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Coaster101 has been a source for theme park news, reviews, interviews, engineering breakdowns and more for over 15 years. Now, finally, we've figured out how to record ourselves, and are coming at you in audio form! Follow us on all social media platforms @Coaster101, and visit www.coaster101.com for more. The Coaster101 podcast is property of Coaster101.com, LLC.
181 Episodes
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Some of the biggest industry news in a while dropped late last week, with Six Flags announcing that the chain was selling seven of its parks - Six Flags St. Louis, Worlds of Fun, Valleyfair, Six Flags Great Escape, Michigan's Adventure, La Ronde, and Schlitterbahn Galveston - to EPR Properties, and a majority of the parks would be managed by the new "Enchanted Parks." Enchanted Parks' CEO James Harhi recently gave an interview to the St. Louis Post Dispatch talking about what fans could expec...
Since it was first announced in 2018, the park that would eventually become known as Six Flags Qiddiya City has fascinated theme park fans and coaster enthusiasts around the world. Now that the park is open, we're still fascinated, but we also have the ability to talk to people who have visited the park now that's officially open. Andrew is joined this week on the podcast by Scott Schaffer (CoasterForce, Upstop Media) and Hunter Hernandez (Theme Park Hunting on YouTube), who visited Six...
As a theme park fan and coaster enthusiast, Andrew has a few blind spots for parks he's never visited, despite them being located in his greater geographic region. One of those parks is Wild Adventures, located "halfway between Atlanta and Orlando" in Valdosta, GA - a park we wanted to learn more about. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the park has a robust lineup of attractions including six coaster credits, more than 300 animals, a water park, and a summer concert series th...
Several weeks ago, we scheduled podcast recording time with Ryan Eldredge, Six Flags Great Adventure's Regional PR Manager. Ryan's been on the podcast before, talking Iron Menace at Dorney Park, wanted to get him on to talk about his other primary park that falls under his responsibility as PR Manager. We were going to talk about the park in a pretty general sense - How great The Flash is - 2026 improvements - there are plenty! - the Safari Adventure Park being nominated for a 10Best Aw...
Theme Park live entertainment is a sector that's only continuing to grow at your favorite parks. From musical acts to "streetmosphere" characters, the idea of "Live E" as it's known to many is becoming a mainstay in the industry, especially post-Covid. This week, we're joined by one of the intellectual forces behind some of your favorite theme park shows over the year, Justin Mabry of JM Entertainment. With springtime shows like "Brew Beatz" and "Stick(y) Paint" to fall and winter work ...
It's officially 2026, and with a new year, comes roller coasters that go from opening "next year" to "this year!" Eric and Evan join Andrew to discuss some of the new roller coasters opening in North America in 2026 - is it as big of a year as 2025? Overall, probably not! But that doesn't mean that there aren't some incredible coasters opening this year. From Fast & Furious to Flying Fox and everything in between, it's a primer for all of the new coasters scheduled to open thi...
We're deep in the midst of the 2025 Holiday Season, and with not a lot of news going on - there are a few winter events here and there - we thought it might be fun to have a draft of our favorite holiday "things" at parks - decorations, food, entertainment, ride overlays, etc. Except, Shane doesn't understand the concept of a draft and sent Eric and Andrew his list before we started recording - so this "draft" episode really turned into a discussion of our favorite holiday moments at th...
When you don't get to go to the IAAPA Expo, you're usually stuck following along on social media as all of the new ride vehicles are revealed, news breaks, and other general excitement abounds on the Expo floor. Luckily, we were able to connect with Jessica Gardner - an actor, audiobook narrator, host of the American Coaster Enthusiasts "Ride with Us" podcast, and above all - theme park fan, probably best known by her online "persona" (which is really just her real personality) - The Th...
It's Thanksgiving Week, so what better time to talk about Food? As part of the Six Flags & Cedar Fair merger, a trend typically reserved for the Cedar Fair side of the aisle is making its way to Six Flags parks - the addition of an executive chef - including Chef Priscilla Hamilton, who joined Six Flags Over Georgia earlier this year. This week on the podcast, not only are we joined by Chef Priscilla, but we're also joined by Angel Salgado, the park's Food & Beverage manager, to talk ...
Recently, the National Roller Coaster Museum was a topic of conversation in theme park internet circles - specifically when they held a fundraising campaign to raise money to bring four iconic coaster trains to the museum in Plainview, Texas. However, the sentiment was not "Wow, it's awesome that the organization is working to preserve roller coaster history." but rather "Wow. I can't believe this private collection (wrong) is hoarding coasters and will never open to the public (wrong) and it...
After several weeks of (fantastic) interviews with people in the industry - Andrew is once again joined by one of his Coaster101 co-writers, Evan, who recently made his first ever visit to Knoebels. (Evan did not invite Andrew, Andrew is only slightly offended as he writes this episode description.) Celebrating 100 Years in 2026, Knoebels has 60 rides and attractions, including six roller coasters - several of which were built entirely in-house by the Knoebels maintenance team. They've also g...
Unless you've been living under a rock, you might notice that Zamperla's Roller Coaster department is on a bit of a hot streak in the recent past. This week on the podcast, we got to talk to one of the people who gets to sell these attractions - Adam Sandy, Roller Coaster Sales & Marketing Director for Zamperla. Adam joins Andrew to talk all things Zamperla, including Top Thrill 2, the new Naruto-themed Family Thrill Launch coaster coming to France in 2026, the Double Heart Model's ...
As they say, everything is bigger in Texas - and in this instance, that includes our podcast guest this week. Six Flags Regional General Manager for the state of Texas, Jeffrey Siebert, joins the show this week! With a nearly 30-year career in the industry, Jeffrey tells us about his career, what exactly a Regional Park manager does, and oddly enough, the promotional schedule for a minor league hockey team. We also have a healthy dose of what's happening at the Texas Six Flags par...
It's officially the Spooky Season, and what could be scarier than two coaster content creators coming together to talk about roller coasters their local theme park haunt - SCarowinds! Michael Dutterer - maybe better known by his Tiktok alias "Coasters Haunts & Dark Rides" joins Andrew to talk all things Coasters (Michael is a Southeast Assistant Regional Rep for the American Coaster Enthusiasts) - Haunts (Michael is a former SCarowinds Scare Actor and SCarowinds Superfan) - and Dark...
Can you believe that Dollywood is celebrating its 40th season? We can't either. Earlier this year, the park released a new documentary on their YouTube channel (and in syndication in their local television market) called "The Dollywood Dream." In just 40:00 - a clever easter egg, if you will - Director Devin Olson of Devin Olson Media (a familiar name to longtime Coaster101 readers) weaves a tale that talks about the park's past, present, and even touches on the future. We're joined by ...
Yes, we know. It's been a while. (You try having any free time with a 3 month old puppy.) But we are back with a vengeance with an INCREDIBLE guest - the perfect person to bring us out of our hiatus. If you've been following Coaster101.com's website, you'll know that we just celebrated our 20th birthday, and have been chronicling a number of notable coasters that opened in 2005, and like Coaster101, are also celebrating two decades. One of - well, two of those coasters are the for...
In news that was somehow surprising and also not surprising, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced yesterday that the company would be closing Six Flags America at the end of the 2025 Season. Evan and Eric join Andrew to talk all things Six Flags America, including previous visits, where attractions could end up, and if we think this is the last closure in the chain. You can connect with the show by hitting us up on social media @Coaster101: Facebook | Twitter&...
Arguably the most important theme park opening in the United States in more than 25 years, Universal's Epic Universe officially opens in May. Fortunately, Shane has been able to visit the new park a few times during preview periods, and therefore has the scoop. Shane joins Nick and Eric to talk all things Epic Universe on this week's episode. (At least that's what they told Andrew, who is writing this podcast description without actually listening to the episode first.) You can connect ...
As theme park fans who are chronically online, a fascinating story that has always eluded us with a conclusion was the disappearance of Buzzy - an audio-animatronic who was a central character in "Cranium Command" at Epcot's Wonders of Life Pavilion. There is a new documentary currently on the "Film Festival Circuit" that unearths a little more about Urban Exploration, Abandoned Locations at Disney, and maybe even a little bit more about the disappearance of Buzzy. Luckily for us, we ar...
As the self-appointed "Roller Coaster Bureau Chief" of WGN-TV in Chicago, Marcus Leshock has seen it all, including a Double Rollback on Top Thrill "Cubs"ter at Cedar Point following a Cubs World Series win many years ago. This week on the podcast, Marcus joins Andrew to talk all things coaster enthusiasm, his home park of Six Flags Great America, the demise of Kingda Ka, and the roller coasters and attractions he is most excited for in 2025! You can connect with the show by hitti...
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