The Coaster101 Podcast

We're all theme park fans, but there's a fine line between fan and theme park creative. Sometimes, as a fan, it's difficult to see why things are done the way they're done, but everything happens for a purpose. This week, we're joined by Theme Park Creative Leader Patrick Kling, who inspired us with a recent LinkedIn post about what it took to think like a theme park designer when experiencing an...

Cedar Point is celebrating their 150th Anniversary this season, and part of that major celebration is the addition of the Snake River Expedition, a spiritual successor to the park's former Paddleboat Excursion. This week on the podcast, we talk with two team members of The Weber Group, who helped bring the attraction to life.  We talk inspiration, creative processes, production animatronic animals...

This week on the podcast, Shane joins Andrew to discuss his recent trip to Orlando, celebrating his 21st birthday. During the trip, he visited Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, and arguably the best park in Orlando for someone turning 21, EPCOT.  Listen for Shane's thoughts on Velocicoaster, his recounting of his 5-Hour wait for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventures, Day at Sea...

It was a big week for roller coasters last week. Velocicoaster and Jersey Devil opened to rave reviews, so obviously, we're talking about Holiwood Nights. This week on the podcast, join Andrew and John as they talk about John's recent trip to Holiwood Nights, one of the premier coaster enthusiast events in the United States. We talk Holiday World's coasters, and coaster enthusiast events in genera...

Coaster101 went down to Georgia, they were looking for wood and steel. They were in a bind, credit counts way behind, and they were willin' to make a deal...or something like that. This week on the podcast, Andrew chats with fellow C101 team members John, Kyle and Nick about their recent trip to the Peach state, visiting Lake Winnie, Six Flags Over Georgia, and Fun Spot Atlanta (as well as the Geo...

Recently, Eric had the opportunity to visit Knott's Berry Farm for a preview of their 100th anniversary celebration. With the food, fun, pomp and circumstance that comes with an anniversary, there's also a new ride opening at the park this season: Knott's Bearry Tales: Return to the Fair. We recount Eric's visit to the park, and go in-depth on Knott's Bear-y Tales: Return to the Fair, and why we f...

This week on the podcast, Shane recounts his recent trip to Lake Compounce, a park considered a hidden gem by many enthusiasts. Shane and Andrew then get into a discussion about several other "hidden gem" parks, including Conneaut Lake Park, Waldameer, The Great Escape, and Family Kingdom! If you like small parks, this week's episode is for you! We also talk Kentucky Kingdom's new chaperone rule,...

Last year, while everyone was at home, the TPEG Alumni Community, led by a group of recent Ohio State alumni, held their first ever competition. While the world is getting back closer to normal, the TPEG Alumni Community is once again hosting a theme park design competition for college students and recent graduates.  This week on the podcast, we're joined by Tiffani DuScheid, Carissa Vance, and Ki...

Earlier this year, Carowinds was the Champion of our 5th Annual "Park Mania Bracket Contest." When someone wins a title, they get a virtual victory parade! (Now that we've got a podcast, anyway.) We're joined on this week's podcast by Carowinds' Digital Marketing Manager Patrick Wisniewski, who actually grew up as a fan of the park, to talk Park Mania, Carowinds 2021 Season, and his favorites at C...

Stop us if you've heard this before. 2020 was a roller coaster of a year. The good news is, it's now 2021, and theme parks are getting ready to open again. All of Cedar Fair parks open later this month, and we're joined on the podcast this week by Valleyfair's Public Relations and Communications Manager, Kelsey Megard, Kings Dominion Public Relations Manager Maggie Sellers and Schlitterbahn's Dire...

Last week on social media, we asked our audience the question "What is your most unpopular controversial theme park hot take?" Spoiler alert: The responses didn't disappoint. While there were too many to cover in one episode (or even multiple episodes), we decided to discuss a few of these hot takes on the Coaster101 Podcast. The takes were so hot that we had to break it up into two episodes! This...

Last week on social media, we asked our audience the question "What is your most unpopular controversial theme park hot take?" Spoiler alert: The responses didn't disappoint. While there were too many to cover in one episode (or even multiple episodes), we decided to discuss a few of these hot takes on the Coaster101 Podcast. The takes were so hot that we had to break it up into two episodes! This...

The 2021 Offseason was an interesting one at Dollywood. Not only did Lightning Rod become the first RMC coaster to get "RMC'd," but Mystery Mine received some track work as well. And what about that new Mountain Coaster Go-Kart contraption at Rowdy Bear Ridge? We cover it all on this week's episode of the Coaster101 Podcast. Andrew is joined by C101 team members John, Kyle and Nick, who all visite...

There are history books about many theme parks out there, but for some reason, there were none written about Kings Island. This was realized by Kings Island merchandise associate and high school student Evan Ponstingle when park guests asked if there were any books about the history of Kings Island. He decided to change that. This week on the podcast, we interview Evan about his new book; Kings Is...

This week on the podcast we're joined by Justin Mabry and Clay Bradshaw, the creative forces behind JM Music Design, a company who has helped produce shows like Mix It Up and Monster Stomp at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Brew Beatz and Busker Jam at Carowinds. We chat with the dynamic duo about the creation process of live theme park entertainment, how they got their start in the industry, the c...

Falcon's Creative Group is a company who is frequently on the cutting-edge of the attractions industry. Known for their media for ride films like Curse of DarKastle and Battle for Eire at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and other immersive themed experiences for National Geographic, Falcon's continues to innovate and push the limits of themed entertainment. This week on the Coaster101 podcast, we're j...

Recently, we had the opportunity to connect with industry veteran and creative director in themed entertainment, Zane Jensch, about his new podcast, the D&D-Ticket. This "Dungeons and Dragons"-style boozy game night features theme park creatives coming up with a theme park attraction that will likely never get built. We recently interviewed Zane on Coaster101.com, but there were so many good s...

When thinking about the "Power Players" in the roller coaster world, Zamperla isn't typically a name that most people think of first. It's Adam Sandy's goal to change that. This week on the Coaster101 podcast, Andrew and Nick are joined by Adam to talk about his career as a "Roller Coaster Sales Guy" and some of the projects that Zamperla has up their collective sleeves in the coming months. Spoil...

This week on the Coaster101 podcast, we're joined by some of the team from the recently announced Themed Experience TV: Industry veterans Patrick Kling, Andy Garfield, Cynthia Sharpe, and TETV Producer Rachel Nakamura. Learn more about how their "pandemic project" of live streaming has become a full blown online network from themed entertainment creatives, their plans for the future, and how you c...

It's not every day that we get verified follows on Twitter. To be honest, a lot of notable people aren't ready to let their theme park fandom fly so openly. One of those such follows came from @DramaKingMatt , Matt Rehwoldt. Professional Wrestling fans may know Matt better from his timein WWE when he performed under the ring name of Aiden English. Matt got interested in theme parks and roller coas...

This week we've got part 2 of our interview with veteran theme park designer Dave Cobb! In Part 1 we got into his work with Universal, and now we're moving on to his more recent projects, including a brief stint at Paramount, and then nearly 13 years at the Thinkwell Group. Maybe the biggest project in all of that was the design of Warner Bros World in Abu Dhabi, a giant indoor theme park. We also...

This week we're joined by the amazing Dave Cobb, a 30+ year veteran of the themed attraction design industry. Dave is probably best known among Theme Park lovers for being the Creative Director behind Men in Black: Alien Attack at Universal Studios Florida, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020. This week we talk to Dave about his start in the industry, his early work on things like Back t...

For the next few weeks, we're going to focus on interviews of people, both in and out of the industry, with the key linking factor that they have great stories to tell! We're back this week with another fantastic interview subject, Seth Kubersky, author of the Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando 2021! Seth has more than 20 years experience in the theme park realm, and actually got his start in h...

We're deep in the recesses of the regional park off-season, which means that news is few and far between, save for park opening dates and the occasional raptors being placed at VelociCoaster. For the next few weeks, we're going to focus on interviews of people, both in and out of the industry, with the key linking factor that they have great stories to tell! First up, this week, John is joined by...

While we love roller coasters, we also feel that Dark Rides are among the most underappreciated and underrated theme park experiences out there, and of course, we have a a long list of favorites! This week, join Andrew, Shane and John as we talk about our favorite dark rides, from the simple classics of Disney parks, to more modern versions, and a good focus on interactive dark rides! (Is it fair...