The Coaster101 Podcast

One of the more fascinating ongoing stories in the theme park world in the past several years has been the construction of Mattel Adventure Park in Glendale, Arizona. Featuring two roller coasters from Chance Rides, including the first-ever launched Hyper GT-X coaster, the Mattel Adventure park is scheduled to open in the next few months.  This week on the podcast, Andrew is joined by Cindy Emeric...

Deep in the throes of announcement season, the Coaster101 team comes together to talk all things "New for 2025" Coasters in North America. Yes, there are coasters opening elsewhere, but have you looked at our listening audience? What's our favorite coaster? What will be the sleeper hit? How do you pronounce Rakshasa? All these questions and more answered by Andrew, John, Larry and Evan on this wee...

No Blue Sky. Dirt is Moving. We're getting the long rumored door coaster, the Rivers of America are being replaced by Cars, and the best Disney Parks announcement might be at Hong Kong Disneyland? That can only mean one thing, it's D23 time.  Nick, John, Shane and Andrew join the podcast, sans musical interludes, to discuss everything that came out of the Disney Experiences Panel at D23. No stone...

Following the success of their "Legacy of Arrow" Documentary, the team behind shorts and films including the "Lost Parks of California" and "The Path to Railblazer" is back again with a new documentary, "The Legacy of Schwarzkopf," debuting this fall.  Andrew is joined this week by Producer Kris Rowberry and Cameraman Robert Ingle to talk all things about the new documentary, which will be premier...

It's no surprise that we talk about Carowinds a lot on this podcast, but this week, we're joined by one of the people whose job it is to make Carowinds look and sound good, both in and outside of the park.  A longtime friend of the podcast and industry veteran, Carowinds' Brand Activation Manager Chris Keith joins the podcast to talk all things Carowinds, his career in the industry, tangents, the...

What if we told you that over the past few years, a major project that has been on the minds of coaster enthusiasts isn't at a "traditional" theme park but rather at a motorsports complex that hosts NASCAR, F1, and Moto GP races each year? Located at Austin, Texas' Circuit of the Americas, COTALAND is slowly but surely becoming a reality, proven by the fact that the track work park's first major c...

The biggest news in recent theme park history happened last week, so, officially a week after the dust has settled, Andrew and Eric are here to talk about it.  We're talking all things Six Flags Entertainment Corp this week. Should they have an all park pass? If so, how much should it cost? Should they offer a regional pass? What's something you want to bring from one legacy chain to the other and...

You always remember your first time...Wait. That sounded weird. But as coaster enthusiasts, heading to a park for the first time can be a memorable experience, especially when that park is Cedar Point.  Shane joins Andrew to talk about his first-ever trip to Cedar Point, which, while it lacked Top Thrill 2, made up for it with 50 coaster rides over three days! Shane also visited the new Dreamworks...

Baby, we're ready to go!  Coaster Enthusiast eyes around the world were fixated on Sandusky, OH for the debut of Top Thrill 2, the spiritual successor to Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster. Fortunately for us, two C101 team members were among the first riders to ascend to the top of Top Thrill 2's twin 420' structures.  The "Ohi-bros" Nick and Kyle join Andrew this week with a report from Top Thril...

We've reached the point of the year where new roller coasters are opening all across the country - and fortunately for us, we have some "boots on the ground" taking first rides! Andrew is joined this week by Coaster101's newest writer Evan, who headed to Allentown, PA to take on the 160' tall Iron Menace Dive Coaster at Dorney Park - the first of its kind coaster in the region!  Evan talks all thi...

Spring Break at Disney...but make it a double!  C101 writer Nick joins Andrew on the podcast to talk about their respective Spring Break Disney Trips - Nick with a traditional family vacation with his wife and two kids on a four-day Disneyland Vacation, and Andrew with a "Smash & Grab" day and a half at Magic Kingdom and Epcot while in Orlando for a conference.  We talk TRON, Guardians, Genie+...

Recently, members of the Coaster101 team took three separate trips to Busch Gardens Tampa - some repeat visitors, some first time visitors, and we're here to bring our experiences to you.  C101 Founder John and one of C101's newest writers Evan join Andrew on the podcast to talk all things Busch Gardens Tampa - Iron Gwazi, the Skyride, Eating Vegetarian (or not), Falcon's Fury, and more!  You can...

When you have the opportunity to connect with a long-time industry veteran, you're bound to get some incredible stories. When that industry veteran is Dennis Speigel, the stories are even better. A former Kings Island and Kings Dominion General Manager, Dennis Speigel joins Andrew to talk all things development of Kings Island and Kings Dominion with some great coaster talk in between. Check out D...

Nestled deep in the Ozark Mountains of Branson, Missouri is a park that has long been on Andrew's theme park bucket list - Silver Dollar City. A park with an immensely rich history, Silver Dollar City is celebrating 64 years of operation this season with an all-new roller coaster, Fire in the Hole.  Andrew is joined on the podcast this week by Dalton Fischer, Communications Manager for Silver Doll...

After we dropped our most recent episode, a good amount of news dropped in the theme park industry, and in true podcast fashion, we're a few days late in covering the news.  Nick and John join Andrew to talk all things Epic Universe, SeaWorld's name Change, Busch Gardens' Skyride $5 charge, and Lakemont Park before wrapping up on a more topical announcement - the Super Bowl bet between Worlds of F...

There's not a lot of news in the industry this week, which means it's a perfect time for a good ole-fashioned coaster draft, and this time, we're taking the coasters SeaWorld Parks - SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, and Sesame Place. C101 writer Larry, who apparently was involved in Coaster101's original podcast (that pre-dates this current edition by years - who knew?!) joins the podcast for the first ti...

Hurler at Carowinds is getting RMC’d. Pause for gasp. But not quite in the way you’re thinking those letters typically represent, where Rocky Mountain Construction is involved. Instead, Hurler is receiving R outine M aintenance by C arowinds.  This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Steve Jackson, Carowinds’ Director of Maintenance and Construction, for a first-hand look at Hurler’s reconstructi...

In the early day of the podcast, (episode 31, to be exact) author Seth Kubersky joined us to talk about his book - the Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando, then in its sixth edition. Luckily he's back (105 episodes later!) to talk all things about the ninth edition!  Seth joins Andrew to talk all things Unofficial Guide, but the conversation delves a little bit into Jurassic World VelociCoaster,...

Our new year's resolution is to be more consistent with podcasting, and we're back for 2024, ready to ride every new roller coaster opening this year.  Andrew is joined by C101 team members Mike (who makes his first ever podcast appearance), Nick and Shane to talk all things 2024 as it relates to new attractions. What's our most anticipated attraction? Listen to find out!  We cover a bit of everyt...

Real life has a funny way of getting in the way of podcasts, but after Andrew planned his wedding and got married, followed by kidney stone removal surgery - the Coaster101 podcast is officially back, and there's no better way to jump back into the news of the amusement industry than with a recap of the 2023 IAAPA Expo.  Andrew is joined by C101 team member Shane, who walked the "9 miles of aisles...

It's been a busy 2023 for Rocky Mountain Construction. Two all-new coasters, a major retrak-ing project in Orlando, a merger, bringing Silver Dollar City's Fire In The Hole to a new generation, and arguably, most importantly, WILD MOOSE.  Andrew is joined by RMC's COO Jake Kilcup to talk about the roller coaster of a year that Rocky Mountain Construction has had, and how the ride is just beginning...

Happy National Roller Coaster Day! Last week, Dorney Park announced Iron Menace - the park's first ground-up roller coaster to be built since Hydra: The Revenge in 2005. Standing 160' tall, Iron Menance will truly change Dorney Park's Skyline. We're joined on the podcast this week by Ryan Eldredge, Dorney Park's Public Relations and Communications Manager to talk all things Iron Menace and also so...

You never know when you'll find a podcast guest in the wild. During a visit to Deno's Wonder Wheel earlier this summer, Andrew was riding their new roller coaster, Phoenix when he struck up a conversation with a ride operator. As it turned out, that "ride operator" was Deno "DJ" Vourderis, third-generation co-owner and operator of Deno's Wonder Wheel amusement park. DJ was kind enough to join Andr...

It's a big week for theme park news, so before all that drops, we wanted to have a little bit of fun. Andrew, Shane, and Nick join forces for a 12-round Universal draft!  There are some caveats -- you had to take at least two International Attractions, at least one show, and at least one defunct attraction. Also, seasonal events were not allowed to be taken -- which is why Halloween Horror Nights...

We can count on one hand the number of new, full-scale theme parks that have opened in the United States in the past 15 years. One of those parks happens to be Lost Island, located in Waterloo, Iowa. By all accounts, this park is a hidden gem, and features a pair of unique roller coasters, a world class Sally Dark Ride, and on top of that, a fantastic and friendly staff along with its own IP acros...