Efteling opened its doors to the public on Wednesday after a two-month closure. The amusement park in Kaatsheuvel closed on 14 March to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.
The park’s been made as ‘corona proof’ as possible. For example, only a third of the normal capacity is allowed. Visitors have to make an online reservation in advance. The time slots for entering the park are fixed: 09:30-10:00, 10:00-10:30, and every half hour after that. However, all visitors are allowed to stay until closing time.
Throughout the park, people have to keep a 1.5-meter distance from each other. There are hand disinfection points everywhere. The fairytale forest and shops have a one-way walkway. Plexiglas is also used at various attractions. All catering points only offer takeaway food and drink.
Keeping distance is difficult
“We’re looking forward to it,” says a woman who visited Efteling on Wednesday morning with her mother and two children. “The atmosphere, the roller coasters, we’ve really missed it.” She thinks it’s going to be quite tricky to keep a distance. “Especially in the fairytale forest, where all the kids are running around, that’s going to be tense.”
“Finally, we can visit again,” says a visitor. “We have a subscription, and the kids always love it. It’s a nice distraction from normal life. We’re curious to see what the 1.5-meter society looks like here.”
45,000 people waiting online
Efteling’s reopening has attracted such enormous interest that the online reservation system crashed. On Saturday, 45,000 fans were waiting in the digital queue. On Sunday and Monday, there were also technical problems due to the huge crowds.
Subscribers could already go to the amusement park on Monday and Tuesday, for so-called test days. There are still a few tickets available until 2 June, according to Efteling.
Source: Omroep Brabant
Translator: Shufei
