Whole roller-coaster in your backyard? Teen realizes his dream

A teenager in the United States eased his pandemic lockdown boredom by building for himself a roller coaster in his family house’s backyard.

Ben Tolliday said the lack of activity during the COVID-19 pandemic left him feeling bored, so he spent three weeks constructing a roller coaster from wooden beams, PVC pipe, cinder blocks, and sandbags in the back yard of his family’s Sandy Springs home.

Tolliday said he was confident in his work, but his first ride on the completed coaster was tense.

“I was absolutely terrified. But I guess because I built it, I knew how sturdy it was. So, I was pretty confident I’d be OK, but I was screaming my head off. It was crazy,” Tolliday told local media.

Tolliday’s mother, who took a ride on the coaster in a video the teen posted to TikTok, said she enjoyed the ride, but she’ll be happy when it’s gone.

“I’m looking forward to getting my yard back. I’ve got some plants trying to grow underneath. Yes, this is not going to be a permanent fixture in my yard, I can tell you that,” Katherine Tolliday said.

The teenager, who will begin college in the fall, said he is now considering a career in the roller coaster business.

“That would be my dream job, to build stuff like this for people and then see their reaction when they go down it for the first time. Yeah, I had so much fun building it,” he said.