Coaster Redux

After a long first day battling nasty weather and heavy crowds at the brand new Universal Epic Universe, I finally got my first rides on their marquee roller coaster, Stardust Racers.  Repeated announcements led me to believe that somehow, keeping one's shoes on was counter-intuitive on this ride, yet somehow, I successfully enjoyed this stellar attraction with my shoes on.

Day two at Epic began with my longest line ever, three...

It's not every day a brand-new theme park opens, especially on this level.  Known for immersive theming, cutting-edge attractions, and world-class roller coasters, Universal Orlando Resort debuted Epic Universe in May, and I visited shortly after opening.  The park is home to five themed worlds: Celestial Park, Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic, and How to Train Your Dr...

Sometimes theme park road trips don't go perfectly to plan, but a good trip is what you make it.  It's all about being flexible, and above all, don't forget to enjoy the ride.  My first expedition of 2025 brought me to Kings Dominion looking forward to riding their brand-new B&M launched wing coaster Rapterra.  While in the neighborhood, I planned visits to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Carowinds.  I had the ple...

Welcome to the first episode of Redux Rundown!  Coaster Redux is all about in-depth storytelling from my visits to new theme parks, and I'm going to continue bringing you that type of content.  Redux Rundown episodes will now join full Coaster Redux episodes on this same feed, giving me the ability to step outside the story timeline and talk about the news, what's going on with the podcast, tell a quick story that doesn&a...

Between my two big trips last year, I had a last-minute long weekend pop up, so I headed north Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and SeaWorld Orlando to check out their new B&M family coasters, Phoenix Rising and Penguin Trek, respectively.  This Sunday would also be the final day of operation for Scorpion, a classic Schwarzkopf looping coaster at Busch Gardens.  While I've talked about Busch Gardens several times on this podcast, I...

My third and final stop on my northwestern trip was Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, CA.  With the future of California's Great America very much in doubt, this just may be the only major theme park in NorCal within the next five years.  The park experienced staggering growth during the Coaster Wars with a whopping seven roller coasters installed between 1998 and 2001.  The headlining attractions are the massive custom ...

Stop number two on my northwestern trip was California's Great America in Santa Clara, CA.  This park has an interesting history of ownership changes, and despite its sister park, Six Flags Great America being one of the darlings of the legacy Six Flags chain, this park's future is uncertain.  Cedar Fair sold the land beneath the park to a development company post-pandemic with a lease set to expire in 2028.  Join me for ...

A few months after my summer road trip, I continued my quest to ride new roller coasters by flying northwest to visit three parks for the first time.  Stop number one was Lagoon in Farmington, UT.  It's a family-owned amusement park known for doing things differently.  They've built their last three roller coasters completely in-house, and they're unlike anything else out there.  Join me for my first-time reactions t...

The final stop on my summer road trip was Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN.  This family-owned park is home to quite possibly the greatest collection of wooden roller coasters on the planet, the Raven, the Legend, and the Voyage.  They're also home to Thunderbird, the world's first B&M launched wing coaster, and the new for 2024 Good Gravy! Vekoma Family Boomerang.  Join me for my ravin' review of this legend of ...

The seventh stop on my summer road trip was Kentucky Kingdom.  Located in Louisville, this park's had a roller coaster of a history, being operated by local businessman Ed Hart, Six Flags, then Ed Hart again, and now Herschend Family Entertainment.  Rides have come and gone from this state-owned property, but it's now home to a triple-threat of small roller coasters that deliver big on thrills!  Join me for my first visit...

Kings Island was a perfect stopping point on my drive from Cedar Point to Kentucky Kingdom and I spent an afternoon enjoying one of my all-time favorite amusement parks.  I got my first ride on the Bat Arrow suspended coaster, the refurbished Adventure Express, and the new-for-2024 Snoopy's Soapbox Racers Vekoma Family Boomerang.  And of course, I got back on old favorites like Mystic Timbers, Orion, Diamondback, and more!  Jo...

The southbound run on my summer road trip began with two full days at Cedar Point, home to many of the greatest thrill rides ever, and that's even with their new for 2024 Top Thrill 2 being closed!  I was joined by my dad, an Ohio native, who hadn't been to America's Rockin' Roller Coast since 1999 when he brought my family and I for the first time.  Join me for two full days at A Place Like No Other riding top ...

The halfway point on my two-week summer road trip was Six Flags Great America.  One of the biggest legacy parks in the Six Flags chain, Great America boasts 15 total roller coasters.  Top on my hype list were Maxx Force, an S&S compressed air launch coaster with America's fastest acceleration, Raging Bull, B&M's only hyper with a twister layout, and Goliath, a punchy yet short RMC topper track wood coaster.  Join ...

My third stop on my 2024 road trip brought me to Kansas City, MO for my first ever visit to Worlds of Fun.  They opened Zambezi Zinger last year, their first new roller coaster since 2009.  It's a GCI family thrill coaster that sits right next door to Prowler, a highly praised out and back terrain coaster also from GCI.  The Mamba hyper coaster from Morgan also got reprogrammed a short time ago, and the mid-course brake run ba...

Stop number two on my 2024 road trip was Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO.  Dollywood's sister park is one I've wanted to visit for years!  It's got a gorgeous setting in the Ozark mountains, and some super unique roller coasters.  Powder Keg is a mash-up Premier water ride and S&S launched coaster, Outlaw Run was the first RMC wood coaster with multiple inversions, and Time Traveler was the first extreme spinni...

Season 3 begins with the first of eight stops on my 2024 summer road trip, Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN.  This is my second visit to this beautiful park, and since I was here two years ago, they've added Big Bear Mountain, a Vekoma launched family coaster, replaced the launch on Lightning Rod with a high-speed chain lift, and completed more trackwork on the Thunderhead wood coaster.  Join me for my in-depth reactions to new e...

It was a delight to share my 2023 theme park adventures with you, and it was my best year ever as a coaster enthusiast!  I'm currently knocking on the door of my 200th credit and preparing for my 2024 road trip.  I wanted to wrap up this season with my current Top 25 roller coaster list, and spill the beans on my plans for the first part of the next season of the podcast.  Thank you all for listening, and I can't wait to ...

The second stop on my SoCal trip was Knott's Berry Farm.  I'd briefly visited this park back in 2006 when I was in town for a wedding, and I wanted to get a better feel for it.  The Xcelerator Intamin hydraulic launch coaster had just re-opened after being closed for over a year, the Hangtime Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster had opened since my last visit, and I couldn't wait to ride Ghostrider since its major refurbishme...

My final coaster trip of 2023 brought me to Southern California to check out the next park on my must-visit list after Cedar Point and Hersheypark: Six Flags Magic Mountain.   It's home to 20 roller coasters, more than any park in the world, including X2, Twisted Colossus, Tatsu, and Full Throttle.  Join me for two full days at one of the world's greatest amusement parks during Holiday in the Park for my first-time experi...