Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast

It's a fact of life that rides sometimes get stuck... and sometimes people have to be removed from stalled rides in ways that look dramatic. One park in Australia is battling public perception of these "ride evacs" by releasing a video on Facebook and Twitter. Should American parks consider doing something similar? We'll also take a look at a cryptic tweet sent out by the General Manager of Cedar...

This week, Cedar Fair held their quarterly earnings call and made a few very interesting announcements . We'll ask the audience to speculate on what new roller coasters might be coming to Cedar Fair parks in 2018 and who will be designing them. Then, our interactive topic has us asking the audience to talk about what one specific ride, attraction or park they are looking forward to most in 2017.

This week, the guys are joined by Arthur Levine to talk about the media preview of "Pandora: The World of Avatar." Arthur gives us the rundown of the land, including descriptions of its two major attractions. There's also talk about a brand new service at a Japanese theme park that allows you to impress your girlfriend by staging a simulated fight. Imagine the look on her face when you defend her...

This week, the guys tackle a ton of news stories from around the amusement industry, First up, news of a 2018 attraction at Sea World Orlando that will boast a unique world record. What could it be? Then, it turns out Disney is going to franchise their exclusive "Club 33" to all four parks at Walt Disney World . Will Mike approve? Six Flags Great Adventure unveiled a new policy for El Toro and Kin...

It's the time of year when new roller coasters are having their grand openings! EB was at the opening of Mystic Timbers at Kings Island . He was joined by Kevin and Cincinnati Jon , who had a chance to interview Rob Decker, Don Helbig and Mike Koontz from the park. Spoiler Alert... we're going to talk about #WhatsInTheShed We're also joined by Dan the T-Shirt Guy who talks about InvadR at Busch Ga...

Knotts Berry Farm is a hotbed of activity this week! We're joined by Knotts Berry Farms' Director of Digital Marketing, Brad Jashinsky who tells us all about it! They just unveiled their new VR Showdown in Ghostown ... a new VR game that takes guests on a time traveling adventure to visit a futuristic version of Knott's western town of Calico. They also took part in an innovative video shoot wirth...

The Virtual Reality craze at the parks is rolling on. This week, Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced that one of their major attractions will be VR-based in 2018. We'll tell you all about it. EB spent part of his Spring Break in New Orleans and managed to do some park-related things... including visiting the former site of Six Flags New Orleans! Mike got a lot of help from listeners Imagineering...

Once again this week, we take your listener questions. Plus, this year, we take LIVE PHONE CALLS during the show! Thanks for listening to CoasterRadio.com!

One of our off-season traditions is to take a few episodes and answer all of your listener questions! We spend time talking about on-topic questions... but we also have fun answering your off-topic and off-the-wall questions. Plus, this year, we take LIVE PHONE CALLS during the show! Thanks for listening to CoasterRadio.com!

This week, we welcome Nancy Heard to the show. She is the General Manager of Glenwood Caverns and has details about the new "Haunted Mine Drop Ride" that is scheduled to open this summer! We also hear all about the many other thrilling attractions at this park built on a cliff! We also take a look at the many different themes at parks across the country... and which ones don't work correctly anymo...

The Off-Season is a GREAT time to start making plans for the summer. You can buy tickets, book airline fare, choose hotels and get excited for what's to come. We start off this week's show by hearing what EB has planned for his first and second theme park trips of the 2017 season! We'll also hear Part II of an interview with Adam House , the Senior Design Engineer at Great Coasters International....

This week's show kicks off with a First Drop about the Rise and Fall of Disneyquest. The Interactive Indoor Theme Park that was supposed to open with nationwide locations will be closing its doors in July. Why did this concept fail and will we ever see anything like it again? Then, Mike takes a look at some theme park offers he received in the mail recently and does some "Theme Park Math" with EB...

Fun Spot America in Florida is building a fantastic new Gravity Group coaster for 2017. They finally decided on a name. We'll discuss... Kennywood has announced that they are adding a virtual reality experience to their some-what new Sky Rocket coaster. We talk about if this is really necessary. We'll talk about the upcoming auction at Knott's Berry Farm . You'll have the opportunity to bid on a v...

The City Council of Santa Clara held a special meeting to discuss the new proposed master plan and rezoning for California's Great America. We'll take a look at the new rides and attractions coming to this park over the next 20 years. We'll also take a look at the new attraction currently being built at Glenwood Caverns in Colorado. It's the exact same concept that EB has been begging for since we...

This week, we start off with news from Silver Dollar City . Apparently, they have trademarked a name for their 2018 roller coaster. This starts a conversation about great attraction names and leads in to next week's interactive topic. We also take a look at Maxpass , the new $10 per ticket mobile fastpass system that will be unveiled at Disneyland. Is this just the start of big changes to come? We...

This week, it's Part 2 of a listener favorite! Arthur Levine, the Theme Parks Industry Expert from about.com and USA Today joins Mike and EB to discuss and debate all of the new attractions for 2017. We'll talk about new attractions coming to parks like Disney's Animal Kingdom, Dollywood, Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags New England, Sea World San Antonio, Universal Orlando, Canada's Wonderland, Kn...

This week, we bring back a listener favorite! Arthur Levine, the Theme Parks Industry Expert from about.com and USA Today joins Mike and EB to discuss and debate all of the new attractions for 2017. We'll talk about new attractions coming to parks like Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Disney California Adventure, Carowinds, Hersheypark, Six Flags Great Adventure, OWA Park, Kings Island, Cedar Point, Ki...

Happy New Year! We're looking forward to a great 2017 at CoasterRadio.com! We kick off this week's show with a First Drop story about the Sky Cabin at Knotts Berry Farm. Last week, it got stuck with 21 people on board and it took seven hours to rescue them. Mike and EB talk about all aspects of this event... including the inevitable bathroom questions. We also take a look at your "Coaster"damus pr...

This year, CoasterRadio.com has contracted the famous comedian "Lightning Rodney" to host our Christmas Episode. He starts things off with a monologue worthy of Johnny Carson. We'll have visits from Hagrid Claus (who will call the child of one of our listeners) and Mr. Shaperro (who is blindsided by a member of his own family!) Randy Ray Rayford stops by to give us his Christmas Wish List and a mo...

Watch as CoasterRadio.com visits the annual holiday event at Busch Gardens Williamsburg

This week, we kick things off with talk about how Disney turned Spaceship Earth at EPCOT into the Death Star from Star Wars for one night only to promote "Rogue One." We'll talk with a Sith Lord to find out if it was a success. We'll also talk about how Samsung Everland isn't planing on fixing their iconic ferris wheel. Instead, they're letting park guests sit in the gondolas with Virtual Reality...

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN (one of our favorite places in the world) experienced devistating and terrifying wildwires this week. Our First Drop focuses on what was damaged and how this fantastic resort town can get back on its feet. Next up, we'll hear a Live Trip Report from Disneyland Paris and find out what changes are on the way for this amazing Euro-stle Disney park. Then, it's a Coaster...

The annual  IAAPA Convention  is happening in Orlando this week. It's the big gathering of people who are buying and selling anything and everything related to the amusement industry. We'll talk with Dwayne from  CoasterAddict.com  about what he's seeing on the show floor and what we might expect at the parks during the next decade. Next up, we talk about how Walt Disney World is beta testing a ne...

We start this week's first drop by taking a look at  Universal Orlando's Volcano Bay waterpark  that is under construction.  Check out this video  that shows some of the new attractions and the innovative new TapuTapu wristband that could be a step above Disney's Magic Band. Next up, Disney received FAA approval to use drones as part of their night-time shows. The first will be premiering at Disne...

Halloween is over. That means the off-season has arrived at parks around the country. We'l start off by taking a look at some news around the industry. There's a rumor that Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando might be thinking about removing "Dragon Challenge." Could this really happen?. We also have news about new 2017 attractions at Dollywood and Dutch Wonderland . Plus, details on how Six...