Hellendoorn
I am a rather large theme park fan, so when I get the chance to visit one, I tend to do so. I also greatly enjoy visiting new places, and I hadn't been to the Adventure-park Hellendoorn in ages. Last time was when I was a child myself, and I had only the most rudimentary of memories of the park. So when we planned a mini-vacation, I added it (and another theme park, which I will discuss in a later post) to the things we were going to do.
Hellendoorn was interesting, but I quickly saw why it's not a park I hear my friends about. The optimal age to visit the park is obviously between 8 and 14. There are fun rides for all ages, like the 'Wild Waterval' (Wild Waterfall), a log ride which could get you soaked, the Sungai Kalimantan, an Indonesian themed river rapids ride, the Discovery Club, a underground lasergame adventure where you get to shoot at haunted items from a slow moving cart, and the 'Rioolrat'(Sewer-rat), an underground rollercoaster. While these rides themselves are fun, the seats tend to be just a touch small for adults.
Next to the rides that are also fun for adults, there are a fair amount of rides for kids only. The park itself is very compact, with a lot of rides in as little space as possible. The price paid for this is a lack of thematic atmosphere. That doesn't imply that there have been no attempts made to add this, and here and there there are bits where the rides theme works, like around the Sungai Kalimantan, the toddlers village and the Rioolrat, but for the most part, the park has the feel of an eclectic collection of rides, with a bit of a water theme.
All in all, the park is something I recommend you to visit at least once if you happen to be on vacation really nearby anyway, and it is high summer, or if you are in the Netherlands and have kids with you that are between 8-14 years old, and you want to visit a theme park other than the Efteling.
