Napa man builds Matterhorn-inspired roller coaster in his backyard during shelter in place
NAPA, Calif. (KGO) -- While many people are finding different hobbies during the Bay Area shelter in place, one North Bay family picked up a rather unique project that you wouldn't have thought of.
With the novel coronavirus pandemic closing amusement parks across the country, one Napa man decided to bring one of his favorite Disneyland roller coasters to his home.
Sean LaRochelle of Napa recreated the Matterhorn in his backyard. He tried to nail every detail of the alpine-themed coaster, right down to the yeti!
LaRochelle said he started building the two-story coaster at the end of March and he finished it in July.
WATCH: Sean LaRochelle's Matterhorn - Alpine Escape full ride
We asked what inspired him and he said, "I always wanted to build a ride and Disney rides are always special to me because they're themed, they tell a unique story.
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He continued, "They talk about all the negatives of COVID, but one of the benefits of COVID is you have all this time and you realize you know, what can I be doing with all this time? "
He said he was inspired by a family who created a "Pirates of the Caribbean"inspired walkthrough in their home.
WATCH: Morgan's Cove is a hidden pirate treasure located in a San Francisco Bay Area back yard
"COVID changed everything and you know, you want to bring a little bit of normalcy back into your life and for me growing up, Disney was a huge part of that and so I definitely wanted to bring that to my family," LaRochelle said.
Sean got a lot of help from his brother who was the "mechanical genius" and said he was grateful for 30 of his friends who came out to social distance and help along the way.
He's currently going to graduate school for architecture and this is one way to build his portfolio.
LaRochelle says he made the coaster for his family and friends and cant wait to build another Disney-themed ride again.
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