TODAY, THE RANKED masses of the Irish media were invited to descend on Ashbourne in County Meath.
The occasion? The opening of the Cú Chulainn Coaster at Tayto Park.
Not wanting to let our readers down, TheJournal.ie made the trip to Meath. We’re troopers that way and in no way just wanted to ride the rollercoaster.
Here are some takeaways from our trip:
It’s big
The rollercoaster stands at 32 metres at its highest. As with all things, what goes up must come down. Riders are propelled down a 31 metre drop to start the ride.
It’s fast
You hit speeds of between 90 and 100 km/ph at the ride’s fastest point. Which is pretty fast. For reference, The Incredible Hulk ride in Orlando hits 108 km/ph.
It’s smooth
If the idea of a wooden rollercoaster brings to mind visions of bouncing around, you will be pleasantly surprised. The design of Cú Chulainn makes the ride extremely smooth, despite hitting 3Gs of force on the way down.
It took four years to get here
Tayto Park founder Raymond Coyle told TheJournal.ie that he began planning for the ride four years ago. After three years of planning and a year of construction, the ride opens to the public tomorrow.
It’s heavy – and complicated
It took over 800,000 kilos of yellow pine and more than 100 tonnes of steel to make Cú Chulainn, Europe’s largest wooden coaster, a reality. Added to that, it used 700,000 nuts and bolts and each individual joint had to be planned by designer Korey Kiepert and his team from the Gravity Group.
You go upside-down – and it was a late addition
In the middle of the ride, you are turned almost fully upside down. It is the first inversion on a wooden rollercoaster in Europe and was added late to the design. Kiepart tells us that the design was presented to the Coyle family with a 90 degree bank, but Raymond asked to “kick it up a notch”.
It’s good – really good
The overwhelming response to the ride was positive while we were there. And that’s not just the media. Members of the European Coaster Club were on hand for the launch and one member told TheJournal.ie that it is “one of the best wooden coasters in Europe”.
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