| Watch the on-ride POV |
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| The only recurring character in the ride, the caliph. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Intamin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Product | Tow Boat Ride | ||||||||||||||||||
| Builder | Heimo | ||||||||||||||||||
| Designer / calculations | Ton van de Ven Henny Knoet | ||||||||||||||||||
| Onsite construction | Pepping | ||||||||||||||||||
| Type |
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| Hourly capacity | 1600 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Speed | 2 km/h | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cabins | 14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Track length | 285 metres | ||||||||||||||||||
| Animatronics | 137 | ||||||||||||||||||
Fata Morgana is a Dark Boat Ride built by Swiss manufacturer Intamin currently located at Efteling in Kaatsheuvel, North Brabant, The Netherlands.
History
In 1981, Efteling became very successful with Python and Spookslot. This made them want to invest in something far greater, kick starting the development cycle for what is now known as Fata Morgana.
Efteling designer Ton van de Ven recently came back from a visit to America, where he rode Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. This inspired him to design something similar, yet completely different.
The original idea of the ride was to build it in the middle of the island located in the lake of the park, a test ride, Gondoletta, was build. While Gondoletta was a successful ride, the concept itself was dropped due to the island itself being too small for a full fledged dark ride. This resulted in the Gondoletta staying as its own ride, and Fata Morgana being build on another location.[1]
Design
The ride features 14 scenes and 137 animatronics
Ride system
The ride utilities the Tow Boat Ride system build by Intamin, it features a turntable station. There are 14 boats in total, each boat seating 16 guests. The track has a length of 285 meters and a maximum speed of 2 km/h.
Scenes
| Scene | Name | Animatronics |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jungle | 3 |
| 2 | Armenwijk (Poor neighborhood) | 9 |
| 3 | Markt (Market) | 31 |
| 4 | Tunnel | 6 |
| 5 | Vallend Hek (Falling Fence) | 3 |
| 6 | Voorportaal (Vestibule) | 12 |
| 7 | Gevangenis (Prison) | 8 |
| 8 | Haven (Harbour) | 12 |
| 9 | Harem | 7 |
| 10 | Troonzaal (Throne room) | 48 |
| 11 | Schatkamer (Treasure Room) | 2 |
| 12 | Storm | 0 |
| 13 | Kantelkamer (tilting room) | 0 |
| 14 | Jungle | 0 |
Location
The ride is located in the "Anderrijk" area of the park, roughly translating to "Different Realm".
Etymology
Fata Morgana is an from origin Italian word that has been adopted by many different languages, such as English or Dutch. It stand for a mirage, a hallucination people often see when wandering deserts with no food or water in sight. This links back to the attraction seeming to have all been a Fata Morgana itself in the end.
Theme
The ride is themed to the story's of 1001 nights.
References
External link
- Fata Morgana on the Dark Ride DataBase.
