Droomvlucht

Efteling

General info

Category

Dark Ride
Type

Car Ride
Status

Operating
Opened

8 April 1993

Description

Droomvlucht is a suspended dark ride which takes guests on a flight through dreamlike worlds. Scenes range from forests inhabited by fantasy creatures to castles floating in space. As the ride is meant to represent incoherent dreams, scenes are only loosely connected and there is no mention of a story.

The scenes are, in order of appearance:
- Kastelenrijk (Castle Realm)
- Wonderwoud (Wondrous Woods)
- Elfentuin (Elf Garden)
- Sterrentunnel (Star Tunnel)
- Hemelburchten (Heavenly Strongholds)
- Zompenwoud (Swamp Forest)
- Uitzwaai (Waving Goodbye)

Due to safety regulations, Droomvlucht is not accessible for those with a mobility impairment. However, Efteling provides a ''Virtual Droomvlucht'' through which the ride can be experienced with a VR headset. The service is located near the exit, in a former gift shop.

"Droomvlucht" is Dutch for "Dream Flight".

History

The ride system of Droomvlucht was intended to be built by the English company Computerized People Movers (CPM). CPM went bankrupt however, and steel producer BHS and Translift were brought in to produce the ride. Unfortunately, during the first test runs, it turned out the engines in the cars were not strong enough to make it up the steep hills in the track. Modifying the cars resulted in the ride not opening in 1992, but in 1993.

Droomvlucht received a major upgrade in 2013, which mainly focused on technical renovations but also included some new decor.

In February 2023, the ride reopened after another major refurbishment, during which long broken effects like the rain in the Zompenwoud were repaired as well as new ones installed, like a day-night cycle in the Kastelenrijk. In November of that year, new floating planets were added to the Hemelburchten after the originals got damaged during the refurbishment.