Tayto Park
Tayto Park (Irish: Páirc Tayto) is an amusement park in Ireland, based on the Irish potato crisp brand Tayto. It is located in the townland of Kilbrew, in County Meath. The park was opened in November 2010.
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| Location | Curraha, Ashbourne, County Meath, Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53.545377°N 6.459375°W. |
| Owner | Ashbourne Visitor Centre[1] |
| Operated by | Ashbourne Visitor Centre |
| Opened | November 2010 |
| Visitors per annum | 750,000 (2015) |
| Area | 55 acres (22 ha)[2] |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 18 |
| Roller coasters | 3 |
| Water rides | 1 |
| Website | www.taytopark.ie |
| Status | Closed temporarily due to COVID-19 pandemic |
The park was designed by Stewart and Sinnott Architects, landscaper Anthony Ryan and designer Milo Fitzgerald, with an €8.5 million investment from Ray Coyle. The park developed 22 hectares of County Meath farmland into an American-themed park, which includes a Native American village, Ireland's only wooden roller coaster, a Maxi Dance Party 360, adventure playgrounds and an exotic zoo.[3][4]
It is the sixth most popular paid-for attraction in the Republic of Ireland, with 750,000 visitors in 2015.[5]
General attractions
- Pow Wow Playground: Play area with rope bridges for children under 12.
- Spudhara Playground: Playground with swings and activities for children under 6.
- Dinosaurs Alive: Exhibition of life like animatronic dinosaurs (self-guided walk through)
- Tiny Tater's Patch: Giant spiral hill and mini maze
- Giant Chess Board: A seasonal attraction which features water jets in the ground
- Mini Playground: Intended for children aged 4 years and under
- Crispy Maze
- Vortex Tunnel: This attraction is a tunnel with swirling lights near Wind Starz and The Grand Carousel
- Tayto Factory Tour: Visitors can see how Tayto, a popular brand of crisps within the Republic of Ireland, are made
- Live Shows: Magic shows
- Face Painting & Arts and crafts
- Wheelchair Swing: Located near Honey Pot Bears
- Play and Splash: Water zone
- Lemur Woods: Ireland's biggest immersive experience, with ring-tailed lemurs
- Talking Tree: Mr. Barker learns about sharing, oxygen, wind and vacations in Australia and Madagascar.
Zones
Eagle Sky Adventure Zone
- The Cú Chulainn Coaster: Ireland's only wooden roller coaster, opened on 5 June 2015, the attraction is themed on Irish mythology and named after Cú Chulainn. A figure of the warrior is emblazoned across the front of the roller coaster trains.[4]
- The Rotator: A Maxi Dance Party 360 in which riders face outwards on a rotating gondola that swings like a pendulum. The Rotator no longer spins the full 360° that the ride is capable of, due to people being too scared to ride.
- Air Race: Manufactured by Zamperla, this ride, themed around aeroplanes, spins and rotates simultaneously.
- 5D Cinema: A short film experience featuring air gusts, water jets, leg ticklers, flashing lights, bubbles and smoke blasts.
- Zip Line Extreme: Tayto Park is home to Ireland's longest and fastest zip wire as of 2019 the zipline has been removed.
- Extreme Climbing Wall: 21 metre climbing wall
- Tayto Twister: 20 metre tubular slide
- Sky Walk: Three levels of obstacles and bridges high above the ground
- Viking Voyage: A Viking themed log flume which involves 3 drops, two facing forwards and one facing backwards.
- Wind Starz: Manufactured by Zamperla. Riders sit in hangliders and push the bar to go up and pull the bar to go down.
- Endeavour: An upside down Ferris wheel Manufactured by Zamperla
- Power Surge: Manufactured by Zamperla. Riders sit in chairs and get spun and swung around.
- Flight School: a small roller coaster, based on an airport and flight. Manufactured by Zierer
- Sky Glider: A gliding attraction nearby Dinosaurs Alive
- World of Raptors: An experience featuring raptors and birds
Eagle's Nest
- Air Jumpers: Bungee system with trampolines for springing over 5 metres high. Closed in 2018
- Super Hero Training Wall: Climb up to 9 metres on the wall
- Shot Tower: Strap in, countdown and prepare to shoot 10 metres into the sky. Manufactured by Zamperla
- Pony Rail: Saddle up and gallop across the plains of Tayto Park
- Honey Pot Bears: Spin 360 degrees in this stunning ride
- Steam Train Express: 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge[6] train ride featuring a steam outline/diesel hydraulic locomotive and three coaches from Severn Lamb[7]
- Nissan Driving School: A car driving experience which you can purchase a driving license at the end. Manufactured by Nissan
- Ferris Wheel: Manufactured by Zamperla. Closed in 2020 for Sheriff's Shuffle
- Lady Bird Loop: A spinning roller coaster manufactured by Visa.
- Rocking Tug: A spinning boat non-water ride
- The Grand Carousel: A tent with horses, a tea cup and carriage
- Leap Frogs: A leaping ride manufactured by Zamperla
- Sheriff's Shuffle: Spinning ride manufactured by Visa
The Zoo
- Farmyard Friends: An open area, which includes some rare breeds of farm animals such as Jacob, Manx & Soay sheep, Highland cattle, pygmy goats, and Vietnamese pot belly pigs.
- Wild Woods: A wooded area with animals including ocelots, ring-tailed coatis, Amur leopards, fishing cats, corsac foxesndoned, aardwolves and more.
- Feathered Friends: A collection of exotic birds from around the world
- Buffalo Ridge: Home to the first herd of American bison in Ireland
- Cat Country: mountain lions, Eurasian lynx and the largest of the big cats, the endangered Amur tigers.
- Down Under: Visit emus and wallabies
Facilities and access
Tayto Park is wheelchair accessible with a few minor exceptions. There is a gift shop and various food options such as the restaurant in the Lodge Building, which also provides a private function room or the Pizza Place.
There is free parking for cars and buses as well as disabled parking close to the entrance.
Bus Éireann operates the 103 and 105 service, which stops at the park on a daily basis.
Incidents
There has been a number of minor incidents which have occurred within Tayto Park. In June 2012, Helena McDonnell, a female former employee who was working as a tour guide at Tayto Park, broke her ankle after she went down a 60-foot slide with her friends. The slide was not open to the public at the time but she along with other employees were told to try it so that they could "get a feel of it". McDonnell sued Ashbourne Visitor Centre Ltd, trading as Tayto Park, as a result of the accident. She also sued Hags Aneby AB of Sweden and Spraoi Linn Ltd, the manufacturer and supplier of the slide respectively. The case was settled out of court. Following the accident, the ride was altered in relation to how steep it was and at the turns.[8][9] In October 2016, a wooden staircase in one of the park's Halloween attractions, "House of Horrors", suddenly collapsed injuring nine people.[10]
Reference
- "Privacy Statment [sic]". www.taytopark.ie.
- Donnelly, Margaret (1 July 2014). "Tayto Park among top 10 tourist attractions". Agriland.ie.
- Casey, Ann (17 November 2010). "Opening of Tayto Park near Ashbourne brings 85 jobs". Meath Chronicle. Archived from the original on 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- "Cú Chulainn - Tayto Park (Ashbourne, Meath, Ireland)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- "Ireland's top visitor attractions revealed". Your Days Out. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- "Texan | Severn Lamb". severn-lamb.com.
- "Theme Park, Museum, Zoo Industry News for Professionals".
- "Woman who broke ankle on Tayto Park slide settles action". The Irish Times. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- "Concerns raised over rollercoaster regulations". RTE.ie. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
- Hennessy, Michelle (23 October 2016). "Nine people injured after House of Horrors staircase collapse at Tayto Park". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 3 July 2017.