Ireland’s Only Theme Park
Categories Ireland, Life Tips, Travel, Travel Blog, Travel Tips, Uncategorized9 Comments
Being from Ireland it felt only right that I went to visit our one and only theme park ‘Tayto Park’ in Ashbourne county Meath (30 minutes outside of Dublin). Although ‘Theme Park’ isn’t exactly the best description for this attraction because although there are roller coasters and other rides, one half of the park is dedicated to animals of various kinds. Tigers, Foxes, Birds, Monkeys… It’s a very impressive collection for somewhere not well known for it’s animals.
The ticket for Tayto Park €15 for an adult (€14 online, €12 for a student) and each ride costs a certain amount of tokens, with one token equally one euro. If you are a thrill seeker I would recommend purchasing the €15 all-in wrist band that allows access to all rides. Ireland being Ireland it is so small that there is no ‘priority queue’ so what you see is what you get.
There aren’t an overwhelming amount of rides to choose from but they are all very good! We started on the ‘Endeavor’ which twirls you in a circle and goes higher the longer the ride goes on. There is also ‘The Rotator’ which is a spinning pendulum. Although I have been on a ride like this before, I sat it out this time around due to the queue. Other smaller rides like The Airplane and Power Surge are great, you get twist and turned upside down but they are not as scary as the others in my mind. Then there is ‘Cu Chuliann’ the largest wooden roller coaster in Europe, and it doesn’t disappoint! The first drop is insane, but after that that stomach-dropping feeling doesn’t really happen again. Other fun activities in the park are their 5D cinema, zip lining, rock climbing and a sky walk obstacle course. Although I did the zip lining and rock climbing, my fear of heights definitely got the better of me on the obstacle course – I only got up one flight of stairs and then turned around and went back down again! The €15 all access band is definitely worth it if you like what you just read, but for anyone who doesn’t enjoy being turned upside down I think tokens is probably the best option for you.
The zoo area is a really nice touch. There are falconry shows held where they fly different Eagles and Owls out for you. The selection of animals they have are a lot more exotic than I expected as well. They have a lot of large cats like an Amur Tiger, Amur leopard, Seval, Mountain Lions to name but a few. There are also a huge range of birds and smaller animals such as meerkats. There is even a small petting area with pygmy goats and sheep which are a bit too boisterous for young children (in my opinion), but so so cute!
Overall my boyfriend and I spent six hours in the park going between rides, animals and grabbing food. There was actually a great selection for food and well priced for a theme park – we ate in the Outback where two meals came to €14 which filled us for the day. The queues can be quite long and took up a large amount of our time but everything we did was definitely worth it. It is a really cheap, fun and different day out! (Be warned: I think we might have been the only couple over 15 without kids in the entire park….)
Also, for those readers who are not Irish – ‘Tayto’ is an iconic crisps brand in Ireland – so you even get a free packet of crisps when you leave the park! 🙂
Interesting. What town is this near?
It’s about 30 mins outside of Dublin in the town of Ashbourne in Meath – I didn’t realize I didn’t include this information so thank you for flagging that with me 🙂
I need to go here! The only amusement park I’ve been to in Ireland is Tramore.. But don’t think it compares to this one! Great post 😊
Apparently the amusements in Tramore have one of the highest amount of deaths of any amusement park… fun fact for you! 😂😂😂
I have heard that! There was always flowers laid at the bottom of the rides.. childhood memories 😂
Think the fact you get a free packet of crisps wins it for me hehehe
My #1 Son, wife a nd three children spent a week in a hotel in Ashbourne (maybe 2014). The attraction was Tayto Theme Park.
They were disappointed.
They went to Dublin every day.
That is sad to hear! It is quite a small theme park, a day is definitely enough to spend here at best
I felt hurt for them as a week vacation is a big thing for a young family. (They are currently in Spain). At that time, my son could not drive and we left them down there in two cars….they stayed at a hotel in Ashbourne very near Tayto.
We collected them the next week. I am a postcard collector and apparently there are no postcards of Tayto…OR Ashbourne. Of course it is now largely a Dublin suburb.
It is one of the towns that are close enough to Dublin to see and get back into Dublin.
Thinking of Ratoath, Skerries, etc.
Sad that so many unique places just become generic shopping centres.