NPR Interview on the 200th Birthday of Roller Coasters
April 13th was considered the 200th anniversary of the first roller coaster. These very simple early roller coasters were inspired by the ice slides of Russia. It was “The Promenades-Aériennes” or “The Aerial Walk” in Paris. Passengers walked up a set of stairs to ride a bench down the 600-foot track at 40 mph. – NPR I joined NPR’s afternoon radio show All Thing...[Read More]
The Story Behind Holiday World’s Thunderbird | From Idea to Opening Day
Holiday World’s Thunderbird was my top pick for the best-looking New Roller Coasters of 2015. So, I thought that it would be interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at how this launched winged coaster moved from idea to opening day. Thanks to Holiday World, I was able to interview two people who helped bring the ride to life. Here’s my interview with Park Directors and 4th generati...[Read More]
Outlaw Run Interview with Brad Thomas Part 2
While I was at Silver Dollar City, I had the chance to interview Brad Thomas. He’s the General Manager of the Branson, Missouri park. I wanted to learn more about Silver Dollar City and also gain insight into how Outlaw Run came to be. It was great to get the chance to sit down with him. Part 1 focused on some great details about what makes Silver Dollar City special as well as the research ...[Read More]
Interview with Silver Dollar City's Brad Thomas
While I was at Silver Dollar City, I had the chance to interview Brad Thomas. He’s the General Manager of the Branson, Missouri park. I wanted to learn more about Silver Dollar City and also gain insight into how Outlaw Run came to be. It was great to get the chance to sit down with him. Here’s part 1 of our interview including background on Silver Dollar City and the research process ...[Read More]
Talking X-Flight with Six Flags Great America’s Katy Enrique
When I was at Six Flags Great America, I interviewed PR Manager Katy Enrique. I spoke with her about X-Flight. We talked about the planning for the ride, the near-misses, and the decisions that were made to bring this popular new wing roller coaster to Six Flags Great America. We walked back to the ride right before the park was open on a Saturday morning. We stopped in front of X-Flight as it was...[Read More]
Meet Brody Rose – The Coaster Doodler
Artist Brody Rose expresses his coaster fandom via quick sketches during his subway commute. Joel: How did you get into roller coasters? What parks did you visit growing up? Brody:I became fascinated with roller coasters at a young age. In the summer I would visit my grandmother and aunt in Kenosha, WI. Six Flags Great America (then Marriot’s) soon became my favorite place on Earth. Before I was t...[Read More]
Joel from Coaster Gallery Talks Photos & Flying
[intro-paragraph]Boasting one of the largest collections of roller coaster photography on the web, CoasterGallery.com has long been a valuable resource. I interviewed Joel Rogers, the man behind the site, to learn more about his fun hobby and his interesting day job.[/intro-paragraph] Joel B: Describe the beginnings of CoasterGallery.com. Joel R: “Joel’s Roller Coaster Gallery” s...[Read More]
John Hunt’s Roller Coaster Models
Got a rec room, bonus room, or den that is missing that key display piece to show of your roller coaster fandom? One of John Hunt’s roller coaster models may be just what you need.
Rick Davis of the DAFE Lists His 5 Favorite Halloween Haunts
ThrillNetwork’s Rick Barber asked Darkride and Funhouse Enthusiasts founder, Rick Davis, all about Halloween haunts. Davis shares his five favorite haunts and tells us about his own home haunt. ThrillNetwork: How many haunts have you been to (seasonal, part time, full time)? Rick: Honestly, I don’t know. Trying to remember back to what I did as a kid (when there were a LOT more parks open) I...[Read More]
What It’s Like to Be Lance: The Man Behind Screamscape
Lance Hart was kind enough to answer a few questions about what it’s like to run the definitive theme park news and rumor website, Screamscape. Joel: Can you speak to the origins of Screamscape? Describe the early days of the site and what originally inspired you to launch it? Lance: While Screamscape.com officially launched in December 1998, I had been running the site for about three years...[Read More]
Coaster Stock 2010 Recap Pt. 2: Q&A with Bob Mampe of B&M
This is the continuation of my coverage of Coaster Stock 2010 at Carowinds. During lunch, we were treated to a Q&A session with Bob Mampe from Bolliger & Mabillard. I’ve paraphrased the questions and responses below. In hindsight, I should have video taped the session, but I think that I’ve been able to summarize the bulk of the Q&A session. The picnic area where the sessio...[Read More]
The Coaster Critic on The Season Pass Podcast
Last week, I was invited to join The Season Pass Podcast to discuss my background, the blog, Coaster Portal, and my new site Theme Park Syndicate. Aside, from talking about the sites with host Doug Barnes and Rick West of Theme Park Adventure, we spent much of the show just geeking out over our favorite and least favorite roller coasters. It was a lot of fun. The coaster geek part of the conversat...[Read More]
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