Bami Salami! Our Magical Day at Toverland!
Today we continue our travels in the Netherlands with a visit to another bucket-list theme park, Attractiepark Toverland. Located in rural Sevenum, just 10 minutes from the German border by car, Toverland has it all - including coasters, shows, water rides and immersive theming that transports you to a world of magic and fantasy.
Besides a campground, Toverland does not currently have any affiliated hotels or resorts, so we stayed offsite at the nearby Gr8 Hotel Sevenum (1.7 miles or 2.8 km from the park). We discovered that the easiest way to get to this park from the Gr8 Sevenum is simply to rent bicycles from the hotel and make the 10-minute journey via cycling, as rideshare services are not readily available and there is no other public transportation offered. The Dutch have long depended on cycling as a primary form of commuting and have excellent, well-maintained bike paths all throughout the country. The bike path that we followed led directly to a bike lot near the Attractiepark Toverland campground and a very short walk from the front entrance. Unlike Efteling, Toverland keeps tight hours even in the summertime, and during our visit these hours were 10:00am to 6:00pm. With this in mind, we arrived about 30 minutes before the park officially opened so that we could make the most out of our 8-hour park day!
The ‘Expansion Avalon’ effort at Attractiepark Toverland was a massive success in our book, with four all-new attractions, a new restaurant venue and a heaping helping of magical theming elements!
We were lucky that our visit happened to coincide with the grand opening of a recent area expansion in the park. Avalon was an area that already had much to offer, including the exceptional Fēnix winged coaster and a dark-ride boating adventure called Merlin’s Quest. The new expansion, however, expands this magical area to include four all-new attractions of varying intensity, interactive animatronic scenes, “training” games, and more. Our game plan was to head straight to Avalon and “rope drop” Fēnix, as we knew this popular coaster would get longer lines later in the day. After a riveting morning ride on our new favorite winged coaster, we spent several hours exploring the new attractions and offerings of Avalon. Our first of the new rides was Dragonwatch, an Intamin Parachute Tower that took up into the sky and gave us an excellent view of the park and surrounding areas - without the intensity of a typical drop tower. Next, we hopped on Merlin’s Magical Garden Tour which featured adorable animatronics and beautiful flowers, many of which we real, living plants! We even got a pack of Toverland branded wildflower seeds as a “thank you” for being among the first to tour the garden (note to US travelers, seeds will NOT clear customs). Katie braved a rather long-line to check out the Gerstlauer Sky Fly Pixarus, which was actually more fun than she anticipated…and also offered some great views and potential interactions with Fēnix. We wrapped up our time in Avalon with a ride on Merlin’s Quest, one of our favorites from the park.
Armed with ponchos, our next attraction was the Djengu River, a rapids ride that definitely would have gotten us soaked if not for the rain gear. The ride did have some great views of the park and we appreciated the theming of mischievous trolls throughout the winding river track. After an attempt to dry off a bit on Booster Bike, the park’s Vekoma motorbike coaster, it was time for a show and a snack. We grabbed nachos and an “ijsdonut” (ice cream donut) from a nearby food stand and then secured a spot front and center for the Aqua Bellatores show at the Port Laguna stage. Like everything we ate in the Netherlands, our food at Toverland was delicious and reasonably priced. The Aqua Bellatores show is a stunt show featuring acrobatics, water, and fire effects and fun for all ages (and language speakers). We had no trouble at all following the story, and it was a great opportunity to get off our feet and enjoy a live performance.
Next, we spent some time exploring the massive indoor areas at Toverland, which house a variety of attractions and eateries. While not much to look at from the outside, the interiors of these large warehouses feature more amazing theming, play areas, and rides such as Blitz Bahn, Toos Express, and Expedition Zork. We were - much to Tim’s dismay - headed for Expedition Zork, a troll-themed log flume that starts inside but takes you outside for the big splash down. After recovering from another water ride, we explored more of the indoor areas…including the immersive magic house Villa Toverhoed (BAMI SALAMI!) and the fun house Villa Fiasko.
Eventually, we did make it back outside for a ride on Paarden van Ithaka, our first ever “pony trek” style ride. This is definitely a family ride, but we really enjoyed the layout and views of Booster Bike and the gardens from our own noble steeds. Finally, we wrapped up our day at Toverland with a ride on the powerhouse wooden coaster, Troy.
Overall, we had an absolutely wonderful day at this park and we were quite pleased with the manageable wait times in the middle of summer. Although it’s neither as large nor as well-known as Efteling, Toverland offers its own variety of magic. I think we can safely say that Toverland is at the top of our recommendations list for any theme park enthusiasts who happen to be visiting the Netherlands - but you don’t have to take our word for it, you can check out our vlog below to follow along with our day, complete with onride POV’s and ridercam reactions!
