The Efteling is the largest theme park in the Netherlands. Many families attend the park each year. In 2017, 5.18 million visitors attended the Efteling (2018, p.11). The park is well-known across Europe and even the globe. According to the website Netherlands Tourism, “Efteling is not only the largest theme park in the Netherlands, but it also happens to be one of the oldest theme parks in the world. Situated in the town of Kaatsheuvel in Loon op Zand, the park has seen more than 100 million visitors throughout its lifetime” (n.d.). This shows that the Efteling certainly has had success, but why?

            As a popular theme park, the Efteling has several factors that contribute to its success. After researching articles about theme parks and what makes them successful I believe that the top success factors of the Efteling include storytelling, attractions for the whole family, safety, cleanliness, landscaping, and queue entertainment.

            Storytelling is one of the great attributes of the Efteling. As soon as you enter the park you can hear the playful music and are surrounded by the fairytale atmosphere. One of the best places in which storytelling takes place is the Fairytale Forest. As you walk through the forest, you follow a quaint path that seems to be straight out of a children’s book. Along the path there are structures that represent a specific fairytale. For example, there is a cottage that tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red Riding Hood is standing outside the cottage door waiting to enter her grandmother’s house. Inside, you can peek through the windows to see the wolf that has taken the place of the grandmother and lies in her bed. There are many details inside the house as well as outside. The life-size nature of the story makes it seem even more realistic. Next to each fairytale spot there is a podium with a book that tells the story represented. This is written in multiple languages, which allows everyone to enjoy the story. The fairytale spots vary in size and extent. Some of the stories have animatronics and you can listen to the story through speakers. This is a prominent success factor for the Efteling. Storytelling is a key part of theming a theme park. In their article Service design: Suggesting a qualitative multistep approach for analyzing and examining theme park experiences Trischler and Zehrer said, “Theme parks are primarily differentiated from amusement parks by their areas (i.e., ‘lands’) that focus on telling a story” (p. 59). This proves the importance of storytelling in theme parks. Storytelling transforms attractions into more of an experience for the visitor. The Efteling is a great example of using storytelling to create an experience.

            Another success factor of the Efteling is the availability and variety of activities for the whole family. The Efteling has a wide variety of rides that have a general focus for families. There is the Baron 1898 which is a thrilling dive coaster for the most adventurous members of the family looking for an adrenaline rush. There is the Carnaval Festival which is a dark ride with playful songs and dances that especially appeals to young children. There are rollercoasters, dark rides, water coasters, carousels, museums and more. There is something to do at the Efteling no matter the age or interest. This is a great quality for families with wide age range because everyone can be entertained. A research study was conducted by Ady Milman (2009) to discover the attributes of theme parks that were most important to consumers. The study stated that,

 The factor structure that emerged identified a framework of seven constructs that summarized consumer’s important attributes when evaluating theme parks. These areas were as follows: (i) entertainment variety and quality; (ii) courtesy, cleanliness, safety and security (fundamental operational issues); (iii) food variety and value for money; (iv) quality of theming and design; (v) availability and variety of family-oriented activities; (vi) quality and variety of rides and attractions; and (vii) pricing and value for money (Table 5) (p. 383).

Milman discovered the factors that were most important to people for theme parks. As stated, “availability and variety of family-oriented activities” and “quality and variety of rides and attractions” are two major attributes that visitors think is important. These are related factors that the Efteling possesses. This applies to the different categories of rides and attractions, as well as having multiple rides within the same category. For example, a thrill-seeking visitor has more than just one ride that they enjoy. The size of the park allows it to have this wide variety of activities for its visitors.

            Another successful part of the Efteling is the landscaping. As soon as you enter the park, you are immersed in a magical world. This is largely due to the number of trees and other horticulture that greatly influence the overall atmosphere of the park. This contributes to the fairytale theme, especially in the fairytale forest. As I mentioned before the fairytale forest has so many trees and plants that you forget you are in a theme park. The trees make it seem like you are separated from the world. This adds to the idea that theme parks are supposed to be an escape. There are many articles that state landscaping as a key factor in successful theme parks. This is because it considerably influences the atmosphere of the park. In the academic paper The Overall Theme Park Experience: A Visitor Satisfaction Tracking Study, Gary L. Geissler and Conway T. Rucks (2011) examined the overall theme park experience. In the conclusion of their paper, they discuss how theme parks are a leader in the experience economy, that focuses on creating experiences rather than just providing commodities. Milman contributes to this argument of experiences in his article, “These findings reflect the popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century thought expressed by Pine and Gilmore (1999), who suggested that in the current state of the free-market capitalism, the focus for creating new value for customers shifts from commodities and consumption of goods to services and finally to experiences” (p. 383). Geissler and Rucks also explained that one of the experiences that theme parks provide is escapism. This is achieved through success in many factors, one of them being atmosphere. They then describe that the atmosphere is affected and achieved by, “maintaining immaculate and interesting landscaping” (p. 136), among other things. Theme parks need to create that immersive experience. One of the ways that the Efteling does this successfully is through their landscaping. 

            Another factor that has led to the success of the Efteling is the safety and cleanliness of the park. Again, this contributes to the overall atmosphere of the park. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a good way to show that certain basic needs must be met before addressing more superficial needs. First psychological needs must be met: food, water, warmth, rest. Second is safety and security. Creative activities and having fun cannot be accomplished without first addressing the basics. Birgit Pikkemat and Markus Schuckert support this argument in their article Success Factors of Theme Parks: An Exploratory Study stating, “Here at first and like with other public infrastructure or transportation, theme parks might fail, if basic requirements like quality, safety, cleanliness and reliability are defective or missing” (p. 206). This applies to theme parks in the sense that if the theme park is dirty or feels unsafe, visitors will not care if more superficial needs were met. They won’t go again if their basic needs were not addressed. This is especially important for families because parents are very concerned about the safety of their children. When thinking of safety within a theme park there is the safety of the rides, safety and security of the people around you, as well as safety as a result of cleanliness. Cleanliness is crucial for one’s well-being, and having a clean environment puts visitors more at ease and able to enjoy the experience around them. The Efteling achieves safety and cleanliness in their park. There are large amounts of people entering and exiting the park each day, all with their own messes accompanying them. Yet, the Efteling keeps the area clean and safe. One technique that they use to keep the area clean is the Holle Bolle Gijs. These are places throughout the park where one can throw away their paper in a fun way. The Holle Bolle Gijs make a sound when you throw away your trash. This encourages children and adults to find trash to throw away and thus keeps the park clean. The importance of having a clean and safe park is evident in many research studies including the previous study mentioned by Milman.

            Most people do not enjoy waiting in a queue. Theme parks can be known for their long waits to get to the excitement. Trischler and Zehrer found, “Quiet rest areas and queue entertainment are also identified as critical incidents” (p. 65). The Efteling has many different queues that are far from boring. You are entertained by the theming of the attraction while you wait. For example, in their newest dark ride Symbolica, animatronics and a pre-story make you feel like you are already in the ride. The themed queue with music and décor adds to the immersive experience that I previously mentioned. 

            Each of these successful factors has a powerful influence on the success of the Efteling. The Efteling has great storytelling, entertaining queues, extensive landscaping, safety and cleanliness, and a variety of activities and attractions for the whole family. Therefore, the Efteling is one of the best cases of success in the theme park industry.

 

Bibliography

Geissler, G. L., & Rucks, C. T. (2011). The overall theme park experience: A visitor satisfaction     tracking study. Journal of Vacation            Marketing, 17(2), 127– 138. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356766710392480

Milman, A. (2009), Evaluating the guest experience at theme parks: an empirical investigation of     key attributes. Int. J. Tourism Res., 11:

373-387. doi:10.1002/jtr.710

M., J. (n.d.). Efteling – Largest Theme Park in The Netherlands. Retrieved November 5, 2018,       from http://www.netherlands-tourism.com/efteling-largest-theme-park-netherlands/

Pikkemaat, Birgit & Schuckert, Markus. (2007). Success factors of theme parks - An exploratory   study. Tourism. 55. 197-208.

Themed Entertainment Association. (n.d.). Attendance at the De Efteling theme park from 2009      to 2017 (in millions)*. In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved November 5, 2018, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/236197/attendance-at-the-de-efteling-theme-            park/.

Trischler, J., & Zehrer, A. (2012). Service design: Suggesting a qualitative multistep approach        for analyzing and examining theme park experiences. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 18(1), 57–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356766711430944