Okay so generally I'd like to explain a bit of what the park is like. It is seperated into 5 themed areas which are kind of broad but still do the job:
Reizenrijk (literally: Travel Realm) is where Guests can find rides based on travel, its about the journey and not the location. Thats why we can find Carnaval Festival(the parks IASW) and Vogelrok(indoor dark coaster centered around Roc from Sinbad) here. One thing that kind of distorts the theme is Monsieur Cannibale(which has had its amount of controversy around it as well).
Marerijk( literally: Dream Realm) is based on stories of magic, fairy tales and often on moral as well. It's where the park's original Fairy Tale Forest can be found(which is incredible btw, and really its unique market point). Droomvlucht represents the general idea of dreaming and fantasy creatures like fairies, trolls, unicorns and fauns(it is sort of the inverted pirates of the caribbean of fantasy themes). Villa Volta is a madhouse attraction based on local legends of the Bokkenrijders(literally translated to Goat riders), which were a group of robbers said to have magical powers but are then cursed after stealing from a holy house. Besides it being very much aimed to the Dutch audience, its a very cool ride. Other things in the area are het Lavenlaar(which is like a small walkthrough village of a people called Laven. Here Guests can play and walk around or try the giant snail monorail system going through the area), Raveleijn( a big arena based stunt show with a story based on the books of Paul van Loon(a Dutch writer) in which 5 children find a gate in the woods which transports them to another world where they become knights with elemental powers) and the Anton Pieckplein(which is a square based around the style of the original designer of the park)
Ruigrijk(translates to Adventure Realm or Tough Realm) is where Guests can find the biggest thrill rides of the park. The stories represented here are about sages and heroes like The Flying Dutchman, Moby Dick and St. George and the Dragon. The few things I dislike here are the arcades, which really dont add anything to the area except for eye sore and a bit of interactivity. With a new facade or something, that would be fixed. Then there is D'oude Tuffers, the parks version of Autopia, which is a fun ride but doesnt have a story nor does it relate to the area its in. Lastly, Python. Although its an iconic coaster to the park,it really is just a basic and bland coaster without theming nor a story. This is something we can work on. Baron 1898 is probably the best themed ride when it comes to design and story. It centers around the Dutch mining culture and the legend of the White Women, female spirit-like creatures that sabotage people who act on their sins.
Anderrijk(literally translated to Other Realm) is where Guests travel to worlds different than their own. In contrast to travel realm,it is about the location instead of the journey. We have Piraña, a water rapids ride based on Mexican folklore of water spirits(with just a bit more theming, this could be a really fun ride), Fata Morgana, a dark boat ride based on the tales of 1001 Arabian Nights(the parks spiritual replacement for pirates of the caribbean) and the upcoming Max and Moritz coaster which transports Guests over to the Alps and its stories. Max and Moritz itself is about two boys causing trouble in their local German village. In the ride Guests will duel each other as one of the brothers and then pass by a few of their traps and tricks.
Lastly we have the Fantasy Realm,which is the center of the park and based on the parks mascot Pardoes( a court jester who is also a sorcerers apprentice). Symbolica is the highlight here, in which Guests tour the Palace of Fantasy on one of three tours,music, heroism and treasure tours. Besides this ride, there are two rides which are kind of in between Fantasy and Other realm. First of all Fabula is a 4d film experience in which the Sandman enchants a selfish bear and takes Guests and a friendly squirrel along into the manipulated dream world of the bear to change his morals. They will then travel to various natural habitats to show how hard life can be for another animal thats not on top of the food chain. Spookslot is a haunted walkthrough attraction based on a magical Duke who collects fairy tales,legends and stories but is then cursed by a witch who became jealous of his magic. After she is betrayed by the gardener and then burned at the stake, she curses the Duke to never find his last fairy tale, his daughter Esmeralda. The main show scene is basically a diorama portraying a almost Fantasia like segment driven by the music, loosely based around the story.
The parks strength lies in its attention to detail, the use of stories that are relevant to the European audience, being easily transported from one theme to another and the trick of making rides look like theyve been there for centuries. The park needs a bit more cohesiveness in its themes and to hide its backstage areas better and it could easily become a bigger and more known entertainment destination. The park already has a hotel, 2 vacation parks and a special care hotel for children with severe health situations or disabilities. Maybe a downtown disney type of area could help?
