Vliegende Hollander (Flying Dutchman) Review, Efteling | Best Water Coaster in Europe

Vliegende Hollander (Flying Dutchman) is the well-themed dark ride and water coaster at Efteling. Built by Kumbak, this attraction features an elaborate queue line, eerie show scenes, and a brilliant soundtrack. The attraction then culminates in an outdoor coaster section.
Video Credits
Vliegende Hollander Night Vision POV (RidesXL)- • Onride - POV - Vliege...
Vliegende Hollander POV (Efteling)- • Onride buitenvaart De ...
Background Music
Vliegende Hollander (Efteling)

[@wiljantoonen3324]

The elements in the waiting line are the best! Each room is different and the dark sector of the coaster is great of the fog and the drop before the lift hill...

[@CanobieCoaster]

The ride has awesome theming.

[@Stubwood_on_YT]

When I rode this is 2020, I was blown away. The theming and the music was amazing, but it does need a bigger splash at the end in my opinion

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's awesome.

[@DaanBruins]

The splashdown was designed to not be soaking. A big splashdown isn't always appreciated in the rainy climate of the Netherlands.

[@AirGLOBAL]

It depends on the season/weather when you are there. As you might notice the water level of the lake varies. They do this so you don't get soaked in colder weather. Whilst in summer time with warm weather you generally do get sprayed. Or if you sit in the outside seats on the 2nd row: wet.

[@pfirsichdrop]

One of my favorite rides in the world. The Coaster Part doesn't do much but I couldn't care less. The theming is outstanding and the use of effects and sounds in the darkride part is simply amazing. On top of that it has my favorite Soundtrack ever.

[@CanobieCoaster]

The theming makes it.

[@bluetomato2184]

got stuck in this thing for half an hour, it was right before the indoor drop, so we constantly had to hear the dripping water, stapled to death and right before that i drank a FULL bottle of water... Best 30 minutes of my life.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Oh my!

[@marijndevries2654]

The reason why the coaster part is lackluster is because the cars or boats are so big and heavy. If there were a lot of forces, the wheels of the cars would wear of fast (or they would break). And also, Efteling wanted a ride that almost everyone would like to experience, it is a family park after all.

[@CanobieCoaster]

It does succeed as a dark ride and family ride.

[@maikhenrich5879]

It's one of my favourite darkrides ever because of that incredibly dense atmosphere that only few (if any) attractions I have ridden can match. However, I wouldn't call it the best water coaster in Europe, since the actual water coaster elements are better on other rides (e.g. the 2nd drop on Poseidon at Europa Park).

[@CanobieCoaster]

I may prefer the coaster elements on this one to Poseidon.

[@danny.ray101]

Poseidon is overall a nice ride, but the coaster section is bumpy which I don‘t like.

[@Joypyf]

Looks like a beautiful coaster with the theming! 🤩

[@CanobieCoaster]

It really is!

[@StamfordBridge]

I love this ride so much. I would be in heaven if the indoor portion lasted 30 minutes.

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's cool in there.

[@roypertijs]

I love this ride so much, the attention to detail is just top notch. The storytelling is also brilliant. It starts right after you entered the building in the queue and it builds up towards the lift hill. After that, it's a bit of an anticlimax, but still i love this ride purely for its storytelling and detail. Maybe a nice detail to mention is when you pause the video at 1:35. You can see there are black spot on the walls around the painting of Willem van der Decken, because of a fire. If you look closely at the black spots, you can see two faces.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Oh I missed that, cool detail!

[@anamore]

The indoor drop gives some insane ejector in the backrow, on really hot days the outdoor camelback sometimes gives some floater, and so does the final descent into the splashdown. This ride isn't really the most thrilling, but that's not what it was designed to do. It's supposed to be a fun ride and a step up between Vogelrok and Python, and that's exactly what it does well.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I only got front rides due to the covid rules.

[@anamore]

@@CanobieCoaster That's a real shame, if you're ever in the netherlands again I suggest you give this ride another chance. This ride is miles better in the backrow.

[@AirGLOBAL]

@@anamore In general I would say that in the front two rows it is a better water ride, in the back a better coaster.

[@JoepKoster123]

I was 8 years old when i first went in this ride. The queue is heavily themed and is really enjoyable. The indoor part of the ride scared the shit out of me the first time, especially the indoor drop. The outdoor part is really fun and not scary at all. you should definitely do this ride when you go to Efteling.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I love it.

[@bglp1994]

I’m terrified of rollercoasters but would like to try this one when I go! Would you reccommend for someone who doesnt like big drops?

[@JoepKoster123]

@@bglp1994 sure! Try max and moritz, it doesn’t have a drop but it’s a fun coaster. Flying dutchman is a really good one, but prepare for a small drop inside the building. Python doesn’t have a steep drop but it has loopings. Vogelrok is a indoor coaster but it’s really not scary and really fun. george and the dragon has a pretty heavy drop but it isn’t that scary, it’s a wooden coaster btw and pretty rough. I should skip Baron 1898 since you don’t like big drops, that coaster is pretty scary. I hoped this helped!

[@rct800]

Absolutely agree, I love this ride! Best water coaster in Europe.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes

[@michaeltaylor1603]

It's no wonder why they got the Applause Award in 1992 for best theme park in the world! I would love to ride this one. They took a page from Disney and started with a good story and went on from there. Great video Canobie!

[@redditstories2750]

Psst. The Efteling is older than Disney! :) It is the other way around hehe. It might be folklore but the story even goes that Disney or representatives went there for inspiration. I´m not sure the Efteling is the first of its kind but its history goes way back, way before it was a theme park with rides. The ´sprookjesbos´, a giant forest filled with fairytales (sprookjes = fairytales and bos = forest), still in the park today was the base and is WAY older than the park. I only just came to know this a few months back even though I went there at least once a year, as most Dutch kids do. So I forgive your mistake :p

[@CanobieCoaster]

Thanks!

[@mateoalvira7826]

One of my favorite rides at the park

[@CanobieCoaster]

Same.

[@mellydawg]

the ride is actualy closed right now until march 10 cant wait to ride it again without it something is just missing from the efteling experience

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's a neat ride.

[@0z3r0]

It's all about the theming and music. And i love it, by far my favorite at Efteling

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's great atmosphere.

[@maxhagenauer24]

For a manufacturings literally only coaster, it's absolutely amazing work. It's like a log flume but with a coaster like drop and good themeing.

[@CanobieCoaster]

The theming is what really makes it special.

[@jojo_hendriks]

The theming makes this my favorite ride at the park and my favoritel watercoaster

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's one of their best rides

[@redsandslashgaming7513]

This attraction is so well themed , the queue could be a great walkthrough attraction lol

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes

[@ericthomason8463]

I never heard anyone say Flying Dutchman’s Dutch name in until I saw your Efteling ranking video. I never knew how to say the first part of the name, and thus I always went with Flying Dutchman.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I hope I said it right!

[@DaanBruins]

He pronounced it pretty well, except the g is guttural. It's like flee(guttural G)unduh hollahnduhr

[@nickw3159]

the lower half of the front of the boat can be adjusted for the summer. so guests don't get very wet when it's cold. but when it's warm again a little more wet if i remember correct

[@CanobieCoaster]

Cool!

[@basguerain5900]

I am a dutchie and every year i go to efteling. I really like this ride if you look at it jn a theming perspective as you said. But i also like the little coaster elements it gives a lil spice. I would rate it a 9/10 just because it is made so well

[@CanobieCoaster]

Makes sense!

[@bluetomato2184]

Fun fact: The indoor drop gives a painful jolt of ejector airtime in the back row! Hard to believe, I know, but you should try it!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I'll have to try the back next time. Didn't have a choice visiting during the pandemic.

[@mike-bk7sq]

i feel like its more of a darkride with extra's, i really like it!

[@CanobieCoaster]

True.

[@DIRTMART]

1:34 I don’t know if you noticed, but there are black spots on the wall that are actually faces, which a lot of people don’t actually know about

[@CanobieCoaster]

I missed those.

[@arturobianco848]

When it was build it was a totally uniek "coaster" and i think it still is because of the water part. I think its a very good atraction but i agree with you that as a coaster its a pretty tame family ride. But considering the normale visitors of the the park its an excellent attraction for the park even people who normaly don't go on coasters can do this.

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's a great total package.

[@olafvanrijnsbergen1177]

The delay wasn't just because of the technical issues. They delayed it a full year because they wanted to open it specifically on April 1st. Because the ship of the legend departed on April 1st on its last journey. It was ready to go in May, but because it's Efteling they waited.

[@CanobieCoaster]

That's a weird reason to wait.

[@VillasByrne]

No other european water coasters comes even close for me! I love this ride soo much! Btw, be careful with efteling footage:) I don't know if they alle it now, but they removed a couple of my videoes ealier on

[@CanobieCoaster]

Thanks for the tip. Most parks have no trouble with it. If I need to, I can probably trim those sections out, but I'll switch some of the footage in the upcoming ones.

[@VillasByrne]

@@CanobieCoaster you welcome. I think its some kind of autumatic censors, because when it happened for me, it was down directly. So you might have been Lucky, or maybe they just changed their politic about it:)

[@CanobieCoaster]

If you don't mind me asking, did you use the entire POV for a ride or just a short snippet? From what I've seen with my footage, I only get an alert from KZbin if it's basically used in its entirety.

[@VillasByrne]

@@CanobieCoaster almost all of the povs. So that might be it. I did expeience it with their music once, but i have also been using that without any trouble since

[@theatypicalcoasternerd8142]

The first time I rode it I was actually blown away because I know nothing about the dark ride section, the surprise drop (which is quite steep and snappy) and the cool effects. Unfortunately from my experience its not a very reliable coaster. I once waited 90 minutes because the ride broke down while in line and they were limiting capacity in the ride vehicles due to covid measures set by the government. Its a really cool attraction but if you have to wait that long its not worth it with the lackluster outdoor portion.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Sounds like my experience failing to get on it in 2019 wasn't an outlier.

[@gimmemilk7364]

And then to say i come here every wensday

[@CanobieCoaster]

Nice!

[@thesheepdev9863]

4:33 Fun fact: During summer they chance some of the cart do make the splash bigger (and make you wet) :D

[@CanobieCoaster]

That's good, although it wasn't in use for my visit.

[@freddiebooth9246]

I wish more of these were built

[@CanobieCoaster]

Me too.

[@yoloswaggins9989]

Not possible because its a one of a kind prototype ride. Thats why it also had so many problems.

[@HugeRMCFanBoY-bx3od]

Easily the best themed queue line /station

[@CanobieCoaster]

One of the better ones.

[@frontiercoasters7359]

I have an idea for an amusement park duel. Phantasialand vs Efteling!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I was thinking Phantasialand vs Europa.

[@DaanBruins]

What about Efteling vs Europa and then Toverland vs Phantasialand. Europa and Efteling are big and well known. Toverland and Phantasialand are small in size, but still go all out with the theming.

[@dnalol4016]

you should go to ice breaker or iron gwazi and do a review on them

[@whiterunsteward7477]

Gwazi isn't open yet, is it? I thought it opens in march.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I'll review them when I ride them.

[@OklahomaCoasterFan]

@@whiterunsteward7477 Platinum passholders can ride it now (select days), and then they'll start phasing in lower level passholders, leading up to the March 11th opening for everyone. Some youtubers were able to get in on the media day to get on it last week.

[@UwePieper]

Depending on your definition of a rollercoaster this might be one of only a few water coasters: This one never leaves the track. Mack's water coaster's float and leave the track at that time.

[@CanobieCoaster]

This one also has an unquestioned coaster section.

[@officialchase02]

I feel like this ride should be more themed to SpongeBob since the flying Dutchman is one of the characters on the show

[@CanobieCoaster]

That would work at Nickelodeon Universe.

[@officialchase02]

@@CanobieCoaster yeah because when I first learned of what the name translated to SpongeBob popped in my head

[@Loekii_]

How to get a bit of airtime you should sit in the back and leave some airtime room you will get abselutely whipped! (Also is on the mpst right seat)

[@CanobieCoaster]

I'll have to try that next time. I got the front since it was during covid.

[@Loekii_]

@@CanobieCoaster yea front row is the worst im my opinion

[@Ori_-]

LMAO THAT PRONOUNCIATION

[@CanobieCoaster]

I know I probably butchered it by mistake.

[@DJBKoasteRs]

Flee hen day

[@Ori_-]

@@CanobieCoaster doesn't matter makes the video better

[@AirGLOBAL]

@@CanobieCoaster It probably is best pronounced as "Flee-Chen-The" (With the Chen starting as you would pronounce "Chemical"). As the 'g' is hard to pronounce if you are not used to it.

[@robinsommer]

@@CanobieCoaster I think you did great :)

[@mgsol75]

I love the indoor parts, but the actual coaster section is nothing special. But I love dark rides more than I love coasters, so it's an awesome experience to me overall

[@CanobieCoaster]

The indoor drop is great though.

[@mgsol75]

@@CanobieCoaster that counts as an "indoor part" 😂 so I agree

[@mitchellries256]

Are there any water coasters out there that you'd say are better than this?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Journey to Atlantis in Florida.

[@mitchellries256]

@@CanobieCoaster That's a good one. Although I think it was a much better ride before the 2016/2017 refurbishment. That just felt like a downgrade.

[@olafvanrijnsbergen1177]

Your pronunciation is almost correct. We don't put the accent on the last E in 'Vliegende' So it's more like 'vliegenduh' And it's in Brabant, so the G should soft. But that's just nitpicking

[@CanobieCoaster]

Thanks!

[@sjorsvanderpijll9438]

totally agree. but I have to say I beleve water coasters doesnt have really exiting layouts at all. it isnt really the thing of riding a water coaster.

[@CanobieCoaster]

That's true.

[@officialchase02]

This is a very weird water coaster where you do not get wet and I think it is because this ride operates in Europe and it can get pretty cold there

[@CanobieCoaster]

Makes sense.

[@larskramer9319]

Actually this is not the real reason behind it. In the Efteling for instance is a river rapids that can make you really get wet. The real reason behind it is, that the CEO of the Efteling at the time wanted that the boats make huge waves. Like they were breaking a curse. So they made it that the water doesn't get into the boats. The ride has to options depending on the weather. In the summer you can get wet if the option has be turned on. You can also get really wet in the indoor section.

[@cynicanal111]

You know you messed up when *Intamin* is called in to fix your engineering flaws!

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yup!

[@DaanBruins]

It's a shame this is the only coaster Kumbak ever made.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I wonder if the year delay and need to bring in Intamin discouraged others.

[@ThemeParkAvenue]

I would give it a 10/10 if it was themed to The Flying Dutchman from SpongeBob.

[@CanobieCoaster]

You have the slide at Mall of America at least.

[@QDude24]

I really dont get why people like this abomination, the coasterpart is bad, you dont get wet and you can spot exactly when the budget ran out

[@DaanBruins]

The coasterpart is bad, because it supposed to be a ghostship flying around. I'm no expert in mythology, but as far as I know ghostships don't do inversions or ejector hills. You don't get wet, because it rains alot in western Europe. I don't get what you mean by the budget running out. The sea section is empty, because it's supposed to be. Have you even ridden it?

[@CanobieCoaster]

I like the dark ride bit.

[@JoepKoster123]

just ride it, then you’ll regret what you said.

[@QDude24]

@@JoepKoster123 I rode it alot, every ride just makes me think thats its even worse than I thought

[@juliaharlaar7801]

You can dislike it but keep in mind everyone has different opinions