Book Review: Images of Modern America: Libertyland By John R. Stevenson V with forward by Jimmy Ogle
John Stevenson writes with a thoughtful and passionate touch in his account of the former Libertyland, a patriotically themed small, but genuinely immersive theme park in Memphis, Tennessee. Coordinating a detailed work including the arc of a historic theme park and a focus on sharing the experiences of those who loved Libertyland, Stevenson successfully brings the reader to Memphis and helps them...[Read More]
What If…You Could Choose a Theme for a Theme Park
For this edition of What If… You’ve been hired to design a theme park and your specific role is to provide the theming concept for the park. You can create something completely new and original or work with an exciting brand and base it on a well-known movie, TV show, video game, etc. Here’s what I’d do: Asian-themed Amusement Park I’m a long-time fan of the Busch Gardens park. I love how well the...[Read More]
What If… You Could Add a Ride to Your Home Park
For this edition of What If… Imagine getting to call the shots, rather than just playing armchair theme park GM like we usually do. You’ve just won a contest where you get to choose the type of ride that your home park builds next. Here’s what I would do: Carowinds Could Use a Launch Coaster Back in 2009, when there was buzz about Carowinds’ new roller coaster, fans speculated about a regional tie...[Read More]
What Are Your Theme Park Traditions?
It seems like most people have a theme park tradition of some sort. Each visit would be incomplete if they didn’t keep their ritual or streak involving a certain activity or ride or food. For me, no trip would be complete without grabbing some cotton candy for my wife. As I’ve said in the past, I’m expected to have cotton candy in hand when I return from my theme park trips. So, ...[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]
POV Monday – The Smiler at Alton Towers
The Smiler at Alton Towers opened in 2013 boasting the most loops of any roller coaster on the planet, with an insane 14 inversions. Video Highlights While I’m not sure how much I’d enjoy being flipped upside-down 14 times, I think that the head-chopper moments look like fun. At a few moments during the ride, it looks like you come within feet of that large marmaliser structure. For mo...[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]
POV Monday | Maverick at Cedar Point
Cedar Point’s Maverick is high on my most wanted roller coasters list. While I’ve been to the park, it was years before Maverick was built. Video Highlight The second launch looks like it would be quite exhilarating. Blasting back out into daylight and back into the madness of Maverick’s twisted course is probably a lot of fun. Guest reviewer, Aric, thought very highly of the rid...[Read More]
POV Mondays – California Screamin’ at Disney’s California Adventure
Welcome to my new series, POV Mondays. Each Monday from now until mid-April, you can expect a new POV (point of view) roller coaster video and also a video highlight you should look for. California Screamin’ at Disney’s California Adventure is one of Disney’s most popular roller coasters. It’s also one of the few that approaches the “thrill ride” category with i...[Read More]
Debating the Top Wooden Roller Coasters on The Season Pass Podcast
I joined Doug Barnes of The Season Pass Podcast and Arthur from The About.com Theme Park Guide for a new edition of The Seasoned Pros List Show. This time, we discuss (and debate!) our Top 10 Wooden Roller Coasters. Our special guest for this episode was Robert Coker author of the popular book Roller Coasters: A Thrill Seeker’s Guide to the Ultimate Scream Machines and of ThrillRide.com.Our ...[Read More]
Coming in 2020: Kodiak Canyon the Multi-Path Roller Coaster
Kodiak Canyon: Roller Coasters Meet “Choose Your Own Adventure” Theme Park Tourist asked me what theme park rides might look like in the future. I remembered that I wrote about some ride futuristic ride concepts that I’d imagined a while back. I shared my concept for Kodiak Canyon; a mine train roller coaster where riders choose the layout that they’ll experience. At two br...[Read More]
Check Out These Christmas-Themed Amusement Parks & Rides
Here’s a quick tour of some Christmas-themed amusement parks. This is by no means an exhaustive list and was mostly just compiled by searching the Roller Coaster Database for “Christmas” and “Santa”. It’s probably a good thing that “Jesus”, didn’t bring back any results, but with more than 6,500 roller coasters from the past and present from al...[Read More]
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