Nightflight Expedition, Dollywood’s new-for-2026 hybrid roller coaster and whitewater river ride, is quickly taking shape at the end of the Wildwood Grove area of the park. On Saturday, attendees of the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) Southeast Region’s annual Smoky Mountain...
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Celebrating 30 Years of “WaterWorld: A Live Sea War Spectacular!”
30 years ago, on October 21, 1995, the — in my opinion — best theme park stunt show in the world debuted at Universal Studios Hollywood: WaterWorld: A Live Sea War Spectacular! To celebrate the milestone anniversary for the attraction, we’re...
Continue reading...Creating Coaster Content with National Coasters
Looking for a daily dose of weird and obscure roller coasters? Then National Coasters is who you want to be following. In this interview, creator Jesiah Olson takes us on his journey from growing up in California exploring theme parks...
Continue reading...Interview with Former Imagineer and Zeitgeist Founder Ryan Harmon
Former Disney Imagineer and the current president and chief creative officer Ryan Harmon of Zeitgeist Design + Production has made a name for himself in the themed entertainment industry. In addition to his time at Walt Disney Imagineering (he was...
Continue reading...Inside Experiential Retail with Robert Cametti, Universal Orlando’s Director of Visual Merchandising
For many amusement parks, retail might be considered an afterthought; a gift shop at the exit of an attraction with countless trinkets and logoed t-shirts, or a larger store at the front of the park that’s meant to entice guests...
Continue reading...How Dan Fritsche Designed and Built a 3D Printed Launch Coaster
When I was a kid growing up, I always wanted to design and build my own model roller coaster from scratch. To date myself, this was in the early days of the internet, before CoasterDynamix or LEGO roller coaster kits...
Continue reading...Engineering a Dark Ride Vehicle with Matthew Musial
Over the years, we’ve seen some incredible student projects that just seem to keep getting better and better. From Kate Kujawa’s wheel material experiments, to Team 31’s Infinity Gardens, to Carnegie Mellon’s Student Built Dark Ride, I’ve been continually impressed...
Continue reading...The Coaster101 Podcast: Grappling With Theme Park Fandom with Matt Rehwoldt and Shaul Guerrero
It’s not every day that we get verified follows on Twitter. To be honest, a lot of notable people aren’t ready to let their theme park fandom fly so openly. One of those such follows came from @DramaKingMatt, Matt Rehwoldt. Professional...
Continue reading...Designing and Indoor Theme Park and More With Dave Cobb: Part 2 – Coaster101 Podcast
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 the Creative Director on Men...
Continue reading...The Coaster101 Podcast Episode 30: Walt Disney with Lindsay Graham, Host of the Business Movers Podcast
We’re deep in the recesses of the regional park off-season, which means that news is few and far between, save for park opening dates and the occasional raptors being placed at VelociCoaster. For the next few weeks, we’re going to...
Continue reading...A Very Amusing Disney Coaster Discussion with Carlye Wisel – The Coaster101 Podcast
This week on the podcast we’re joined by a very special guest: Theme Park journalist extraordinaire Carlye Wisel! Carlye writes about theme parks for publications as wide ranging as Travel & Leisure, Eater, and SyFy, and this past summer started...
Continue reading...The Most Bizarre Disney Story Never Told: An Interview with Defunctland’s Kevin Perjurer about “Live from the Space Stage: A Halyx Story”
If you have ever been inclined to dig deep into the history of a long-forgotten attraction, or a piece of Disney concept art that was never realized, you have probably come across the YouTube channel Defunctland. Created by Kevin Perjurer,...
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