Tonnerre de Zeus is a roller coaster

Roller coaster

The roller coaster is a popular amusement ride developed for amusement parks and modern theme parks. LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first coasters on January 20, 1885...

 at Parc Astérix

Parc Astérix

Parc Astérix is a theme amusement park in France, based on the stories of Asterix . Situated approximately north of Paris and from Disneyland Resort Paris, in Plailly in the département of Oise, it opened in 1989...

 in Plailly, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Opened in 1997 and built by Custom Coasters International

Custom Coasters International

Custom Coasters International was one of the premier wooden roller coaster manufacturers in the world and produced more wooden coasters in recent times than any other company...

, it is the 3rd longest wooden coaster

Wooden roller coaster

A wooden roller coaster is most often classified as a roller coaster with laminated steel running rails overlaid upon a wooden track. Occasionally, the structure may be made out of a steel lattice or truss, but the ride remains classified as a wooden roller coaster due to the track design...

 in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 after Coaster express and Colossos, with a track length of 1230m (4044 feet). It is also considered one of the top roller coasters in Europe, even in the World (the only 3-time number 1 spot best wooden coaster poll) The coaster has a 30m (98-foot) tall lift hill

Lift hill

A lift hill, or chain hill, is often the initial upward-sloping section of track on a typical roller coaster that initially transports the roller coaster train to an elevated point or peak in the roller coaster ride...

, a first drop into a tunnel, and two helices.

"Tonnerre de Zeus" is French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 for "Thunder

Thunder

Thunder is the sound made by lightning. Depending on the nature of the lightning and distance of the listener, thunder can range from a sharp, loud crack to a long, low rumble . The sudden increase in pressure and temperature from lightning produces rapid expansion of the air surrounding and within...

 of Zeus

Zeus

In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...

." In Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

, Zeus was regarded as the king of gods. He also is often associated as being a weather

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

 god, hurling a thunderbolt

Thunderbolt

A thunderbolt is a discharge of lightning accompanied by a loud thunderclap or its symbolic representation. In its original usage the word may also have been a description of meteors, or, as Plato suggested in Timaeus, of the consequences of a close approach between two planetary cosmic bodies,...

at those who displeased him.

A large statue of Zeus, complete with floral underwear, is featured close by. It straddles both sides of the queue which means patrons can look directly up at Zeus' underwear.