Carousel of Theme Parks Podcast

It's time to explore Efteling. This episode has a lot of love built in because this park is truly inspiring and I still wish I was there right now. I hope you’ll enjoy this episode and that you enjoyed the small ‘Efteling Fairy Tale’ episode I released last week. I have at least one more of those short fairy tale episodes up my sleeve soon (haha!) but enjoy this full Park History episode.  Ple...

As I continue my research on Efteling for my upcoming episode, I wanted to share some of the Efteling-specific fairy tales that decorate the park's Sprookjesbos (Fairytale Forest). This story is titled 'The Six Servants' and is where 'Langnek (Long Neck)' is featured, which serves as one of the iconic pieces of the Sprookjesbos and Efteling marketing. Enjoy me reading it dramat...

Hello everyone and welcome to this week’ episode 2.5: Six Flags Over Texas. This one is a bit lengthy as this park has been around since 1961 and has over 65 years of history! With lots of ride changes, ride name changes and some shuffling, this park has a lot to cover. Please excuse poor pronunciation of some of the Spanish words in this one, as some of these were tongue twisters for me! Stay tun...

I’m back! It's been a long time coming, but welcome to this episode on the history of Disneyland. After several rewrites, I have finally finished this episode. It has been a true passion project to research this park since it hearkens back to one of my personal heroes, Walt Disney. I hope you enjoy this episode and the stories it tells. On the heels of the upcoming documentary, Disneyland Hand...

Welcome to this special edition CHIT CHAT on the Holidays at Orlando Theme Parks. In this episode I chat about many of the holiday offerings available at parks from around the Orlando area. Happy Holidays from me to you and I will see you on the next ride around the carousel for our next episode, Disneyland, somewhere in the new year. Thanks for being a listener of mine and I love you. Please subs...

Welcome to this week’s (delayed) episode on Busch Gardens Williamsburg! I worked hard to get this one out on time, but alas, I did not. It in fact had a bit more research required than what I expected (oops) but here it is! Enjoy the episode as well as the chat after the history, where I discuss my trip this past summer to the park for the first time and how much I truly loved it (I need to be on...

Welcome to this week’s episode where I chat about SeaWorld San Diego! This episode what a complicated one to research, as there is really not a lot of information out there about the park. I also made the decision to include a bit about the controversy that SeaWorld has been included in over the years, but tried to keep it as neutral as possible. Thank you for your understanding, and please excuse...

Hello everyone! I am back with this week’s episode on Knott’s Berry Farm. In this episode I discuss the history of this iconic park and the history of the boysenberry. So sit back and listen to this week’s stories! Thank you for hanging on while I have been away at Dollywood (as usual) and I will have plenty more episodes coming up soon as we dive deep for the second season of my podcast and the n...

Welcome to this week’s Chit-Chat episode on my recent visit to Dollywood for their Smoky Mountain Christmas festival. I had a fantastic time experiencing the shows and seeing the lights here at the park for this event and it brought back a lot of memories for me. Join me as I discuss my park experience as well as my resort experience at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort & Spa.  Sources: Learn more...

Welcome to this week’s episode on Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari. In this episode we journey through the history of ‘America’s First Theme Park’ from its origins as Santa Claus Land to the park celebrating holidays that it is today. Then, chat with me about visiting the park and exploring all things Holiday World (and getting unlimited soft drinks!) This episode also marks the conclusion of on...

Welcome to this week's episode on Phantasialand. I was really excited for this episode to share some of the lore of this unique theme park in Germany. Please forgive any mispronunciations of names in this episode. ENJOY! NEW THIS WEEK: View my script with footnote sources. Find it HERE I had to use nearly 30 SOURCES for this episode, so check them out if you would like! Sources: https://frei-z...

Welcome to this week's episode on Europa-Park! This park is a place I truly love and I have been enamored with the history of it. Please, enjoy this episode as we explore the lore of the park and discuss my own visits. Sorry that this episode is a wee bit longer (haha) I oopsied and talked too long on my experiences! But I guess I also covered Rulantica, so there is that too. I also hope you l...

Welcome to the first in-between episode that I think I will call 'Chit Chat' where I can chat about things that don't necessarily relate to a specific theme park history. In this episode, I discuss the history of theme park souvenirs: where did they start? I also open up about my theme park merchandise obsession (I believe it is now a personality trait oops). Sources from this episode:...

Welcome to Episode 1.3 - Busch Gardens Tampa Bay! In this episode, we discover the history and stories of this park from the brewery tour with free beer at the end and a bird show to the rollercoaster park with live animals it is today. Also, in the second section, we talk about my experience visiting the park awhile back and my recommendations on getting through the park in one day! This episode...

**This is an attempt to repair audio quality issues from the first upload. Please excuse me for not noticing initially when I uploaded it that the sound was icky oops I legit do all this myself and I have no experience oops!** This week we explore the history of Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Kings Island is a park that has been through a lot of changes in its over 50 year history. Since 1972, the p...

Welcome to Episode 1.1, Dollywood of our Park History Deep Dive Series. In this episode I discuss the history of Dollywood and then talk about my recommendations for how to experience the park as a first time visitor or a repeat visitor. This park is super important to me, so I have a lot to say on the topic! Please note: The history portion is outdated (Already?!) as I recorded it before Dollywoo...

Greetings and welcome aboard Zack Back's Carousel of Theme Parks Podcast. This is the first episode, created to help introduce you to me, the podcast idea and what we will be doing here on a regular basis. Please forgive me for the probably awful audio quality, as this is the first time I have ever done anything like this and there is definitely a learning curve with audio! I hope that from here w...