Traveling the Globe for the Best Coasters and Theme Parks
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!
Continue reading “Twenty-Year Top 20: The Best Coasters of 2002”
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.
Continue reading “Cedar Fair 2023 Additions and Announcements”
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.
Continue reading “Dorney Park – 2022”
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.
Continue reading “Carowinds Opening Weekend”
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.
Continue reading “Weakest Links of The Cedar Fair Chain”
In the wake of the highly-anticipated opening of Iron Gwazi we decided it was time to finally do a ranking of North America’s RMC Iron Horse coasters. We’ve wanted to do it for a while – but of course we had to wait until our local purple crocodile was ready to perform!
Continue reading “All RMC Iron Horse Coasters – Ranked”
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:
Continue reading “In Defense of Rougarou”
Santa Clara’s California’s Great America has a fascinating history: from having some of the coolest prototype coasters ever made, to one of the most impressive coaster lineups, to neglect, and now an impressive glow-up. Let’s see what has become from the park.
Continue reading “California’s Great America – Crown Rating”
Our second-ever Crown Rating is for the only park in the United States to be located in two states. Carowinds, located near Charlotte, NC, has the unique claim to fame that their coasters cross from one state to another. However, what does the park offer beyond that exciting idea? Let’s give them a rating.
Continue reading “Carowinds – Crown Rating”
While certainly a crowd pleaser, enthusiasts don’t seem to talk about these coaster as much as I’d like. What was once a product I had lukewarm interest in has turned into one of my favorite coaster types out there: the B&M Wing Coaster. Today, I am putting the Wing Coaster in the spotlight.
Continue reading “For the Love of Wing Coasters”
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!
Continue reading “How To – U.S.A. Parks”
Boysenberry Festival is in full swing at Knott’s Berry Farm through May 2 and it is a sanitized finger lickin’ good time!
Continue reading “Knott’s Taste of Boysenberry Festival – March 2021”
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!
Continue reading “Weakest Theme Park Areas”
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”
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”
We’re on the second episode of the new season! After a quick conversation about the Jurassic World coaster and Waldameer, we discuss two highly popular Cedar Fair parks and how they compare. This time we based our discussions on Instagram polls and the results. Let’s see if we agree with our followers! Continue reading “Coaster Kings Radio – Cedar Point vs. Kings Island”
We couldn’t stay away from our favorite operating Cedar Fair park! Along with a visit to Cedar Point, we returned to Kings Island to enjoy some more rides on Orion and other favorites. This time we braved a 70-minute line to enter the Eiffel Tower, so we have a collection of great Kings Island shots ahead! Continue reading “Kings Island from Above”
Never content with leaving “good enough” alone, we’re back in Ohio for more quality time at Cedar Point and Kings Island! Continue reading “Cedar Point – Trip Report Late August 2020”
Greetings, all! Fresh on the heels of our latest Ohio adventure (and with another one impending to cap our 2020 regional park season), we decided it was time to publish our 2nd annual ranking of Ohio’s coasters!
Knott’s Berry Farm reopened their hotel, and Randy from the FUNnelcake Blog was there to check it out!
“Stay where you play.” The Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel has always been a favorite place to spend the night. Back in March, the hotel closed for what we all thought would be just a few weeks. Well, five months later, guests are finally being welcomed back into the 320-room facility, just steps away from Knott’s front gate. Continue reading “Knott’s Berry Farm Hotel Reopens – Take a Look Inside!”