Efteling is an amazing Dutch theme park about an hour outside of Amsterdam; while it deploys many of the same technologies as Disney-style parks, it has a completely different affect, centered around small, homely, perfect little jewel-box rides that bring fairy tales to life.
Case in point: the new Elisa and the Six Swans ride, which uses swan-boats as ride vehicles to bring visitors into a set of watery caverns for a brief, soft-focus encounter with a detailed and lovely animatronic, followed by a short denouement.
It's a huge investment in a very short, very sweet experience, the kind of thing that's motivated by equal parts craft and business.
(Thanks, Dan!)
