Theme Park Geekly’s 5th Issue | Geekly-Ness Reaches New Levels
Have you read Issue 5 of Theme Park Geekly? If you haven’t here’s a recap of this issue’s articles:

Fun with Roller Coaster Data
Nick (Coaster101) wrote an article comparing the key stats of roller coasters he’s ridden. He uncovered a neat take-away by analyzing the height, length, and speed of different types of coasters (steel vs. wood). Also, I was able to create a data visualization from his coaster data that allows you to select and filter the data right there within the article. Geeklyness has definitely reached a new level! Nick recently had a great interview with Andreas Wild of Stengel Engineering.

The Themed Entertainment Association’s Thea Awards
Kurt (The Coaster Guy) wrote an article about the Themed Entertainment Association and their upcoming Thea awards. Check it out and listen to the Season Pass Podcast show featuring TEA reps in a player on the post. Kurt recently wrote an in-depth Six Flags Magic Mountain trip report. Lucky Californians and their year-round theme parks.

Indoor Water Parks: How to Handle the Off-Season Blues & Cedar Fair’s 2012 Infrastructure Upgrades
Matt (Valley Fair Zone) and Katie (from Thrill Network) submitted two great off-season related articles. One is on how to handle the off-season blues and another covers Cedar Fair’s infrastructure updates. ThrillNetwork recently posted a lengthy recap from a Verbolten Construction Tour. And you can discuss the off-season developments of ValleyFair at this great social network: Valleyfairzone Community.

Ride Sims Game Review
Trent (Coasterblog) submitted a review of the new Ride Sims game. It’s a free online game where you’re able to run popular rides from the UK and the United States like Space Mountain, Revenge of the Mummy, SAW – The Ride, and more. Trent recently listed the major types of roller coasters (stand-up, sitdown, flying, etc) and listed them in order of his favorites. Check it out: The Best Types of Roller Coasters

The Year with the Best New Roller Coasters
And, I wrote a list post comparing the best coaster classes of the last 6 years. 2012 is shaping up to be an impressive year. But what has been the best since I started blogging? I compared the new roller coaster classes from each year and came up with my top pick. Do you agree?

Seasoned Pros List Show – Top Dark & Indoor Themed Rides
Lastly, there’s a new edition of The Seasoned Pros List Show. This time, we’re joined by Robert Niles of Theme Park Insider as we list our favorite dark rides. We expand the list to include themed or story based rides as well. It was fun hearing about the Disney and Universal rides that I haven’t yet experienced. And I enjoyed sharing my top dark rides. Head on over there and give it a listen!

For the first show we were joined by Robb Alvey and we listed our Top Steel Roller Coasters. What do you think we should cover in our next show? Leave a comment below or tweet at: @ThemeParkGeekly or @TheSeasonPass. Also, head over to About.com’s Theme Park Guide to vote in Arthur’s Reader Choice Awards. And if you’re not already subscribed to The Season Pass Podcast, then you’re missing out: iTunes | RSS

Check back for Issue 6 sometime in March/April. It’ll be the last issue until next winter as the site will essentially hibernate during the theme park season.

What’s Your Take?
What do you think of this issue of Theme Park Geekly? What was your favorite article? Leave a comment below.