Coaster Kings

Sean and Alex discuss global 2025 theme park performance based on the annual Themed Entertainment Association Global Experience Index!

Lotte is one of Korea's most recognizable brands, but how does this retail/hospitality/manufacturing giant run its theme parks? The two Lotte parks are more unique than you think!

Part 2 of our 5-park day in Changsha, featuring two of the nicest Fantawild parks we've visited, especially considering the older-generation park concepts of Fantawild Dreamland and Fantawild Adventure.

Part 1 of our 5-park day in Changsha, featuring Jungle Mice, the Burger King Beluga, and a looping coaster you can order from TEMU.

We're Choosing Texas this week with a visit to San Antonio and Austin. Weather wasn't on our side, but it's always a good time celebrating Fall Festivities like Howl-O-Scream, Oktoberfest, and night rides on Texas Stingray (which isn't technically its own event, but it should be).

The pressure's off at our three most low-key park experiences in Korea: Seoul Land, Robotland, and Children's Grand Park. We kept it so casual that the latter two parks weren't even on our itinerary. As for Seoul Land: it may not be as flashy as the other major parks in Seoul, but it's almost certainly the most pleasant.

Wuhu was a spontaneous addition to the last tour through China, but it ended up being one of the best days of the trip: Fantawild Adventure Wuhu, Oriental Heritage Wuhu, and Squirrels Town kept the surprises comin' and the good times rollin'.

We hit the ground running with the biggest coaster park in our Korean podcast miniseries: Gyeongju World. Home to the country's most impressive coaster lineup, Gyeongju World is full of surprises and expectation-exceeding experiences.

Glorious Orient Jining is the 4th and final iteration of Fantawild's 20th-century wartime theme parks. Despite its solemn subject matter, Jining's Glorious Orient might be the perfected theme park.

Sean and Alex revisit two Six Flags parks sitting on polar opposites of the profile spectrum – Six Flags Great America and Frontier City. Pleasant and unpleasant surprises await.

It's last call for Weerwolf/Loup-Garou at Walibi Belgium, the last operating purebred Vekoma Wooden Coaster. Take a tour with us around Belgium's premier park and explore new classics and old favorites – a few of whom are on borrowed time!

Sean and Alex hit up Six Flags Over Texas for a ride on the World's Only Giga Dive Coaster, Tormenta. What other improvements has the park made over the years? And what's next??

Universal Kids Resort has been a lightning rod of controversy since it opened. We at Coaster Kings couldn't wait to visit the park and see for ourselves, and now it's time to weigh in on Universal's peculiar new Texas kiddie park.

Come for the Vekomas, stay for the dark rides: the more we visit Fantawild parks, the more this rings true. Even when we're low on time, Fantawild's newest parks impress us in unexpected new ways.

A lot has changed at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom – or at least, around it: a new resort name, a new 2nd gate – but is the flagship park still up to snuff despite Chimelong Spaceship's shortcomings? We'll discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of China's premier multi-gate complex, the newly-christened Chimelong Hengqin Resort.

Sean and Alex debrief on their two summer visits to SoCal for various parks – Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, Disneyland, California Adventure, and Sea World San Diego

After years of waiting (procrastinating) we finally visited the last of the legacy Six Flags parks that we hadn't experienced: La Ronde! We went in with an open mind and were pleasantly surprised by La Ronde's ride lineup and charm! There was one major aspect of our visit that really stole the show, however: fireworks!

Six Flags St. Louis has one of the richest and most fascinating histories of any US regional park. With updated branding from new management on the horizon, we can expect another memorable chapter for the park. This episode will cover the state of the park as it transitions into "Mid-America by Enchanted Parks" – both what we already love and what we hope to see in the coming years

Jinan and Tai'an are easy to visit on the same trip and the region is home to lots of great theme parks. Join us as we discuss Jinan Sunac Land, Fantawild Oriental Heritage Jinan, Fantawild Adventure Tai'an, and Taishan!

Our first Universal Studios Beijing visit in 2024 was anything but ideal. We're happy to report our 2026 visit was a lot more pleasant. Let's discuss the improvements and our most recent experience at the Chinese Universal resort!

Worlds of Fun is half of Enchanted Parks' new Missouri empire, but does it really deserve a back seat to Six Flags St Louis? Find out why this Kansas City fixture was one surprise after another for a first-timer (Sean) and a first-time-since-high-school-er (Alex).

Jiangsu is the province bordering Shanghai and is filled with parks that are worth a visit! Plenty of can't-miss coasters call this region their home. In this episode of Coaster Kings join Sean and Alex to Huai'an Fantawild: Glorious Orient, Suzhou Amusement Land Forest World, and China Dinosaurs Park for iconic coasters like Fighter Jet, Beyond the Cloud, and Dinoconda!

This week on Coaster Kings, Sean and Alex take you to Shanghai for a whirlwind tour of some repeat parks and new parks! This episode discusses Legoland Shanghai, Century Park, People’s Park, Shanghai Disneyland, Happy Valley Shanghai, and Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park!

Lost Island and Adventureland make an unlikely coaster destination out of central Iowa: explore the impressively nuanced Lost Island Theme Park of Waterloo and the nostalgic regional-park golden-era sensibilities of Adventureland. Both parks are at the threshold of exciting new eras and we're happy to be along for the ride!

European Coaster Kings was invited by Boldmove Nation and Hunderfossen Eventyrpark to attend the soft opening of their brand new dark ride in Norway: Rally Flåklypa. In this special report Sven talks about the history of the park and the experience of the new attraction.