Villa Volta, Madhouse attraction in Efteling, Netherlands
Villa Volta is a ride at the Efteling theme park near Loon op Zand that uses visual tricks to confuse the senses. Visitors sit on benches inside a large room while the walls rotate around them, creating the sensation of being flipped upside down.
The ride opened in April 1996 and was the first of its kind in Europe. It introduced a new system with rotating drums and swinging seats that was later copied at several other parks.
The ride narrative incorporates the legend of Bokkenrijders, an 18th-century group of bandits who supposedly flew on goats across southern Netherlands.
The full experience lasts about ten minutes and begins with entrance rooms where the story is told. The actual spinning effect happens at the end and is suitable for visitors who do not have problems with dizziness.
The building is designed as a cursed mansion where Hugo van den Loonsche Duynen supposedly lost his soul. The illusion is created by the contrast between the stationary seat and the rotating room, not by fast movements.
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