Emerald Park Guide: Rides, Tickets and Planning Your Day

What Emerald Park is and where it sits in County Meath

Emerald Park occupies a single site at Kilbrew just outside Ashbourne, in the south-east of County Meath and within easy reach of the Meath-Dublin border. It is not a standalone coaster park: the theme park rides, junior attractions, playgrounds, shows and the zoo all share the grounds, which is why a visit can stretch from a half day to a full one depending on how much of the animal collection you take in. The zoo alone houses more than 250 animals.

The park sits in the Boyne Valley tourism region, so it slots naturally into a wider County Meath trip built around heritage sites, towns and food producers. Families based in Dublin can treat it as a day out rather than a short break, while anyone staying locally in Ashbourne or the surrounding villages has the option of two shorter visits instead of one long day.

How the park is laid out: rides, junior area, playgrounds and zoo

Think of Emerald Park as two attractions sharing one entrance. The theme park side splits into a thrill-ride line-up and a junior area, with playgrounds and shows filling the space between them; the zoo side runs its own circuit through habitats and an aviary-style bird display. Because the two halves are distinct, your first decision is which one you hit first.

A practical sequence for families with mixed ages is to ride hard early, while energy and queue tolerance are highest, then move into the junior area and playgrounds, and finish with the zoo at a slower pace. Visitors with young children often invert this and head straight for the junior area before the park fills, then let the animal collection carry the afternoon. Coaster-led groups should treat the zoo as an optional add-on and decide on arrival whether they have the appetite for it.

Headline rides for thrill-seekers: Cú Chulainn, Na Fianna Force and The Quest

The headline thrill ride is the Cú Chulainn Coaster, which leads the park's line-up of big attractions. Two intertwining roller coasters, Na Fianna Force and The Quest, are the park's modern headline pair and are described as state of the art. The three together form the core of a thrill-seeker's day.

Ride types matter when you are choosing between them: Cú Chulainn is a wooden coaster, while Na Fianna Force and The Quest are a steel intertwining pair. Minimum height requirements are set per ride and published in the park's own ride and accessibility information, so check the current figures for each coaster before promising a particular ride to a child who is close to a height boundary. Ride-by-ride detail sits in our Emerald Park rides breakdown.

For a coaster-focused visitor the sensible order is to clear the big three first thing, then loop back for second rides before lunch, when the main queue lines are at their longest. A half-day coaster visit is realistic; adding the zoo and shows is what turns the same trip into a full day. If you are weighing Emerald Park against a bigger UK coaster day, our Alton Towers guide sets out the same ride-first, tickets-and-hotels decisions on a larger scale.

Rides and attractions for younger children

The junior area is the backbone of a young family's day, with gentler rides sized for small children and a layout that keeps everything close together. Dino Dash is the dinosaur-themed family ride the park highlights for younger adventurers, alongside playgrounds and a train ride mentioned among the family attractions.

Rather than touring the whole park on foot with a toddler, pick the junior area, the playgrounds and one animal route, and let the shows provide the sit-down breaks. Children who are too small for the big coasters still get a full day out of this combination, and adults can split off in turns if part of the group wants the thrill rides.

The zoo and shows, including the free-flying birds of prey display

The zoo is a genuine second attraction rather than a side exhibit, home to big cats including tigers and leopards, and it runs a free-flying birds of prey show that gives the animal side a fixed timetabled focal point. Plan the zoo circuit around that display so you are not walking the same path twice.

Show times change through the season and are listed in the park's daily programme on arrival, so collect it at the gate and build the bird display into your afternoon rather than discovering it has already run. Zoo-focused visitors who want to see everything should give the animal collection a clear block of time and treat the rides as the optional extra instead.

How long to allow and a sensible order for your day

A comfortable visit splits roughly into a morning of rides, a lunch break, an afternoon of zoo and shows, and a final pass at the junior area or playgrounds. Groups chasing only the coasters can compress this considerably, while families with young children should expect the day to be paced by the child rather than the ride count.

Arrive for opening so you are through the gate before the middle of the morning, take the headline coasters first, and keep the zoo for the post-lunch stretch when standing in ride queues loses its appeal. If the weather turns, shift to the zoo and indoor shows rather than abandoning the day; our Emerald Park weather and rain plan sets out how to rearrange a visit around rain.

Ticket types and what each includes

Emerald Park sells day tickets, which cover entry to both the theme park and the zoo on a single date, and the park's site is the place to see what each ticket type currently includes. The choice that matters most in practice is between a single dated day ticket, a multi-day or season option for local families, and any bundled products that combine entry with other extras.

Book online before you travel rather than deciding at the gate. Online prices are usually lower than gate prices, dated tickets commit you to a specific day, and flexible or open-dated options carry a premium in exchange for the ability to move your visit. Because ticket pricing varies by date, season and ticket type, confirm the current structure on the official Emerald Park tickets page before you commit a group booking.

Families with children under the height thresholds for the big coasters should look closely at what a ticket covers for non-riding children, since a junior-area-and-zoo day is a different value proposition from a full coaster day. Annual or season passes only pay off if you will visit more than once in the year, which is realistic for anyone living within an hour or so of Ashbourne.

Fast-track and queue-jump options

Queue-jump products are sold as an add-on rather than included with standard entry, and they work best on busy days and on the headline coasters rather than across the whole park. If you are visiting on a school-holiday date, price a fast-track product against the extra time you would otherwise spend waiting in the main coaster lines.

Because availability, ride coverage and pricing for these products change, check what the current fast-track option includes before you buy, and buy only for the riders who will actually use the big coasters. A junior-area family will usually get better value from arriving at opening than from a queue-jump add-on.

Food, picnic rules and where to eat in the park

The park runs its own food outlets across the site, and a full day of rides and zoo walking makes a proper sit-down lunch more worthwhile than you might expect. Families often bring part of their food and buy the rest, which keeps costs down without losing the hot-food break that resets the afternoon.

If you plan to picnic, check the current picnic policy on the official site before you pack, since rules on bringing food into the park can change. Ashbourne town is a short drive away if you want to eat outside the park before or after your visit.

Parking and arriving by car

Arriving by car is the most straightforward option for most visitors, with the park accessed from the Ashbourne area of County Meath. On-site parking charges are shown at the car park entrance and on the official site, so budget for them separately from your entry ticket rather than expecting them to be included.

Coming from Dublin, allow for the drive plus the time to park and walk to the gate, and aim to arrive before opening rather than at it. A car also makes it much easier to combine the park with nearby Boyne Valley heritage sites, which are not practical to reach on foot from the park.

Getting there by train, bus or coach from Dublin

Public transport to Emerald Park is not a single direct rail journey: there is no train station at the park, so the realistic options are a bus or coach towards Ashbourne followed by a short onward transfer, or a private coach and taxi combination for groups. Check current bus and coach timetables before you set out, because services and journey times change with the season.

For families and small groups, the simplest reliable approach is often to base yourselves in Dublin and book a coach transfer or drive, rather than trying to link multiple buses with children in tow. Groups large enough to fill a coach should look at the private hire operators listed for the Boyne Valley region, which serve attractions in this area.

Accessibility, rider swap and baby care

Ride access requirements and minimum heights are set per attraction, and the park publishes accessibility information covering which rides need a supervising companion and how wheelchair users board. If anyone in your group has access requirements, read that page before you buy tickets, since some rides and queue lines are easier to manage with prior planning than on the day.

Rider swap is the practical solution for parents travelling with a child too small for a coaster: one adult rides while the other waits with the child, then they swap without joining the back of the queue twice. Baby care facilities, bottle warming and nappy changing are typically concentrated in the main facilities blocks, so locate them on the park map at the start of the day rather than mid-meltdown.

Quieter days, school holidays and the official calendar

Midweek term-time dates are the quietest days, while school holidays, bank holiday weekends and weekends in high season fill the coasters first. If your dates are flexible, a weekday outside Irish school holidays gives you shorter waits on Cú Chulainn, Na Fianna Force and The Quest and a calmer walk through the zoo.

Opening hours change with the season, so confirm your date on the official calendar on the park's website before booking travel. Listed hours have shown a 10:00–17:00 window, and off-season dates may be limited to particular days, so check the day you plan to visit rather than expecting a standard schedule.

Halloween and Christmas events

Emerald Park runs seasonal events across the year, and its Halloween and Christmas programmes are the busiest and most bookable of them. Names, date ranges and what is included change annually, so check the events listings on the park's own site for the year you are visiting rather than relying on last season's dates.

Seasonal weekends sell out ahead of time and are the worst dates for anyone who wants short coaster queues, so avoid them if you are ride-focused and book early if you are going specifically for the event. Outside the event dates, the same rides and zoo run as normal.

Hotels on site and nearby alternatives

Emerald Park itself does not run a large on-site resort hotel in the way some European parks do, so most visitors base themselves in Ashbourne or the wider Boyne Valley and drive in. Staying locally turns a long day into a relaxed one and lets you split the park and zoo over two mornings.

Alternatively, base in Dublin and travel out for the day; you get a far wider choice of hotels and evening restaurants, at the cost of a return journey and an early start. Families with younger children usually prefer the local option, while couples and coaster groups often find Dublin works perfectly well for a single park day.

Is Emerald Park worth it for families, couples and thrill-seekers?

For families with a mix of ages, Emerald Park is one of the most efficient days out in Ireland: the junior area and zoo give younger children a full day, while the coasters satisfy teenagers and thrill-seekers in the same trip. Couples and coaster groups should treat it as a half-day ride stop and add the zoo only if the pace suits them.

The key planning decisions are simple. Book dated tickets online, arrive for opening on a midweek term-time date if you can, ride the big three first, and leave the zoo for the afternoon. Confirm the live calendar and current ticket structure on the official site before you travel, and you have everything you need to plan the day.