Symbolica- The Greatest Dark Ride in Europe
Symbolica opened at Efteling on July 1st 2017. This trackless dark ride cost 35 million euros, making it the most expensive attraction to ever be built at the park.
Efteling, located in the Netherlands, became the world famous theme park we love today on the back of its beautiful attractions based on the artwork of Anton Pieck. Still to this day, the park remains focussed on creating attractions based on charming, fantasy worlds. Symbolica is no exception to this and has quickly become the jewel in the park’s crown.
Symbolica is located at the end of the Efteling’s entrance concourse. The charming palatial façade of Symbolica has become the iconic image of the park in much the same way as Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is at Disneyland.
The queue for Symbolica winds and slopes upwards to the grand doors of the Palace. Once through the doors you will experience a very impressive animatronic based pre-show which ends with an extremely clever set trick. I won’t go into any further detail, so not to spoil it for those that haven’t yet experienced Symbolica. Just trust me when I say that this is one of the best pre-shows we have ever witnessed.
Once through the pre-show, you are presented with the choice of 3 different tours- Hero, Music or Treasure. The majority of each tour is the same, barring a few unique set pieces. These unique differences, despite them being a small part of the 7 minute long attraction, are worth the effort to try and experience all three different tours.
The ride itself uses the popular trackless ride technology. This system is also used in rides such as Disney’s Mystic Manor or Ratatouille and SeaWorld Orlando’s Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin.
The ride does not follow a linear storyline but instead focuses on a chain of magical and fantastical happenings. The detail within each scene is astounding. There is one particular large scene involving a whale, which is quite simply breath-taking. It is definitely one of the greatest moments on any attraction world over.
Symbolica utilises the trackless system better than any other ride we have been on. This is epitomised by the beautiful final scene, a dance taking place in the Royal Ballroom. Furthermore, we love that Symbolica does not use screens and instead focuses on animatronics and practical effects.
Overall, Symbolica is a beautiful, joyous and lively attraction suitable for the whole family. In our opinion, Symbolica is the greatest dark ride in Europe and beats out tough competition in the form of Phantom Manor, Pirates of the Caribbean and Piraten in Batavia. We love the original concept of Symbolica, its lack of linear narrative and its numerous unique and beautiful show scenes.
Is Symbolica your favourite dark ride in Europe?
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Also check out our Review of Efteling.