We continue the lead-up to Coaster101’s 15th birthday by reminiscing about the most memorable media previews or other coaster-related events we’ve attended. We’ve been very fortunate to have been invited to media previews for some of the best new roller coasters opened in the past fifteen years. These are the ones that stand out above all the others. You can read all of our new ride reviews here. The most memorable “first rides” are listed in chronological order from oldest to newest with the coaster’s name, park, and date we published our review. Here we go!
15. Sky Rocket – Kennywood – June 29, 2010
Personally, my very first media day would have been Shoot the Rapids at Cedar Point, but the event was delayed and then basically cancelled altogether. So, after seeing other theme park websites attend media days and wanting to do that, I (Nick) was lucky to be invited to and attend my very first one: the debut of Sky Rocket at Kennywood.
Despite being ten years ago this month, it still ranks as one of my favorite media day events due to the hospitality of the park. We got to ride the new coaster and have a nice meal before the park opened to the public, then got to spend the rest of the day riding the classics. I’ll always be grateful for the team at Kennywood for giving us the opportunity to come out when we had basically no track record or experience covering an event. Also fun to see how my writing, photography and videography skills have improved since then.
14. Goliath – Six Flags Great America – June 14, 2014
Murky skies, fat rain drops and a wheel malfunction didn’t dampen the mood at Six Flags Great America as the coaster enthusiast and media masses gathered for a preview of Goliath, the park’s triple world-record-breaking wooden roller coaster. After months of anticipation, John was finally able to ride Rocky Mountain Construction’s second “made from scratch” coaster.
Media day was memorable for several reasons. According to John, “Not long after my second ride on Goliath, I heard a strange clicking noise coming from the train completing the course. I likened the sound to old ‘baseball card in the bicycle wheel’ trick. According to riders, some of the polyurethane coating on one of the coaster’s wheels ‘shredded.’ Luckily, no riders were injured and the wheel was replaced. The coaster was back in operation within 30 minutes.”
John also had the chance to meet the roller coaster engineer and design legend Alan Schilke, who of course designed Goliath. You can also thank him for other Rocky Mountain Construction coasters such as Outlaw Run, New Texas Giant, Iron Rattler and Medusa Steel Coaster.
13. Fury 325 – Carowinds – March 25, 2015
Fury 325 is maybe the one coaster we all universally love, so we’re all jealous that on Wednesday, March 25, (3/25, get it?) Andrew attended the media day for Fury 325, the United States’ tallest, fastest and longest giga coaster. “I was going to get to ride Fury 325. My 100th roller coaster. On media day. In the last row. My favorite spot on a roller coaster. I was pumped. It had everything I love about roller coasters. The height. The speed. The smooth ride. The ejector air. What more could you want?”
And the newest coaster featured, Fury 325.
12. Thunderbird – Holiday World – September 8, 2015
This review is special for us because it’s the first time five members of the Coaster101 team met in person! And yes, it took ten years. We met at Holiday World for CoasterBuzz’s “Fall Affair” event which gave us extended ride time (ERT) on the park’s new Bolliger & Mabillard launched wing coaster, Thunderbird — as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of the coaster. We did our first joint review where we discuss our thoughts on our expectations, the theme elements, the ride experience, the launch, where to sit, and how it compares to other wing coasters.
11. Valravn – Cedar Point – May 11, 2016
Cedar Point debuted Valravn -the world’s tallest, longest, and fastest dive coaster – to the public on Thursday night, May 5th in a big way. They literally rolled out the red carpet for everyone in attendance. The Valravn First Rider Benefit helped raise over $75,000 for LeBron James Family Foundation. Unfortunately, Lebron himself was a bit busy with a little thing called the NBA playoffs or something like that, but his sister and son were in attendance to help accept the large check.
10. Mystic Timbers – Kings Island – April 18, 2017
Nick and Kyle had the opportunity to participate in the Mystic Timbers First Rider Auction. Kings Island and Cedar Fair Charities joined up with the Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation and we helped raise over $60,000 for a great charity while also getting to be some of the first people to ride the new wooden coaster. It was cool to see quarterback Andy Dalton in person, eat good food, and got ten laps in on GCI’s best coaster (yeah I said it) all in a two-hour period.
9. Demon Re-Ignited – California’s Great America – October 2, 2017
OK, so this roller coaster wasn’t technically “new” but rather a restoration of special effects to Great America’s classic Arrow looping coaster, Demon. We were incredibly lucky to be invited by Great America to go behind the scenes while Demon was running to get some nice up close views of some of the new effects, and get a new perspective on the classic coaster.
8. Steel Vengeance – Cedar Point – April 30, 2018
Kyle and Larry had the privilege of attending media day for Cedar Point’s new coaster Steel Vengeance. This coaster had driven the coaster community bonkers in anticipation and now it was just days away from opening to the public. Let us assure you, it is well worth the wait! But, is it the best coaster ever? Read our Steel Vengeance review to find out. Media day was memorable for taking place so early in the morning and the ride was shrouded in fog, which made for a cool video.
7. HangTime – Knott’s Berry Farm – May 19, 2018
The first ever Infinity coaster on the West Coast, and only the second in the USA, officially opened to the public. The Gerstlauer Infinity coaster itself was unique, but so was the media preview event. The grand opening for HangTime was held in the evening for a reason: to show off the amazing lighting package from KCL Engineering.
6. Twisted Cyclone – Six Flags Over Georgia – May 24, 2018
Twisted Cyclone is a relentless storm full of sustained airtime, a beautiful wave turn, three inversions and incredible pacing.
5. Merlin’s Mayhem – Dutch Wonderland – June 19, 2018
2018 was a big year for new ride openings. But not every ride has to be big to be fun. Merlin’s Mayhem at Dutch Wonderland proves this point and this ride will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first legit roller coaster I rode with my son. Not to mention the park was extra gracious with us: we got to chat with the maintenance guys while they got the ride ready for us then we took two spins in the front seat before the park opened to the public. My review is probably still the most in-depth review you’ll find of this fun family coaster.
4. Kentucky Flyer – Kentucky Kingdom – April 27, 2019
John joined fellow Coaster101 writers Kyle and Nick at the media preview of Kentucky Flyer and brought back some photos and thoughts about the coaster to share. It was fun to see some friends who we had previously featured on the site, like the Ohio State Theme Park Engineering Group and Logan from Koaster Kids / Thrills United.
3. Wildwood Grove – Dollywood – May 12, 2019
Not just a new coaster but a whole new land. Members of the media were invited to the park on Friday to preview Wildwood Grove’s eleven rides, attractions and experiences and to see Dolly Parton herself christen the new land. As a writer for the Dollywood Insiders blog, John was able to ask Dolly a question during the Q&A portion of the event. It’s at the top of his list of favorite Dollywood (and perhaps life) memories. He also got to try the new Dragonflier suspended coaster.
Coaster101 writer @johnrstevenson asked Dolly which #WildwoodGrove ride she’d build in her back yard. Her answer: pic.twitter.com/CDmJQszi9s
— Coaster101.com (@Coaster101) May 10, 2019
2. Steel Curtain – Kennywood – July 13, 2019
Holder of three records, including tallest roller coaster (220′) in Pennsylvania, most inversions (9) on any roller coaster in North America, and the highest (197′) inversion on any roller coaster in the world, The Steel Curtain was designed by S&S Sansei Technologies. Coaster101 writers Andrew and Kyle were both on hand for a media preview for the centerpiece of the all-new “Steelers Country at Kennywood” area of the park, as were some famous Pittsburgh Steelers football players.
1. Copperhead Strike – Carowinds – November 24, 2019
While Andrew did indeed get to ride Copperhead Strike earlier in the year during media day, John, Nick, and Kyle met up with Andrew for a “mini Coaster101 team meetup” during Peanuts Celebration in November and had their first rides on the new Mack multi-launch coaster. Riding a new coaster is always fun but riding a new coaster with your friends? Priceless.
Coaster101 15 to 15 Giveaway #8
We’re giving away another Coaster101 Prize Pack! For today’s entry method, please leave a comment below letting us know your favorite ride review you remember reading on Coaster101.
You can enter now through 11:59 p.m. ET tonight.
Giveaway Rules
- The entry period for this giveaway will run until 11:59 p.m. ET tonight. We’ll email the winner tomorrow.
- To remain eligible for your prize pack, you will need to respond with your name and mailing address within 24 hours of receiving the email notification.
- One entry per person.
- Unfortunately, we are unable to ship Prize Packs outside of the U.S.
Update: Congratulations to Matthew S. for winning the giveaway!
Good luck!
I loved Wildwood Grove at Dollywood. Really amazing area with so many interesting new ideas from the park put into that land.
I loved the review on Merlin’s Mayhem! It came out about a month before I went to Hershey and Dutch Wonderland and it definitely made me more excited to visit the latter!!
My favorite review(not sure if it was a actual review or not) was the review of the final days from Dueling Dragon. I connected quite a bit with that as I had also gone that week, and it was the last chance to ever ride Dragon Challenge again.
My favorite review was your’s of Steel Vengeance.
Either Steel Vengenace or Copperhead Strike would be my favorites.
Dueling Dragons was the best!
Either Steel Vengeance or Goliath sfgam