Official Tayto Park News!
Short Version:
- 5.7 million euro Viking themed log flume to open next Easter
- 17.5 million euro will be spent on a new major roller coaster in 3 years time. Described as 'sensational'.
- Plans for accommodation in the future.
http://www.newstalk.com/How-big-could-Tayto-Park-be
With populations of 5 million and 9.5 million people, Norway and Sweden are home to 3 and 4 successful theme parks respectively but until relatively recently Ireland didn't have any, that has before Tayto Park opened its doors in 2010.
That year represented a bottoming-out of Ireland's economic crisis - but that didn't deter Ray Coyle, the former potato farmer who built a potato crisp manufacturing empire here with the Tayto, King and Hunkey Dorey brands from investing heavily in a new landmark tourist attraction.
He told Newstalk that he didn't see this as a high-risk venture - he just saw a big gap in the Irish market that needed to be filled.
To date more than €50m has been put into the business which is due to attract 800,000 visitors this year - and Mr Coyle expects it to continue on its upward trajectory:
"I feel that developing the park with new and exciting rides and more marketing and more support from our visitors, we can get to about 1.4m or 1.5m people by 2022," he told
Breakfast Business.
Having recovered from throat cancer, and being in this mid-60s, Mr Coyle says that he has no intentions of selling the business - he notes that successful theme parks tend to have very long shelve lives.
The company has begun work on a new €5.7m water ride, and it is investing €17.5m in a second major rollercoaster to accompany the wooden Cuchulainn ride.
Its overall goal is to continue to invest in major attractions and to draw more domestic and foreign visitors to the Meath destination - with the possible future development of a hotel or lodges on the site.
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Certainly sounds like a promising future!
Interesting to hear of plans for a new major coaster in 3 years time.
I'm surprised at how much they're spending and am intrigued by what that kind of money could buy.
Only yesterday I was reading an interview with Michael Mack who was talking about how they spoke with Tayto Park when building Europa's Ireland themed area. He mentioned they were in talks to maybe supply them with a ride in the near future.
Ray Coyle, Tayto's owner also said last year after CuChulainn opened he was visiting Liseberg to ride Helix as he was interested in getting a steel coaster similar to it.
Now it is obviously way too early to be speculating but could it be a Mack coaster??
Personally I think it would be too good to be true but who knows?
Anyway sticking with current projects. They must be doing something more with the flume than the original plans for that price or is it maybe just well themed? Look forward to finding out more.