New Gravity Group Wooden Coaster Underway in Ireland

Ireland's Tayto Park just opened in 2010, and mainly features zoological attractions along with some play areas that include zip lines and crazy slides.  The park was created by a company of the same name, a well known manufacturer of snack foods in the country, mainly known for their potato crisps.

Why should we care?  Well because little Tayto Park has expansion on the mind and is making their mark by building a brand new Gravity Group wood roller coaster in 2015.

© Tayto Park

The new coaster is already under construction, and will stand 105 feet tall and feature a first drop of 95 feet.  The name for the ride hasn't been released yet that I've seen, however the park says it will have a "strong Irish mythological theme."  These construction photos were recently released by the park, but appear to be a little outdated already.  In several news stories (like this one, and also this one), much more of the ride - including a large segment of the lift hill - can be seen in place.

© Tayto Park

The new coaster is being advertised as Europe's "largest inverted wooden roller coaster," due to a highly overbanked turn featured in the layout.  Gravity Group's Kory Kiepert gave the park a quote for their news released about just that: “We always try to make each ride the best ride possible for its size. 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.”

This layout was a part of the park's planning documents (more views available here), and shows off what is in store.  I'm guessing the overbank turn that's being counted as an inversion can be seen on the far right, and will take place about halfway through the ride.  The overall look of the coaster is a bit different for a Gravity Group design, so this is sure to be interesting once completed.

Tayto Park's 2015 expansion includes seven new attractions, aside from the roller coaster are several large flat rides including an Air Race, a train ride, children's drop tower, and a 5-D cinema.