First Efteling podcast series launched to celebrate 74th anniversary

1 June: To celebrate Efteling’s 74th anniversary, the theme park in the south of Holland has announced that its first podcast series produced by Efteling itself will launch on 10 June. In Het Geheim van de Efteling  ‘The Secret of Efteling’, Dutch presenter Paul de Leeuw ventures deeper into the Fairytale Forest together with designers, creators and experts. Across seven episodes, a variety of topics are explored. The series begins with the origins of Efteling and the opening of the Fairytale Forest 74 years ago. It then continues about the wandering (and getting lost) in the forest, the memories that were made there and the future.  Het Geheim van de Efteling will be available from 10 June on various Dutch podcast apps and can also be watched on YouTube with English subtitles. A new episode will be released every Wednesday.

Searching for the secrets
In the podcast series, the theme park offers a behind-the-scenes look through the eyes of presenter Paul de Leeuw. De Leeuw knows the park very well but does not yet know all the secrets of Efteling. He speaks with the true experts and takes listeners on a journey through the story of the Fairytale Forest. Why do people so often lose their way there? And how many squirrels live in the forest? “For many people, Efteling is a place for togetherness and creating memories,” says Paul de Leeuw. “It’s incredibly fun and inspiring to learn so many new things about the Fairytale Forest. Everything I know now adds something extra when I walk through the park. I’m very curious to see how listeners will experience the podcast.”

The full episode breakdown is as follows with the first episode available on 10^th June:

1. The History of the Fairytale Forest – featuring a designer and the great-granddaughter of Efteling founding father Anton Pieck
2. Nature in the Fairytale Forest – featuring a greenkeeper and a renowned Dutch forester
3. Fairytales in the Fairytale Forest – featuring a set dresser and a children’s author
4. Music in the Fairytale Forest – featuring a composer and an opera singer
5. Memories in the Fairytale Forest – featuring a designer and a neuropsychologist
6. Wandering Through the Fairytale Forest – featuring a landscape architect and a behavioural psychologist specialising in wayfinding
7. The Future of the Fairytale Forest – featuring Koen Sanders and a futures expert

74 years of Efteling
The origins of Efteling date back to 1950, when the Efteling Nature Park Foundation was established by Mayor Van der Heijden, who saw opportunities to develop tourism in the region. He asked technician Peter Reijnders to help think about ideas, and soon the concept for a Fairytale Forest was born. Designer Anton Pieck was brought in to create 10 fairytales. Pieck’s drawings were brought to life by Reijnders using innovative technology, lighting, sound and movement. On 31 May 1952, the Fairytale Forest opened in the heart of nature with 10 fairytales. At the time, visitors paid an average entrance fee of 80 cents (€0.36). Today, Efteling is home to 31 fairytales, 90 species of birds, 5,000 different varieties of trees and around 200 species of mushrooms, including the famous musical mushroom.