What’s Your Dream Theme Park Trip?
Is there a park that you’ve been dreaming to visit one day? For me it’d be England’s Alton Towers. It’s a unique theme park located in the English countryside on the grounds of a massive Stately Home (American Translation: A Castle!). There’s also a huge garden and the park itself is beautifully landscaped and very green. The park’s foliage and rolling topograph...[Read More]
Roller Coaster Trivia – Fun Facts
Did you know that Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa was the first B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard) coaster with interlocking corkscrews? It’s also one of only three coasters with a vertical loop encircling the lift hill. How cool is that? Can you name the other two?
What Are Your Theme Park Travel Plans in 2017?
With most theme parks across the country opening in the Spring, a new theme park season is almost upon us. Where am I headed? I hope to return to my home park, Carowinds. They’re adding four new flat rides. They are also re-theming Carolina Cobra as The Flying Cobras. It’s easily the best Vekoma boomerang roller coaster I’ve experienced thanks to the open restraints reducing head...[Read More]
What’s Your Scariest Roller Coaster Moment?
Friends here in Charlotte marvel at the height (325 feet) and steepness (81 degrees) of Fury 325. While it is something to behold, I don’t share their fear of the ride. When you’ve been around the block more than a few times, you’ve seen it all. There’s not much that really scares you. I’m channeling Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China, if you couldn’t ...[Read More]
Where Are You Headed in 2015?
Which theme parks will you be visiting in 2015? It’s always fun to see where people will be traveling to and what new rides might have helped them choose certain parks over others. Visiting Theme Parks Close to Home For me, the list is short. I’ll be visiting my home park, Carowinds for Fury 325. For now, that’s all we’ve planned. It’d be great to take the family to D...[Read More]
What Other Rides or Coasters Should Be Indoor Like Laff Trakk?
Hersheypark’s new roller coaster Laff Trakk is essentially a spinning wild mouse roller coaster inside of a dark, themed building. The glow in the dark sets look great and it’ll help the park balance its thrill machines (like Skyrush and Fahrenheit) with a family roller coaster, that incorporates some real theming. Check out this video of Laff Trakk at Hersheypark: What Other Rides or ...[Read More]
Which Theme Parks Will You Visit in 2014?
March is here and many of the seasonal theme parks are getting ready to re-open. I’m sure many of have started planning your theme park trips for the year and it’s always fun to see where everyone’s headed. I’ll go into my plans in another post, but first let’s hear from you. Just as I’ve done in the past, I’d like to ask where you’re going this year...[Read More]
What Was Your Single Best Ride Experience of 2013?
With the year coming to a close, I thought I’d write about my single best ride experience of 2013. I’d also like to hear about your most memorable or best ride. Last year, for me it was quite a surprise. Even though I’d ridden the exciting new wing coasters, Wild Eagle and X-Flight, my pick was Mystery Mine’s Beyond 90-Degree Goodness. 2013 Contenders for Best Ride Experien...[Read More]
Happy National Roller Coaster Day 2013
Happy National Roller Coaster Day Hopefully, you’ll find yourself at an amusement park today because it’s National Roller Coaster Day. On this day, August 16th, back in 1898 Edwin Prescott patented a looping roller coaster. Contrary to popular belief this wasn’t the first roller coaster or even the first looping roller coaster either. However this day was chosen to be Roller Coas...[Read More]
Will Great America's Racing Wooden Coaster Get a Steel Upgrade?
Will Six Flags Great America’s 2014 Attraction Involve a Rocky Mountain Conversion I came across a really interesting rumor for Six Flags Great America’s next new ride. According to Screamscape, there’s a rumor that American Eagle, a twin track racing wooden roller coaster, could get a Rocky Mountain steel track conversion for just one of the circuits. Thus, making giving one of ...[Read More]
Backyard Roller Coasters – What Would You Build?
It’s been a while since I’ve written about backyard roller coasters. There are tons of videos of short, incomplete home-made rides on YouTube, but I’m most impressed by the few rides that complete a full circuit and come pretty darn close to looking like a legit roller coaster you’d find at an amusement park. The Best Backyard Roller Coasters Since it’s been a few yea...[Read More]
What's Your Most Wanted Theme Park?
Which Theme Park Do You Want to Visit the Most? Is there a theme park that you’ve been wanting to visit for years, but still haven’t made it to? For me, there are a pair of European parks that I’ve been eyeing for quite some time. In Top 3 Most Wanted European Theme Parks, I chose Germany’s Europa Park as my #1 most wanted Euro park, but that was before I knew about Alton T...[Read More]