Intermediality and Transperceptual Attention in Ruud Bos’s Efteling Rides
Location
Moore Auditorium
Start Date
18-6-2026 4:00 PM
Description
Droomvlucht, Fata Morgana, Vogel Rok and Villa Volta at Efteling (four of the park’s most well-regarded rides) all feature original music composed by Ruud Bos, who passed away in 2023. Yet, almost no scholarly research has been done on Bos, whose contribution to the field is highly significant. The experience of all of these rides is completely transformed by their musical landscape; indeed, having experienced two of them both with and without their music, I can personally attest to their being a completely different audiovisual experiences in each case. This paper discusses and considers how approaching these works through a process of transperceptual attention (Harris, 2021) allows us to understand them as sites of complex intermediality in which dynamic audiovisual relationships are constructed and dissolved in participatory experience. Through close readings of each work in turn, and comparative discussion of the four against other, similar rides, it argues for Bos’s uniqueness as a composer for rides in his approach to audiovisual world building, and positions each of the ride examples as points of unique intermedial experience.
Recommended Citation
Harris, Louise, "Intermediality and Transperceptual Attention in Ruud Bos’s Efteling Rides" (2026). Theme Park Music and Sound. 8.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/tpms/2026/thursday/8
Intermediality and Transperceptual Attention in Ruud Bos’s Efteling Rides
Moore Auditorium
Droomvlucht, Fata Morgana, Vogel Rok and Villa Volta at Efteling (four of the park’s most well-regarded rides) all feature original music composed by Ruud Bos, who passed away in 2023. Yet, almost no scholarly research has been done on Bos, whose contribution to the field is highly significant. The experience of all of these rides is completely transformed by their musical landscape; indeed, having experienced two of them both with and without their music, I can personally attest to their being a completely different audiovisual experiences in each case. This paper discusses and considers how approaching these works through a process of transperceptual attention (Harris, 2021) allows us to understand them as sites of complex intermediality in which dynamic audiovisual relationships are constructed and dissolved in participatory experience. Through close readings of each work in turn, and comparative discussion of the four against other, similar rides, it argues for Bos’s uniqueness as a composer for rides in his approach to audiovisual world building, and positions each of the ride examples as points of unique intermedial experience.