When you sign up for a coaster enthusiast event, you’re often promised some sort of “behind-the-scenes” tour. Your results may vary, but these tours can be fairly mundane. You get the same photo angle as every other enthusiast with a...
Continue reading...Behind the Scenes
Behind The Scenes: Carowinds Prepares for Grand Carnivale
One of the most exciting of Cedar Fair’s “new-for-2020” announcements (for me, anyway) was that my home park, Carowinds, would be adding their own version of Grand Carnivale, which took place at Kings Island, Dorney Park, Kings Dominion, and Worlds...
Continue reading...Beyond the Track: Dueling Dragons In-Depth Analysis
There is more beyond the surface of a roller coaster than just hills and drops. Every functional coaster on earth has scrutinous engineering and special principles behind it. Not all coasters are built equally, though. A handful of manufacturers from...
Continue reading...The Re-Tracking of Timber Wolf: Worlds of Fun’s Oldest & “Newest” Coaster
It’s been twelve years since Worlds of Fun christened a new roller coaster at the park, but after a multi-year retracking, the park’s oldest operating coaster, Timber Wolf, is essentially brand new, and in 2021, will be running like a...
Continue reading...California’s Great America South Bay Shores Construction Tour
UPDATE: The park announced South Bay Shores will open on June 5! Check out photos from our construction tour below. 📣 Just announced! South Bay Shores waterpark, located inside California's Great America, opens Saturday, June 5! Reservations for Great America...
Continue reading...Men in Black: Alien Attack and Much More With Creative Director Dave Cobb: Part 1 – The Coaster101 Podcast
This week on the Coaster101 Podcast we’re continuing our series of “off-season” interviews with longtime themed entertainment creative veteran Dave Cobb! Dave is probably best known to US theme park fans for being the Creative Director on Men in Black:...
Continue reading...Reviving the “Old Mill” Dark Ride at Kennywood with ScareHouse’s Scott Simmons
Earlier this year Kennywood opened a new version of one of their most historic rides: The Old Mill. The dark boat ride is well over 100 years old, and has been through numerous iterations in its lifetime. Most recently, the...
Continue reading...Disney’s Star Wars Hotel: An In-depth Look at Everything We Know So Far
The Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land at Hollywood Studios and Disneyland was a big hit for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, so naturally, the next steps for the parks are to figure out ways to expand the experience. At...
Continue reading...The Hidden Easter Eggs of Orion
Orion opened recently to much fanfare from the enthusiast community, and I know that when Nick rode it for the First Rider Auction, he had nothing but good things to say about his experience on the ride. In looking through...
Continue reading...Behind the Scenes of the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster
After a visit to Carowinds during Peanuts Celebration, we had the opportunity to stop by Banner Elk, North Carolina to check out the progress on the new Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster that is nearing completion. Owners, Eric and Tara Bechard,...
Continue reading...Rare Tennessee Tornado Construction Photos
Tennessee Tornado is celebrating its 20th birthday this year, and to commemorate the milestone season, we’re sharing rare photos of the Dollywood coaster under construction. Dollywood announced Tennessee Tornado in June of 1998. At a cost of $8 million, the...
Continue reading...Behind The Screams: A Look Inside Worlds of Fun’s Halloween Haunt
Prior to my visit to Worlds of Fun’s Halloween Haunt last week, I was given the opportunity to get a look “behind the screams” at several of Worlds of Fun’s mazes, as well as inside the makeup room where more...
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