Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast

Coaster Radio is back after a week off, and there is a lot to cover. First Drop: Cotaland, the park next to Circuit of the Americas outside Austin, Texas, just held its grand opening as a full-time amusement park. It now has the world's first shuttle Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster (Palindrome), a tilt coaster (Circuit Breaker), a Schwarzkopf Wildcat, a log flume, and a 150-foot Star Flyer. Mike and EB explain why they both thought ArieForce One was headed there. In Quick Hits, Mike and EB salute Arthur Levine, who is retiring after decades covering the amusement industry and has appeared on the show 40 times, far more than any other guest. Lagoon is teasing a racing-themed 2027 announcement for October 3rd. The Fun Spot Atlanta auction has 413 lots, and the prices so far are hilarious (a Dragon Wagon coaster for $3,600 and a 4D simulator for $200). Then EB files a two-part trip report from Family Kingdom in Myrtle Beach, covering the 1968 wooden coaster Swamp Fox, the Twist and Shout wild mouse, and a field where an RMC Raptor will open in 2027. After the break, the Halloween contest gets its first entry, a very threatening clown. Then the mailbag delivers park maps and a mountain of stamps for the Snail Mail Club. The main event is the 2026 Golden Ticket Awards. Dollywood dethrones Busch Gardens Williamsburg as the world's most beautiful park, Europa-Park takes best amusement park, and Voyage edges Phoenix for the top wooden coaster. Fury 325 tops the steel list ahead of VelociCoaster, Steel Vengeance, and Iron Gwazi. ArieForce One comes in at #11, and Mike and EB are both shocked it isn't higher. Along the way there are hot takes on Flying Turns, Apollo's Chariot, and Guardians of the Galaxy, plus a debate over whether AI can crunch 10 years of Golden Ticket rankings. Want to play along? Send your ArieForce One prediction (one park, plus a few sentences on why) and any scare actor interview entries to [email protected].

Mike holds down the studio solo this week while EB spends a spontaneous day at Six Flags Great America — but the real story is one nobody saw coming: Six Flags has officially purchased ArieForce One, the beloved RMC that was headed for demolition just weeks after Fun Spot Atlanta announced its closure. Mike breaks down why this genuinely surprised him (the budgeting alone for a chain like Six Flags should have made this financially implausible), walks through everything that has to happen before this ride finds a new home — disassembly, cataloging, transport, an entirely new station to fix its known capacity issues — and floats his own guesses for which park might land it when Six Flags reveals the destination later this year. Meanwhile, EB reports live from the midway all day: riding the new Wrath of Rakshasa dive coaster, revisiting old favorites five years after his first trip to the park, and later checking out the Dark Knight coaster. A listener trip report from opening day of Night Flight Expedition at Dollywood reveals a rocky first outing — a four-hour wait, a failed test, and a mad dash back into line — but genuine excitement for what the ride will become once it's fully worked in. Then Mike covers Six Flags Magic Mountain's announcement of an entirely new roller coaster category: the Thrill Glider, a prone, face-forward "hover cycle" experience blending flying coaster tech with a full sci-fi storyline. Plus, a look at Alton Towers' elaborate new Halloween dinner theater experience, Dine With the Dead, and EB caps off his day with a nightcap at a favorite Chicago tiki bar.

This week, Mike and EB pay tribute to Dolly Parton, reflecting on a career and a spirit that somehow united an entire divided country in genuine admiration — from her decades of quiet, unpublicized generosity to the way Dollywood itself became an extension of who she was rather than a monument built in her name. In Quick Hits, the guys cover a CNN investigation into a string of serious injuries on X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain, including a wrongful death settlement tied to a 2022 incident, and talk honestly about whether this ride will ever run again. There's also news on expansion plans spotted near Monsters Unchained at Universal's Epic Universe, and Six Flags St. Louis's rebrand to Mid-America Adventure under new ownership. After the break, a Kings Island trip report on the reimagined dark ride Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare, plus the Coaster Radio mailbag packed with rare international park maps. Then Emmy-winning WGN-TV Chicago anchor and longtime friend of the show Marcus Leshock returns for the first time in over a decade to talk about his own personal history with Dolly Parton — including firsthand stories from spending time with her both on and off camera — and shares his take on this year's Halloween Horror Nights lineup at Universal Orlando, from the scale of the original haunted house concepts to what changes as the season progresses.

It was one of the biggest weeks in the amusement industry in years, and Mike and EB have a ton to cover. First up: D23 - Disney's biannual fan convention, which featured Neil Patrick Harris hosting a full award-show-style presentation packed with 33 announcements about the future of Disney Parks and Experiences. The guys break down the highlights, including a Carousel of Progress refurbishment featuring new voices from Bryan Cranston and Jamie Lee Curtis, a Coco-themed attraction (the IP's first ever), a Magic Kingdom Villains Land finally getting its official name, and Dream Finder and Figment returning to Journey Into Imagination at Epcot. But the biggest surprise of the night: Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom will see the return of The Yeti. (HE'S HUGE! HE'S HUGE!) Then it's Quick Hits, where Mike and EB dig into the opening of NightFlight Expedition at Dollywood and the genuinely mixed early reactions — much of it, they argue, coming from riders misunderstanding the ride's intentionally storybook visual style. Plus a live call-in from the base of Top Thrill 2 at Cedar Point, giving listeners a real taste of the launch in action. The back half is a can't-miss exclusive: Silver Dollar City's Director of Content and PR, Joey Thorsen, joins the show fresh off the announcement of Miner's Mountain Express, walking through a full POV narration of the ride, introducing its brand-new skunk and bat mascots, discussing the final year of the beloved Thunderation before it closes in January, breaking down how the new Daredevil Pass connects two previously separated areas of the park, and telling the wild true story of how the ride's real 15-story mining head frame ties back to America's 250th anniversary.

Mike spends National Roller Coaster Day right where he wants to be: at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, riding walk-on after walk-on during the park's Brews & BBQ festival. Between food samples and short lines, he gets reacquainted with old favorites like Apollo's Chariot and Escape from Pompeii, takes the family on Roman Rapids for the first whitewater ride he's been on in years, and gives a full breakdown of Verbolten's surprising overnight refresh — new queue storytelling from an animatronic witch, reworked lighting and scrims inside the show building, and a genuinely creepy new glowing tree effect that makes the whole ride feel reborn without changing the layout at all. Then it's the segment you've been waiting for: the full, exclusive 30-minute interview with Erica Rutledge, Herschend's Senior Director of Guest Experience Development and Creative Director behind NightFlight Expedition, along with longtime Dollywood PR Vice President Pete Owens. They go deep on how the ride's Mack Rocking Boat vehicle came directly out of lessons learned building Big Bear Mountain, the full legend of Secret Lake and characters Cora and Jasper, how a chance conversation turned the ride into four completely different adventures in one — plus hidden Easter eggs connecting it to Big Bear Mountain's shared universe, and just how much work goes into an attraction that's still being "plussed" even after it opens.