Twenty-Year Top 20: The Best Coasters of 2002

It’s that time of year again! Welcome to our 4th Annual “Twenty-Year Top 20”, where we rank the top coasters that turn 20 years old this year! 2002 was an extremely strong year, with the “Coaster Wars” at their peak – our favorite coasters in several countries, respectively, made their debut twenty years ago. Let’s get started!

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Cedar Fair 2023 Additions and Announcements

This week Cedar Fair announced exciting additions and improvements for six of its twelve amusement parks! The 2023 additions mark some of the largest chain-wide investment we’ve seen since Covid-19 put a damper on the amusement industry. We’re excited to see Cedar Fair continue to invest in their parks and look forward to experiencing many of these offerings next year.

All verbiage and images are courtesy of their respective parks unless otherwise noted.

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Dorney Park – 2022

Dorney Park holds the distinction of the first park Cedar Fair acquired outside of the 2 parks that are the company’s namesake. With roots back to 1860, Dorney Park is one of numerous examples of the American trolley park, parks developed by trolley companies to help drive weekend traffic. While it has an impressive collection of roller coasters, Dorney is known for being one of Cedar Fairs lesser parks with their newest coaster addition being the relocated Vekoma inverted boomerang Stinger which was removed from Dorney in 2017. However, like most Ohio enthusiasts, me and my friend Pete have Cedar Fair platinum passes, and it seemed a no-brainer to see what this historic Pennsylvania park has to offer.

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Carowinds Opening Weekend

In the Midwest and eastern U.S. we are always excited for the reopening of our seasonal parks and the start of another coaster season. Among the parks with the earliest season opening is Carowinds. So on March 11th my friend Pete and I made the trek from central Ohio to this unique Cedar Fair Park. We arrived very late on Friday night and went to bed with visions of Fury 325 in our dreams.

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Weakest Links of The Cedar Fair Chain


This past summer Alex, Sean, and Sven recorded an episode of Coaster Kings Radio discussing attractions they consider the weakest link at many major theme parks. Inspired by this episode we’ve decided to expand the concept to more parks starting with the Cedar Fair chain. Do note that we’ve decided to exclude kiddie coasters/rides while they might not be the best attractions, they do serve an important role at most parks.

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In Defense of Rougarou

Here’s the hottest take we’ve got:

We think Rougarou is the best Floorless coaster in the USA and possibly the World.

Is it? That’s irrelevant – there’s no true way to measure that figure. This article, like all “best/worst” statements, is subjective and merely an opinion. But to say we enjoy Rougarou more than any other Floorless coaster is a fact – and here’s why:

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How To – U.S.A. Parks

In this series of articles the Coaster Kings teams look to share some advice that will help our readers plan their travel. This week Ian outlines the steps to prepare for a trip to a theme park in the United States. This article is specifically geared towards American theme parks in general. Look for articles on the Disney and Universal resorts in the future!

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Weakest Theme Park Areas

Since their creation amusement and theme parks have utilized landscaping and theming as an important part of the experience. The massive popularity of Disneyland standardized the idea of themed lands within a park. Most parks which opened in the resulting regional park boom incorporated this idea. Theme parks have the ability to transport guests to different times and worlds. A well-themed area can be an attraction in and of itself. But these areas often fall flat. The following are five of the weakest theme park areas. Also included are some ideas on how they might be refreshed. This is by no means an exhaustive list so please make your own suggestions, they may find their way to a part two!

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The Evolution of Northern California’s Coaster Landscape

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.

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