Efteling has, since a 2011 reorganisation, been divided into five themed realms. The realms are named for their visual and emotional character rather than for any narrative; they correspond, roughly, to fairy-tale, fantasy, travel, adventure, and dream. The park's main paths are colour-coded to the realms (cream and forest-green for Marerijk, slate-blue for Anderrijk, terracotta for Reizenrijk, rust-iron for Ruigrijk, lavender for Fantasierijk), and a visitor who pays attention to the path colours never gets lost.
Marerijk — the original fairy-tale realm
This is where the fairy-tale forest lives, along with the carriage rides, the small pavilions, and the older walking paths. The idiom is pure Pieck: cream stucco, dark oak, slate roofs, no straight lines. This realm has the highest density of seasonal features and the slowest pace of movement; visitors walk here, they do not queue here. Marerijk is the realm to begin a visit in, especially if you have children under ten.
Anderrijk — the dream realm
The home of Aquanura, Symbolica, and the Droomvlucht (Dreamflight) ride. The architecture here is from the 1990s onward and is more theatrical: gold leaf, painted curtains, oil-lamp lanterns. Anderrijk is the realm with the largest indoor attractions, and so is the realm to retreat to in rain.
Reizenrijk — the travel realm
The realm of the great journeys: Fata Morgana (the boat ride through a Persian city), Vogel Rok (the indoor roller coaster), Carnaval Festival (the World-of-Tomorrow-style musical tour). The buildings here are deliberately international — minarets next to gondolas next to pagodas — and the path colours are warmer to reflect the southern themes.
Ruigrijk — the adventure realm
The thrill rides: Baron 1898 (the dive coaster), Joris en de Draak (the dual wooden coaster), Python (the looping coaster from 1981), and the kid-friendly George and the Dragon. The architecture is rough-textured, deliberately industrial, and a counterpoint to the Pieck idiom elsewhere. Ruigrijk is the realm to visit in the early afternoon, when the queues for the thrill rides are still manageable.
Fantasierijk — the fantasy realm
The realm of the more whimsical, fairy-tale-adjacent attractions: Pagode (the swinging pagoda gondola), Pardoes Promenade (the small parade route), the seasonal Wintertuin (the winter garden). This realm is the smallest and the most pedestrian-friendly; it has the highest concentration of benches per square metre of any realm.
How to plan a single day
The most common one-day plan in our family, repeated over several decades, is: Marerijk in the morning (fairy-tale forest while it is empty), Ruigrijk in late morning (thrill rides while the families are eating), an indoor lunch in Reizenrijk (Fata Morgana before or after), Anderrijk in the afternoon (Symbolica is a forty-minute experience and best done with a refreshed group), and Fantasierijk for the last hour, mostly to sit on the benches and watch the parade pass. The plan is not optimal in any strict sense; it is what works for a family that has been doing this since 1978.