The renowned Dutch theme park Efteling has announced the closure of one if its classic attractions today: Spookslot (Haunted Castle). This giant animatronic show was the first attraction to open in Efteling outside of their signature fairy tale forest in 1978. Efteling states in a press-release that they will replace the ride with a renewed theme zone, including an indoor attraction.
Rumours of the closure of Spookslot started to spread in October of last year. Reasons for the closure are its age and popularity. When the attraction opened, Efteling attracted 1 million visitors a year. “That’s when Spookslot had a lot of attraction, but those times are over” says Efteling CEO Fons Jurgens to Algemeen Dagblad, “Spookslot was perhaps, if we are very honest, already outdated ten years ago. But it is still hard to say goodbye to such an icon.”
Efteling are investing €25 million on a renewed themed zone on the location of Spookslot, which will include rides, a restaurant and shop. The main attraction will be an indoor ride with a capacity of 1.250 people per hour. Though details on the ride type are unknown, it seems that this new ride will become Efteling’s eighth Dark Ride Database listing. Along with this new themed zone, the park announced a new hotel with 143 rooms and two restaurants, next to the main entrance of the park.
