Fata Morgana, the forbidden city, also known as 1001 Arabian Nights (or "1001 nachten" in

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

) is a

dark ride A dark ride—or ghost train when horror themed—is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain Animatronics, animation, sound, music and Special effect#Live spe ...

in the

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

Efteling Efteling () is a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel, the Netherlands. The attractions reflect elements from ancient European myths and legends, fairy tales, fables, and folklore. The park was opened on May 31, 1952. It evolved from a ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. The attraction was designed by

Ton van de Ven Ton van de Ven (1 January 1944 – 16 September 2015) was a Dutch industrial designer. He is best known as the creative director at the Efteling theme park. Van de Ven was born in Eindhoven, Netherlands, where he also studied at the Design Acade ...

and Jan Verhoeven and opened in 1986.

Features

Fata Morgana is a dark ride/

tow boat ride A tow boat ride is a water ride constructed on a body of water. The course is defined by a main drive underwater cable, creating the impression of free floating boats. The station could be a revolving platform. Partial list of tow boat rides ...

that was opened in 1986. The attraction is based on the 1001 Arabian Nights. The ride is populated by 140

animatronics An animatronic is a puppet controlled electronically to move in a fluent way. Animatronics are the modern adaptation of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films, video games and in theme park attractions. Anim ...

. Fata Morgana is set inside a large building with turquoise and gold domes on the roof. A large tower serves as the entrance to the ride. There is a large square outside the ride with palm trees, fountains and flames. The ride's gift shop ''De Bazaar'', and a kiosk, ''Oase'', are located nearby to the ride.

Boarding

The facade of the ride is a huge domed building painted gold and turquoise. Guests enter through a large tower that serves as the entrance to the ride. They then wait on raised platforms above a round canal with a turntable in the middle. Guests are taken down the stairs and onto the omnimover style turntable, before boarding 16 passenger boats. There is never more than one boat in each scene, except for the first Jungle scene where one can see the back of a boat turning into the Poor District.

Ride

The ride passes through the following scenes: * Jungle * Poor District * Marketplace * Prison * Torture Chamber * Harbour * Harem * The Pasha's Palace * Treasure Chamber * Storm Scene * Jungle Total ride time is 8 minutes, capacity of 1800 persons/ hour. An

on-ride photo An on-ride camera is a camera mounted alongside the track of a roller coaster, log flume (attraction), log flume or other thrill ride that automatically photographs all of the riders on each passing Train (roller coaster), vehicle. They are ofte ...

is taken part way through.

History and details

The attraction is considered to be the link between the old fairy-tale style of

Anton Pieck Anton Franciscus Pieck (19 April 1895 – 24 November 1987) was a Dutch painter, artist and graphic artist. His works are noted for their nostalgic or fairy tale-like character and are widely popular, appearing regularly on cards and calendars. H ...

and the newer, more intensive rides. The opening was planned for 1984, but in order to give more time for the designing team it was postponed to 1986. The original name Fata Medina was changed to Fata Morgana to avoid confusion with the Islamic holy city, though it is more likely that it was a reference to the first completed part of the ride, the

Medina quarter A medina (from ) is a historical district in a number of North African cities, often corresponding to an old walled city. The term comes from the Arabic word simply meaning "city" or "town". Historical background Prior to the rise and intrusi ...

- the poor district and central marketplace. The decorative art was bought in the Moroccan city of

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

and the

were dressed by Belgian designer Jeanine Lambrechts. Underwater rotating disks regulate the transport system provided by the Swiss manufacturer

Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing Amusement ride, thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other e ...

. The whole transport system was developed by Intamin (as a ''

Tow boat ride A tow boat ride is a water ride constructed on a body of water. The course is defined by a main drive underwater cable, creating the impression of free floating boats. The station could be a revolving platform. Partial list of tow boat rides ...

''). Total cost, converted from Guilders: €7 million.

Music

The music for Fata Morgana was composed by composer Ruud Bos, who also wrote the musical themes for Dreamflight, Bird Rok and

Villa Volta Villa Volta is an attraction in the amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It is a rare type of ride known as a madhouse, a variation of a haunted house, where the visitors get the illusion that either the building, the visitors themselves ...

. Naturally he chose a

Harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

style as the base theme for the music. More specifically, the beginning of the ride is linked by orchestral music to the dreamy, mideastern music with flutes and violins of the market, the first setting of the attraction. The music gets darker when the ride passes the prison part. A slow melody sets in upon entering the harbor but is extended with instruments like violins, gongs and a percussion. The musical climax comes when the ride ends in the final scene of the throneroom. There are five compositions: * The Harem * The Harbor * The Market Place * The Eastern Jails * The Jungle 30 amplifiers and 150 loudspeakers generate a total of 8000 Watt.

References

External links

*
Official ride websiteFansite
{{Efteling Dark rides Water rides Tow boat rides Efteling Animatronic attractions