Coaster Redux

My final coaster trip of 2023 brought me to Southern California to check out the next park on my must-visit list after Cedar Point and Hersheypark: Six Flags Magic Mountain.   It's home to 20 roller coasters, more than any park in the world, including X2, Twisted Colossus, Tatsu, and Full Throttle.  Join me for two full days at one of the world's greatest amusement parks during Holiday in the Park for my first-time experiences on their record-breaking coasters.

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My second theme park road trip concludes with two full days at Hersheypark joined by my brother Karl and his husband Marcus.  After visiting Cedar Point last year, this was next on my list of must-visit parks owing to its top-heavy coaster line up.  Join us for our first-time reactions to their three Intamins, Fahrenheit, Storm Runner, and Skyrush, as well as the new Candymonium B&M hyper and Wildcat's Revenge RMC.  Karl returns to the podcast at the end of the episode, and we rank our top five rides in the park.

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The fifth stop on my August roller coaster road trip was Knoebels Amusement Resort, a quirky family-operated traditional amusement park in Elysburg, PA.  It's home to the one-two punch of Phoenix and Twister, two world-class wood coasters, an unbelievable collection of antique flat rides, and excellent food.

Join me for my first-time experience at this gem of a classic amusement park where I ride their legendary attractions, and soak up the atmosphere at this one-of-a-kind destination.

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My fourth stop on my summer road trip was my former home park, Six Flags New England.  I grew up visiting this place, and when Riverside Park became a Six Flags in 2000, my first rides on the brand-new Superman: Ride of Steel catapulted my teenage coaster enthusiasm into the stratosphere.  This would be my first time returning to the park since 2005, and a lot has been added.  The Cyclone wood coaster got RMC'd and Superman underwent a number of changes to its trains and restraints.  Were these changes really that bad?  Because it seems nobody considers Superman to be elite anymore.  

My father, my friend Eric, and his two young daughters who are budding coaster enthusiasts joined me for my return to Six Flags New England for the first time in 18 years.  

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My third stop on my summer road trip was Six Flags Great Adventure.  I last visited in 2014 and loved the El Toro Intamin pre-fab wood coaster.  Unfortunately, Kingda Ka, the world's tallest roller coaster was closed that day, and I badly wanted to ride one of these Intamin hydraulic-launched stratacoasters.  The park has since added the Jersey Devil Coaster, the first custom-designed Raptor single rail coaster from Rocky Mountain Construction.

Join me for my first time reactions to Kingda Ka and Jersey Devil, as well as my first rides on El Toro in nine years.  

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My second stop on this year's summer road trip was Six Flags America.  It was a perfect midway stopping point between Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Six Flags Great Adventure.  I was particularly excited for Superman: Ride of Steel, their Intamin hyper, and the Wild One, a classic wood coaster that was moved to Maryland from its original location mere minutes from where I grew up.  Join me for my first ever visit to the closest park to our nation's capitol.

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My second road trip begins with my return to Busch Gardens Williamsburg.  Since my last visit in 2018, they've added the new Intamin multi-launch Pantheon roller coaster, and the new-for-2023 DarKoaster, an enclosed Intamin family attraction.  Of course I was excited to ride old favorites like Griffon, Apollo's Chariot, Alpengeist, etc.  Join me for an in-depth look at this beautiful theme park and its outstanding roller coaster collection.

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Shortly after dropping the Phantasialand episode, my brother told me he had another layover coming up.  This time he visited Seoul, South Korea and headed to Everland, home of T Express, the newest and longest Intamin pre-fab wood coaster.   With El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure being his #1 ride, he and I were psyched that he got the chance to ride another of only four of this ride type in the world!

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My brother has always been my coaster riding partner in crime.  As a pilot, he recently had a layover in Cologne, Germany, and got to visit a park that ranks near the top of my international bucket list, Phantasialand.  Join my brother and I as he tells us all about Taron, Black Mamba, F.L.Y. and his impressions of one of Europe's best theme parks. 

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It's no secret that Florida is home to some of the world's best theme parks, so there's always a new roller coaster to look forward to.  The most recent to open was Pipeline: The Surf Coaster at SeaWorld Orlando, a re-imagined stand-up from B&M.   While this new attraction was far from my most anticipated for 2023, I was curious to try it out.  Meanwhile, I still hadn't ridden Ice Breaker at SeaWorld, and had only gotten two rides on Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa thus far, so I headed up to Central Florida to ride some new roller coasters, and some old favorites.

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I headed north to the Peach State Easter weekend for my first visit to Six Flags Over Georgia, and to ride the brand new ArieForce One at Fun Spot America Atlanta.  Weather forced me to visit both parks on Easter Sunday, and I had a blast!  Join me for my in-depth first-time reactions to Georgia Scorcher, Goliath, Twisted Cyclone, and of course ArieForce One.

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Season 2 kicks off the weekend after New Years when I flew into San Antonio, Texas to visit SeaWorld San Antonio and Six Flags Fiesta Texas.  It was a perfect off-season long weekend trip filled with outstanding roller coasters and thrill rides.  Join me for my in-depth reactions to my first rides on Texas Stingray, Tidal Surge, Iron Rattler, Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster, and the new for 2022 Dr. Diabolical's Cliffhanger.

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The final stop on my road trip brought me to the Great Smoky Mountains to visit Dollywood.  This beautiful park is home to one of the most unique roller coaster collections in the country.  Join me for my first time reactions to Lightning Rod, Thunderhead, Wild Eagle, Tennessee Tornado, and more! 

Lightning Rod sounds credit: Gotcha Thrills - YouTube
Thunderhead sounds credit:  Coaster Thrills - YouTube

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My third stop on my week-long roller coaster road trip was another beloved Ohio amusement park, Kings Island.  Join me as I share my first time experience in this beautiful park where I rode the Beast, Mystic Timbers, Orion, Diamondback, and more!

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My second stop on my week-long road trip was Cedar Point, America's Roller Coast, and what I call the coaster enthusiast's Holy Grail.  I visited this park way back in 1999, but so many roller coaster superlatives had been added since then, it would almost be like a brand-new park for me.  Join me for my first-time reactions to five new-to-me roller coasters at one of the best amusement parks in the world.

Millennium Force theme music credit Cedar Point
Magnum sound effect credit: Coaster Legend - YouTube 

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In June 2022, I embarked on my first week-long road trip to visit four bucket list parks and see how some of the most elite roller coasters in the United States compare to Florida's latest additions.  Join me for my reactions to the likes of Copperhead Strike, Afterburn, Intimidator, and my 100th roller coaster, Fury 325 on my first visit to Carowinds. 

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With the pandemic on the decline, many anticipated new rides finally opened in Florida, and I needed to escape the daily grind and ride some new roller coasters.  I made a trip to Orlando in fall 2021 to visit SeaWorld for the first time, and also returned to Universal to ride Velocicoaster and Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.   I also went back to Busch Gardens Tampa in spring of 2022, and finally rode Iron Gwazi. 

In this episode, I give you my in-depth reactions to all these new rides, and lay out my plan for the road trip I would undertake in the summer.

Velocicoaster sound effect credit: Central Florida Thrills - YouTube
Hagrid's sound effect credit: COASTER CRAZY - YouTube
Iron Gwazi sound effect credit: ElToroRyan - YouTube

 

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This episode documents the time when I was a seriously lazy coaster enthusiast.  From 2005 to 2014, I only made a handful of visits to my local Florida parks including Busch Gardens Tampa and Universal Orlando.  My brother and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure in 2014, and then four years later, we did a two-day roller coaster trip to Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2018.  That trip got me back into following the amusement industry through podcasts and social media and would put me on the path to rekindling my coaster-riding flame and putting that road trip together.

El Toro sound effects credit: ElToroRyan - YouTube

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Welcome to the first episode of Coaster Redux.  My name is Erik and I'm a life-long roller coaster enthusiast, but up until lately, I've been kind of a lazy one.  Through high school and college in the late 90's and early 2000's, I was a full-on coaster nerd, then I entered the working world and went on a lengthy hiatus, only visiting parks every few years.  During the pandemic, I got back into following the theme park industry, and I'm about to head out on a week-long road trip to experience some of the most elite roller coasters in America.  This is going to be a different kind of roller coaster podcast.   It’s part trip report, part on-ride experience, part ride review, and all storytelling.  In this episode, I tell the story of how I became a roller coaster enthusiast to set the stage for that epic road trip. 

Superman sound effect credit: Coaster Thrills - YouTube

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Welcome to Coaster Redux.  My name is Erik, and I am a life-long roller coaster enthusiast, but up until lately, I've been kind of a lazy one.  Through high school, and college in the late 90's and early 2000's, I was a full-on coaster nerd.  Then I entered the working world and stopped visiting parks for a number of years.  I am now re-discovering my passion for riding roller coasters, and I invite you to join me as I embark on a week-long road trip to ride some of the most elite roller coasters in the country.  This is going to be a different kind of roller coaster podcast.  It's part trip report, part on-ride experience, part ride review, and all storytelling.  This is a preview of what is to come.   

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me out by rating, sharing, and subscribing. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @coasterredux.