Traveling the Globe for the Best Coasters and Theme Parks
We’ve already published quite a few top rankings this month but this one could of course not be excluded. After our Top 10 of 2018, the coaster landscape in Europe has changed quite a bit. That’s why we expanded to a Top 20 instead! Continue reading “Europe Top 20 Coasters – 2020”
With the theme park season drawing to a close in many countries and people forced to stay home again, we thought we’d bring you a brand new article series. Expect regular updates from myself as we explore one of the most beautiful, cultural and historical regions of Europe: Scandinavia! We’ll be taking you from Norway across to Finland, through Sweden and then down to Denmark. We’ll be providing you with detailed insights and top tips into the theme parks each of these countries has to offer. We will also be diving into which rollercoasters and attractions you aren’t going to want to miss out on. So grab a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and enjoy! Continue reading “Scandinavia Series- Part 6: Kolmården Wildlife Park, Sweden”
It’s been 2 years since our last comprehensive countdown of California coasters, so for 2020 we bring you now a Top 20 for the Golden State. Things in California have changed a LOT in 2 years, and the landscape and hierarchy of its coasters is no exception. Continue reading “Coaster Kings’ California TOP 20 – 2020”
Following the launch of our Twenty-Year Top 20: The Best Coasters of 1999, we immediately decided to make it an annual thing – Here’s what we think are the 20 best coasters that turned 20 in 2020!
Continue reading “Twenty-Year Top 20: The Best Coasters of 2000”
Welcome to our second news installment taking a look at some projects throughout Asia. In the past all of our Asia content on the site has been related to our own trips to these parks. Now we’re expanding information on new projects beyond our Facebook pages in site updates. Enjoy this update of Asia Coaster News. Continue reading “Asia Coaster News – Mid-December 2020”
Coaster Kings is proud to introduce a new annual special event: The Crystal Crown Awards. – Within the coaster and theme park enthusiasts communities there are many different annual awards, polls, etc. We wanted to take a different approach and present a unique lineup of categories that highlight specific characteristics of theme parks, rides, rollercoasters, and the industry as a whole. To listen to the awards in detail, check out our Coaster Kings Radio episode, you’ll also find the 16 carefully chosen categories and their winners here:
This will be a rather unusual report because we’re combining Iron Gwazi, TRON Lightcycle / Run and Jurassic World: VelociCoaster into one update! We visited the three parks/projects over the past three days and though we didn’t quite collect enough for three separate reports, we definitely have enough to share for an exciting Central Florida Coaster Construction report! Continue reading “Central Florida Coaster Construction + Testing – Mid-December 2020”
With the theme park season drawing to a close in many countries and people forced to stay home again, we thought we’d bring you a brand new article series. Expect regular updates from myself as we explore one of the most beautiful, cultural and historical regions of Europe: Scandinavia!
We’ll be taking you from Norway across to Finland, through Sweden and then down to Denmark. We’ll be providing you with detailed insights and top tips into the theme parks each of these countries has to offer. We will also be diving into which rollercoasters and attractions you aren’t going to want to miss out on. So grab a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and enjoy!
Continue reading “Scandinavia Series- Part 5: Gröna Lund, Sweden”
It’s been two years since our last Florida Coasters Top 10 – needless to say a lot has happened in these two years. We planned on holding off on our next Florida Top 10 until Iron Gwazi and VelociCoaster had opened; with the way 2020 unfolded, we ultimately decided to sound off on the region’s current collection of coasters without them. The next two years promise a dramatic shuffle in Central Florida coaster hierarchy, so let’s consider this 2020 countdown the foundation upon which we’ll judge the region’s variety of new coasters.
Continue reading “Coaster Kings’ Florida TOP 10 Coasters – 2020”
In 1981 Dutch fantasy park Efteling decided to add their first roller coaster. Already a well established theme-park they chose to make an investment that would make a big impact on the European market. Working with Dutch manufacturer Vekoma they unveiled the largest roller coaster in all of Europe, Python. Although a copy of the existing Arrow Huss Carolina Cyclone, this 4 inversion monster was unlike anything in the region. It was only 2 years after Blackpool Pleasure Beach had unveiled Europe’s first modern looping coaster and the first time modern inversions appeared in continental Europe. Efteling had built something loopier, larger, and unlike anything else that Europe had seen and it became a phenomenon. Python has been featured in numerous Dutch TV programs, was used by Porsche to film a television commercial, and continues to be one of the most popular attractions in the park. So beloved is this ride that in 2018 the park spent an estimated 4.5 Million Euro ($5.3 Million USD) to re-track the majority of the ride and ensure it continues to run for future generations. Continue reading “5 of America’s National Coaster Icons”
In the UK the Theme Park scene is pretty much over for this year but there are still a few places to get your rides in. There are not many of the Coaster Kings who have had the chance to visit Adventure Island and after my first visit I wanted to tell you all about it. I’m going to use the word cute a lot in this article because Adventure Island is a cute park! Continue reading “Adventure Island – The Island of, You’ve Guessed it, Adventure!”
We’ve been busy focusing on projects like Iron Gwazi, TRON Lightcycle / Run, and the rapidly changing progress of Jurassic World: VelociCoaster, but there is another major new coaster under construction in Central Florida: SeaWorld Orlando’s Ice Breaker! Enjoy a construction update and photo collection of the new-for-2021 coaster! Continue reading “Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando – Update and Photo Collection Mid-December 2020”
Though we have known about it for some time now, Nigloland finally officially announced its new coaster for 2021: Krampus Expedition ! The park, as well as the local papers, unveiled artwork and picturess of the construction site as of today! Here is a recap of everything Krampus Expedition at Nigloland ! Continue reading “Nigloland – Krampus Expedition Details”
Though we had an update just two days ago, we went back to Universal’s Islands of Adventure to capture more testing of the new Jurassic World: VelociCoaster! In this update you’ll find an array of pictures and videos of the new coaster, slated to open in the Summer of 2021. Continue reading “Jurassic World: VelociCoaster Daytime Testing Footage – December 9, 2020”
With the theme park season drawing to a close in many countries and people forced to stay home again, we thought we’d bring you a brand new article series. Expect regular updates from myself as we explore one of the most beautiful, cultural and historical regions of Europe: Scandinavia!
We’ll be taking you from Norway across to Finland, through Sweden and then down to Denmark. We’ll be providing you with detailed insights and top tips into the theme parks each of these countries has to offer. We will also be diving into which rollercoasters and attractions you aren’t going to want to miss out on. So grab a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and enjoy!
Continue reading “Scandinavia Series-Part 4: Five things to do in Liseberg, Sweden”
We’re back with a new VelociCoaster Update! As the coaster has started daytime testing, we now also have testing footage to share with you, along with progress on infrastructure and theming! Continue reading “VelociCoaster Update – With Testing Footage – Early December 2020”
After our updates on the Walibi Belgium Mega coaster, it was time for us to head to the coast to have a look at the Xtreme Spinning coaster construction at Plopsaland De Panne! From the highway, you could see the beautiful dark red track popping up. Let’s check out the beautiful track of the other major coaster coming to Belgium in 2021: Continue reading “The Ride To Happiness Update – Plopsaland De Panne – December 2020”
America has a few regions that are “hotspots” for roller coasters, regions with 2 or more parks within a short distance from each other. The most famous include Central Florida, Southern California, and Eastern Pennsylvania. Though long outshined by the plethora of parks surrounding Los Angeles and San Diego, Northern California holds the distinction of being a region with three parks with major thrill roller coasters. The roller coaster landscape of Northern California has changed dramatically just within the past 10 years.
Continue reading “The Evolution of Northern California’s Coaster Landscape”
With the theme park season drawing to a close in many countries and people forced to stay home again, we thought we’d bring you a brand new article series. Expect regular updates from myself as we explore one of the most beautiful, cultural and historical regions of Europe: Scandinavia!
We’ll be taking you from Norway across to Finland, through Sweden and then down to Denmark. We’ll be providing you with detailed insights and top tips into the theme parks each of these countries has to offer. We will also be diving into which rollercoasters and attractions you aren’t going to want to miss out on. So grab a cup of coffee, a slice of cake and enjoy!
Continue reading “Scandinavia Series- Part 3: Särkänniemi, Finland”
It’s been a few weeks since we launched a new TRON Lightcycle / Run update on the site. With this week’s cool temperatures, we figured we’d spend a day at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and share a TRON update with you. Continue reading “TRON Lightcycle / Run Construction Update – Magic Kingdom, December 1, 2020”