Pardoes Promenade 02/11/2024 09h55
The third day of Danse Macabre opened for public the waiting line started at the Pardoes Promenade before opening of the park.
Danse Macabre
The Spookslot was the only place where you could experience the Efteling style of 'scare'. However, the Spookslot was in poor condition both inside and outside and attracted fewer and fewer visitors. In order to guarantee the continuity of the park, a completely new area development was chosen in a careful process at this location. Inspired by the iconic building from 1978, the Huyverwoud, the creepiest part of Efteling, was created with the attraction Danse Macabre.
Danse Macabre: a ghost spectacle full of dark twists
Danse Macabre lets visitors dance to the music of the eponymous piece of music by Camille Saint-Saëns. On a large turntable of 18 meters in diameter, with 6 smaller turntables on it, there are 6 choir stalls in which a total of 108 visitors can take a seat. The large turntable will rise, tilt and fall, and spin like a coin before it falls flat.
Danse Macabre: not yet built anywhere in the world
Danse Macabre is unique and not yet built anywhere in the world. The spectacular attraction type is a combination of a so-called thrill ride and immersive show technology. Supplier Intamin developed this attraction in close collaboration with the Efteling.
Charlatan family
According to legend, conductor Joseph Charlatan and his orchestra travelled all over the world. 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 captivated the Charlatan family for generations. The great loss of the beloved conductor has made the family suspicious and anxious. Since then, they have done everything they can to prevent the misfortune. And all this time, the Charlatans tried to find out what could have happened to their distant ancestor. The barrel organ Esmeralda led them to all the cities where Joseph Charlatan ever performed. Their search eventually brought them to the Huyverwoud, where Esmeralda seems to be forbidding them to leave. When Virginie and Otto Charlatan get closer to the chapel, the organ sounds as if 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 resounds everywhere?
Experience
Here, between the ominously rustling foliage of ancient trees, a spooky place lies hidden. It is a ruin overgrown by nature of what must once have been a majestic medieval abbey. We wander around between the remains and the monastery gardens, waiting for what is to come. A sweet black kitten lies purring contentedly on the remains of a stone gate. A curious family of entrepreneurs has settled here to trade in everything that can protect us from impending disaster. There is a mysterious atmosphere on the abbey square. Everywhere we hear the sounds of macabre music that seems to freeze the residents with fear. Where does that fear come from? Before we go to the entrance of Danse Macabre, we buy lucky charms from the Charlatan family to help us…
Huyverwoud and Danse Macabre
The abbey square offers a view of the chapel from 1379, with terraces, a shop and toilets.
Through an old gate, guests enter the partly covered cross-gang where their ‘waiting journey’ begins. The herb garden, where monks used to grow their herbs, leads to the cemetery. Here, the brave mortals see special graves in memory of the musicians who disappeared in 1876 together with their conductor Joseph Charlatan. Via the forest path with old gravestones here and there, the guests make their way in groups of about 100 people to the entrance bridge that leads to the entrance of the chapel, the Danse Macabre attraction. They are directed by staff towards the catacombs. Guests with disabilities take a seat in the chapel or go to a space for an alternative experience. The chapel houses the show space of the Danse Macabre attraction, where guests take a seat in a choir stall. Then follows an inimitable dance to the iconic piece of music by Camille Saint-Saëns: Danse Macabre…
FACTS & FIGURES
Attraction: unique in the attraction world, not yet built anywhere in the world
Attraction shape: large turntable with a diameter of 18 meters:
6 small turntables
on each turntable 1 choir bench (with 3 rows) for 18 people = 108 people in total
Operation of attraction: the large turntable rises and falls horizontally or diagonally, sometimes with a high-low movement - approx. 3.5 meters height difference = like a coin spinning before it falls flat
Weight of attraction system: 65,000 kilos (without guests)
Duration of show: 3.5 minutes, excluding entry and exit
Lighting fixtures: more than 600 (show, outdoor and decor lighting)
Surround sound system: 64 speakers, 53 top speakers, 10 subwoofers and 1 ultra subwoofer
Theoretical capacity: 1,253 people per hour
Accessible to: every brave mortal from 1.20 m (recommended age from 8 years)
Guests with disabilities:
accessible for wheelchair users who can walk a distance independently with a so-called transfer (min. 13 meters)
alternative experience if transfer is not possible
Single riders entrance: yes
Height of the Danse Macabre chapel: approx. 20 meters
Surface area of the theme area: 17,000 m²
Total construction time: two years
Number of employees involved in the construction: approx. 500
Investment for the entire area: around 35 million euros
Supplier: ride technology designed in close collaboration with the Efteling and produced by the Swiss attraction supplier Intamin (dynamic motion stage)
Inspiration in addition to the "Spookslot": various Belgian abbeys: Villers-la-Ville, Aulne and Orval
Materials from the Haunted Castle:
The Heritage Management Team has a number of elements of the Haunted Castle to be renovated and adapted for reuse in Danse Macabre:
Exit wall of Haunted Castle stands as a ruined wall in the Huyverwoud
creepy candle holders from the tower are given a place in the chapel hall
large chandelier on a giant arm from the tower hangs in the Dr. Charlatans Kwalycke Zaken
large chandeliers from the corridors of the Haunted Castle hang in the catering location In den Swarte Kat
the dancing balustrades from the Haunted Castle return to the chapel
gravestones that stood in front of the Haunted Castle are now in the Huyverwoud
garden vases from the old main show are in the herb garden
hanging fire bowls from the old main show hang in the cross corridor
various characters from Danse Macabre subtly refer to the Haunted Castle
Music: Composer René Merkelbach produced a completely new version of the famous piece of music Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns from 1875. Especially for the show experience in the attraction, but also for all rooms in the Huyverwoud theme area. It was recorded with the largest orchestra ever in Efteling history, consisting of 75 musicians.
Book Paul van Loon: Danse Macabre – The Beginning was published in bookstores on October 22 2024.
[ Press Publication De Efteling October 2024 ]
