More and more, food is becoming a larger part of the overall theme park experience. From food festivals to “one-of-a-kind” menu items, you can rarely visit a park these days without taking part in some sort of culinary masterpiece. In...
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When Will California’s Great America Start Building From the Master Plan (and How We Got Here)?
Back during the media event for the opening of the newly converted floorless coaster, Patriot, at California’s Great America, the guest speaker was the Mayor of the city of Santa Clara, Lisa Gillmor. The reason for this is because the city...
Continue reading...A Theme Park Enthusiast’s First Trip To Carowinds
Here at Coaster101, we talk a lot about Carowinds a lot as part of their “Caroblogger” program. But would you believe that before the last weekend in April, six of the seven members of the Coaster101.com writing team had never been...
Continue reading...An Interview With Bob Baranick, Former Disney Imagineer and Creator of Whirligig Woods
Recently, WRAL, the Raleigh, North Carolina NBC Affiliate, aired a “Tar Heel Traveler” segment on their evening news that featured former Disney Imagineer Bob Baranick that highlighted his plans for a small theme park to be built in Saxapahaw, NC,...
Continue reading...Mystic Timbers First Rider Auction
Coaster101 contributors Nick and Kyle are planning on participating in the Mystic Timbers First Rider Auction and are looking for your help! Kings Island and Cedar Fair Charities are joining with the Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation to give us...
Continue reading...How Kelley Roberts Built a Working Roller Coaster on a Rose Parade Float
Watching the Tournament of Roses Parade held in Pasadena, California is an annual New Year’s Day tradition. This year was especially interesting for theme park fans because the 2017 Rose Parade featured a working roller coaster float. The city of...
Continue reading...Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment with David Younger
If your ultimate career goal is to design theme parks then the number one book on your “Must Read” list is Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment by David Younger. It’s the most comprehensive guide on how theme parks...
Continue reading...Q&A with Northern Exposure, Makers of the Roller Coaster Candle
When searching for the perfect theme park souvenir, it’s tough to find a unique gift that captures the “essence” of a theme park. At Cedar Point, however, they’ve found the perfect souvenir for this; Roller Coaster Candles. We talked to...
Continue reading...Design a Safe Backyard Roller Coaster with Paul Gregg – Part 2
Paul Gregg, the retired aerospace engineer turned backyard roller coaster designer, is back with a new book chronicling the research and construction of his homemade thrill rides. When we interviewed him last time, Paul had just published Backyard Roller Coaster...
Continue reading...Music Company Uses Sound to Bring Theme Park to Life
Joel Beckerman and his Man Made Music company are responsible for some of the most recognizable brand themes and sonic identities for big names in the entertainment world including ESPN, HBO, Hulu, just to name a few. Now, he and his team...
Continue reading...Interview: Theme Parks with Professional Wrestler Cody Rhodes
One of the most interesting things to me as a theme park fan is other people who share that passion for theme parks. I was fortunate to talk to professional wrestler Cody Rhodes, who is an enormous theme park fan,...
Continue reading...Is Spike the Next Great Roller Coaster?
Next week at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando, one of the attendees will be showing a very different type of roller coaster, the Spike Coaster. Spike is a new type of powered coaster developed by Maurer Rides, and the first prototype began...
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