Walibi and Drievliet close theme parks Friday over heat; Efteling open to staff’s dismay

Walibi Holland and Drievliet have decided to keep their theme parks closed on Friday due to the expected heat and the code red weather alarm issued by the KNMI. At 10:00 a.m., thermometers already reached 30 degrees Celsius in Maastricht. Efteling, on the other hand, is open as usual - much to its staff’s dismay.

The KNMI weather alarm for extreme heat is in effect in most of the country until at least 11:00 p.m. on Friday. Many schools have decided not to open, for pupils’ safety, and the Rijkswaterstaat has urged people to stay off the roads.

Reason enough to keep the park closed on Friday, Walibi decided. “The safety of our guests and employees always comes first,” the theme park in Biddinghuizen said. People who already have a ticket for Friday can exchange it for another date.

Drievliet also stressed the safety of employees and visitors, ANP reported. "Due to the exceptionally high temperatures and on the advice of the KNMI, our park will remain closed tomorrow," the amusement park in the municipality of The Hague announced. "Given the expected extreme weather conditions, we do not consider it responsible to open the park."

Avonturenpark Hellendoorn and Sprookjeswonderland Enkhuizen are also closed on Friday.

Efteling made a different decision. The amusement park is open as usual, and employees are outraged, Looopings, a news site for the attractions sector, reported based on messages on the park’s intranet.

An Efteling spokesperson told the site that they are “extra alert” and have a heat protocol in effect. “We are looking out for each other, and we do not expect large crowds,” they said. “We are continuously reviewing what additional actions are needed.”

Efteling employees are not pleased with the wait-and-see attitude. “I don’t understand or see what the idea behind this is. This is impossible for anyone to keep up and is not healthy either. The park staff are suffering enormously because of this!” an employee commented on the park’s internal notice that it would remain open.

Another employee went even further: "The only thing I gather from the above message is that Efteling cares more about money than the well-being of guests and employees if it flatly ignores government advice."

Others wrote that closing is “the only safe option for employees and guests” and that opening in the heat is simply “not really safe for the staff.” Others pointed out that the lines for many of the outside attractions don’t have a lot of shade and that people would be baking in the sun.

The Efteling spokesperson said that the park is aware of employees’ concerns. “We pay close attention to the well-being of our employees; they are regularly relieved and given extra breaks,” they told Looopings. “If circumstances warrant it, we will decide to close locations.”