We're saving hundreds visiting the 'Dutch Disneyland' – here's how you can do the same | The Sun

MY family of five loves a theme park – we visit Alton Towers, Legoland, Drayton Manor and Wicksteed every year without fail.

So when the chance arose to try out Efteling, an incredible fairytale theme park in the Netherlands that many Europeans prefer to Disneyland, we jumped at the chance.


But I knew I'd have to find some hacks for saving hundreds on ticket and hotel costs to make it perfect for my pocket as well as for my progeny.

My three-year-old gets free entry but still needs to be factored into travel and accommodation costs.

I started by visiting the Efteling website, where the cheapest overnight deal for the five of us at the end of March would be €504.50 (£442).

Be aware that the initial price you see will go up, as there are fees and taxes added on at the booking stage, including a booking fee of €7.50, tourist tax of €12 and a consumer contribution of €5.

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A room at Efteling Village Loonsche Land, a 15-minute walk from the park, would cost €480, and includes two days' access to the park, breakfast and free parking near the hotel.

As we only wanted to visit for one day, I knew I could find better deals out there and I hit the bonus with this hack.

If you sign up for the Efteling newsletter and put in your date of birth, you'll be sent a discount code that takes €12 off the price of an anyday ticket for up to six people.

You have to use the code in your birthday month or the first two weeks of the following month and the birthday girl or boy will need to show ID at the park to validate the offer.

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That means my family can visit for €144, saving €48 on our tickets. Anyone in the party can get a discount code for their birthday, including under fours.

A quick look at accommodation in the nearby town, which is within walking distance of Efteling, brought up some great options if the themed hotels at the park aren't for you. 

I've booked a lovely family studio that includes two sleeping areas, a kitchenette and a lounge area at Hotel 't Peperhuys in Kaatsheuvel.

Having compared the prices on various booking sites, using the hotel's own website brought the price down to €160 including breakfast, rather than more than £163 with breakfast not included on Booking.com.

I'll still need to pay tourist tax of €12, but another bonus of booking direct is that I pay at the property on the day of arrival.

Our tickets and accomodation will cost €316.

If we weren't using the birthday discount code, there are also some Efteling deals on the hotel's own website, taking €6 off per ticket for guests.

If we were planning to visit for two days, our hotel room with breakfast and Efteling tickets would come to €472 (£414) in total by booking through Peperhuys.

And we've got a much bigger room with better facilities than we would in the Efteling hotels – 75 m² instead of 23m². That's worth its weight in gold when you've got adults and children with different bedtimes, all sharing the same space.

But if you have nerves of steel, the best way to bag a bargain for an overnight visit with two days' access is to wait for the last-minute deals for the coming fortnight on the Efteling website.

That will probably bring the price for my family down to around €400, but obviously it depends on what availability there is as to whether you will get a deal for the days you want to visit.

To get to Efteling, which is just below Amsterdam, there are lots of choices such as the ferry, Eurostar, Eurotunnel and flights.

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I've chosen the overnight ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam, costing about £150 one way for travel and a five-berth cabin and will save us hotel costs.

I can't wait to see the boys' faces when we visit Efteling and check out how the foreign fairytale land compares to our British family favourites.


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