De Vliegende Hollander

Geschiedenis

De Vliegende Hollander is a combination of a water coaster and a dark ride in amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It should have gone operational on April 16, 2006 Easter, exactly 328 years after the disappearance of the legendary Dutch man of war the Flying Dutchman; due to construction problems the opening was postponed to April 1, 2007.The coaster carriageThe seats are arranged alternately, so that no riders encounter obstruction of their vision.The legend and the attractionWillem van der Decken, a captain of the Dutch East India Company, is a wealthy trader in command of the fastest ship of the VOC, named the "Hollander" . But greed takes control of him and secretly he starts practicing piracy. He recruits his crew from orphanages. On Easter 1678, despite a heavy storm blowing into port, he sets sail for the Dutch East Indies. When all despair for this lack of fear for God, he proclaims: "I will sail, storm or not, Easter or not, prohibited or not. I will sail, even into eternity!" . Against the wind he sailed toward damnation. The house of Van der Decken is part of the scenery for the queue line. After walking through this abandoned house the queue continues down into so-called 'smugglers' tunnels', where Van der Decken's treasure can be seen hidden behind a small door. The tunnel ends in the cellar of a pub in 17th-century style. In the harbor, under a dark clouded sky the coaster ride begins. The 14-person barge goes into open sea where it meets a holographic ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, and dives under its bow into the Underworld. Here, it halts, and a ghostly voice is heard stating: "You shall also sail until the end of time!" The barge is then towed to a height of 22,5 meters. Doors open and the barge shoots in a curved declination through a tunnel. After this some airtime in a bunnyhop and an 85-degree horseshoe. A steep fall and a left curve bring the barge back into the water. A special technique allows for variation in the size of the “splash”, thus preparing the ride for winter opening.