Efteling: Europe's Oldest Theme Park Has a €10 Million Problem

Efteling opened in 1952. Disneyland opened in 1955. For three years, this small Dutch theme park in the woods of North Brabant was doing immersive fairytale storytelling before Walt Disney had even broken ground in California. It has never licensed a franchise. It has never been owned by a corporation. Every attraction is built from original European folklore — Brothers Grimm, Dutch legend, Brabantian myth. Its Fairytale Forest, designed by illustrator Anton Pieck with the instruction to build things as though they have been there for a century, has been enchanting visitors continuously for over 70 years. And its guest satisfaction rating of 8.93 out of 10 would embarrass every Merlin property in existence. So why has almost nobody in Britain heard of it? That question is becoming urgent. Because right now, Efteling is in the middle of a legal crisis born entirely from its own success. Its nature permit caps annual visitors at 5 million — any more and it risks damaging the neighbouring Loonse en Drunense Duinen National Park through nitrogen emissions. The park has exceeded that limit repeatedly. In 2023, 5.5 million people visited — 500,000 over the permitted cap — creating a potential fine of €10 million. A spokesperson confirmed the park was prepared to pay the fine to stay open. The backlash was immediate. Meanwhile, British visitors are arriving in growing numbers, drawn by a park that offers comparable theming to Disneyland Paris at a fraction of the cost, with shorter queues and a guest experience that feels genuinely unlike anything else in Europe. The Efteling Grand Hotel opened in summer 2025 as the park's first luxury on-site property. A permit extension is being processed. And Universal is building a theme park in Bedford. The timing could not be more interesting. In this video we explore the full Efteling story — Anton Pieck's founding vision, 70 years of expansion without a single franchise, the foundation ownership model that makes Efteling behave unlike any competitor, the permit crisis threatening its future, and why a fairytale park in the Dutch countryside might be the most underrated theme park destination in the world for British visitors. Two hours from London. Open since before Disneyland. This is Efteling.