Traveling the Globe for the Best Coasters and Theme Parks
Alexander: Everyone that knows us knows we live for a good Arrow coaster – especially their loopers. We love nothing more than getting rattled around on some of Arrow’s rowdier concoctions, which brings us to this fairly-exhaustive list of our favorites (though we’re still missing some cool ones, like Fantasia Special and HotWheels Sidewinder). Continue reading “The 5 Best Arrow Loopers”
Sean: Last week we made a quick trip to Texas, just in time before major attractions around the country started closing. Our trip to Texas featured 5 parks, 3 of which were considered small. These Small Parks of Texas all have their own major coaster: Continue reading “Small Parks of Texas: Kemah Boardwalk, Galveston Pleasure Pier, and ZDT’s Amusement Park”
Sean: I know we’re already approaching the end of 2019, but we’re flashing back to 2018 when we traveled across the world to some memorable and not-so-memorable parks. Below we have listed some of the biggest surprises of 2018, both local and international coasters. Continue reading “FLASHBACK – The 5 Most Surprising Coasters We Rode in 2018”
Sean: Obviously we like Vekoma’s products, and though admittedly some can be a bit rough or intense to the point where most modern riders find them uncomfortable, not all Vekoma coasters are created equally. Vekoma’s newest products have taken the world by storm and are considered some of the best thrill rides ever created, none however, are located in the United States. Let’s take a look at what the 5 Best Vekoma coasters are in the US, leaving out obvious Disney-fan favorites this time. Continue reading “The 5 Best (Non-Disney) Vekomas in the US!”
Sean: Alex and I trekked from Orlando to Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia with our Nighthawk Vekoma shirts on in anticipation of the four new Vekoma credits we’d be getting that day! – Join us as we explore the third Herschend Entertainment theme park! Continue reading “Wild Adventures at Wild Adventures”
Hello All! Jeff here again. After a lovely morning at the Kaleidoscape media event (see that report here), I returned the next day, Saturday April 13 for the first day of a Passholder Preview weekend before the park opened to the general public on Saturday, April 20. Continue reading “Elitch Gardens Passholder Preview – Mid April”
Jeff: Hey all, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Jeff, and I’m super excited to be providing some guest coverage for Coaster Kings, one of my favorite theme park sites. A little about myself: I’m an artist and painting instructor. I also work as a Scenic Artist at Knott’s Berry Farm. If you’ve been to Haunt in the last two years, you’ve probably seen my work in the mazes. If you want to see more, I’m @artbyjefflee on IG
I’m also a huge theme park fan. My favorite park is Knoebels and my favorite coaster is was Volcano the Blast Coaster at Kings Dominion.
I drove out from California to Elitch Gardens in Denver for the opening of “Kaleidoscape” the new dark ride by Meow Wolf, an artist collective based in Santa Fe. For those not familiar with Meow Wolf, this passage from their website explains things better than I could:
Continue reading “Meow Wolf’s Kaleidoscape – Now at Elitch Gardens”
Sean: Just a few days ago we ventured to Six Flags Over Georgia for some quality coaster time and of course Twisted Cyclone. We had a great day at the park and operations were surprisingly amazing, join us below! Continue reading “Six Flags Over Georgia – Report December 22nd, 2018”
Alexander: Our last update for this visit to Pigeon Forge is a look at all of the other goings-on at Dollywood beside Wildwood Grove and Smoky Mountain Christmas. Continue reading “Dollywood Trip Report – November 28th 2018”
Sean: One of the country’s very best holiday events is Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas. The event does a great job combining classic lights around the park with impeccable entertainment and that Dollywood touch! Over 5 million lights and several well-designed areas up in the beautiful Smoky Mountains, let’s explore Smoky Mountain Christmas! Continue reading “Smoky Mountain Christmas – Dollywood – 2018”
Alexander: NOW OPEN! The longest coaster in East Tennessee, Rocky Top Mountain Coaster, is open for business! The folks who run the coaster were kind enough to let us take some photos of the massive ride – get ready for a comprehensive look at all the things that set Rocky Top Mountain Coaster apart!
Continue reading “Rocky Top Mountain Coaster – The Smoky Mountains’ Longest Coaster!”
Alexander: Hello! How’s everyone enjoying the holiday season so far? If you’re like us and have spent some time at Dollywood this fall, we suspect your holidays have been pretty great so far!
Continue reading “Dollywood’s Wildwood Grove Construction Update – Nov 27, 2018”
Sven: This week we paid a visit to the EAS in Amsterdam! It’s the event to see all types of companies related to theme parks and more! 570 exhibitors and almost 16 000 visitors. Discover what was there to see! Continue reading “IAAPA European Attraction Show 2018 in Amsterdam”
Sean: Six Flags Magic Mountain’s now relocated roller coasters Deja Vu was one of my all-time favorite coasters. The Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang, the particular type of coaster, was plagued with maintenance and operational downtime which led to the relocation of the ride from Six Flags Magic Mountain to Six Flags New England in 2011, where it opened as Goliath in for the 2012 season. – Fast forward to 2018, it was time for us to check out the last remaining Giant Inverted Boomerang in the United States to run the original Vekoma trains. Thus we made the pilgrimage to Silverwood in Idaho. Home to a Deja Vu named Aftershock. Continue reading “Silverwood – Home of Deja Vu: Aftershock”
Nick: Perhaps the best thing about living in Orlando is the huge variety of attractions and things to do. One of the newest attractions is the Orlando StarFlyer, which just so happens to be the world’s tallest swing ride! We got the chance to experience it first hand, so come take a swing with us!
Continue reading “Orlando StarFlyer Trip Report and 360° POV!”
Nick: Hello everyone! My name is Nick, and I’ll be joining the California Coaster Kings team to bring you updates and coverage from the Florida theme parks! I’ve been a huge fan of theme parks all my life, so I can’t wait to start creating and sharing content with all you CCK readers!
Continue reading “California Coaster Kings Goes Florida!”
Alexander: Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana is an iconic brand in the American theme park landscape, famous for its friendly staff, spotless midways, excellent value, enormous water park, and stellar collection of modern wooden coasters.
Holiday World’s reputation is often louder than the park itself; the moves they make at this point are often not as boisterous as the enthusiast communities’ response to them. Everything – from management conflict to new rides – has been hotly discussed over the last 15+ years or so, and whether one’s opinion is positive or negative, it goes without saying that opinions of Holiday World are often strong ones. Continue reading “LOLiday World”
Sean: People travel to Orlando for large resorts and parks like Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld Orlando, but what makes Orlando such a great region after the major parks close for the day? Fun Spot America! These new smaller amusement parks offer clean, laid back, and thrilling fun. As we were in the region we decided to check out the smaller parks that people may some times forget about, Fun Spot America in Kissimmee and Fun Spot America in Orlando! Continue reading “The Amazing Fun Spot America Parks”
Sean: It has been a dream of me to actually visit the Mall of America, and everything fell into place to visit one of the world’s most famous indoor theme parks, which happens to call the largest mall in the US its home. Nickelodeon Universe opened as Knott’s Camp Snoopy in 1992, and has since seen quite some changes to become the brightly colored indoor wonderland that it is today. Let’s take a look shall we? Continue reading “Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America – Trip Report!”
Alexander: Greetings, everyone!
In the wake of our launch of Cabin Crew Coaster Kings, we want everyone to know that we are still 100% here for the parks of California — whether it be major national parks, regional parks, or even the larger Family Entertainment Centers of SoCal.
Today we’re visiting two of the smallest parks in the region: Castle Amusement Park in Riverside, and Scandia Ontario. Continue reading “Castle Park and Scandia Ontario Update”