t let you have the gold… Disappear now, or bad fortune will fall upon you!’’
The train enters a launch tunnel which is nearly collapsing by an apparent underground earthquake and is launched out on the other side, to turn with a sharp bend and goes into the Immelmann loop. The track then briefly goes down to ground level, where a second action shot is taken, then goes through a zero-G roll, an inside-out corkscrew with a moment of weightlessness, followed by a sharp spiral up. There is a small camelback and a curve where the train enters the braking section, where it is slowed down slowly and drives back into the Collection Building. After returning to the Collection Building, you can get out on the left and take your luggage with you. We can hear the Baron thanking us for our bravery and for finding the gold. A staircase leads up to a walkway along which one leaves the hall via the rear and right side of the room, behind the large gears. Many interesting miners’ memorabilia can be seen here, such as another set of lockers and bulletin boards with references to other Efteling-related items, including a postcard of Kaatsheuvel.
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Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
Speaking of which, what happened to Tiroler Gijs?
Watch this legend come to life...
The saga of the Flying Dutchman has been told all over the world for centuries long. A Dutch captain would be cursed to live forever in the waters around Cape of Good Hope to keep sailing. This Cape is located at the southernmost tip of Africa. In literature, film, music, magazines, associations and restaurants are named after the Ghost ship with its perpetually wandering captain. It even seems that The Flying Dutchman is still occasionally seen at the Cape of Good hope today. Over the years there have been many different versions of the story. The saga is always told in a slightly different way, just as here in the Efteling. Although there they claim to know the true history! The legend according to the Efteling is set in the Dutch Golden Age (17th Century),
‘’Willem van der Decken is a successful captain of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). On Java and the Moluccan Islands he manages to buy full loads of spices every time. They deliver good money in the Netherlands. His ship, ‘Den Hollander’ is the fastest of the VOC. The loads of mace, nutmeg and cinnamon are brought from the East to the Netherlands in record time. The elders of the VOC are therefore very satisfied and the captain is quickly promoted. Van der Decken lives with his wife Catharina in the most beautiful house on the city wall, overlooking the harbor. He enjoys his prosperity. Life is good in the Golden Century for him. But appearances are deceiving when there is blood on his success. The people and the VOC know nothing of the captain’s dark double life. The large success makes him greedy. Van der Decken turns into a privateer captain. He plunders coastal villages and sinks ships along the way. He doesn’t even shy away from killing to get to the loot. He keeps the gold and treasures to himself. He stores it in the secret treasury under his house that he reaches through smugglers. Although he is very successful, the captain lives more and more in solitude. He only recruits crew members in orphanages. There you will find unexperienced boys who are lured by the adventure. No one else wants to work for the strict and capricious Van der Decken. In the local café ‘Het Oorlam’, the captain only drinks to his own successes. He outsmarts everything and everyone and reaches the top, but his greed will seal his fate and cause his downfall. It is 1678, when Captain Willem van der Decken sails with his crew to the East against all the rules on Easter Monday. Not even a raging storm can beat him nor hold him back. His crew is near despair with fear. The captain writes in his log, ‘I will sail, storm or no storm, Easter or no Easter. I will sail, albeit forever!’. Willem van der Decken defies all rules, decency and the elements… and draws his own fate. Before the eyes of the spectators on the quay, the sails of Den Hollander bulge themselves.. against the wind! The ship’s hull turns into a blackened carcass and the sails become flames. The Ghost Ship is doomed forever to sail the seven seas. Van der Decken’s house also burns out from the inside. A painting of the ship falls off the wall with a sharp bang. In the secret smuggling passage under the house burns an infernal fire, exposing the captain’s dark double life. The ship disappears and is never heard of again. Or is it..? Years later, messages still reach the homeland about a mysterious Ghost Ship that seems to fly above the waves. With a blackened carcass and burning sails it would race across the sea at incredible speeds… against the wind current. A shadowy figure stands motionless on the railing. Sailors do everything they can to avoid collision. For any contact with the Ghost Ship brings misfortune, death and destruction!’’
We find ourselves on a 17th Century Dutch square in what is apparently a harbor town: the inhabitants have even been inspired by their ships for the architecture of their house. A stately house stands out: that of Captain Willem van der Decken. To its left, a stone staircase leads up to a gallery behind the battlements of what appears to be a quay. We can walk past the front doors here and even ring the doorbell. On the wall of the circulation are large stone lion statues with a coat of arms with the attraction logo that resembles the VOC logo: VHE (Vliegende Hollander Efteling). Following the roundabout to the right around the corner, you pass even more windows and doors. Some buildings have a sign: ‘Het Gulden Galleon’ (The Golden Galley), ‘De Zandlooper’ (The Hourglass) etc. At the very back we come to a high tower with a sloping, trunk-like wooden construction against it. Under this construction we have a view of a dune landscape. Returning we can descend a stone staircase and arrive at another square of the attraction with views of ‘Joris en de Draak’ and a new statue of Willem van der Decken atop of a globe. In a corner are barrels and chests of the VOC. We return via two steps to the forecourt, and the house of Willem van der Decken.
‘’Willem van der Decken, toe zeg mij waar gij zijt gebleven. Vertrokken in een zware storm, het is precies een jaar geleden. Ze zeggen dat gij, voor altijd en eeuwig zult varen. Dat gij, vervloekt en als kwelgeest rond zult dwalen. (Willem van der Decken, tell me where you are. Left in a heavy storm, its been exactly one year. They say that thou shalt sail forever and ever. That you, cursed and like a tormentor, will wander about.’’
On the walls hangs a white placard with red wax seals on which the story is succinctly summarized. Coincidentally or not, the text corresponds in meter to the main theme music of the attraction.
‘’Captain van der Decken sailed on Easter, he left his bride in a lashing gale. His ship chose the tumultuous seas, burning, doomed to be a phantom, to sail forever. Leave the harbor at a night without a moon, a great calamity awakens and is waiting for you. The Dutchman, toy of devilish list, appears in the dark and never finds peace.’’
Through a door, we enter a second, smaller charred room. The many books suggest that this is a library. In front of us a large round mirror in which we see ourselves reflected. Although…what is that? The mirror image changes into Willem van der Decken’s face! Behind us, to the right of the door through which we entered, is a large painting of a VOC ship. It is an image of the ‘s-Lands Oorlogsschip Delft’ from 1783. From time to time the Painting falls down and rips apart. The canvas is torn and we can step through it. On the other side of the canvas there appears to be a low corridor, an excavated tunnel for smuggling. If we walk a little further we have a view on the left to a storage place. All kinds of gold objects are piled up here, including a bust of the captain himself.
‘’Niets of niemand, geen sterveling zal mij ervan weerhouden morgen uit te varen. Ik zal varen, storm of geen storm, Pasen of geen Pasen, verbod of geen verbod, al is het tot den eeuwigheid. Ik zal varen!
(Nothing or no one, no mortal will stop me from sailing tomorrow. I will sail, storm or no storm, Easter or no Easter, prohibition or no prohibition, even if its for eternity. I will sail!)’’
After a few seconds, however, it seems safe again and we continue walking. At the end of the corridor, we see a double closed door on the left. Do these open onto the square in front of the house? On the right we make a turn with a few steps. We enter a storage area through an iron gate. The small storage area doesn’t give much about where we’ve landed. We see some generic storage material such as boxes and barrels. That changes when we enter the next room through a door. It’s a small, dingy café! We hear the sailors shouting to the theme music, and earthenware mugs with the VOC logo are everywhere. Through the windows we can get a glimpse of what appears to be the harbor of the town. Looks like we’re on the first floor. It also seems to have become evening in the meantime. Walking past the counter, we can listen to the storytelling and greetings by a new innkeeper audio animatronic revealing parts of the Flying Dutchman story and the rumors of Willem van der Decken. This character would provide for a more lively experience during the already impressive indoor queue. We then enter the next building.
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Tiroler Gijs will return with Max and Moritz in a new location elsewhere in the park
Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
@TheSorcerersApprentice What happened to the ride through of Baron and its post-attraction features?
Edit: Since it had reappeared my fears of the initial post’s deletion has been resolved, but now I’m left to wonder why it had disappeared into thin air.
Edit: Since it had reappeared my fears of the initial post’s deletion has been resolved, but now I’m left to wonder why it had disappeared into thin air.
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I edited small parts of it for misspelling but it was under moderation from the site again therefore invisible to others.
You too will sail for all eternity...
Passing through the harbor under the gate we reach another section of the picturesque old Dutch harbortown. Citizens dressed in 17th Century clothing can be seen hard at work to prepare for ships to sail off. Merchants shout out at us to sell their goods, sailors are being recruited by tales of adventure at sea and others look concerned at the boats passing by as if they fear their departure. In one of the windows of the scene’s facades we see a mysterious apparition of Catharina, Van der Decken’s wife. Her mysterious singing can be heard before she quickly disappears like fog. As we move on we start to see two large VOC ships moored on either side. On the right-hand ship, the crew is hoisting a leaking bucket. Sailing slightly around this ship, we reach a wooden lock that opens for us. We reach a typically Dutch ‘polder’ landscape with a windmill on the left and grass fields with cows on the right. The gears of the mill open the nearby gate to pump out the water. We’re going out. We sail past a miniature diorama of the harbor town in the distance, slowly leaving it behind. Once on the open sea it is pitch dark. In the distance we hear another ship’s bell ringing and the a ship’s shadow silhouette can be seen sailing by.
‘’In ervis fox videor, ego expectata fox. In vestri abisus, pro infinition’’
‘’Ook gij zult varen tot het einde der tijden! Hahaha!
(You too will sail until the end of time! Hahaha!)’’
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Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
Just thought to bring this to everyone who's been following this project as this was added this past Thursday.
Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
De Vliegende Hollander is honestly one of my favorite rides in the park due to its uniqueness, however I find the outside portion to be jarring due to it just being a wooded clearing in where the ride would otherwise have come from the sea, and I'm glad you fixed that part more cohesive, on top off of adding to the overall experience. But I also have to wonder if any of those buildings in the square would have some other purpose besides aesthetic reasons.
A Swinging Flight...
Out on the square of the harbor town we are now left in the newly themed area dedicated to the Flying Dutchman attraction winding around it. In one of the new buildings lining up the waters that are found to the side of The Flying Dutchman, Guests will be able to shop at ‘Roversnest’ (Robber’s Nest). This shop will be themed to a secret hideaway for sea robbers and their collections of treasures attained from plundering and pillaging. Inside, we will learn about the legend of the Robber Lucifer who used smoke and fire to surprise his opponents. His name refers to the fallen angel Lucifer. It looks like Lucifer has broken into this seaside house and wrecked it into its current unmaintained yet filled with goods and desired items related to ‘The Flying Dutchman and other Dutch pirate memorabilia.
‘’Lucifer was one of Van der Decken’s most mischievous crew members and was said to be the son of the devil himself. As a baby, the boy was found in a basket drifting in the city canals, nobody knowing its origin. The boy grew up in the harbortown, but was quickly claimed to be uncontrollable. Lucifer was always busy with trying to scam people, steal or prank them. One of his greatest steals would be his small ship ‘Den Zwarten Haas’ (The Black Hare), named after its fast paced manoeuvring and speed. How he attained the ship? It is said that Lucifer was one of the boys that Van der Decken was able to talk into the adventures of seafaring for his cursed voyage on Easter. ‘Den Zwarten Haas’ was apparently used as one of the smaller boats attached to the side of The Flying Dutchman and once the storm struck and unfortune fell upon the ship, Lucifer was the only one to safely escape the curse. People had been asking themselves if the devil had protected him that night. He then quickly grew into the befamed sea robber Lucifer himself, using smoke and fire to surprise his victims at sea to steal their booty and treasures, as inspired by what would become the legends of the fiery ghost ship.’’
‘Het Seylende Fregat’ (The Sailing Frigate), is set in another building consisting of wooden facades, a hipped roof with golden ornaments and an illustration nameplate above the sales desk. This counter can be opened and closed with a hatch. The exterior has the well-known palette of Pieck colours. Three large oval panels with paintings of drinks and sweets hang from the awning. The interior is characterized by harbor marketplace type decorations such as barrels and nets. Graceful red arc panels with beige edges can be found on which the price lists can be found. The product range consists of pre-packaged ice creams, candy, chips, hot and cold drinks, sausage rolls and waffles, popcorn and cotton candy.
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Try your luck...
The Game Gallery or ‘Zuiderzee Rij’ (Zuiderzee Row) consists of two galleries, seen from Ruigrijkplein on the left, where you will find seven games. On the right the larger gallery, which houses three games and a candy store: ‘De Verleiding’ (The Temptation). They are largely based on attractions that you often encounter at the fair. There are four ball throwing games and a ball rolling game. Three other games are games of chance , in which a string has to be pulled or a bag or fish has to be fished, with which an unknown prize is won. In addition, there is a boat racing game, where you have to roll a ball and be more agile than your opponents. Finally, there is a shooting booth. The Game Gallery will be re-themed to look like many of the older Dutch harbor buildings, in the style of what we can see in Anton Pieck’s drawings.
Suchomimus
Well-Known Member
The dragon has a name, and is female? I thought it was a male based on this snippet of what I think was a promo video that was featured in De Magische Klok:
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The dragon had received a name during the design process. Edna was used as the work title for the dragon animatronic figure, inspired by the Sicilian volcano Mount Etna (because they both shoot fire). Though Edna is often used in female cases, and the dragon does have eggs near them, it would be somewhat safe to assume its female, but accorsing to the official fairy tale by the efteling the dragon is male. This would not be totally off as male reptiles are known to hatch eggs too. Overall though, Edna remains more of a fan reference to the figure instead of its official name.
Battle Against the Dragon...
‘Joris en de Draak’ (St. George and the Dragon) is a wooden racer roller coaster in Ruigrijk. The double track is located on the former canoe pond opposite of The Flying Dutchman, where the wooden roller coaster Pegasus used to be. The track stretches from where we currently find Python to the Pirana, and under the roller coaster a walking path runs between the two attractions, past a huge dragon animatronic. The themed area around Joris en de Draak can be entered via two sides via the wooden bridge behind De Kombuys next to where the Python is and via the roads that run behind the Pirana. Due to the presence of much decoration, the bridge is considered the entrance to the area. In the length of the track, parallel to the lift hill, runs a large wide path with several stone benches. On the second half of the trail, between the point where both lanes cross towards the ‘Roeivijver’ (Rowing Pond), the 9 meter high Dragon Edna sits next to the trail in a small swampy pond. The Dragon, which makes growls and nests in the midst of a cloud of fog, is surrounded by dragon eggs, dark vegetation and some scorched trees.
‘’Once upon a time there was a small kingdom that was completely captivated by the clutches of a dragon. Not just any dragon, no! It was a horrifying monster, gigantic and strong. The enormous beasts lived in a stinky swamp and spat fire. The creature wouldn’t hurt anyone as long as it kept being fed. The dragon demanded from the king that everyday two fresh sheep would be send to him, serving as his daily meal. Of course, the king made sure that this was executed carefully. This went well for years and the king thought: as long as the dragon eats sheep instead of men, we have nothing to complain about. Unfortunately, one day one of the king’s counsellors came in with terrible news. ‘Majesty, majesty! It is terrible! The kingdom is out of sheep!’. ‘Bu..but.. the kingdom is out of sheep?!’, the king confusedly repeated. ‘It is as I am telling you, your Highness! The entire kingdom is out of sheep. You know what that means… The dragon will be furious if he finds out that we can not offer him his daily portion of sheep!’. ‘Grace, what are we to do now?’, said the king. ‘Anyways, I will have to let him know at least’.
And the brave king went to the swamp. With a fearful and shivering counsellor behind him, he ventured over a wooden bridge. A hideous growl welcomed them. ‘Wraaaah!’, the dragon roared, who appeared in front of them from the mist. ‘There we have the king himself! Wrahaha!’. He slammed his mighty tale as loud as he could into the water that it splashed upward. ‘Wrahaha! I am the ruler of water!’. The king climbed up again and pulled his beard straight. ‘Hmm, eh… indeed, very impressive, honorable dragon’, he said. ‘That’s what I thought too!’ roared the dragon proudly. ‘And I’m also the ruler of fire!’. The flames burst out his beak and reached meters away. And the wooden bridge was immediately set aflame. ‘Help!’, the counsellor shouted as he quickly jumped into the swamp water.
The fire was nearing on them quickly, but the king was able to save himself too. The dragon extinguished the fire by a wave of water. ‘Wrahaha!’, he laughed. ‘That was fun! But.. what actually brings you here, dear king?’. ‘Well, you see…’, the king calmly started ‘as you know, I usually deliver you two sheep a day’. ‘But…’, the king hesitated and took a gulp of air. ‘But the kingdom is out of sheep’. ‘O’, said the dragon, ‘then I’ll have to eat you and your little companion! Wrahaha!’. The counsellor hid behind the king, who said: ‘That would be a possibility, but who would have to make sure you get fed then every day?’. ‘Oh, my king… I was only joking’, said the dragon in his sweetest voice. ‘Old humans like you taste too tough anyways… but you know what?’. The dragon quickly looked with an evil grin at the men again. ‘From now on, you can bring me a young girl for breakfast for every morning! Wrahaha! Delicious!’.
The king and his counsellor were shocked. ‘A… a… young girl?!’ they mumbled quietly. ‘I could bring you fresh fish or.. or .. delicious hams.’ The king named a few other delicious snacks for the dragon. ‘No, little king.. a fresh young girl is what it will have to be… one every single morning! Or otherwise…!’, the dragon roared angrily. He turned around and swept his tale against the men, out of the swamp. When the king and the counsellor returned to the castle, the king called upon his people to gather as soon as possible, for he had something important to share.
The king insinuatingly spoke to them: ‘My dear people! Now the dragon has eaten all our sheep, he wants nothing other but one of our girls each day for breakfast.’ Quick chattering caused a tense atmosphere. ‘I understand how you feel and I sympathize with you’, said the king with a softer tone, ‘but we all know what the dragon can do to the kingdom if we do not comply to his wishes. He will leave his swamp and eat anyone that comes in its way. He will light our houses on fire and cause floods…’.
The king stayed silent for a while and then looked at the faces of his people. ‘In the mean time I will grant one thousand and one ducats to the one who is capable of defeating the fear bringing dragon’. The counsellor took a chalice in which hundreds of little papers carried the names from all the girls living within the ranges of the kingdom. The king shuffled in the chalice and said, ‘From now on I will have to pick one of these papers from the chalice. The girl whose name I read out to you, will have to be fed to the dragon the next morning.’ The king barely was able to hold in his tears when he tossed his hand into the chalice. But then suddenly… ‘Stop!’ There was the king’s very own daughter. ‘You have forgotten me, father’ said the princess quietly and tossed her name into the chalice together with the others. ‘B-b-but sweetheart…’ the king stammered, although he immediately understood that it was no use to speak against the will of his daughter.
In the whole land, posters were hung out which read: ‘Dragon hunters, undaunted. Listen to what the king asks, the brave one who defeats the dragon will receive one thousand and one ducats. To every fearless knight who reads this: Fight the battle with the dragon!’. A terrible time passed in the kingdom. Each morning a girl fell to the clutches of the dragon. Along with that, many brave heroes and knights who attempted to defeat the dragon, only managed to throw his sword at his large and hard scales. The king was at a loss.
And on one afternoon the one thing he had feared for weeks already happened: he pulled the name of his own daughter from the chalice. With tears rolling over his cheeks he turned to the kingdom’s people and said, ‘Is there no one who is able to defeat the dragon? With this I will not only grant you one thousand and one ducats, but you will also be granted the privilege to marry my daughter!’. Suddenly, the gate swung open. A rider came into the courtyard.
It was a handsome young man, but he did not look very big and strong. He stepped off his horse and turned to the king: ‘Your Majesty, give me a sword and shield and I will defeat the dragon!’. Everyone looked surprised and the king asked: ‘And who are you then?’. ‘I am George (Joris),’ said the boy. ‘I come from a land far away from here. I have come here to defeat the ruler of water and fire’. ‘But how are you thinking about doing that?’, asked the king. ‘The dragon is extremely powerful and has defeated many brave knights already!’. ‘You just have to know the right place to hit a dragon,’ George replied. ‘I wish you good luck with that,’ the king said, but his face did not express much confidence in George. George received a lance that was twice his own size.
He mounted his horse and reached the misty swamp by evening. The dragon had to laugh loudly when he saw the slender knight. ‘Wrahaha! It can’t get any crazier than this!’. He whipped his tale into the water and turned the swamp into a swirling whirlpool. After that he turned his head up and spat fire metres up into the sky. Woosh! ‘Impressive, huh?’, said the dragon. ‘And with who do I owe this pleasure?’. George jumped off his horse and said: ‘I am George, and I am the one and only ruler of water and fire.’ ‘Huh?’, the dragon shook his head. Did he hear that right? Then he barged out into laughter: ‘Wrahaha!’ You?! The ruler of water and fire? Haven’t you seen what I just did? Look!’. His fiery breathe set two pine trees near the waterside aflame. Then he used his wings to shovel out water from the swamp to extinguish the fire again. ‘Very nice’, said George, ‘but that is child’s play in comparison to what I can do.’ The dragon looked even more confused than before and George continued: ‘I said the water of the entire ocean aflame!’. ‘The water of the entire ocean?!’, the dragon roared. ‘That’s impossible!’. ‘Oh, but it is very possible, dear dragon’, said George. ‘The entire ocean is currently burning away, look for yourself. You can see it burn from here.’
He pointed at the red night sky above the trees. The sun was going down beautifully and it looked like an enormous fire was burning in the distance. The dragon was definitely put on his spot. ‘This can’t be true,’ he mumbled and he reached out to see better. ‘I do see a red-ish glow…’ he said somewhat frightened. ‘Reach out a little more,’ said George ‘You might see the flames!’. At the moment the dragon had stretched out fully, George jumped at him and pierced his sword between his scales, into the heart of the dragon. A shock went through the dragon’s body. For a moment he stood eerily still, to which he then next fell to the ground with a loud roar. The dragon was dead. Dragon killer George was warmly welcomed back with loud trumpet song and joyful cheering. Solemnly the king and the princess stepped forward. ‘Dear George,’ said the king, ‘we are forever in your debt and you have earned the one thousand and one ducats… and the hand to my daughter.’
George bowed to the king and said: ‘Majesty, a monster that puts itself above all these loving people, deserved to die. But I’m sorry, that is no reason for me to marry your daughter. My heart belongs to the one I love.’ The king was surprised. ‘Majesty, divide the ducats among the people in your beautiful kingdom’. Then an overwhelming loud sound of cheering filled the streets. Even before the king was able to say anything, the people took George on their shoulders and carried him through the streets as they danced and celebrated. They sang and danced and everyone partied along. Later that night George left the celebrations on his horse without anyone noticing. No one had ever heard or seen him after that, but everyone in the small kingdom lived happily ever after.’'
After several meters you arrive in the swamp, where the pebble path turns into a bridge that runs around an area with a stream and many low, often black-leaved plants. Trees scorched by fire, still lightly letting off steam are scattered around the area. We also pass by a gigantic footstep, presumably of the mighty dragon. At the end of the bridge, near the lift hill, there are two vending machines in a themed cabinet full of drinks in glasses and jars called ‘Het Kabinet der Strijdlustigen’ (The cabinet of the ones ready for battle). On both sides of the machines are distorting mirrors, one thinning with the text, ‘Voor de behandeling’ (Before the treatment) and one other fattening with the text ‘Na de behandeling’ (after the treatment). From here we again enter the path of pebbles between two high fences. After a small zigzag we enter the new station building. In a hall under the platform where the trains arrive, made out of stone and wood with a black tiled floor, you can split up by choosing the left row (Water) or the right row (Fire), which are indicated by colored banners. On the stairs, if you listen carefully you can hear voices of the people from the fairy tale who talk about whether they should slay the dragon with water or fire. There is also a single riders queue to enter to the right of the main entrance to the right of the main entrance, which leads to the other side of the station building and where an employee will point you to a seat.
‘’Drakenjagers, onversaagd. Luister naar wat de koning vraagt: De dappere die de draak verslaat ontvangt duizend en een dukaat. Aan iedere ridder, onbevreesd, trekt ten strijde tegen het beest!’’
(Dragon hunters, undaunted. Listen to what the king has to say: The brave one who slays the dragon receives one thousand and one ducats. To every fearless knight, fight against the beast!)
Although this statement is the same for every departing train, the articulation is always different. In the last part of the track, just before entering the depot, a small banner shows which train was the fastest. When the trains enter the station, the banners of the winning train drop down above the track and cheers can be heard. At the losing train there is a yelp and the light is dimmed. The water and fire trains ascend the lift hill on either side of the station. Once at the top you have a nice view above the treetops of, among other things, Fata Morgana, after which the trains with a slight decline each make a full turn (fire to the right, water to the left) so that they are pointed towards the station as soon as they reach the first drop. This drop dives under two later sections of the track before racing over the station and entering a very sharp turn to the right, where a view of what is now Python can be caught. The two tracks here alternately dive under each other, before cutting through the lifthill via a narrow passage.
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