The Coaster101 Podcast

In this day and age, it's rare that we see a full-scale ground-up theme park being built, and especially a ground-up theme park in Iowa. Fortunately, The Lost Island is up for the task. On this week's podcast, we talk with The Weber Group's Chief Theming Officer (what an incredible title!) Jim Doiron about what went into the theming for The Lost Island, which is scheduled to open next month.  We l...

When starting a podcast, like we did in 2020, you have a list of guests you really want to try to get on the show. It took almost two years, but we got one of our "big fish," Theme Park Journalist Arthur Levine. Known mostly for his work in USA Today, TripSavvy (fka About.com), and frequent appearances on the CoasterRadio podcast, Arthur has recently started a new journalism venture with the creat...

It's that time of year again -- another listener questions show! Join Andrew and John as they take on questions that make them think, from overrated roller coasters, to launch vs. lift, to why parks don't advertise their rides for season-long farewell tours. John and Andrew are even tasked with the question from former podcast guest Henry (Nick's 8-year-old son) on why roller coasters exist in the...

They say Virginia is for Lovers...Coaster Lovers. Recently, Andrew and Eric both had the (separate) opportunities to experience the new-for-2022 Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg while Andrew was able to extend his commonwealth trip and experience Tumbili (and Jungle X-Pedition) at Kings Dominion as well! If you're looking for coaster nerd talk on the latest and greatest roller coasters in th...

On this week's episode of the Coaster101 podcast we're joined by Matt Schmotzer of Print My Ride Detroit. We first noticed Matt five years ago when he unveiled he was working on a working 3D printed roller coaster model recreation of Invertigo shuttle coaster found at Kings Island. We caught up with Matt to hear about the incredible projects he's been working on since then, including: The challeng...

Viva Las Podcast. Andrew recently visited Las Vegas, and got to experience a lot of "America's Playground's" offerings during his 72 hours, from roller coasters, to live entertainment, to immersive experiences and more. Fortunately for us, he wasn't the only person with the first name Andrew to have a similar experience recently. We're joined on the podcast this week by In The Loop's Andrew Hyde t...

One of the most ambitious immersive experiences in theme park adjacent history - The Star Wars Galactic Star Cruiser -- recently opened at Walt Disney World Resort. While we are still attempting to find our way to Florida to experience it ourselves (Starcruiser Dreams with a Pop Century Budget...can anyone else relate?) We fortunately were able to track down a guest from one of the preview voyages...

It's a big week for Kings Dominion, opening for the season on March 12. In celebration of that big week, we've got a BIG episode centered around the all-new Tumbili 4-D Free-Spin and re-themed Safari Village, which is now known as Jungle X-Pedition. We're joined on the podcast this week by Bridgette Bywater, Vice President and General Manager for Kings Dominion, Tony Turner, Head of Creative Servi...

Recently, Nick returned from a long weekend at Universal Orlando with his family. While we all love roller coasters (yes, he rode VelociCoaster), when your 8-year-old and 4-year-daughter are in tow, we all know that family comes first. This week on the podcast, Nick talks about the ins and outs of taking a family to Universal Orlando. From attractions, to accommodations, to just how many beads its...

Last week, Shane and Mike from the Coaster101 team had the chance to ride Iron Gwazi, the world's tallest and steepest hybrid coaster. Spoiler Alert: It lives up to the hype. This week on the podcast, Shane joins Andrew to talk all things Iron Gwazi, from ride experience, to merch, to favorite elements, to theming and more. If you're looking for the most in-depth podcast on Iron Gwazi, we humbly p...

Later this week, SeaWorld Orlando will officially open their sixth roller coaster, Ice Breaker. This multi-launch coaster from Premier Rides is the new centerpiece of an area previously headlined by Wild Arctic. With a height requirement of less than 54" - it gives SeaWorld Orlando it's first "tweener" roller coaster, slightly more intense than Super Grover's Box Car Derby, but not quite the level...

When your podcast drops on a Monday, there's often news that is certain to drop on a Tuesday. That was of course the case this week, as SeaWorld offered to buy Cedar Fair for a lot of money. In other SeaWorld Investment news, we talk Iron Gwazi's media day this week, and how a roller coaster may have crossed the northern border, never to be heard from again, we think? Andrew is joined by an entire...

We're proud to present to you the crossover content that literally no one asked for. There are a lot of really good roller coaster podcasts out there, so we decided to combine two of the more average podcasts in an effort to create a decent episode.  We're joined by Marcus, Marc, and Mike of The Drunk Riders podcast to learn more about their show, their Coaster Club "Buzzed Bars" and its upcoming...

A picture is worth a thousand words, and this podcast...well has a lot more than that. We're joined on the podcast this week by Scott Schaffer of Upstop Media, and past Coaster101 Photo Contest winner Jack Lathrop, maybe better known for his instagram handle @ThrillingMoment.  We talk the finer points of theme park photography, the recent partnership between Upstop Media and Thrilling Moments Phot...

Happy New Year! For our first show of 2022, we cover a bit of everything, from Disney's Magic Express, Figment Popcorn Buckets, and the new-for-2022 coasters we're most excited to ride. It's a wild ride. Strap in!  Nick, Eric and Shane join Andrew to talk about the end of travel convenience from Orlando International Airport to Walt Disney World, the end of sanity when it comes to dragon-shaped po...

Welcome back my friends to the podcast that never ends! For our last podcast of 2021, we're reminiscing about a park that's no longer with us, and has a bit of a cult status in the enthusiast community - Hard Rock Park. We're joined by Attraction Pros' Podcast Co-Host Josh Liebman, who worked as an Operations Supervisor at the "Park That Rock Built" during its lone operating system in 2008. We tal...

Last week, Kennywood made some big announcements relating to the park's 125th Anniversary, which takes place in 2023, in addition to some things we already knew. The Kangaroo is coming back! Phantom's Revenge is being painted "Petrifying Purple!" (but is it really more of an "aubergine?") We're joined on the podcast this week by Palace Entertainment Director of Corporate Communications Nick Paradi...

The time has come. After multiple postponements for COVID, Shane finally made it to Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. Of course, for a Star Wars nerd, it was like nirvana, and he wanted to talk about it! We're joined on the podcast this week by fellow Star Wars aficionado Hunter Hernandez from Theme Park Hunting and the On The Hunt Podcast to discuss ALL things Star Wars and Galaxy's Edge. You have been wa...

You never know where you'll find a true theme park enthusiast in the wild.  While many people claim to be a "theme park nerd," rarely are they able to back up that claim with actual in-depth knowledge. Not the case with Broadway Actor Nik Walker ( Hamilton, Ain't Too Proud) . He. Knows. His. Stuff. Nik, who had it written into his contract for Ain't Too Proud that he would miss rehearsal for the o...

Happy IAAPA Week! You've made it to our final IAAPA interview, where we're joined by Daryl White of Falcon's Beyond Global. Falcon's is always on the forefront of technological innovation in the industry, and with new creations like the Spectraverse and On!x Theater, they continue to pave the way for new technological progress in the amusement industry. We also talk about the creation of Falcon's...

Happy IAAPA Week! You've made it to our third of four interviews with companies exhibiting at IAAPA, and today, we're joined by Adam Sandy of Zamperla's Roller Coaster Division. It's been a busy year for Zamperla with the announcement of the Double Heart Coaster, new roller coasters in the United States and in Asia, and they're not done! In 2022, they will debut a "Lift & Launch" family coaste...

Happy IAAPA Week! This is our second in a series of four interviews with companies exhibiting at IAAPA, and today, we're focused on a company with a booth at the expo, but they're not selling anything -- they're there to say "Thank You" to their industry partners: Give Kids The World There are multiple charitable initiatives going on around the IAAPA Expo this week, including a 5K race and golf to...

Happy IAAPA Week! This is our first in a series of four interviews with companies exhibiting at IAAPA, and we're starting with Extreme Engineering, who are debuting four new concepts at the 2021 IAAPA Expo. We learn more about Extreme Engineering's recent Cloud Coasters in Vietnam and Qatar, and learn more about their projects on the horizon, before diving into the Cloud Coaster Storm, Surfin' Tsu...

Happy IAAPA Week! We've got a shorter "regular" show this week, because the week is chock full of content coming to Coaster101.com, our social media feeds, and most importantly, your podcast feed! While we won't be on the show floor during the majority of the week of the Expo, C101 writer Shane is attending his first ever IAAPA expo, and had questions for Andrew, who attended the show in 2017 and...

It's the second week of November. The first chill is in the air, so what better time to think warm thoughts of water parks than with a podcast devoted to Schlitterbahn Water Parks, arguably the water park mecca of the United States. We're joined on the podcast this week by Aaron Martinez, Director of Marketing for Schlitterbahn Waterparks to talk all things Schlitterbahn, from the family-owned his...