Efteling, the popular Dutch theme park, has immortalised the now-closed Spookslot Haunted House attraction in the metaverse. Spookslot closed its doors for the last time in 2022, in order to make way for the park’s new themed area.
A unique 3D experience of the Spookslot attraction building in the metaverse will be made available this spring. The attraction has already been digitally recreated through YouTube films, including a walk-through and 360-degree footage. Everyone in the metaverse will be able to see the Haunted House, and Efteling staff will have access to the interior of the structure using a digital key in the form of an NFT.
Efteling enters the metaverse
Whilst the theme park has always embraced new technologies, this is the first time that Efteling has created a 3D experience in the metaverse.
“From our creative philosophy, we build attractions for eternity,” says Koen Sanders, director of product, marketing & image. “We are now experimenting with the latest technologies, and, thanks to the innovative 3D scan, we were able to capture the Spookslot in great detail, making it almost an exact copy of the original.”
“This is hugely special for Efteling. With a digital key in the form of an NFT, all our employees get access to the inside of the attraction building and a piece of the Haunted House literally becomes their property. After all, Efteling belongs to everyone who works here. As Efteling, we have never before immortalised an attraction building in this way or worked with NFT’s capabilities. That is why we deliberately chose to make the digital key available only to our employees. We will of course help them understand the technology properly.
“We are hugely looking forward to the first reactions.”
Immortalising a beloved attraction
“What we have done with the Spookslot Haunted House is very unique in the technology industry and has never been done before,” says Jeroen Pelser of PelserHartman, the company behind the 3D scan. “Together with Boldy-XR, we have made sure that the 3D scan comes to life in the metaverse.
“To create this scan, we deployed state-of-the-art techniques with multiple high-end 3D laser scanners, each making 2 million measurement points per second to capture it very accurately. We are immensely grateful to have been able to contribute in our own way to the preservation of the Haunted House.
“We are ensuring that an icon, which has held special meaning for many staff and visitors, is immortalised in the metaverse. The NFT ensures that exclusivity remains guaranteed.”
The project’s NFTs are hosted on the energy efficient Polygon proof of stake platform.
Efteling welcomed 5.43 million visitors in 2022, the highest number of guests in its 70-year history. The park is now working on two new projects for 2024 – the Efteling Grand Hotel and Danse Macabre.
The park is also installing an additional 12,000 solar panels to help it achieve its goal of becoming climate neutral by 2030 and climate positive by 2032.
Images: Efteling
