Dutch theme park Efteling has announced a new €50 million thrill ride called Missie Luminar, set to open in 2029 as the park’s first suspended launch coaster — a style of roller coaster in which riders’ vehicles hang beneath the track and are shot forward by a launch mechanism rather than a traditional chain lift.
The ride will be built by Vekoma, a Netherlands-based roller coaster manufacturer, and is expected to be a Vekoma Thrill Glider model capable of reaching 80 km/h (about 50 mph) in roughly two minutes. Trains will carry 18 passengers each.
The ride carries a science-fiction storyline built around space travel and discovery. Guests, cast as “missionauts,” will begin their journey inside a scientific institute, where they receive mission instructions before boarding alongside 17 fellow riders. After a powerful launch, the coaster’s more-than-two-minute run is designed to deliver high speeds, unexpected track elements, and multiple moments of weightlessness, all in pursuit of a fictional goal: breaking the light barrier. The surrounding theming draws on natural phenomena, scientific experiments, and 19th-century exploration.
Efteling CEO Fons Jurgens said the coaster type is new territory for the park. The top speed reaches 80 km/h, though the ride may feel faster than that, he said, adding that the attraction’s setting will make it especially distinctive.
The coaster will anchor the park’s Island of the Five Senses zone, near Efteling’s main entrance, joining the House of the Five Senses, the Efteling Grand Hotel, the Efteling Theater, and the Aquanura water show. Jurgens noted that visitors will see the coaster’s vehicles racing past as soon as they enter the park, setting the tone for their visit.
Efteling, located in Kaatsheuvel in the southern Netherlands, has grown since opening in 1952 into one of Europe’s largest theme parks. Missie Luminar adds to a lineup of thrill rides that has expanded in recent years as the park has invested in new attractions to draw international visitors alongside its traditional fairy-tale and dark-ride offerings.
The park has not yet released a specific opening date within 2029 or additional technical details about the ride’s layout.
Cover image courtesy of Efteling.
