Toverland | Fenix | B&M Wing Coaster
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Fluorineer
Mega Poster
Pacoin
Roller Poster
The part what I find the best part of the whole roller coaster is actually just the top. I LOVE how after u went up the left hill u dont inmediatly drop. u have a few seconds where u make a small turn at the top of the coaster before u get into the inverse loop. That is brilliant and realy adds to the excitement of the coaster. I wish more coaster did that
CSLKennyNI
Giga Poster
Toverland Fansite has revealed that discussions are underway regarding the future of the park's name, especially after Fenix didn't attract the numbers they were hoping for.
"Since it opened in 2001 the park has been called Toverland. In recent years, millions have been invested in rapid park expansion. So partly due to this growth, the name of the theme park has come under criticism. Toverland in Dutch translates to Magic Land - which some marketing experts and park fans think is standing in the way of the park's development. They believe the the public at general still view the park as a kids park. (This year Dutch site Looopings in particular has been very vocal regarding this...) Does the name still fit the park?
A possible change of name therefore might be considered. Caroline Kortooms, the park's managing director, has said that a final decision will be made at the end of this year.
Caroline herself remains behind the name, because she doesn't think Toverland is childish. However she does understand the discussion around the name. "We have to ask ourselves whether Toverland covers the entire offering now in comparison to how the park started 17 years ago.
The visitor numbers of Toverland were somewhat disappointing last summer. Toverland did receive 20% more visitors following the price increase of 25 to 30%. Caroline believes that this was due to the sweltering warm summer, nevertheless they are still proud of this result and Avalon.
Whatever the result of the discussions around the possible name change will be, at the end of 2018 the decision will be set in stone. Then we will know whether the name of the theme park will stay the name."
Personally I like the name Toverland. It underlines the park's selling point with the whole 'Discover your magic' marketing this year and park concept of all the magical themed areas.
The complaints of some is that the park's name/brand is not very recognisable or well known by the public - that is true but I think that is just more down to the fact the park is still young. They want to be up with the big leagues. However Efteling, Phantasialand and Europa Park are simply more established as they've been around longer - 66, 51, 43 years respectively. Wider recognition will come over time as people get know it better. I'm not sure a name change is the right thing to do.
Plus with all the money spent on totally rebranding with the new logo, corporate brand and staff clothing this year it would be a real waste.
"Since it opened in 2001 the park has been called Toverland. In recent years, millions have been invested in rapid park expansion. So partly due to this growth, the name of the theme park has come under criticism. Toverland in Dutch translates to Magic Land - which some marketing experts and park fans think is standing in the way of the park's development. They believe the the public at general still view the park as a kids park. (This year Dutch site Looopings in particular has been very vocal regarding this...) Does the name still fit the park?
A possible change of name therefore might be considered. Caroline Kortooms, the park's managing director, has said that a final decision will be made at the end of this year.
Caroline herself remains behind the name, because she doesn't think Toverland is childish. However she does understand the discussion around the name. "We have to ask ourselves whether Toverland covers the entire offering now in comparison to how the park started 17 years ago.
The visitor numbers of Toverland were somewhat disappointing last summer. Toverland did receive 20% more visitors following the price increase of 25 to 30%. Caroline believes that this was due to the sweltering warm summer, nevertheless they are still proud of this result and Avalon.
Whatever the result of the discussions around the possible name change will be, at the end of 2018 the decision will be set in stone. Then we will know whether the name of the theme park will stay the name."
Personally I like the name Toverland. It underlines the park's selling point with the whole 'Discover your magic' marketing this year and park concept of all the magical themed areas.
The complaints of some is that the park's name/brand is not very recognisable or well known by the public - that is true but I think that is just more down to the fact the park is still young. They want to be up with the big leagues. However Efteling, Phantasialand and Europa Park are simply more established as they've been around longer - 66, 51, 43 years respectively. Wider recognition will come over time as people get know it better. I'm not sure a name change is the right thing to do.
Plus with all the money spent on totally rebranding with the new logo, corporate brand and staff clothing this year it would be a real waste.
Crazycoaster
Giga Poster
Tbh I think Toverland are headed in the right direction, but word of mouth takes more than just one season to spread. It's been a big visit for enthusiasts because we follow this sort of thing, but to a member of the GP who knew Toverland as a small park with indoor kids rides this will take a bit longer to get them onboard. Give it a few seasons for the word of mouth to spread
"hey! I went to toverland the other day and they've actually got this cool huge new ride"
"Oh really? Maybe I'll check it out.."
These things take their time though, return on investments isn't always instantaneous, so I hope they don't jump into a rash decision based on the first season.
"hey! I went to toverland the other day and they've actually got this cool huge new ride"
"Oh really? Maybe I'll check it out.."
These things take their time though, return on investments isn't always instantaneous, so I hope they don't jump into a rash decision based on the first season.
Bredera
Roller Poster
Toverland is really going in the right direction, I love the park 
however when I bring it up with the GP the first reaction I almost always get is, isn't that that small indoor park I visited 10 years ago? apparently few people from the GP know that Toverland has expanded so much in the last couple of years. and when said that they actually did expand a lot and have some really cool attractions they most often then not say I will check it out.
Anyway I think the park does not have the problem with their name but with keeping the GP informed about changes to the park
however when I bring it up with the GP the first reaction I almost always get is, isn't that that small indoor park I visited 10 years ago? apparently few people from the GP know that Toverland has expanded so much in the last couple of years. and when said that they actually did expand a lot and have some really cool attractions they most often then not say I will check it out. Anyway I think the park does not have the problem with their name but with keeping the GP informed about changes to the park
Pear
Strata Poster
Looopings method of being vocal is one of the reasons I don't like that website too much. Hearing their opinions repeated over and over again touted as facts turns me away. It just comes off as bullying after a while and not just criticism.
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CSLKennyNI
Giga Poster
Looopings. Bullying? Never...
Not that lovely site which calls German forums Nazis when they ask that they stop stealing and using pictures of theirs without credit...
chainedbanana
Hyper Poster
I Think 'Toverland' the name is still very apt for the park, And I personally love the new Logo and marketing. They just need to give it time! Fenix opening later in the season probably didn't help, with many people waiting until Avalon and Port Laguna were fully open!
2019 should be a better season as it will be the first full season with Avalon and Port Laguna all up and working from the go.
I think changing the name could in fact be a detriment and confuse the GP, and could be a step back! what they really need is better marketing campaigns to push the name and brand, and to illustrate their offerings as a park!
In the early 2000's it took a few years for Thorpe to transition from a VERY family oriented park to thrill park.
2019 should be a better season as it will be the first full season with Avalon and Port Laguna all up and working from the go.
I think changing the name could in fact be a detriment and confuse the GP, and could be a step back! what they really need is better marketing campaigns to push the name and brand, and to illustrate their offerings as a park!
In the early 2000's it took a few years for Thorpe to transition from a VERY family oriented park to thrill park.
Fluorineer
Mega Poster
The name "Toverland" is a double-sided coin because it sounds like a really good name - for Germans, for Englishmen, for Frenchmen - just not for Dutchmen. I'm actually not sure if there is anything like that. I'm not even talking about theme park or ride names, but rather brand names overall. Really strange.
What definitely hurts Toverland is that they are not taking enough advantage of their potential reception from foreigners. They had a short ad-campaign running when Avalon and Port Laguna opened, but that only went for 3-4 weeks, and it also didn't really tell people what they actually added to the park since they went for a really strange artwork rather than something that actually showed what they had to offer. For example, I'm working in Mönchengladbach right now, and as you can see, it's really not that far away from Toverland and strongly oriented towards Venlo and the Netherlands in general. I suggested to visit a theme park for this years team event and everybody was like "so, Phantasialand?", then I suggested "no no, we should visit Toverland, it's much closer actually". And of course, nobody in my team ever heard of Toverland.
This is even worse if you consider how easily accessible Toverland is from Germany. The highways A40 and A61 directly connect Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Dortmund and all surrounding cities with Venlo, and from there it's only a very short drive to Toverland. Compared to the hassle it is to reach Phantasialand - thanks to the traffic-****hole Cologne - this is the easiest daytrip in the world. All these cities should be plastered with Toverland ads for at least the entire summer holidays and the Halloween-season.
I also can't understand why Toverland are planning their events according to the holidays of Limburg, considering how tiny it is compared to the cities I listed above. Cologne alone has just as many inhabitants as the entire province of Limburg. If we start with the summer holidays, those went from July 7th to August 19th. The holidays in NRW went from July 14th to August 29th, so that alone would be potential for at least one extra week of midsummer-events. Even if Toverland does not see enough potential in German visitors, Northern Brabant is right around the corner and their holidays went until August 26th.
The Halloween-season leaves me with an even worse verdict. November 1st is a ****ing holiday in NRW. How is there not a Halloween Night on October 31st? Are you ****ing kidding me? 10 out of the 14 Dutch provinces AND NRW have fall-holidays until September 28th. It's an absolute crime to not have another round of Halloween-events this week, sorry.
What annoys me the most is that Toverland has shown already this season, that they are able to learn. I feel like they went for Wednesday for their midsummer-events so that they could avoid the competition with Efteling, which has long summer openings on Fridays and Saturdays, but halfway through the summer-holidays, Toverland changed its mind and offered another round of midsummer-events on Saturdays. And I really like it. Efteling has 5 million visitors each year, they will be stealing the show regardless of what Toverland is doing, so why even pay attention to that park? Even though the GP might perceive both parks as having a very similar theme and similar audiences, Toverland really started to differentiate itself even further from Efteling with this summer's expansion, you can clearly tell the different directions these parks are taking and Toverland should just do it's own thing. Who gives what Efteling is doing. If there is any nearby province having summer holidays, I want a midsummer-event every Wednesday and every Saturday, period. And at least I'm somewhat convinced that they will actually do that next year.
So, verdict? Blaming it all on the name is making it way too easy. Toverland does not have a problem with being perceived as a kids park. Toverland has a problem with being perceived at all, because this park still operates as if it was the Limburgish all-year-funfair in a warehouse.
What definitely hurts Toverland is that they are not taking enough advantage of their potential reception from foreigners. They had a short ad-campaign running when Avalon and Port Laguna opened, but that only went for 3-4 weeks, and it also didn't really tell people what they actually added to the park since they went for a really strange artwork rather than something that actually showed what they had to offer. For example, I'm working in Mönchengladbach right now, and as you can see, it's really not that far away from Toverland and strongly oriented towards Venlo and the Netherlands in general. I suggested to visit a theme park for this years team event and everybody was like "so, Phantasialand?", then I suggested "no no, we should visit Toverland, it's much closer actually". And of course, nobody in my team ever heard of Toverland.
This is even worse if you consider how easily accessible Toverland is from Germany. The highways A40 and A61 directly connect Cologne, Düsseldorf, Duisburg, Essen, Dortmund and all surrounding cities with Venlo, and from there it's only a very short drive to Toverland. Compared to the hassle it is to reach Phantasialand - thanks to the traffic-****hole Cologne - this is the easiest daytrip in the world. All these cities should be plastered with Toverland ads for at least the entire summer holidays and the Halloween-season.
I also can't understand why Toverland are planning their events according to the holidays of Limburg, considering how tiny it is compared to the cities I listed above. Cologne alone has just as many inhabitants as the entire province of Limburg. If we start with the summer holidays, those went from July 7th to August 19th. The holidays in NRW went from July 14th to August 29th, so that alone would be potential for at least one extra week of midsummer-events. Even if Toverland does not see enough potential in German visitors, Northern Brabant is right around the corner and their holidays went until August 26th.
The Halloween-season leaves me with an even worse verdict. November 1st is a ****ing holiday in NRW. How is there not a Halloween Night on October 31st? Are you ****ing kidding me? 10 out of the 14 Dutch provinces AND NRW have fall-holidays until September 28th. It's an absolute crime to not have another round of Halloween-events this week, sorry.
What annoys me the most is that Toverland has shown already this season, that they are able to learn. I feel like they went for Wednesday for their midsummer-events so that they could avoid the competition with Efteling, which has long summer openings on Fridays and Saturdays, but halfway through the summer-holidays, Toverland changed its mind and offered another round of midsummer-events on Saturdays. And I really like it. Efteling has 5 million visitors each year, they will be stealing the show regardless of what Toverland is doing, so why even pay attention to that park? Even though the GP might perceive both parks as having a very similar theme and similar audiences, Toverland really started to differentiate itself even further from Efteling with this summer's expansion, you can clearly tell the different directions these parks are taking and Toverland should just do it's own thing. Who gives what Efteling is doing. If there is any nearby province having summer holidays, I want a midsummer-event every Wednesday and every Saturday, period. And at least I'm somewhat convinced that they will actually do that next year.
So, verdict? Blaming it all on the name is making it way too easy. Toverland does not have a problem with being perceived as a kids park. Toverland has a problem with being perceived at all, because this park still operates as if it was the Limburgish all-year-funfair in a warehouse.
Pacoin
Roller Poster
I love how Toverland is going into a different direction then Efteling. Efteling is kinda dissapointing me a little. I really dont understand the choice to rebuild the Python.. Sure its iconic.. But most people dont like it. They are all for theming and then decide to rebuild a coaster and stil have it have 0 theming.
Toverland has really upped their theming and immersion with the latest expansions. They spent 35 mil on 2 new sections in the park fully themed and that has amazing landscaping. 2 rides of wich 1 is an amazing wing coaster that Peter mainly designed himself. For that money Efteling build 1 dark ride that has a 50/50 wow/meh reaction.
Its great that there is extra competition now in the Netherlands. And I love how they are willing to take big risks. When they had just the indoor halls. It was a big risk to build a big wooden coaster and look how that payed off for them! On a dutch forum people were discussing if Fenix was a good decission as it was such a big expensive coaster for a small park. But just them willing to do this is so exciting! they first only wanted to build a new entrance area and 1 boat ride and later just decided it was best to also add a big coaster.
Toverland has really upped their theming and immersion with the latest expansions. They spent 35 mil on 2 new sections in the park fully themed and that has amazing landscaping. 2 rides of wich 1 is an amazing wing coaster that Peter mainly designed himself. For that money Efteling build 1 dark ride that has a 50/50 wow/meh reaction.
Its great that there is extra competition now in the Netherlands. And I love how they are willing to take big risks. When they had just the indoor halls. It was a big risk to build a big wooden coaster and look how that payed off for them! On a dutch forum people were discussing if Fenix was a good decission as it was such a big expensive coaster for a small park. But just them willing to do this is so exciting! they first only wanted to build a new entrance area and 1 boat ride and later just decided it was best to also add a big coaster.
Flying Pilot
Mega Poster
They eventually will, but they expected a bit more visitors last year. They saved a bit of money to open some rides later on the day, when it wasn't busy. If they get more crowd in this year, I see them spend an extra bit of money for that section. I have no source, but this is most likely what they will do.
CSLKennyNI
Giga Poster
Toverland's PR manager confirmed that the preshow scene is being added for this season.
CSLKennyNI
Giga Poster
Toverland have announced that the minimum height restriction for Fenix is being reduced from 1.40m to 1.32m.
Phantasiastisch
Mega Poster
A new (recent) photo from Avalon popped up today on the Facebookpage from Toverlandfansite. The façade on the left side of The Square Box (a.k.a. Fenix' station building) is still not themed...
But I am curious about the extra scene!
But I am curious about the extra scene!
JoshC.
Strata Poster
Post from Toverland hinting about the scene pre-lift. Feels very...un-Avalon?