Efteling celebrates 25 years of Winter Efteling

11th December 2024: Today marks exactly a quarter of a century since the gates of Winter Efteling first opened. On 11 December 1999, visitors were welcomed for the first time to the atmospheric winter look displaying an array of fairytale décor inspired by Anton Pieck's iconic style. At the time, Winter Efteling was a first in the Benelux region, as the first theme park to open its doors during the winter season.

What began as an experiment with limited opening hours - only allowing visitors during weekends and the Christmas holidays - grew into an unprecedented success. At its first edition, Winter Efteling welcomed 188,000 visitors. Since then, significant investments have been made in making the park winter ready, from attractions to catering facilities, and today Winter Efteling is an indispensable part of the park's year-round offering. Its success has inspired other theme parks to follow the same path.

Present day

Thanks to the success of Winter Efteling, the park is able to keep its gates open all year round. From snowy rooftops to twilight lanterns, and crackling bonfires to an outdoor ice rink, Winter Efteling guarantees a charming fairytale experience. Amongst other things, Efteling visitors can marvel at the new nine-metre-high interactive Wonder Winter Tree, which is covered in twinkling lights. On Ton van de Ven Square and in Ruigrijk, there are life-size snow globes that visitors can stand in. This winter, the fairies from Droomvlucht can also be found on music boxes in Ton van de Ven Square.

At the Warme Winter Weide, a nostalgic winter meadow with skating rink and catering facilities, visitors can enjoy additional entertainment from Pardoes and Pardijn, among others, every day. Finally, Mr and Mrs Time, from theatre show CARO, provide a Wonderful Wintertime with winter songs in the Carrousel Palace on weekends and holidays.