Attraction Review: Danse Macabre, Efteling

Fittingly opening on October 31st 2024, Danse Macabre is the newest major attraction at iconic fantasy theme park Efteling in the Netherlands. As the spiritual (pun intended) successor to legacy haunted attraction Spookslot, which closed in September 2022 to make way for the €35 million investment, the pressure was on the park to not only ensure this new ride was good enough to justify the closure of a fan-favourite but also to deliver an experience that would continue to delight park-goers for decades to come whilst simultaneously honouring Spookslot's memory. 

Suffice to say, Efteling certainly had their work cut out for them on this one with almost impossibly high expectations to satisfy! The investment, which took just over two years to complete, consists of a complete redevelopment of the plot, construction of a new show building and ride concept, a new gift shop, two new food and beverage units, new toilets and, of course, a new haunted themed Holle Bolle Gijs (aka, the iconic Efteling 'paper gobbler' bins)


The land itself is perfect. Much like Spookslot, the show building itself nestles neatly into the surrounding wooded area and feels very much like a secret forgotten place you've stumbled upon - a la the Sprookjesbos dioramas. Our first glimpse of the abandoned Huyverwoud abbey was a magnificent one, with low winter sunbeams piercing through the trees embellished with just the right amount of low-level fog to solidify the creepy factor. Proper, old-school haunted house stuff executed to perfection. 10/10 no notes.

The gorgeous ambient soundtrack complements this perfectly too. Instead of just blasting out Danse Macabre adjacent spooky music the melody heard in the area is more reminiscent of something you'd hear in an RPG whilst exploring the in-game world: almost neutral, with a hint of mystery or something more exciting about to unfold the longer you stay. 

The attention to detail is impeccable too - the gothic architecture covered in moss, small sections of exposed brick and crumbling walls so the building feels decayed yet not ugly, still beautiful and gorgeous too look at, and even more so after dark with an impressive lighting package to highlight all of those details allowing the land to truly come into its own (as you'd expect!) The place feels lived in - the draped banners left by the Charlatan family, posters and lit candles and the interactive Cabinet of Missing all serve to elevate what could have just been something pretty into somewhere that feels alive and a joy to explore and discover. Even the toilets play their part! They have a similar medieval/spooky aesthetic that slots into the land nicely but hang out in them for long enough and the lights will start flickering ominously. It really is the little things. 


Of course it wouldn't be Efteling without some creatures to make friends with and at the entrance to Danse Macabre you'll find a little black animatronic cat who mews and purrs as you make your way into the queue. And, if you go the wrong way like we did and try to enter past the old Spookslot entrance via the path that leads to Fabula, the park's 4D cinema, you'll find a black crow perched on a fence panel. (Side note: is there any reason why there isn't a pathway here? It feels strange for this to now be a dead end when previously you could walk through?)


The Charlatan family are the narrative glue that piece this land together and their story is the vehicle that links the history of Huyverwoud with the adventure we're on during our ride. Taken from the Efteling Danse Macabre media kit:

According to legend, conductor Joseph Charlatan travelled the world with his orchestra. However, since his participation in a famous music competition on Friday 13 October 1876, he and his orchestra have disappeared without a trace... The mysterious disappearance has gripped the Charlatan family for generations. The great loss of the beloved conductor has made the family suspicious and anxious. Since then, they have been doing everything to ward off misfortune. And all the while, the Charlatans have been trying to figure out what may have happened to their distant ancestor. The barrel organ Esmeralda led them past all the cities where Joseph Charlatan once performed. Their search eventually brought them to Huyverwoud, where Esmeralda seems to refuse to let them leave. As Virginie and Otto Charlatan get closer to the chapel, the organ sounds like it is possessed.... Is it their distant ancestor Joseph Charlatan who lured them here? And what is the connection with the dance of death that echoes everywhere?

There are costume characters of Virginie and Otto and we were lucky enough to bump into them one day to see and hear their presentation which was fantastic and added yet another element of interactivity to bring the lore of Huyverwoud to life, adding further depth to the entire Danse Macabre experience. The real star of the show for me though is the draaiorgel Esmeralda - the breathtakingly gorgeous barrel organ that sits just on the outskirts of the ride area. To say I was obsessed is an understatement - I could not stop looking at this thing and kept going out of my way to sneak back past for another gawp. I wish they sold merch of her so I could have a mini-Esmeralda to take home with me. 


The ride experience itself then, let's start with the queue line. It's fun - there's plenty of neat Easter Egg type details and a touch of interactivity to play with whilst you wait. And wait you will! We visited at a fairly quiet time and the ride consistently had a queue, so good that there are tons of gravestones to read and doors to knock on to pass the time. Yes, it's all a bit derivative and Haunted Mansion-esque but y'know what, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. There is an announcement here that I assume gives a bit of exposition before we enter the Abbey, but much like most things at the Efteling it is in Dutch (as you'd expect things to be for a Dutch-speaking country!) so alas, I'm not entirely sure what it says. 

The walk up towards the Abbey itself is perfect - wandering up a winding raised walk-way/bridge through that aforementioned low-lying fog ridden woodland, past banners advertising a concert. There's more creatures here - a little group of bats hanging from a nearby tree. I absolutely love it when Efteling add theming to the natural surrounding landscape so it feels one and the same, it does something special to my brain. Here we are then split into different numbered catacombs to our ride vehicles past the iconic green ghostly violin and wait in darkness to board where we once again hear the sounds of the cat we met at the entrance as they get up to some sort of mischief in the darkness. No pre-show interestingly! I guess the aforementioned spiel in the graveyard outside serves at a sort of pseudo-pre-show but I was shocked that we went straight in given this is Efteling, and Efteling love themselves a pre-show!

The ride vehicles consist of six eighteen-passenger cars on a turntable within the abbey. I did not love the seats - the formation means you sink back into the seat and your feet are dangling and suspended. There is a small pouch for smaller bags and a hook, but my bag felt a bit precarious in both so I ended up holding onto it which wasn't ideal and I would have preferred a bag storage option, but that isn't something Efteling really do on their rides so be warned! 

The interior of the abbey is absolutely stunning and just as gorgeous as the exterior, if not more. Again, the attention to detail is impeccable and I cannot stress enough how much I just wanted to hang out in there taking in every detail, noticing some new hidden thing with every visit like I did with Spookslot over so many trips. But alas, we're now placed in spinning ride vehicles so unfortunately it's not possible to experience Danse Macabre in this way, but let me go into more detail about the things I loved about this attraction first before delving into the bits I wasn't so enamoured with. 

The animatronics are glorious. From the pulsating pile of instruments and cat at the centre of the room to the Joseph Charlatan conductor spectre looming over us to the Spookslot homage pieces, all of it is incredibly beautiful and so rich and detailed. I really wanted the Joseph Charlatan pin badge but I didn't realise they're completely sold out now which is a huge shame as for me he is easily my favourite detail from the ride experience and I'd have loved to have had a memento of him. 


Put bluntly, I was not a huge fan of the ride experience itself. Admittedly as someone who isn't a fan of spinning flat rides I was very relieved to find that this isn't too nauseating or spinny at all, it's more of a rotation/glide/waltz around the room in time with the music. But in saying that, for me it felt a little pointless. Not intense enough to be a thrill ride, slow enough that it felt clunky with inelegant transitions,  but not slow enough that I could get a proper look at the real star of the show in my opinion that is the gorgeous detailing of the interior and animatronics. 

Speaking of getting a proper look - I do sort of love that every vehicle and seat gives a different view and experience making the thing almost infinitely re-rideable. My issue with that though is two-fold. Firstly, as a shorter person being anywhere other than the front row gave an obscured view, even with the slightly tiered seating, which is frustrating when the main draw of the ride is to look at a bunch of cool stuff in a cool setting. Secondly, if you don't have time to visit often or even do multiple rides in a day as will likely be the case right now with it currently being so popular, you essentially miss out on half of the detail. It's a glass half empty or half full scenario depending on your stance. 

Lastly, and this was the most unforgivable thing for me, for an attraction whose narrative is centred entirely around music, I could not believe that the music and SFX design within the attraction was such that I could distinctly hear the humming and whistling of the ride mechanism throughout the entire experience, to the point it ruined it for me. I will note that I am personally incredibly sensitive to sounds, and I find out of place, repetitive sounds absolutely infuriating at the best of times, let alone when I am supposed to be enjoying a specific piece of music that an entire experience has been co-ordinated around. 

I gave it the benefit of the doubt after the first ride and thought maybe it might just be that particular seat where we suffered, but we sat elsewhere in the theatre and experienced the same issue. Notedly I have not seen anybody else make this complaint so I assume it is thankfully just a me thing but unfortunately it did really affect my experience - so much so that unless the ride were less than a fifteen minute wait I don't think I would spend my time doing it in future, which is a real shame given how absolutely spectacular literally every single other aspect of the attraction is. 

On reflection I personally would have preferred for this to remain a walk-through experience, or even something slightly less technical than an Intamin Dynamic Motion stage. I know this is the very first of its kind and future iterations may be improved, but for me the ride added nothing really to the experience and I'd have much preferred the opportunity to send more time appreciating the setting and animatronics immersed in the music as you used to be able to in Spookslot.

That said, the surrounding land is perfection and is somewhere I adored spending time on our most recent visit and can see myself spending a lot more time in in the future - especially after dark! 

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So very mixed feelings about Danse Macabre! Did I love it? Yes! Did I dislike it? Also yes! Never a straight answer with me but I am very glad it exists, there's some absolutely glorious elements like the Joseph Charlatan animatronic and my beautiful Esmeralda but I'd be lying to you if I thought it was an excellent 10/10 experience end to end with zero flaws. 

But what do you think? Have you ridden Danse Macabre? Did you enjoy this brand new ride at the Efteling? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to have a chat!

Talk later xoxo,


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