Father of the year? Man builds working roller coaster in back yard to keep kids entertained during COVID

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is forcing parents to get really creative when it comes to entertaining their stir-crazy children.  Case in point: one Florida man resorted to building a whole roller coaster in his back yard… among other things.

WFLA reports that Scott Friga of Fort Meyers has constructed a literal theme park in his back yard  — from constructing a working basketball court to building a 310-feet-long roller coaster with his bare hands — to keep his kids happy.

“Whew, man, I’ve been real busy,” Friga says when asked how the past 11 months have went.  

“When the pandemic came in they shut the parks down so I built a basketball court for my son,” he revealed, nodding to the fact he cut down the woods in his backyard so his son could shoot some hoops. “They shut the gyms down, so we built a gym.”

Then his kids wanted a roller coaster and he caved.

“The rollercoaster started about two months ago. Took four or five days to get it done,” the dad revealed, saying that when it comes down to it — the choices are either his kids find entertainment at home or somewhere else.

As it turns out, he doesn’t want his kids doing the latter.  So, they got a roller coaster.

His homeowner’s insurance has yet to respond to the report.  Also, he built the darn thing before learning if he needed a permit for it — whoops.

Friga has yet to hear about that particular sticking point.