The Efteling is going to adapt the controversial attraction Monsieur Cannibale. The attraction with the revolving cooking pots will have a Sinbad the Sailor theme, from the stories of 1001 Nacht.
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Monsieur Cannibale consists of a large number of cooking pots in which visitors can sit. They then circle around a large, almost naked and colored man with a ladle through his nose. The attraction has been criticized for years as a problematic, racist caricature.
More than 1,500 people signed a petition last year requesting that the attraction be removed from the amusement park. At the time, Efteling emphasized that the park does not have to prejudge the social debate. “Most visitors really understand that it is a cheerful caricature, as there are more caricatures in our park. It’s an enlargement, not the world as it really looks,” a spokesman said at the time.
Modifications
The attraction would only be adjusted during major maintenance, and that is happening now. The amusement park received the green light from the Council of State last month for major expansion plans. Immediately after the summer, in addition to Monsieur Cannibale, the Adventure Maze attraction will also be changed to a Sinbad theme. At a later moment it will also be the turn of the Panorama catering location. The adjustments are the first phase of a total area development and cost 2.8 million euros.
The cooking pots of the current attraction Monsieur Cannibale become boats that end up in a sea storm, says De Efteling. “The enterprising and wealthy merchant Sinbad de Zeeman has been in the amusement park since 1998. Sinbad (and his seven adventurous sea voyages) is one of the most popular stories from 1001 Nacht and therefore recognizable for a very broad and diverse target group,” according to the amusement park.
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