Efteling – the fairytale theme park in the south of Holland – will open a new area for its youngest visitors from early summer 2021: a play forest called ‘Nest!’.
Located in the Ruigrijk area of the park close to other family rides and attractions and in a small forested area, ‘Nest!’ will be an inclusive area for young children of all abilities to play together. It will include elements themed to the various Efteling roller coasters so that the young visitors can still get a taste of the bigger attractions, which they’re currently too small to ride.
Replacing the existing Polka Marina pirates carousel, ‘Nest!’ will offer a new activity for young visitors, where they can play while their older brothers, sisters or cousins experience the bigger rides. The play forest will also be suitable for children with disabilities to make it an inclusive area for children to play together.
Nest!
Created as an area for Efteling’s youngest visitors to prepare themselves for the bigger attractions, ‘Nest!’ offers a safe place where children can play and challenge themselves. The path that runs through and around the play forest will be accessible for guests in wheelchairs and there will be various play possibilities for children with visible and invisible disabilities. For example, ‘Nest!’ will have a wheelchair slide, raised sandboxes, as well as places where children can find a little more peace and quiet.
Construction
The ‘Nest!’ play forest will be built amid the trees between De Vliegende Hollander watercoaster and the Game Gallery. Construction is scheduled to start in January 2021 and the play forest will open in the summer of 2021.
Polka Marina will make its final round on 30 November and will be permanently closed after that. However, the attraction will still be on display during Winter Efteling. At the beginning of 2021 the carousel will be removed and paving will be applied on that spot.
An investment of 2 million euros is committed to the construction of the new ‘Nest!’ play forest.
For a video preview of ‘Nest!’, see: https://youtu.be/02wvi9GgLpk
