The Coaster101 Podcast

Despite living in California, Eric has not yet made it to Universal Studios Hollywood to experience Super Nintendo World stateside. He has however, now officially done the next best (and to be honest, probably better) thing: Visited the original land at Universal Studios Japan.  In this episode, Eric takes Andrew through his trip to Universal Studios Japan, including Super Nintendo World, but also...

Earlier this year, coaster enthusiasts on the east coast were blessed with not one, but two brand-new creations from the wizards at Rocky Mountain Construction - Arie Force One at Fun Spot Atlanta and Wildcat's Revenge at Hersheypark. Luckily, we have two Coaster101 team members who have ridden these new coasters and can talk about them and make our host, who has yet to ride them, jealous.  John &...

Andrew has officially unpacked his podcasting equipment after a move. Recently, he had the opportunity to head up to Busch Gardens Williamsburg for Media Day for the park's 10th roller coaster, DarKoaster. This fun family-friendly roller coaster has a bit of everything, and so does this podcast episode! Reviews, Interviews, On-Ride Audio -- this podcast will have you braving the storm!  You can co...

The 2023 TPEG ALUMNI Community Theme Park Design Competition is in the books and the top teams have been announced. On this week's episode of the Coaster101 Podcast, we welcome the members of Team 385, the champions of the competition: Andrew Yates, David Manguiat, Ella Rudkin, Jacob English, & Audrey Nelson. We discuss all aspects of their project, The Lost Trails, including Mothman: The Ride...

Multiple years in the making, Carowinds' newest land, Aeronautica Landing, celebrating all things aviation, is officially open. We had the opportunity to attend the media preview for the new land, and we were incredibly impressed.  Andrew talks all things Aeronautica Landing, and then closes the show with interviews conducted on-site at media day -- Carowinds' Executive Chef John Loukas, Cedar Fai...

Nathan Firesheets is no stranger to Disney Parks-related Challenges. A veteran of both the Parkeology and Ride Every Challenge at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, Nathan recently completed a journey that makes us simultaneously jealous and terrified: Every Ride at all 12 Disney Parks. In 12 Days.  On this episode of the Coaster101 Podcast, we talk about Nathan's world-spanning journey, which enca...

Henry (9) and Nora (5) from Ohio, state of America, come on the show to review the new Pirate River Quest ride at Legoland Florida and their first time visiting Peppa Pig Theme Park.

Six Flags made a slew of announcements on March 1. From attractions we already knew about like Aquaman Power Wave and the P'Sghetti Bowl Coasters coming to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Over Georgia, to new attractions that were previously unannounced.  Eric joins Andrew to recap the highlights of the announcement, and there's an odd fascination with Six Flags New England's new Dinosaur Offroad Adven...

TRON: Lightcycle Run officially opens at Walt Disney World on April 4, but Shane got to enter the grid a little early, and recounts his experience riding TRON during Cast Member Previews.  Shane and Andrew also chat about their recent trip to SeaWorld Orlando for the Seven Seas Food Festival and a Coaster Smash & Grab at Fun Spot Kissimmee -- some great food and coaster talk!  You can connect...

This past weekend, the Disney 100 Exhibition made its debut at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Covering 20,000 square feet of event space, the exhibit covers all things over the century history of the Walt Disney Company.  Andrew is joined this week by Blooloop Top 50 Museum Influencer Abby Bysshe, Chief Experience & Strategy Officer for the Franklin Institute (who also happens to be A...

Andrew makes it to his fair share of theme parks, but his younger brother J.T., while a fan of theme parks, isn't as in depth in the hobby. So when the duo heads to Universal Orlando, you never know what will happen.  J.T. makes his podcast debut as the brothers Stilwell discuss a recent Universal Orlando vacation that coincided with an Orlando Informer meet-up. We get thoughts on Velocicoaster, H...

This week's show is a little different than usual. Andrew had the opportunity to visit Carowinds for a Construction Tour of the all-new Aeronautica Landing, which opens later this spring. Rather than talk about rides, he put the recorder on during the tour, and is taking you on an auditory journey of unedited audio as he walked through the mud and saw all of the construction happening!   You can c...

As coaster enthusiasts, we all have friends who we refer to (lovingly) as "GP." So when members of the GP visit a park that you've never visited, you obviously want the "real" story that isn't as coaster focused. Andrew is joined by his college roommate Clint and Clint's "friends from back home" Chris and Kyle to talk about their recent trip to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. We talk personal coaster hist...

Happy New Year! Native North Carolinian Andrew is joined by two other North Carolinians, Andrew from Park Rovers and Erik of "Erik's Coaster Tweets" to conduct a Carolinas Coaster Draft, with the added wrinkle of Virginia and Tennessee thrown in the mix! Head to our Twitter account to vote for whose lineup you think is best! You can connect with the show by hitting us up on social media @Coaster10...

It's the last new Coaster101 Podcast Episode of 2022, and we're talking Christmas Gifts. Not just any Christmas gifts - but what you want your home parks to open under the tree!  Last week, we posed the question "What do you want your home park to open under its Christmas Tree?" and Nick joins Andrew to talk about their own home parks, as well as some of our favorite answers from the C101 audience...

Longtime listeners will remember when we interviewed author Evan Ponstingle about his book: Kings Island: A Ride Through Time. After that book was released, publisher Barry Hill of Rivershore Creative felt that the only thing missing was a visual accompaniment. This week on the podcast, Andrew interviews Barry about his new book "Kings Island: A Photographic Journey" - a 200-page coffee table book...

After the Thanksgiving break, we're back again with some peak "off-season" content. Bryant Olivera, aka the internet's "Coaster-A-Day" calendar, @Coaster365 , joins Andrew to arbitrarily rank the best states for coaster enthusiasts.  Their lists are similar, but you might be surprised at some of the rankings and reasonings!  You can connect with the show by hitting us up on social media @Coaster10...

It's Thanksgiving Week, which means everyone will gather around the table to talk about all of the shiny new trains revealed at IAAPA. At least that's what we think.  Shane visited the IAAPA Expo in Orlando last week, and has the scoop on all of the new trains, announcements that weren't covered in the press briefings, and something called the Condiment Cow, perhaps the surprise hit of this year's...

It's IAAPA Week, and we're joined by "friend of the pod" Marcus from The Drunk Riders to talk media announcements, speculation and more!  You can connect with the show by hitting us up on social media @Coaster101: Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram . We also have a website, if you're into that sort of thing: www.coaster101.com Also, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode!...

Ahead of next week's IAAPA Expo We're joined on the podcast this week by Zamperla's Director for Roller Coaster Sales and Marketing (as well as "Friend of the Pod" and all around good-guy) Adam Sandy.  Zamperla is in the midst of a roller coaster renaissance, and has announced three coaster projects in recent months. We talk Cedar Point, Adventureland, PNE Playland, and more!  You can connect with...

With one week until Halloween, we're taking the time to talk Haunts -- from the small Zombezi Bay at Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, to SCarowinds at Carowinds, to the Grandaddy of them all, Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando.  This week on the show, join Andrew, Nick and Shane as they recap their #SpookySZN exploits in Ohio, Florida, and the Carolinas!  Read the reviews here!  Shane on HHN...

Last week on Twitter, we posed the question: What’s a coaster that is overall not great but has *one* redeeming element or moment? The Coaster101 audience came through with a variety of answers, and we discuss them this week!  John joins Andrew to talk the results of the Wooden Coaster Draft, Coaster101's recent appearance in the Wall Street Journal, and dives into the topic of "signature" moments...

We're back, and this week, we're taking on the highly original concept of hosting a wooden coaster fantasy draft. To put an added wrinkle, we've put together 10 unique categories that our three podcasters have to draft by. Head to our Twitter account to vote for whose lineup you think is best!  You can connect with the show by hitting us up on social media @Coaster101: Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Ins...

 After a few weeks of real life, Andrew is back, and is joined by "The Pat McAfee of Coaster TikTok," CoasterBro from the Coaster Cuzzies podcast. There's been a good bit of news in the past few weeks, so we're recapping it, giving our thoughts on Top Thrill Dragster 2.0, DarKoaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the Golden Ticket Awards, and recapping D23! It's a lot! Strap in! Listen to this pod...

Three members of the Coaster101 team recently met at Canada’s Wonderland to experience the Toronto amusement park’s 17 roller coasters and on today's podcast we talk all about them! In a year when it felt like every other coaster enthusiast went to Europe over the summer, we decided we had to go international too, so naturally we went to Canada. On this week's episode of the Coaster101 Podcast we...