Traveling the Globe for the Best Coasters and Theme Parks
After having a modified event last year without any traditional haunted houses, Howl-o-Scream has returned to form in 2021, and it’s great to have it back! This year’s event features five haunted houses, eight scare zones, two shows and an excellent lineup of coasters in the dark. We got to check it out last weekend, so read on to find out our thoughts on the event!
Orlando’s got some big theme parks, and that includes SeaWorld Orlando. Home to marine life, roller coasters, water rides, and more! How does SeaWorld Orlando hold up on a global scale? Let’s find out.
Continue reading “SeaWorld Orlando – Crown Rating”
We’ve wanted to write a Flying Coaster Top 5 for years now, but a certain Dutch prototype project in Germany made us take pause. Now that we have F.L.Y. under our belts, we ask ourselves: how does Vekoma’s flying coaster reset stack up against the flying coasters of the preceding 20 years?
Continue reading “The Top 5 Flying Coasters”
Superstitions aside, this Friday the 13th will be a very lucky day for fans of fear in Tampa Bay. As Howl-O-Scream, Tampa’s largest haunt event, prepares to open on September 10 for 28 select nights through October 31, Busch Gardens is unleashing a limited-time offer to secure event tickets for up to 75% off savings for only one day.
Continue reading “NEW AT HOWL-O-SCREAM 2021 – BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA”
We’ve made several trips to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this year already, and we’re back again to check out the park’s seasonal Food & Wine event! We’ll take a look at some of the food offerings we’ve tried, drinks, ambience, and of course we’ve got Iron Gwazi pictures for our coaster nerds out there!
Continue reading “A Look at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Food & Wine 2021!”
While I wasn’t planning on visiting SeaWorld Orlando today, I swung by about 90 minutes prior to park closure to see if we could catch a glimpse of the new Premier Rides launch coaster testing. While Ice Breaker went through lots of different types of testing, it only navigated the full layout once during my trip. Luckily, I’ve got a couple of fun photos to share with you!
Continue reading “Ice Breaker – Sunset Testing Photos”
One of our awesome team members, Ian, spotted some B&M track at the Clermont Steel Fabricators Inc. plant in Ohio. Based on our recent findings of the corrections made to the SeaWorld Orlando “Project Penguin” permits, we have reason to believe some of this track may be for the new Surf Coaster coming to Orlando. Let’s take a look at the track!
Continue reading “Possible SeaWorld Orlando “Project Penguin” Track Spotted at Ohio Manufacturing Plant”
Good news SeaWorld Orlando fans, it looks like the wheels are once again in motion on Project Penguin, the parks new B&M launch/rumored “surf coaster“! The permits for this project have been sitting waiting for corrections since last April, only being kept alive by extensions every 3-4 months. Yesterday, however, the park finally filed the first set of corrections with the Orange County government.
Continue reading “SeaWorld Orlando “Project Penguin” Update”
We’ve had the privilege to be invited out to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay this weekend to check out the park’s brand new Mardi Gras event. We had a fabulous time checking out their food and drink offerings, which were all on point. A nice mix of entertainment and our usual dose of thrill rides made the day complete. Check out what Mardi Gras has to offer, and for the big coaster enthusiasts among us, we’ve got you covered with coaster shots as well.
Continue reading “Busch Gardens Tampa Bay – Mardi Gras!”
While Ice Breaker has yet to start testing, the infrastructure around the ride is coming together nicely. In today’s update we’ve got a couple of different shots of the infrastructure surrounding the ride, some track shots, and we happened to catch a pretty spectacular sunset as we left the park and thus we have a nice array of sunset pictures as well.
Continue reading “Ice Breaker Photo Update – Mid-January – SeaWorld Orlando”
Now the crazy holiday crowds have started to leave Orlando, we popped into SeaWorld to take some pictures of the Ice Breaker progress. We’re seeing more changes in infrastructure and landscaping, including nets. Let’s take a look!
Continue reading “Ice Breaker Photo Update – SeaWorld Orlando – Early January 2021”
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”
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”
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”
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”
We checked out some of the wonderful Christmas Town offerings at Busch Gardens Tampa! Along with many amazing food and entertainment options, the holiday lights, meet ‘n greets and attractions made for a well-rounded event. Join us for a review of our experience: Continue reading “Busch Gardens Tampa Christmas Town 2020 – Take a Look!”
The Spring of 2021 is just around the corner! We wanted to share a few shots of Iron Gwazi that we took this weekend. While we also visited Busch Gardens Christmas Town this weekend, this report focuses mostly on Iron Gwazi! Continue reading “Iron Gwazi Picture Update – November 21, 2020”
Gather your family and meet your friends in a safe outdoor environment at SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration, the largest Christmas celebration in Texas! For 27 magical days, the park is transforming into a winter wonderland with millions of sparkling lights, decorations, and holiday festivities (select dates from November 20 through January 3, 2021). Continue reading “SeaWorld Christmas Celebration 2020 – SeaWorld San Antonio”
TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 29, 2020) – Wrap up the year with holiday cheer earlier than ever at Busch Gardens® Christmas Town™, the park’s award-winning holiday event. New this year, the event kicks off with a preview weekend with light displays and select entertainment elements on November 14 and 15. Christmas Town runs daily with park-wide festive fun from November 20, 2020 through January 3, 2021.
Continue reading “Busch Gardens Christmas Town Returns November 20”
Haunted events look and feel a bit different all across the country this year, and Howl-O-Scream is no exception. This year’s event focuses solely on outdoor scares, with a whopping 10 scare zones throughout the park. Even though there aren’t any traditional haunted houses, the event still delivers plenty of scares, and of course some of Florida’s best roller coasters! Read on for our full review of this year’s event!