I was in central Florida for business and happened to be working and staying about 5 miles away from LEGOLAND Florida and the new Peppa Pig Theme Park. I mentioned to my guests about my roller coaster habit and adults visiting Peppa Pig just to get the “credit” (number of unique coasters ridden). They asked if I had done that yet, which I hadn’t, and they kindly arranged for me to visit and ride the surprisingly great Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster by Zamperla.

The ride is at the core of the park and immediately visible as you walk through the front gate. The rest of the park is essentially a circle around the roller coaster with the coaster providing kinetic motion and energy to the whole area. The line and station are located on a hill in the Pig family house and red train with Daddy Pig in the front car are all highly visible visible almost anywhere in the park. It is a bit of an oddball train in that it’s 11 cars, but only seats 20 riders with Daddy Pig occupying one himself.

The line for the ride is incredibly well themed. You get to tour the family house including the living room and kitchen. It is done in cartoon style, but uses screens in several locations such as the washing machine to make the home seem alive. Kids 36″ and above are able to ride, but the cars are also quite comfortable for adults as at over six feet I had no problems with the seat or lap bar restraint in a row with another adult.

The train goes up a tire driven lift hill of 14 feet, so nothing here that will frighten anyone with issues with heights. The train then works an oval course with a 540 degree helix and a 450 degree helix. What’s pretty amazing though is there’s actually a “launch” or a tire “boost” in the middle of the course. I honestly didn’t know it had a mid-course launch until I got home and looked it up and watched a POV (if that gives you any idea as to how not intense the launch is), but it’s probably more about maintaining speed than gaining speed. The ride reaches a top speed of only 16 mph, but it feels faster with the tight turns, that’s velocity for you, speed and change of direction. What’s most fun is on every ride cycle you get to run the course twice! These aren’t astounding specs, but sometimes specs aren’t everything.

The course itself is pretty well themed. It is a grass field filled with artificial cartoon-like trees. There are stop lights, little structures and a construction crew working the area. This is where my lack of knowledge of Peppa Pig comes in, but it appears to be Mr. Bull and friends. Nothing here is moving or animatronic, but there is some music and sound effects like the sounds of construction as you pass that area and a voice that says. “Daddy’s home” when you pull into the station the first time. The traffic light also turns from red to green as you begin your second lap, so little control touches and synchronization are nice. The whole grassy ride area is surrounded by a white fence that gives it the feeling of a backyard coaster.

I would consider Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster a “kiddie” coaster more than a “family” coaster as there aren’t any real aspects of thrill to be had here. However, that does not mean it’s not a great ride as it’s not designed for the thrill seeking demographic. This ride is designed for kid’s to perhaps be their first coaster and to allow the adults in their life to join them on the journey. What it accomplishes to create a sensation of speed with its low height and subtle launch is commendable. It is fun without potentially ever feeling out of control to a little kid. The theming is also great in everything from the queue line, the train and along the course and sets a high standard for a kid’s first coaster. For what it’s attempting to do, Daddy Pig’s Roller Coaster is about perfect and enthusiasts will enjoy, respect and appreciate it even if the thrills are on the mild side.