In a potentially controversial edition of Top 3 Thursdays, I’m going to share my Top 3 States for Roller Coasters. Instead of a top three ranking, I’m going to list the the three states and explain why. Here’s the list in no particular order: Pennsylvania – Quantity, Variety, & History Pennsylvania is the roller coaster mecca [...]

Busch Gardens Tampa’s Rumored 2011 Launch Coaster There’s been a lot of construction going on at Busch Gardens Tampa as the park prepares for their rumored 2011 roller coaster. The ride first came to light way back in April when plans for the 2011 ride were uncovered on the Web. Since that development, ParkSecrets had [...]

2009 Theme Park Travel Odyssey Time to recap my 2009 theme park trips. This was a busy year with a number of interviews, media days, and fun theme park trips. I’m even going to include a lost trip that I don’t think I’ve referenced on the blog. From the warm tropic atmosphere of Orlando to [...]

The Best Theme Park Virtual Tours Ever? The Busch theme parks (now known collectively as SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment) have teamed up with Google to provide virtual walk-through tours using Google Maps Street View. In case you’ve been living under a rock, or still use MapQuest , Street View allows you to get an on-the-ground [...]

The Conclusion of the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Roller Coaster Tour: Alpengeist, Big Bad Wolf, & Apollo’s Chariot The rest of the Roller Coaster Tour felt a bit more brief. I’m not sure if it was because my tour group had fewer questions or because of the nature of the first two stops. The Loch Ness Monster [...]

Blackstone Buys Busch Gardens & SeaWorld Parks for $2.3 Billion The proverbial writing has been on the wall ever since InBev purchased Anheuser-Busch last year. The Belgian brewer planned to sell A-B’s theme parks as they were not the companies core business; brewing beer. After months of speculation, U.S. equity firm Blackstone has stepped forward [...]

Busch Gardens Roller Coaster Tour Part 2: Griffon After an in-depth look at Loch Ness Monster and two quick rides, the tour group headed over to Busch Gardens Europe’s newest roller coaster, Griffon.  There, the behind-the-scenes access was taken to a whole new level. The group split up into two smaller groups. One group went [...]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Roller Coaster Tour Part 1: Loch Ness Monster & How Coasters Work 101 If you’re a roller coaster geek like myself, or just curious about how roller coasters work, Busch Gardens Roller Coaster Tour is for you. It gives unparalleled access to the these modern thrill machines as well as a ton of interesting [...]