Mr Taytoooaaah!
Coming soon.. the biggest wooden rollercoaster in Europe rises out of Co Meath
FROM a distance it could be confused for a sunny corner of Florida or perhaps a theme park in New Jersey.
But the maze of wooden supports and the twisting track is rising out of the ground at Tayto Park, Co. Meath, and will soon carry passengers on the country’s first major rollercoaster.
The thrilling ride, christened Cú Chulainn after the mythical warrior, will be Europe’s largest inverted wooden rollercoaster when it opens to the public later this summer.
Even at the dizzying heights, from which the Irish Daily Mail captured this aerial photograph, it’s clear that some work is still to be completed.
But before long, families will be shrieking in delight as they hurtle from Cú Chulainn’s highest point at 32 metres above the ground into a series of sharp declines, twists, tunnels and ‘overbanked’ turns.
Work began on the project in August 2014 with on-site construction commencing the following month.
The theme park ride at Mr Tayto’s attraction family in Ashbourne will weigh more than 900 tonnes – made up of 800 tonnes of US yellow pine wood, 100 tonnes of steel and 700,000 nails and bolts.
The man who designed the ride, engineer Korey T. Kiepert from US company The Gravity Group is promising a wild ride. ‘We always try to make each ride the best ride possible for its size,’ he said.
‘When we have the chance to break a record – we go for it. When this ride opens to the public, its overbanked turn will give people a taste of going upside down – a first for a wooden coaster in Europe, so we are pretty excited about this,’ he said recently.
Speaking to the Mail when the rollercoaster was first announced, Mr Kiepert predicted that the rollercoaster will contend for that No.1 spot in Europe and will be in the top ten best wooden rides in the world. He also explained why wooden rollercoasters are making a comeback across the world: ‘The modern wooden rollercoaster basi- cally has these sports cars that ride the tracks that are able to steer and can navigate the turns very smoothly,’ he said, ‘whereas an old-fashioned wooden rollercoaster does not make the turns as quickly so you are battered back and forth.’
He continued: ‘Sometimes a steel rollercoaster ride can be all about going upside down or doing just one thing, and years later the ride might pale in comparison to something else that outdoes it. You know it goes upside down one more time and so that ride isn’t the record-holder any more. But with the wooden rollercoasters we design it’s about the speed and the twists and turns, it’s about going through the structure.’
It will weigh more than 900 tonnes
THE great Irish warrior, Cú Chulainn, is set to make a comeback... in the Tayto Park in Co. Meath.
For there, the 900-tonne Cú Chulainn Coaster will soar to some 32 metres in height, establishing itself as the largest wooden rollercoaster in Europe. We’re right behind you, Mr Tayto!