Fata Morgana (Efteling)

Fata Morgana
Fata Morgana at night
Efteling
Area	Anderrijk
Status	Operating
Cost	€7,000,000
Opening date	1986
General statistics
Type	Dark ride
Manufacturer	Intamin
Designer	Ton van de Ven, Jan Verhoeven
Model	Tow boat ride
Speed	2 km/h (1.2 mph)
Capacity	1800 riders per hour
Duration	8 minutes

Fata Morgana, the forbidden city, also known as 1001 Arabian Nights (or "1001 nachten" in Dutch) is a dark ride in amusement park Efteling in the Netherlands. It was designed by Ton van de Ven and Jan Verhoeven and opened in 1986.

Fata Morgana is a dark ride/tow boat ride that was opened in 1986. The attraction is based on the 1001 Arabian Nights. The ride is populated by 140 animatronics. Fata Morgana is set inside a large building with turquoise and gold domes on the roof. A large tower serves as the entrance to the ride. There is a large square outside the ride with palm trees, fountains and flames. The ride's gift shop De Bazaar, and a kiosk, Oase, are located nearby to the ride.

The facade of the ride is a huge domed building painted gold and turquoise. Guests enter through a large tower that serves as the entrance to the ride. They then wait on raised platforms above a round canal with a turntable in the middle. Guests are taken down the stairs and onto the turntable, before boarding 16 passenger boats. There is never more than one boat in each scene, except for the first Jungle scene where one can see the back of a boat turning into the Poor District.

The ride passes through the following scenes:

Total ride time is 8 minutes, capacity of 1800 persons/ hour.

The attraction is considered to be the link between the old fairy-tale style of Anton Pieck and the newer, more intensive rides.

The opening was planned for 1984, but in order to give more time for the designing team it was postponed to 1986. The original name Fata Medina was changed to Fata Morgana to avoid confusion with the Islamic holy city, though it is more likely that it was a reference to the first completed part of the ride, the Medina quarter- the poor district and central marketplace.

The decorative art was bought in the Moroccan city of Marrakech and the animatronics were dressed by Belgian designer Jeanine Lambrechts.