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» rants and editorials
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POV Videos & Sneaking Cameras on Roller Coasters
Sneaking Cameras on Roller Coasters: A Public Service Announcement Technology’s a great thing. Who would’ve thought ten years ago that we’d be able to do the cool things that we can with our gadgets? Cameras have become so small that they can easily fit into our pockets. Or they can be integrated into even smaller cell phones. Just this week, Apple announced that the new, slimmer...
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Why Looping Coasters Deserve a Separate Top Ten List
Aric Davis is a working writer, body piercer, and the author of From Ashes Rise. He rarely updates his website, www.aricdavis.com, but plans to someday. When not writing, Aric can be found riding rollercoasters, playing hockey, listening to punk rock and knocking holes in people. If you’re at a park in the Midwest and see a guy covered in tattoos with really big ear piercings, it’s pro...
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Top 3 Theme Park Foods
Aric Davis is a working writer, body piercer, and the author of From Ashes Rise. He rarely updates his website, www.aricdavis.com, but plans to someday. When not writing, Aric can be found riding rollercoasters, playing hockey, listening to punk rock and knocking holes in people. If you’re at a park in the Midwest and see a guy covered in tattoos with really big ear piercings, it’s pro...
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Top 10 New Roller Coasters for 2010 Part 1
With the start of the 2010 roller coaster season underway, it’s time for my annual top picks for the best new roller coasters. This year was tougher than usual as there weren’t many new coasters opening in the States. Also, there were a few attractions with very little information for me to go on. After much deliberation and repositioning here’s Part 1 of my Top 10 New Roller Coa...
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A Coaster Enthusiast’s Resolutions
As represented by the sudden increase in attendance at my gym, January is the month to start New Year’s resolutions. It’s the chosen time to turn over a new leaf, start better habits, and end bad habits. I thought of a few ways that I could be a better roller coaster enthusiast in 2010. Learn About Coasters & Theme Parks of the World Of course many of us know and love our local par...
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The Tallest Steel Coaster in South Central Montana!
A Look at Silly Roller Coaster Records and Weak Distinctions To wrap up “Record Breaking Roller Coasters Week”, I wanted to discuss marketing hype with regards to records. Theme Parks looking to make a splash with a new attraction love to tout that their new ride has a distinction tied to some record. For example, over the past few years we’ve had: The Steepest Roller Coaster in ...
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Your First Roller Coaster Ride
Tomorrow it will be March, the month when theme parks across the country kick off their seasons. In honor of the start of the season I thought it’d be fun for everyone to share their first roller coaster ride. Believe it or not, I’m not 100% sure what my first roller coaster was. Growing up in Virginia, I went to Kings Dominion often and I’m pretty sure that the Scooby Doo coaste... -
2008 Theme Park Year In Review
Class of 2008 – Roller Coasters That Debuted This Year As predicted in my Top 10 New Roller Coasters for 2008, my top pick Ravine Flyer 2 opened to many positive reviews and it landed at 8 on my Top 10. Read my full review. I’m looking forward to seeing how it fairs in Mitch’s ‘08 Coaster Poll next month. Canada’s Wonderland’s Behemoth also received a lot of pro... -
The Next Generation of Wooden Roller Coasters
The Next Generation of Wooden Roller Coasters – Part INot Your Father’s Wooden Roller CoastersFrom my early riding experiences at Kings Dominion on wooden staples like the old-school racing coaster Rebel Yell, I would use two words to describe wooden roller coasters. Rough and boring. Of course some woodies were more enjoyable than others, but I think overall I didn’t appreciate ... -
Top 3 Top 3 Thursdays Lists
The Best of Top 3 ThursdaysFor this week’s Top 3 Thursday I’m doing a ‘Best of’ post. I’m recapping my favorite Top 3’s and their number 1’s. Top 3 Most Annoying Things at an Amusement ParkI ranted about the most annoying things I find at my favorite places to be. Number 1 was line cutters.Line CuttersThere’s nothing worse than waiting in a long line...
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Columnist Shares a Funny Amusement Park Trip
When Rides & Food Don’t MixIn Tim Mollen’s syndicated humor column called Lost Journal, he recounts a day from his past and writes about it like a journal entry. This week, Tim sent me his piece about a childhood experience at the now defunct Magic Valley Park in Bushkill, PA. I don’t want to give away the ending, but it involves a bad combination of junk food and the mercile... -
Coaster Enthusiasts Unite to Lose Weight
Biggest Loser for Coaster Enthusiasts, So They Can Ride AgainIt goes without saying that safety’s important when riding roller coasters. If restraints like lap bars and over the shoulder harnesses do not fit correctly, riders would be in danger. Add the U.S.’s growing obesity rate and you have more and more theme park guests getting turned away just as their about to enjoy a great coas... -
Lake Compounce Book Review
New Book Chronicles America’s Oldest Amusement ParkRecently, I received a copy of ‘Lake Compounce’ by Lynda J. Russell. While I knew the Bristol, Connecticut park was the oldest in the country, I had no idea how rich its history really was. Lake Compounce, by Lynda J. Russell, chronicles the park’s history from its many owners and plethora of attractions over the years. As ... -
Roller Coaster Theming | Weekly Topic
Does Theming on a Coaster Matter? | Theme Park Round TableNews Plus Notes provided this week’s topic. NPN posed the question: “Does theming on a coaster matter?” I’m going to surprise even myself and say no. My answer is really more of a ‘yes, but…’. Let me explain. Theming on a coaster is something that I’m quick to give points for. It can take a ri... -
Steel Coasters vs Wooden Coasters | Weekly Topic
Steel vs. Wood | Theme Park Round TableFor this week’s Weekly Topic I thought I’d invoke the eternal battle in the coaster enthusiast community. Like PC vs. Mac, conservative vs. liberal, Pepsi vs. Coke. Most fall into one or the other. It’s a simple question that’s been asked and discussed countless times. Which do you prefer wooden or steel roller coasters? I would like t...
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Trees at Theme Parks | Weekly Topic
Weekly Topic | Theme Park Round TableIn Response to Coasterdom’s ‘Trees Please’. As Nate from Coasterdom wrote, there are two sides on the issue of having a lot of trees at theme parks. On one hand you have the enthusiasts that argue that parks look better with a greener, more natural atmosphere. On the other hand, removing trees allows for parks to create larger midways and walk... -
Eagle Fortress at Everland
Does Eagle Fortress Deserve Third Best in the World?The interesting part of this year’s Mitch Hawker Internet Poll is Eagle Fortress coming in at the third best roller coaster in the world. Eagle Fortress is an unlikely coaster to rank so high. It’s a sixteen year old suspended coaster built on a hillside at Everland in South Korea. It’s a controversial ranking as only six of the... -
Top 10 New Roller Coasters for 2008 Part 1
Predicting the Best Roller Coasters of the Class of 2008With the 2008 season upon us I thought it was time for a countdown of the biggest and best roller coasters opening in 2008. I admit it’s impossible to rank coasters I’ve never ridden, but how can I turn down an opportunity to do another Top 10? 10 Flying Turns at KnoebelsKnoebels to Resurrect an Extinct Type of Wooden CoasterKeepi... -
Coaster Radio Returns
A Review of the Return of Coaster RadioOn February 1st, Coaster Radio re-launched. The site and podcast had gone dormant for well over a year. When I reviewed a few theme park podcasts last year I found the Coaster Radio podcast to be pretty entertaining. I was late to the party though as they had decided to stop making shows. Anyway, on the 1st the new site launched with a blog as the main page. ... -
2007 Theme Park Year in Review
Now that 2007’s in the history books, let’s take a look back at the biggest stories of the year. Six Flags Sold Seven ParksIn an attempt to reduce debt, Daniel Snyder (Washington Redskins owner and Chairman of the board at Six Flags) sold seven Six Flags theme parks. The seven parks were: Darien Lake (Buffalo, NY), Elitch Gardens (Denver, CO), Frontier City and White Water Bay (Oklahom...
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