The Coaster101 Podcast

One thing we wanted to focus on with The Coaster101 Podcast in 2021 is increasing listener interaction. So, when no one really wanted to send us questions to read at the top of the show, we decided to turn it into a contest. Simple prompt: Ask us a question. Our favorite wins a prize! This week, join Andrew, Nick, Shane and John as they tackle a wide variety of listener questions ranging from thou...

Happy New Year! Now that 2020 is behind us, it means its time to start riding some new-for-2021 rides! This week, join Andrew, Shane, John and Nick as they discuss some of the most anticipated coasters in the United States, opening in the new year! Whether they were originally planned for last year, or announced last year and will open in 2021, we've got you covered with our picks for some of our...

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? For a majority of 2020, the answer to that question is "probably." But for the Coaster101 team, 2020 was actually a fairly enjoyable year for theme parks and roller coasters, despite a lot of trips being postponed and cancelled. This week, join Andrew, Shane, John and Nick as they recount their various 2020's worth of roller coasters an...

Breaking News: Andrew visited a park in 2020 -- well, actually two of them. Join John and Andrew this week as we chat about Andrew's trips to Taste of the Season at Carowinds and Kings Dominion! We talk Tastes, Shows, Roller Coasters, and Christmas Lights. And realistically, what else will you listen to while traveling to your relatives' at the end of the week? You can learn more about Andrew's tr...

This week, join Andrew, Shane and John as they discuss the finer intricacies of their favorite inverted coasters from Swiss Designers Bolliger & Mabillard? How many have they ridden? What's their favorite? Why doesn't every row have a "big boy" seat? Find out this and more! What's your favorite B&M Invert? Let us know by emailing us at podcast@coaster101.com or hitting us up on social medi...

Lightning Rod at Dollywood has had a rough operational history. The highly rated launched wooden coaster closed in September for the rest of the 2020 season. The rumors have been flying but Coaster101 got the scoop on what's going on with Lightning Rod. We also talk some of the recent events at Dollywood including Harvest Festival, Thrills in the Hills, and Smoky Mountain Christmas. Questions or c...

A large portion of our audience probably consider themselves "coaster enthusiasts," but for any "GP" who may be listening to this show, we tried to break down some common enthusiast lingo so you can tell your SBNO from your OTSR, and your LROTN from your FROTD. Did we miss any terms? Help contribute to Part 2 by emailing us at podcast@coaster101.com or hitting us up on social media @Coaster101: Fa...

Universal recently released a teaser video and a bunch of photos of their new park under construction outisde of Beijing China! We break down the different lands and all the new rides we're most excited about and most confused about (Waterworld is the answer to both of those questions). If you want more info check out our full post here: https://c101.co/2FJSb0e . You can also see all the all the c...

This week on the podcast we're joined by a very special guest: Theme Park journalist extraordinaire Carlye Wisel! Carlye has written about theme parks for publications as wide ranging as Travel & Leisure, Eater, and SyFy, and this past summer started her own podcast called Very Amusing with Carlye Wisel. If you've ever wanted to learn all kinds of things about how Disney and Universal theme pa...

Coaster101 founder John Stevenson just got back from a 4 day trip to Walt Disney World, the first time any of us have been to the resort since it reopened. So this week John joins us to talk about his experience at the four parks. We get into what was good, what was less good, and how to cope with failing to get a Rise of the Resistance Boarding group (Eric and Andrew tried not to rub it in too mu...

We're going hyper regional on the podcast this week! Shane recently visited Quassy Amusement Park up in his neck of the woods, so on this episode Andrew gets a rundown of what Quassy is all about. We also answer a few listener questions. If you're a Quassy fan let us know your favorite things about the park. And let us know what other small regional parks you want us to talk about more on the podc...

Universal officially announced the least unexpected new attraction ever, the Velocicoaster at Islands of Adventure. We discuss the new teaser and what we're excited about on the new ride (officially the Jurassic World VelociCoaster). Check out the full announcement details here: https://c101.co/2EFgQ5B We also get into a brief bit of bonus news discussion, chatting about the new patent filed by B&...

Earlier this summer Coaster101's Nick Weisenberger wrote an extensive article about the history of Millennium Force to celebrate the iconic roller coaster's 20th anniversary. Today on the podcast, Nick joins Eric to go into some of that history, explaining how the decision to build the ride came about, what company almost built it, and the key technological innovations of the ride. We also talk a...

This week we embarrass ourselves by revealing our biggest theme park blind spots. This includes both parks that we really should have visited by now but haven't as well as specific coasters we haven't checked off yet (for one reason or another). Let us know what your biggest amusement industry blind spots are, or tell us how ashamed of us you are! Email podcast@coaster101.com, or find us on social...

This week on the Coaster101 podcast, we're joined by Jefferson Richardson of Kentucky Kingdom and Chris Foshee of Worlds of Fun, two of the most prolific theme park tweeters in the game. Learn more about how they got their starts in the industry, what goes through their mind when creating content like the world's first Strata Waterslide or a video completely comprised of Stock Video footage to sel...

This week on the Coaster101 Podcast we kickoff what we hope will be an ongoing series featuring close looks at the home parks of the Coaster101 team. We're starting with our resident Carowinds expert, Andrew Stilwell. We get into a bit of Carowinds history, as well as Andrew favorite rides, favorite foods, and tips for first time visitors. While Carowinds isn't open in 2020, there's lots of reason...

This week Andrew and Eric are joined by Coaster101 founder John Stevenson. While our normal hosts have been stuck in lockdown and haven't been to any parks this summer, John's been to a bunch! So he's joining us to recap his visits to Dollywood, Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom, and Six Flags St. Louis. We get some comparison of the parks safety procedures and crowds, and get into some ride talk (so...

This week Andrew, Shane, and Eric are chatting defunct coasters. For all kinds of reasons roller coasters get closed down. Sometimes that's tragic, sometimes that's great, and sometimes we don't care at all. We talk about coasters we miss, coasters we wish we'd had a chance to ride, and coasters that we don't miss at all (or wouldn't mind seeing get removed). Send your feedback to and ask us quest...

With the pandemic keeping us from riding rides, we've been writing a lot about roller coaster history on the website. This week on the podcast, we dive into our recent list of the oldest roller coasters in every state (https://c101.co/2FzjNFb), and talk about some of our favorite rides from our list of the best operating roller coasters over 50 years old (https://c101.co/311oW0G). Send any feedbac...

This week, we’re talking about one of America’s most unique themed destinations, Give Kids The World. Andrew is joined by GKTW President Pamela Landwirth and Director of Development Steven Amos to learn more about the history of the Village, how they’re operating in times of COVID-19, and how we can all support GKTW through their annual “Coasting For Kids” event. For more information about Give Ki...

This week we shift from discussing rides to our other favorite thing at theme parks: FOOD! We discuss both some theme park restaurant mash-ups we'd love to see, as well as our Mount Rushmores of theme park restaurants and dishes. Let us know your favorite theme park eats at podcast@coaster101.com, or find us on social media @Coaster101. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an epis...

This week we're finally off the topic of coronavirus and park re-openings, and instead we're just chatting roller coasters. Eric, Andrew, and Shane get into a lengthy discussion about coasters that we think are overrated and underrated. Hopefully some of you are delighted that we praise your favorite coasters while talking our underrated rides! And almost definitely some of you will be pissed off...

This week Kyle is back on the show to talk about his visit to Kennywood for their re-opening, with thoughts on their new Dark Ride, Old Mill, and Jack Rabbit at 100 years old. You can find more on the Old Mill at Coaster101.com, and find us on all social media platforms @Coaster101. Send any podcast feedback to podcast@coaster101.com, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an ep...

After discussing Candymonium last week, Kyle and Shane are back on to talk about their (re)opening day experience at Hersheypark. Learn about the new health safety measures, some other nice touchups Hershey did last offseason, and what Kyle and Shane's new favorite flat ride is! For more on Hershey, check out our review of Candymonium and why Reese's Cupfusion is one of our favorite dark rides: ht...

This week on the Coaster101 Podcast we've got reviews of TWO new roller coasters. First, Andrew and Eric are joined by Coaster101 writer Nick Weisenberger, who rode Orion at the First Rider Auction for the new giga coaster at Kings Island. Then, Kyle Lindner and Shane Joseph give their review of Candymonium, the new B&M hypercoaster now open at Hersheypark! For more info, check out the our ful...