The Coaster101 Podcast

It's about that time of year where many refer to as "Theme Park Christmas," where parks announce their plans for the following season, and guests reap the benefits of all of the shiny new toys the park unwrap for next year. On August 11, multiple Cedar Fair parks made announcements for 2023, including Carowinds, Canada's Wonderland, Worlds of Fun, and Cedar Point. You can read more about these ann...

A year ago last week, Glenwood Caverns announced the largest project in their history, the Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster, Defiance. Standing highatop the Rocky Mountains, Defiance opened at the beginning of July to rave reviews. There's no better person to talk Defiance than park General Manager Nancy Heard, who enjoyed her time so much on the podcast last August that she was super excited to come b...

Happy 101st Episode of the Coaster101 Podcast.  In celebration of this momentous occasion, we gathered Andrew, John, Kyle and Nick to tell a roller coaster story we've hesitated to tell for three years. Join us for a humorous oral history of the time that the four of us headed to a family entertainment center in Charlotte to ride a Miner Mike roller coaster that wasn't easily accessible, especiall...

It's Episode 100, but the milestone celebration is coming with Episode 101, because we're doing it for the brand. As we enter triple digits, we're revisiting our "Coaster101 Guide to" series with a look at one of John's "Home Away from Home" parks, Six Flags Great America. Did you know that the Chicago-area park was originally opened by Marriott Hotels? John talks park history, his personal histor...

We've got a first time over here! While multiple members of the Coaster101 team have visited Kings Island in the past, Shane had the opportunity to visit the park for the first time recently, and we thought a fresh perspective would be good to showcase on the podcast. Shane joins Andrew, and brings along his buddy Colin (@AllClearCoasters on Instagram) to talk about his recent trip to Kings Island...

Andrew is traveling for work this week, and hotel internet is less than ideal for recording a podcast. But, the show must go on. Luckily, the work trip brought him to Houston, and there are two roller coasters within a decent drive -- and he got to experience both. Learn more about the Gerstlauer Eurofighter Iron Shark at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier and Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah Boardw...

We're back! One of the least talked about Cedar Fair parks (at least from a coaster enthusiast's perspective) is Michigan's Adventure. It's often considered neglected or forgotten in favor of Cedar Fair's other parks, so OF COURSE we're going to talk about it on our podcast! Nick joins Andrew to talk about his recent visit to Michigan's Adventure, talking about the park from the perspective a coas...

We weren't going to have a podcast this week. Then, the news broke that Cedar Fair had sold the land out from underneath California's Great America to a real estate developer, and the park would cease to operate sometime in the next 11 years. The land is sold...but California's Great America has a number of rides that could end up at other Cedar Fair parks. Join Andrew, Shane, Nick, and Northern C...

We all recognize the name Roller Coaster Tycoon, or No Limits. But did you know that "Roller Coasters in Video Games" date back nearly 40 years? This week on the Coaster101 Podcast, Andrew is joined by DJ of the Corkscrew Convos podcast this week to deep dive into the history of theme park and roller coaster video games, talking about some of our personal favorites along the way!  You can connect...

As theme park enthusiasts, we're often told how we should feel about certain rides or attractions. Like something more than everyone else does? You're weird. Like something less than everyone else does? You're also weird. However, the key is liking what you like, because in reality, it doesn't matter otherwise! This week's show has Shane and Andrew talking about some of their favorite theme park g...

Kyle and John recently made a visit to one of the United States' few remaining trolley parks, Dorney Park in Allentown, PA. The two-first time visitors join Andrew to talk about their experience. The trio talk the park's coaster lineup, Demon Drop, the Zephyr, our thoughts on what the park's next roller coaster should be and how the Coaster101 team ended up in one of Dorney Park's TikToks. Visit D...

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...