What does Bart say? – A Theme Park blog!

Tomorrow (May 14, 2025), the Efteling opens their 31st fairy tale: the Princess on the Pea. Efteling organised a preview event for their annual pass holders. I went to this preview event to see how the new fairy tale turned out, and this is what I have to say about it! 🫛

Note: this article contains spoilers of the new fairy tale.

For the first time, Efteling chose not to have a fairy tale narrated, but to have the fairy tale sung in. Efteling made an excellent choice here, it suits the fairy tale perfectly. During the scene you see Princess Adinda on a pile of eight mattresses, struggling to get some sleep. Something hard kept her awake during the night, the green pea, hiding under her mattresses by the king’s valets. While the mattresses rock from left to right, the pea is lightened up in a corner of the mattresses. Efteling could choose to execute this in a different way. While the mattresses rock from left to right, the pea lays in plain sight, and not underneath the mattresses. It would be more interesting for us, and for the princess that the pea is hiding till she wakes up and we both (us as guests and the princess) find out what kept her up all night.

Anton Pieck once drew a picture of the princess on the pea. Efteling chose to use this picture as inspiration for the new addition to the fairy tale forest.

Efteling chose the Princess and the Pea as their 31st fairy tale in combination with Efteling Grand Hotel. The 4th hotel in the heart of the park. Since EGH is in the heart of the park, it’s nowhere to be missed when you’re standing next to the fairy tale. Such a shame, it used to be a fairy tale forest, and I’m sorry to say but there is not much of a forest left. And that’s not all.. Efteling chose to build a new entrance for EGH overnight guests. When you stay in EGH you will be able to enter the park through the gates a few metres next to the princess and the pea. I’m worried and curious to see how this will work out in practice. For me, the fairy tale forest is a place of tranquillity. And with the new realised entrance, the peace and quiet probably will change in the forest. Especially at the beginning and end of the day.

With the new addition of the fairy tale, the infrastructure in the forest had to change drastically, not in a positive way. If you decide to walk directly towards Princess and the Pea you will miss 6 important fairy tales which include the wolf and the 7 young goats and the dragon.

Altogether, princess and the pea is a nice addition to the fairytale forest, pity that serves more as an advertising plaque for EGH. I probably gave the fairy tale more love if it was located in a different part of the fairy tale forest.


That’s all, see you next time!
Bart