DANSE MACABRE At Efteling - An HONEST Review!

[@c.o63]

The arm from the ceiling was reused in the gift shop. The hand now holds merchandise. Their was never a conductor in the old Spookslot.

[@TPIOfficial]

It was indeed, we show this in our vlog 😉👍🏻

[@mevrouwroos]

Spookslot was definitely an impactful part of my childhood. I remember my first experience. I was so nervous, as I had no idea what to expect. I tried to prepare myself for something scary and didn't believe my stepdad when he said it was going to be okay. He was right though. It was beautiful, mesmerizing and spooky, not scary. What WAS scary was the group of teenage guys jumpscaring me in queue 🤭 I got to see the main room of Danse Macabre a month ago while they were syncing the music to the ride (I work at Efteling) and me and my coworkers were speechless. Seeing it for the first time and being able to take it all in was surreal. Then finally, last monday, I went on the ride late in the evening. From the moment we entered Huyverwoud I had goosebumps all over. Ive never been so stunned by a ride before. I think it will have a special place in my heart forever, just like Spookslot ❤

[@TPIOfficial]

Awww wow! How incredible 😍🤩🙏🏻

[@racheljackson4428]

RIP Spookslot.

[@Martin-di9pp]

My parents took me at maybe a too early age and I still, 45 years later, remember having nightmares from it. Went back numerous times since then, it was just an awesome ride.

[@gladtobeangry]

The waiting area before going into the main show was the scariest bit of old Spookslot, with the creepy genie statue and the darkness and the rumbling. The show itself was just as you say, spooky and beautiful, but not scary at all. In the later years, when it got very few visitors, entering that castle had something genuinely eerie, especially on a cold winter's day when the castle got just as chilly inside as outside. For people who haven't visited the old spookslot, I think what made it was the fact that there wasn't any cheap jump scares like you see in your typical ghost trains and haunted houses. The effects were more subtle, like the vlederiken shining through the ceiling in the great hall. It wasn't "Eeek!!!", it was more "wait..did I just... see that?", which made it feel way more like an actual haunted castle. For a kid with a vivid imagination, like I was, it was a really powerful experience. I haven't had the chance to ride Danse Macabre yet, but from what I've seen, it's everything we could have hoped for in terms of paying homage to the old ride, and at the same time doing something completely new and different. Very much looking forward to revisiting the park and riding it for the first time, and I love how much love people working for de Efteling feel for it.

[@peachykinz811]

I was there for opening day too! Such a detailed and magical experience. Efteling really know how to immerse you into a fantasy atmosphere. I loved it, especially the monks chanting in the queue line and the growling noises in the trees!

[@TPIOfficial]

Haha the monks were awesome lol! 😂😂🙏🏻

[@y-stylzz]

5:25 Spookslot never had a conductor. The conductor was an idea they had for the attraction, but was never implemented because of a limited budget. The design of the conductor is based on an old sketch made by the designer of Spookslot, Ton van de Ven.

[@TPIOfficial]

Indeed 😁🙏🏻

[@DrVagax]

Ton* van de Ven

[@S1rD4niel]

I've been going to the Efteling on an annual basis for almost 30 years now, and the Danse Macabre ride is an extremely impressive addition to the park that exceeded many expectations. But I agree that it definitely feels like some of the elements are missing. One example there is this animatronic of a woman popping out of a crypt right below the organ, almost a 1:1 reference of the one featured in the original Spookslot, but it is almost exclusively visible from only one of the 6 benches. The experience you get currently differs significantly depending on where you are seated, so it's a real bummer that the seating is arranged by staff members and you have no real say whatsoever where you end up viewing the ride from. Although the experience is spectacular, the ride system barely allows you to truly take in and appreciate the craftsmanship put into one scene before you are hurtled to the next. The Danse Macabre music piece is also cropped down even further, and though I can appreciate that this was a necessity to keep already excessive waiting times in check, I think it really rushes the experience even further. The quality is superb, but the rush of the experience is my biggest gripe with the ride. To reiterate; Danse Macabre is an incredible successor of Spookslot and I am dazzled by the result, yet I also really miss the original walk through attraction. The scenes at Spookslot was so rich in detail that almost every time you went in there you could choose a new angle to view the scene from and almost always were able to spot an element you either forgot was there or never noticed before, and then you had a moment to truly appreciate it. A strong contrast to the way Danse Macabre functions now. Sidenote; the projections of the green glowing violin animation onto the thick plexiglass really felt like a huge stepdown compared to the original Pepper's ghost of the fluorescent violin animatronic. The obbligato instrument of the musical piece deserves better in my opinion.

[@titatoverteefje8168]

Danse Macabre is a worldclass ride!!! I liked everything from it. I wished they did more with the music tho

[@TPIOfficial]

🤩😍👌🏻

[@racheljackson4428]

This ride is going to change everything about theme park attractions.

[@niallc194]

Same for me. I was really getting into the music.

[@AudreyMealiff]

This looks so stunning, Joe. I'm glad you got to go out for opening as I know you were very impressed with Efteling on your previous trip. I would love to visit, it's on the list. 😂

[@TPIOfficial]

Thank you so much 😁🙏🏻 it had to be done!! 😉👌🏻

[@AudreyMealiff]

@TPIOfficial it most definitely had to!! 😉

[@TPIOfficial]

Honestly the best dark ride in Europe IMO 🤩🙏🏻

[@afelienvandenberg6750]

If you visit Efteling for the first time, please make it two days, as one day is too short

[@AudreyMealiff]

@afelienvandenberg6750 I am sure you are correct. One day can't be enough to see and experience it all. It looks so gorgeous.

[@Lawrencevbeek]

yes, I agree with this, 5:41 the demon-like beasts called (Vlederiken) should really have been visible in the ceiling as a final ending. The monks should also have walked past the chapel windows as they are now simply static. and the projection of the violin really needs to be improved, which also does not look convincing, but otherwise Danse Macabre is fantastic, especially the effect of the conductor for the gigantic organ is very impressive, so just the finishing touches and then the attraction is really complete. The Efteling also indicated that an attraction such as danse macabre is never completely finished. By the way, I was wondering do you find it annoying that the story in the cemetery can only be heard in Dutch or do you think it doesn't matter to the experience?

[@TPIOfficial]

I was wondering what was being said tbh yes, leaves you feeling a little unsure as to the complete story lol 😂👍🏻

[@Lawrencevbeek]

​@@TPIOfficialI can imagine that, I am Dutch myself so it doesn't bother me, but I do hope that they will add an English translation to the attraction in the future.

[@TPIOfficial]

Indeed. Would just be nice to know what's being said lol 😂👍🏻 the monks swaying or moving would also have been cool to see 😂👍🏻

[@Lawrencevbeek]

​@@TPIOfficialThis is the story told in the cemetery. "Greetings, brave mortal, Here in the ancient Huyver forest you find yourself among the sleeping ruins of the Abbey of Capelle van Kaatsheuvel. Long, long ago, on Friday the 13th of the year 1876, disappeared here during an international music competition the full orchestra of the idiosyncratic conductor Joseph Charlatan. After a masterful performance of the musical piece Danse Macabre, the musicians were ruthlessly engulfed by the Unnameable. Evil, which still haunts this area today and manifests itself as a monstrous, cat-like creature. The Unnameable has sealed the fate of the musicians. Cursed and damned forever, the conductor and his orchestra will play the Danse Macabre in the abbey chapel until the end of time. Be on your guard, mortals. And above all, avoid any contact with a seemingly cute black kitten. The Unnameable is everywhere. And nothing here is what it seems!"

[@jay-dubb.dubb.68]

I wonder if you turned on Google Translate during the pre-show, if it would pick it up and translate...? Probably too much background noise. 🤔🎉

[@DJWezzyK]

The ride as it is now is not Finished. The animatronics in the ceiling haven't been installed yet due to some delays and will be added later. The drop at the end should go down into the catacombs below the zero position where a scene plays out. Currently the ride is running the B show while they still working on the A show. Also, the monks aren't peppers ghost, but those are projections just like the violin. I still think the ride is world class. We did 3 rides and the machine got us a different ride each. One where the drop did not come as a suprise cause the machine needed to pull itself up for it, and two where the drop was unexpected. I enjoyed those rides the best. It is a shame you can only see the monster in the center from vehicle 5-6 and only most of the scenes from vehicle 4 including Esmeralda from the old Spookslot (Translated: Ghost Fort.) Also Dance Macabre is French. So you need to speak it kinda like French. I never seen 108 people applaude after a ride on a themepark attraction before and Dance Macabre did just that. We had waits of 45 minutes max while 110 minutes was advertised.

[@niallc194]

If that was the B Show, I'm really looking forward to the A Show 😁

[@HMFan2010]

The grounds look absolutely great. Top notch. Kudos to the artisans. While it’s nice to see some of the animatronics from Spookslot, it surprises me that they didn’t go for more advanced effects. Couldn’t the Charlatan concertmaster be a Pepper’s ghost, a projection, or some other manifestation that doesn’t look like an animatronic draped in tattered cloth? I would have also opted to conceal the ambient/atmospheric lighting. To me, the whole effect of an abandoned/haunted abbey is compromised when I can see most of the lights and projectors. Lighting tends to lose its otherworldly quality when you can see it blasting out of a high-tech fixture. Perhaps also the use of some scrims so the animatronics aren’t as clearly defined. The graveyard scene in Disney’s Haunted Mansion employs scrims to blur the figures and make them more ghostly in nature. Far be it from me to be overly critical of a brand new ride system because the videos available probably don’t do it justice; the human eye can discern much more detail than cameras can. For the criticisms I do have, that by no means implies I would pass up experiencing Danse Macabre. It looks amazing! Another idea: perhaps use the first bars of Saint-Saëns’ number with the bell tolling 12 midnight to open the experience. It IS an abbey after all, right?...

[@QDude24]

While the ride is built by Intamin, Efteling came up with the idea and went through several manufacturers to see who was willing to build it.

[@TPIOfficial]

😁👍🏻

[@OperatingTired]

I'm Dutch and a pretty big Efteling fan and was really excited to expierence this new ride! I did my best to get to know as little as possible about the expierence and went to opening day for the public and was completely suprised in the best way possible. Definitely something new and fresh in the themepark industry wich get's me really excited for the future of Efteling developments in their park! :3

[@TPIOfficial]

We were honedtly blown away by just HOW GOOD Danse Macabre actually was! The ride system is certainly perfect for what Efteling are trying to achieve with it that's for sure 😁👌🏻

[@flywithbart]

I'm across the ocean from this and have watched a few videos now. I think this ride would need an involved walk-through to build up to the main event to really get my attention. I'm not referring to the outside details which look awesome but aren't enough. Seems like the ride is over before it begins and hard to appreciate what there is while spinning around.

[@TPIOfficial]

True, an indoor preshow would've been a nice addition prior to boarding we agree 😊👍🏻

[@EftelQuint]

Hello there! I might’ve interpreted this wrong, but Joseph Charlatan is not the composer of Danse Macabre, that would’ve been Camille Saint Sans (if I’ve spelt that correctly). Joseph is just a fictional conductor that, according to the story of the ride, had the task to play the piece with his orchestra at the music concours in the abbey. If I did interpret this wrong… I’m very sorry :)

[@TPIOfficial]

When we mentioned the composer we actually mean the conductor sorry lol 😂👍🏻

[@EftelQuint]

@@TPIOfficial Oooooh, then it’s all good :)

[@TPIOfficial]

​@@EftelQuint😂😁🙏🏻

[@pimketss]

i did spot the original arm chandelier btw, its now in the gift shop

[@TPIOfficial]

it is indeed yes, holding the plushes etc 😀

[@more_bumps_ahead]

It was an incredible and oddly emotional experience. I feel like Ride of the Resistance I would not want to over ride it however as it would take away from the experience. Really felt like a concert in motion which is maybe what they pitched it as.

[@TPIOfficial]

❤️🙏🏻 we could ride it all day lol! 😂👌🏻

[@whoknew2273]

I visit it when its fully complete as they still had to finish the catacombs also as its Efteling be going for a week to see everything and when the schools are open and during the week otherwise most of the time queue's

[@TPIOfficial]

😁👍🏻

[@HerrBert1976]

After monday 11-11 (Holiday in Belgium for the end of WWI) you can expect crowds to go down a bit. Schools will be opened and an annual special discount will come to an end as well. People are redeeming those tickets this week.

[@TPIOfficial]

@@HerrBert1976 we fully intend on visiting during term time next time 🙂

[@rainbowsandunicorns9196]

wow, this is so amazing !!!

[@TPIOfficial]

It sure is 😁👌🏻

[@jay-dubb.dubb.68]

Thank you for the detailed and informative review!! I would love to see a version of this ride at my homepark... Kings Island (Mason, OH, USA)!! KI had an amazing dark ride called Phantom Theater from 1992 to 2002. You traveled in vehicles through an old haunted Theater with the Maestro/conductor as the lead character. There were several genuinely creepy scenes! For their 50th anniversary, KI did a "Phantom Theater Encore" live show featuring magic, acrobatics, live singing, and performances by the main characters. This would be such an amazing way to bring back the Phantom Theater in a brand new, upgraded and immersive way!! 🎅 Santa, Can you please get this built over at Kings Island? It's all I want. Thank you!!

[@TPIOfficial]

Haha that certainly sounds like a really cool concept for sure 😁🙏🏻

[@waynecheshire7878]

What a great ride I could see towers get one of these 🤞 nice one Joe the only negative is why you wasn’t invited to the opening.

[@TPIOfficial]

Thank you very much 😁🙏🏻 beyond us but hey, that's life lol 😊👍🏻

[@kkrispy2009P]

We need 1 of these in UK or at least in maybe a Disneyland

[@TPIOfficial]

We sure do! One in the UK would be perfect tbf 😉👌🏻

[@jay-dubb.dubb.68]

I want one in the USA please, specifically in Ohio, more specifically at Kings Island in Mason, OH. 😍🎉

[@TPIOfficial]

😂🙏🏻🙌🏻

[@hannahclawson2825]

Can’t wait to ride this!

[@TPIOfficial]

We hope you have an amazing time! 😁🙏🏻

[@houseofvanity8]

❤❤❤ such a great review!

[@TPIOfficial]

Aww thank you so much 😁❤️🙏🏻

[@houseofvanity8]

@@TPIOfficial like i always wanted to go!!!!! And now I think it’s about time I actually get going!!! The way you speak so warmly about the park and the joy I see in ur eyes makes me just want to go so I think it’s about time !!!!

[@TPIOfficial]

@@houseofvanity8 It's genuinely one of the most beautiful and magical theme parks we have visited! The intricately detailed theming NEVER lets up and every ride and attraction immerses you into a completely new world! Breathtaking 😀

[@pauloverbeeke2352]

NEW NEW NEW ! The live version with 80 pers symphonic ! EPICA - The Ghost in Me (Live at The Symphonic Synergy) ( Epica KZbin channel)

[@TPIOfficial]

👀😱 we'll take a look!

[@obsidianwolf1999]

The abby in Spook Slot was inspired by a movie named Tombs of the blind dead

[@TPIOfficial]

Oooh, we didn't know that? 👀

[@yodathan2849]

Is it a dark ride or a flat ride?

[@TPIOfficial]

Dark ride, it's enclosed and fully themed 360°

[@yodathan2849]

So is the big carousel in the Efteling but I wouldn't call that a dark ride

[@TPIOfficial]

​@@yodathan2849fair point lol 😂👍🏻

[@HorridCrow]

I would say it's both.

[@TPIOfficial]

😁👍🏻

[@Xenoxic]

We dif a dwinking gaeam evry tme you mispronounced Danse Macabre and now we'er hammemered lol

[@TPIOfficial]

😂😂😂