Efteling, Netherlands
- 12/05/2025
- Conrad
Opening on the 31st of October, 2024, Efteling and Intamin unveiled Danse Macabre to the world. A revolutionary new flat ride system, combined with a fully fleshed out storyline, and top level theming. Danse Macabre achieves the highest level of immersion, bringing its story to life in ways never seen before.
Danse Macabre Fact File
Manufacturer – Intamin
Model – Dynamic motion stage
Seats – 108
Hourly capacity – 1250
Cost – 35 million euros
Replacing Spookslot, a walkthrough attraction that closed in late 2022, Danse Macabre is a state of the art ride system by Intamin. The new dynamic motion stage is similar to a bigger, more impressive tea cup ride (although saying that feels disrespectful). An 18m platform, featuring 6 gondolas, with 3 rows of 6 seats. Both the platform and the gondolas have a ridiculous amount of movement, allowing for almost unlimited potential. Danse Macabre takes full advantage of this, using it to weave the most immersive story.
The story goes that on Friday the 13th, 1876, a musical competition was held in the Abbey of Capelle van Kaatscheuvel. Joseph Charlatan and his orchestra competed, with their rendition of Danse Macabre. With the ending of their performance, the entire orchestra was devoured by The Unnamable, with many forms of evil still roaming the grounds today.
From here onwards, I will go into more depth of the experience of the ride, from queue line to end. If you’d like to avoid spoilers, click away now.
As you enter the area of Huyverwood, the eerie atmosphere encases you. The area is fully fleshed out, with a burnt down tavern (named ‘In The Black Cat’), and The Last Hope (a toilet block, easily the most well themed toilets I’ve seen at any theme park). Inside The Last Hope, lights slowly flicker in time with gentle echoes of the piece of music – the toilets are an experience in their own right.
Located in the middle of the Huyverwood is the entrance of Danse Macabre. A black cat sits atop a brick-lined gate, to welcome you into the allotment (where the monks of the Abbey used to grow herbs). After queuing in the garden area, you are lead into the pre-show area – the graveyard. Here, you’ll find the mausoleum of the deceased composer, Joseph Charlatan. A mysterious voice tells the backstory of the composer’s disappearance, before the gates of the graveyard swing open by themselves, and you head into the forest.
Heading up a wooden footbridge, you’re led through the forest of the Abbey. Smoke rolls across the forest floor, and distant growling can be heard in the distance. As you head up and around, you find yourself at the entrance of the Abbey. Here you’re batched into groups, and sent to wait inside one of the six catacombs. Here, only a small hanging light can be found, with the little meows of (what you assume to be) the cat from the entrance gate. After a short wait, a door opens and you’re led into the large show room, before being ushered into your seats.
You’re seated in one of six choir stalls within the Abbey. Each choir stall seats 18 guests, in rows of six, with each row raised slightly higher than the one in front of it. This gives most guests a good view of what’s about to come. The two most noticeable features in the room at first are the large organ, high up on one side of the abbey wall, and the large collection of musical instruments in the center of the room. Inside one of the instruments, the black cat can be seen peering out, which has followed you throughout the attraction so far.
Once all guests have been seated, and lap bars have been lowered, the staff leave, dramatically closing the doors one by one, before the show begins. The black cat can be heard again, meowing as if it’s in distress. Lighting claps above you, as the cat’s meows slowly turn into deep growls, and the musical instruments move like they’re being crushed by a beast. The lights go out, and large footsteps can be heard circling the room, the floor shaking on every step.
With a loud shriek, the lights shine, and all the choir stalls are facing the ghost of Joseph Charlatan, who can be seen floating in front of the organ. A ghostly violin begins the performance of the final piece the missing orchestra had played – Danse Macabre.
From here, it’s incredibly difficult to describe the full motion of the platform and the choir stalls. The desired effect has definitely been achieved, as you dance along with the music, the conductor, and his orchestra. The conductor and the orchestra can be seen above you, and around the room, in different ghostly forms.
The performance ends with a dramatic rise with the music, before being plunged down, and back into darkness. The lights are raised, showing everything to be back to how it was at the begining, as if nothing had happened. The violin calmly ends the piece, and that’s that. Your lap bars raise, and you exit down some stairs into the gift shop. From there, you can go back out into the world of Huyverwood, asking yourself what just happened.
I’ve done my best at describing the experience, but words can only do so much, and cannot fully express how good this ride is. This partnership between Intamin and Efteling has created something truly special, and without each other, this ride wouldn’t exist. It’s less a ride and more a theatrical show, but this only improves the experience (in my eyes). I’m sure in the future, another park will make an attraction with this ride type, but I can’t imagine it getting close to this standard.
After each of my four rides, every single person joined in a round of applause, and that shows how well this ride is received. If you didn’t have Efteling high on your list of parks to visit, it should be now. The team at Efteling has done what they set out to achieve – a fully fleshed out story, and an experience that stays with you long after you return home. This is truly their jewel in the crown, and I can only describe it with one word – beautiful.
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