Flying Dutchman (Efteling) - The Legend and The Attraction

The Legend and The Attraction

Willem van der Decken, a captain of the Dutch eastindian corporation VOC, the first limited company, is a wealthy trader in command of the fastest ship of the VOC, named the "Hollander" (Dutchman). 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!" (old Dutch: "Ik zal vaeren, storm of gheen storm, Paesen of gheen Paesen, verbod of gheen verbod. Ik zal vaeren, al is het tot in den eeuwigheid!").
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. The barge is then towed to a height of 22,5 meters. Here, it halts, and a ghostly voice is heard stating: "You shall sail until the end of time!" (Old Dutch: "Gij zult vaeren, tot het einde der tijden!") Doors open and the barge shoots in a curved declination through a tunnel. After this some airtime in a bunnyhop and a 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 .