Five years since the legendary Baron 1898 and Efteling finally decide to increase their coaster count once more. Max + Moritz is a duelling family Mack coaster themed after the German illustrated story Max und Moritz by Wilhelm Busch, and features two mischievous children pulling pranks on one another. So, fairytale? Check. Fun, whimsical theme? Check. Family friendly? Check. It's the perfect theme for an Efteling family coaster, but considering Efteling attractions usually involve a little bit more than your average bear it was hard to see where the magic would come from this almost garish attraction in comparison to something like Baron 1898, that to me is as much a storytelling piece of art as it is a coaster.
The ride was under construction when I last visited the park in December 2019, and I will admit it was a little hard to see the iconic Bob removed from this gorgeous spot, weaving in and out of dense woodland in what really felt like a magical fairytale forest. The decision to remove Bob and replace it with duelling family Mack coasters upset many an Efteling fan, and it's easy to see why. We go from the muted, subtle colour scheme and unhinged ride experience of Bob to an arguably dull coaster attraction in garish colours offering very little in the way of speed or thrill. Further, being located in a fairly central location, the removal of Bob's structure and surrounding theming and trees leaves quite the chasm, where we can now see the back of the Fabula show building and the spooky forest around Spookslot suddenly doesn't feel as foreboding as perhaps it once did.
BUT, trees grow, and coaster naturally blend into their landscapes in time. It's always going to be the case with removal of trees and planting of new ones. We just need to be patient and in a few years things will feel a little more overgrown and magical once more. Admittedly it was a little jarring to witness a show building in such glaring daylight in the case of Fabula as Efteling is usually so meticulous in maintaining the magic and illusion, but you soon forget about it.
The ride itself consists of two tracks - a lurid green or garish blue. The layout is...fine? It's hard really to say anything about it as it's very much a 'starter' coaster for families, and much more about the whimsy and mischief of the theming and storyline than it is about the coaster itself. It does a few fun twists and turns, with the tracks crossing over one another to allow for some racing/duelling moments but other than that it's fairly non-descript.
The storyline is that Max and Moritz are being naughty so their mother, who happens to own a cuckoo clock factory, locks them inside her workshop to keep them out of mischief. But, with all of the clockwork and wood laying around, the rascals create their own clockwork race cars and chaos ensues. Fun! The on-board audio reflects the naughty and cheeky nature of the storyline and of course it wouldn't be an Efteling attraction without ROBOTS, by which I mean animatronics. Depending on which track you choose, you're either treated to a poor man whose face is near enough blown off, leaning out of a window as smoke pours out, or you get farted on by a giant whoopee cushion one of the boys is bouncing off.
Ah yes, the fart jokes. I feel conflicted, because obviously these fit in very much with the Max and Moritz world created by Wilhelm Busch. And yes, I suppose there is a donkey in the fairytale forest that poops gold coins if you give him money, but there's something too low brow about it here that I couldn't help but feel felt out of place for Efteling. It's done well, don't get me wrong. The queueline has an interactive whoopee cushion organ for god's sakes, and the giant whoopee cushion animatronic looks great. But yh, I glance over at the elegance of Baron 1898 and can't help but empathise with those Efteling fans who were so upset by the attraction in the first place.
The station building is the crown jewel of this attraction for me. Firstly, the tracks face in different directions, so you depart the station facing different ways. I'm not sure I've ever seen that done before, not if it exists anywhere else in the world (let me know in the comments if I'm wrong!) but it's a marvellous piece of design that once again heightens the whimsy and silliness of the whole thing. It feels topsy turvy and chaotic and fun. And the giant centrepiece clockwork theming thing, clicking and ticking away as the boys work together on it, is really delightful. There's something almost Seven Dwarves Mine Train about the whole thing, which come to think of it why didn't they go with Vekoma and get those swinging cars? That would've been so much more fun!
Would I prefer they didn't tear down Bob? Yes. Am I glad I got +2 creds? Yes. Will I ever ride it again? Probably not unless I was extremely bored. It's a fun starter coaster for younger guests but honestly when you've got such excellent dark rides at the park that cater for families it's hard to understand why they bothered. I do hope the trees grow in though, I really can't stand the sight of the backside of Fabula.
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Have you ridden Max + Moritz at Efteling? What do you think of the park's newest coasters? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to have a chat.
Talk later xoxo,
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