When you first see Sean LaRochelle’s new backyard roller coaster, Little Thunder, it’s pretty obvious what inspired it. That alone is a testament to how detailed and impressive it is. Taking up the backyard of LaRochelle’s...
One of the highlights of attending Coasterstock 2021 at Kings Island was the Orion behind-the-scenes tour. Coasterstock attendees were treated to an extended walk-back behind-the-scenes look at the park’s new-for-2020 Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) giga...
When you sign up for a coaster enthusiast event, you’re often promised some sort of “behind-the-scenes” tour. Your results may vary, but these tours can be fairly mundane. You get the same photo angle as...
One of the most exciting of Cedar Fair’s “new-for-2020” announcements (for me, anyway) was that my home park, Carowinds, would be adding their own version of Grand Carnivale, which took place at Kings Island, Dorney...
There is more beyond the surface of a roller coaster than just hills and drops. Every functional coaster on earth has scrutinous engineering and special principles behind it. Not all coasters are built equally, though....
It’s been twelve years since Worlds of Fun christened a new roller coaster at the park, but after a multi-year retracking, the park’s oldest operating coaster, Timber Wolf, is essentially brand new, and in 2021,...
UPDATE: The park announced South Bay Shores will open on June 5! Check out photos from our construction tour below. 📣 Just announced! South Bay Shores waterpark, located inside California's Great America, opens Saturday, June...
We’re back this week on the Coaster101 Podcast with Part 2 of our interview with veteran theme park designer Dave Cobb! Last week we talked all about Dave’s start at Universal and his work as...
This week on the Coaster101 Podcast we’re continuing our series of “off-season” interviews with longtime themed entertainment creative veteran Dave Cobb! Dave is probably best known to US theme park fans for being the Creative...
Earlier this year Kennywood opened a new version of one of their most historic rides: The Old Mill. The dark boat ride is well over 100 years old, and has been through numerous iterations in...
The Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge land at Hollywood Studios and Disneyland was a big hit for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World, so naturally, the next steps for the parks are to figure out ways...
Orion opened recently to much fanfare from the enthusiast community, and I know that when Nick rode it for the First Rider Auction, he had nothing but good things to say about his experience on...
