FORGET about jetting off to Disney, just an hour and a half south of Belfast is Ireland's very own theme park. And now that our children are four and six and nappies and pushchairs are long a thing of the past, we thought the time was right for our mini thrill seekers to sample the action.
Tayto Park opened in November 2010 and last year welcomed almost 8000,000 visitors – almost a quarter of those coming from Northern Ireland.
The excitement rose as we parked the car in the shadow of the huge wooden rollercoaster and heard the screams of those who whizzed by at speeds of 90km/h.
To my surprise my son Noah, who is almost seven and quite tall for his age, announced that the first ride he wanted to go on was The Cú Chulainn Coaster. This turned out to be a good decision as the early-morning queue was very short.
I was a little apprehensive seeing my wee boy queue for his first-ever proper rollercoaster, but I need not have worried – his dad was more scared than him. I'm just was glad I had the excuse my youngest was still too small and I had to wait with her.
The rides within Tayto Park are divided into two 'lands' at opposite ends of the park. The Eagle Sky Zone is home to the fast thrill rides, while the Eagle Nest Zone has a selection of fun rides for younger children.
We got an overview of Eagle Nest by boarding the steam train ride. Next it was time to sit back and watch our pair laugh, giggle and scream on the ferris wheel, spinning tea cup ride, leap frogs, pony rail ride and the more adventurous shot tower and rocking tug choppy boat ride.
We visited on Easter Tuesday and while the park was busy, the queues were acceptable at about a 15/20 minute ride, with the the exception of the Tayto Air Jumpers trampoline ride. The queue of over an hour was my worst part of the day – however, Abigail's patience did surprise me and it was the thing she enjoyed most.
Almost all the activities at Tayto Park are outdoors, so you do need to be prepared for the Irish weather by packing an umbrella and sun cream. Even though it was only 10 degrees the day we visited, we did manage to leave with a combination of sun tans and sunburn.
Our next stop was the Pow Wow Playground. Towers, slides, climbing frames and rope bridges are the perfect queue antidote for queueing.
My personal highlight was the Windstar hang gliders which you control by pushing up or down on the bar, while spinning around. This was closely followed by the self-guided factory tour, where we saw crisps travel along conveyor belts, before being bagged and boxed and driven away by forklifts to the huge warehouse.
You view the factory floor via viewing bays, which have further information and videos to explain the production process. At the end of the tour there are some interactive games for the kids and the museum downstairs has an old delivery truck and memorabilia showing the history of Tayto.
Tayto Park is an unusual concept – a theme park, factory and zoo all in one. The zoo boasts a diverse animal collection including tigers, monkeys and meerkats. This summer they also plan to have a World of Raptors birds of prey demonstration.
There really is something around every corner – from an animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex to a mini-maze and random cycle roundabout. You almost forget to eat, but if you're hungry there's lot of options.
While Abigail was dragging her feet in exhaustion as closing time approached, Noah had his eyes on the Sky Walk high rope aerial course. Sadly the queue was closing and we also ran out of time to go to the 5D virtual cinema.
Oh well, we will just have to come back again when we can also take a splash in the new Viking Voyage At The Park flume ride, which is due to open in June.
All visitors receive a packet of Tayto crisps at the exit, perfect sustenance for the drive home. While it wasn't long before Abigail was fast asleep, Noah summed the excitement of the day up as half an hour after leaving the park he said: "I still feel as if I'm on a ride."
:: For more booking and more information, including details of opening times, prices and heigh restrictions visit Taytopark.ie