Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast

E.B. returns to the show this week after a two week hiatus with tales of his EPIC Roadtrip! After travelling over 7,000 miles with his wife and three kids (all under eight years old), E.B. is back with tales of theme parks, national parks, volcanos and cowardly westerners. The guys also discuss the latest effort to revive Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, KY.  Ed Hart and his team of investors plan...

EB is still on his massive three week road trip with his family.  So, that leaves Mike without anyone to co-host this week's show. It's up to you guys to bail him out. During this week's "First Drop" segment, Mike turns to the Coaster Radio audience for their opinions on a new rumor out of Universal Orlando. Listeners from all over the world chime in with their opinion and commentary as they becom...

One of the favorite pastimes of summer is a trip to the beach. It's the smell of the french fries and popcorn, a ride on the rickety old roller coaster and a walk down the wooden boardwalk that people yearn for during the summer months. In fact, many of our favorite theme parks try to recreate the "boardwalk vibe" with rides and attractions that simulate a trip to locations like Coney Island, the...

When we did our annual Listener Question Show a few months ago, we had a TON of them! In fact, we had so many that we couldn't answer them all in one show. So this week, we dig back into the mailbag and answer more of your "burning questions." The best part about shows like this is that we have a lot of great pop culture and behind-the-scenes content along with fun theme park talk too! Check out a...

As Summer 2013 rolls along, there's a lot to get excited about! (And we talk about a lot of it on this week's show!) For instance, Busch Gardens Tampa just unveiled plans for their new 2014 attraction... it's a 335-feet tall drop tower named "Falcon's Fury." The new ride will drop riders at 60-mph, but with a new twist.  The riders' seats will pivot 90 degrees so that they are facing straight down...

Every year, the Themed Entertainment Association releases their Global Attractions Attendance Report . The report focuses on the attendance numbers of theme parks, water parks and museums across the globe. On this week's show, EB and Mike break down the numbers and talk about the parks and companies were at the top of the list and the ones were surprisingly at the bottom. Plus, we'll have a Live T...

This year, theme park fans are feverishly anticipating not one, not two, but THREE wooden coasters with inversions. The first, Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City opened to much fanfare and success. Now, we hear about the 2nd inverting wooden coaster to open... Iron Rattler at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. We're joined by Arthur Levine, the Theme Parks Guide at About.com , who had a chance to ride the coas...

Our own EB picked up his family and moved to Indiana a few years ago. Since then, he's been enjoying Midwestern life... even getting to Holiday World as often as he can. This past week though, he lived out every "Coaster Boy's" dream. He rode John Iver's legendary backyard looping coaster "The Blue Flash." On this week's episode, EB gives an element-by-element description of the ride and what it w...

When we've had celebrities on this program before, they've talked about how they have to hire park-provided guides to walk them around to the various attractions and rides. If they didn't have this preferential treatment, people would constantly be hounding them for autographs and they wouldn't be able to have any semblance of a "normal" theme park experience. But I bet most people don't know that...

On this week's special episode, join Mike Collins as he speaks with Coaster Radio Correspondants Kevin from Ohio and Cincinatti John about their experience at the Media Day for Cedar Point's new wing coaster "Gatekeeper!" Kevin and Jon will break down the pros and cons of the ride and tell us all what it's like to be at a massive Media Day attended by hundreds of working press and over 1,200 coast...

This week, Disney's Animal Kingdom celebrated its 15th Anniversary. It's fair to say that of all the Disney Theme Parks, Animal Kingdom has the greatest divide between people who like and dislike it. Some people claim it's the best designed, most well-themed park in the Disney chain.  Others feel that it's a complete miss and not worth spending one of their precious vacation days there. On this we...

Every now and then, a theme park attraction comes along that makes you remember why you liked this stuff in the first place. And sometimes that same ride is so ahead of its time, you realize you've sort-of seen a glimpse into the future of the amusement industry. This week saw the unveiling of "Mystic Manor" at Hong Kong Disneyland .  And for the most part, every Disney fan is in agreement that it...

This is one of those shows where a lot is covered in 57 minutes. I hope you're ready.... First up, the guys talk about the new  "Iron Man Tech: Presented by Stark Industries"  exhibit that opened at Disneyland. Besides  sounding a lot like one of last year's "Reel Design" finalists , could this be the first wave of Marvel-themed attractions in the Disney Parks?  The guys will talk about the specul...

Travis from California, our CoasterRadio.com West Coast Correspondant, had a chance to visit the Grand Opening of the Legoland Hotel in Southern California. This special video podcast will take you inside the hotel to show you all of the surprises that await families who book a stay there... including the infamous "Disco Elevator!" Our thanks go to Travis for producing this video! Way to go!

Imagine you're walking into your favorite theme park and heading straight for favorite roller coaster. Just as you come up on the familiar twists and turns, you notice something strange.... the cars are facing backwards! This will be the experience for parks fans in the Chicago area when Six Flags Great America runs Batman: The Ride backwards for part of the 2013 season. On this week's show, we'll...

Anyone who considers themselves a fan of theme parks probably has spent a lot of time analyzing them. We marvel at how attraction designers use technology to bring the our favorite stories and characters to life. But, fans can also take the analysis a step further and take a look at the parks from a literary and social angle as well. For instance, what does "It's A Small World" have to do with the...

"Outlaw Run," one of the most highly anticipated roller coasters of 2013 opened this week at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. The new creation from Rocky Mountain Construction has set a world record for the steepest drop on a wooden coaster at 81 degrees. It's also the 2nd fastest wooden coaster in the world at 68 mph. Plus, it has the signature element of a double barrel roll that brings the tr...

Here at the show, we're curious to find out what what the new ABC Television pilot "Big Thunder" is all about. In the past, there have been movies based on classic theme park attractions (Pirates of the Carribbean and The Haunted Mansion), but to our knowledge, this is the first television show based upon a theme park ride. So while we wait for the show to premiere, we came up with a fun contest i...

This or That returns this week! Listeners have submitted over 60 different pairs of theme park related items. Mike and EB will have to debate their merits and then ultimately choose one. For instance... Would you visit Disneyland in 1955 or 2055? "Knotts Scary Farm" or "Halloween Horror Nights?" What ride at Cedar Point will come down first: Mantis or Magnum? Along with all of the theme park relat...

If we asked you guys what your "Dream Job" would be, we're guessing a lot of you would have the same answer... "Disney Imagineer." Unfortunately, only a select few get to have that title.  So, it's understandable when some of the more famous names become the "rock stars" of the Disney and Theme Park Fan Communities. On this week's show, we pay tribute to Tony Baxter, a long-time Disney Imagineer w...

There's big news this week out of Northern California this week and we have the first interviews about it. California's Great America announced that their new roller coaster "Gold Striker" will now include the world’s longest covered initial descent tunnel on a wooden coaster.    Adding intrigue to the record setting feature, Gold Striker’s 174-foot tunnel will be enclosed by wood on both sides, c...

The best thing about this show are the people who listen to it. They are all fun, passionate people who share a love of theme parks. They are also one of the most engaged audiences out there.  When we have asked for listener interaction in the past, we always receive interesting and energetic responses. That's why we love our yearly "Listener Question Shows." We received a ton of great questions t...

Week after week, we get a lot of interesting feedback from you guys. One listener will write in and say that we need to focus on the regional parks more and less on what's happening at Disney. An hour later, we'll get an e-mail from someone wanting more talk about the Disney Parks and less about Six Flags and Cedar Fair. It's impossible to come up with topics that please everyone, but this week we...

We're only a few short months away from the regional parks beginning to open up for the spring. That means that the new attractions for 2013 will be opening at parks worldwide shortly thereafter. Are you aware how many new rides will be opening during the upcoming year? On this week's show, Mike and EB are joined by Arthur Levine, the Theme Parks Expert at About.com. Arthur and the guys will weigh...

Imagine covering 40 different topics of discussion in a 60-minute show. Sounds exhausting, right? Mike and EB will attempt to it, as they lovingly "ripoff" one of their favorite ESPN programs, "Pardon the Interruption." PTI is known for its fast-paced conversation, incessant bickering between the hosts and rapid-fire topics. The show uses a countdown timer in order to keep the conversation moving....