Coaster Kings

Our first Universal Studios Beijing visit in 2024 was anything but ideal. We're happy to report our 2026 visit was a lot more pleasant. Let's discuss the improvements and our most recent experience at the Chinese Universal resort!

Worlds of Fun is half of Enchanted Parks' new Missouri empire, but does it really deserve a back seat to Six Flags St Louis? Find out why this Kansas City fixture was one surprise after another for a first-timer (Sean) and a first-time-since-high-school-er (Alex).

Jiangsu is the province bordering Shanghai and is filled with parks that are worth a visit! Plenty of can't-miss coasters call this region their home. In this episode of Coaster Kings join Sean and Alex to Huai'an Fantawild: Glorious Orient, Suzhou Amusement Land Forest World, and China Dinosaurs Park for iconic coasters like Fighter Jet, Beyond the Cloud, and Dinoconda!

This week on Coaster Kings, Sean and Alex take you to Shanghai for a whirlwind tour of some repeat parks and new parks! This episode discusses Legoland Shanghai, Century Park, People’s Park, Shanghai Disneyland, Happy Valley Shanghai, and Shanghai Haichang Ocean Park!

Lost Island and Adventureland make an unlikely coaster destination out of central Iowa: explore the impressively nuanced Lost Island Theme Park of Waterloo and the nostalgic regional-park golden-era sensibilities of Adventureland. Both parks are at the threshold of exciting new eras and we're happy to be along for the ride!

European Coaster Kings was invited by Boldmove Nation and Hunderfossen Eventyrpark to attend the soft opening of their brand new dark ride in Norway: Rally Flåklypa. In this special report Sven talks about the history of the park and the experience of the new attraction.

Join us at our favorite US regional park Silver Dollar City for our final rides on Thunderation as well as rerides on other faves and our first ride on the new Fire In The Hole. Construction on their next coaster is already in full swing, but we don't think they're stopping there – find out what else we think is on the horizon for Silver Dollar City as Herschend Family Entertainment embarks on their most ambitious era yet.

Sean reveals all the tips and tricks for trip planning to China to Sven. What hotels to choose, how to get to the different parks, what do you absolutely need while traveling to China? Plus we explore the Coaster Kings map of China to help you decide on which parks to visit!

On May 28 Coaster Kings was invited to attend the grand opening of Kentucky Kingdom's new Vekoma suspended coaster Flying Fox. In this special report Ian gives some park background and an overview of this exciting new family attraction.

China is home to incredible coasters, plenty of which are manufactured by Intamin, however the true Chinese Intamin Power Duo are the 2016 installations: Soaring with Dragon at Hefei Sunac Land and Coaster Through the Clouds at Nanchang Sunac Land! Join Alex and Sean as they discuss these two impressive rides.

We just visited both Six Flags Great America and California's Great America in the same week to celebrate the parks' 50th Birthdays! Join us as we talk about our visits and the key differences between the parks!

Enjoy a bonus episode ahead of the new season! Sean, Alex, and Sven discuss the new Disney Adventure World theme park in Paris in full detail. Learn all about the new offerings at Adventure Way and the World of Frozen!

Join Sean, Alex, and Sven for the Season 6 finale with a look ahead into 2026. We discuss potential ride/park closures, and ride/park announcements, as well as our personal theme park travel plans for the year!

Disney Adventure World is the closest that this decade will come to seeing a new Disney Park. Find out what makes this multi-billion dollar relaunch more than just a park expansion.

Together Sean and Alex got 55 new credits in 2025 – find out which coasters were the best new (and new-to-them) rides of the year.

We continue our deep dive into AstroWorld’s history, examining its decline and eventual closure during the 1990s and early 2000s. We also ask the big question: Why did it happen?

Ian returns to the podcast to discuss this classic and influential regional park. In Part 1, we explore AstroWorld’s development, its early years of growth, and its impact on the theme park community.

Sven's back! The Crazy Quiz is back! Sean and Alex take on the challenge of who is the Coaster King of the World! Quizmaster Sven has a whole set of questions prepared and you can also play along!

Cedar Point is one of the World's top coaster destinations – but what is it missing? Find out our carefully crafted musings on how we would optimize "America's Roller Coast".

Newly Remastered in 2025 - Get ready for an emotional roller coaster as Sean and Alex discuss the history of the former theme park in Ohio: Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom! Want all of the information discussed in this episode in one place? Visit thecoasterkings.com for a comprehensive article related to Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom and all of its history. Find out more at https://coaster-kings-radio.pinecast.co

The Coaster Kings return to Universal's Epic Universe six months after the park began operations – what has changed? What's gotten better? Worse? We'll talk about the changes that have taken place and a few that are on the horizon at Orlando's newest park.

With installations distributed evenly among USA, Europe, and China, the B&M Wing Coaster is among the World's most diverse and successful coaster varieties. Find out what makes each one unique, and see how we rank them (live!) for our official Wing Coaster Top 15.

It's been 8 years since we visited Canada's cardinal coaster collection and a lot has changed. See how AlpenFury compares to the rest of Wonderland's massive lineup and find out which of their 18 coasters we think reigns as Canada's very best.

Chessington World of Adventures and Legoland Windsor – the Merlin family parks of Greater London – offer some surprisingly strong ride experiences, from coasters to dark rides to log flumes.

Explore the metamorphosis of the modern roller coaster as we tour the era-defining trends that represent the last seven decades of ride design!

Sean and Alex hit the Virginia parks (and two of the newest B&M coasters) to see how the fulfillment quality is holding up for one of the industry's most beloved manufacturers.

Is BPB the top park in the country? Alex and Sean explore the offerings of the UK's most classic park and discuss the delicate balance of offering one-of-a-kind vintage rides while still appealing to modern thrillseekers.

It's our first Cedar Point visit in over 5 years – with the park boasting two of the world's best new coaster experiences in 2025, how much has the park trended up for a couple of Cedar Point cynics like us?

Sean and Ian discuss California's Great America after their recent visits. Is this truly the end? Why is it that California's Great America is in the best shape it's ever been? What may happen to existing rides at one of the continent's most polished regional parks?

Hersheypark has one of the World's most impressive coaster lineups, but is it getting the recognition it deserves? As major management shake-ups impact a majority of America's regional parks in the post-pandemic era, we'll talk about why Hersheypark's position in the country's amusement park pecking order has never been higher.

It's our last visit to Six Flags America – or is it? With Cedar Fair announcing its official closure, Alex and Sean visit the D.C. - Baltimore - Annapolis regional park to see how it's running with retirement on the horizon. There certainly won't be a "Six Flags America" after 2025, but the city isn't giving up that easily.

In anticipation of our impending Siren's Curse trip, we're talking about work trips featuring the OG Vekoma Tilt Coaster and the Intamin Aquatrax – both of which laid the respective groundwork for two of Cedar Point's top coasters. We'll also discuss more of Taiwan and Korea's most iconic coasters along the way, and cover how best to prepare for your own visit to these amazing parks.

Come for the coasters, stay for the marsupials: find out what makes Flamingo Land one of the UK's most surprising and promising parks.

What kind of changes do you think should come to your home park? In this "Armchair Engineering" special, Sean and Alex disect Sea World Orlando and cover glaring issues, realistic solutions, positive changes, and anticipated expansions in this magnified examination of Central Florida's iconic marine life park.

"An Island Like No Other" – or is it? Thorpe Park has seen a lot of changes since it became a sister to Alton Towers, and with Hyperia breaking records and winning hearts, which park can boast the strongest lineup in the UK?

Today we'll be in Xiamen and Kunming talking about 3 great parks – or is it 4?? Xiamen's Fantawild Parks and Kunming's Colorful Yunnan Paradise are the focus of this episode, and they're dripping with great dark rides and coasters.

In this episode we take a look at two of England's most noteworthy family parks – the historic Drayton Manor and the blossoming Paultons Park. These parks have unique backgrounds and different plans for the future, but right now they have a lot in common – particularly the two biggest and most lucrative kiddie areas in the country.

Sean and Alex kick off the Great British Road Trip at Alton Towers, a truly iconic destination for theme park and roller coaster fans. But with Sean visiting for the first time, did it live up to the expectations? We take a tour around the park and talk about the coasters, dark rides, and gardens that have made Alton Towers so famous and discuss our recent 3 days at the park.

Now that Universal has unveiled its 7th theme park (no, Volcano Bay doesn't count), it's time for us to rank every Universal Park in the world – from the newest resort in Beijing, to the Hollywood OG. Where do these parks stack up in the grand scheme of things, and where does Universal's Epic Universe fit into the mix? Our findings may surprise you!

Sean, Alex and Sven come together to celebrate 50 years of Europe's 2nd busiest theme park resort! From limit-pushing rides to resort hotels and a water park, we take a look at the resort's history and discuss its future. This episode also includes a quick look at SeaWorld Orlando's new Expedition Odyssey flying theater attraction!

This dark dark dark ride "puts you in a smoke- filled battlefield, where you can follow the railway guerrillas to seize trains and blow up bridges, returning to the war years when people were passionate about serving their country". If that isn't enough reason to visit the Fantawild parks in Ningbo, maybe their state-of-the art Vekoma Top Gun launch coaster is.

Looking for a spoiler-free review of Epic Universe? Well – look elsewhere because we're about to dissect this place like Frankenstein's Monster. Hop aboard dragons, comets, mine cars, and even share an "Omnidirectional Lift" car with us as we explore the five new worlds of Universal's Epic Universe.

In this episode between seasons, Ian and Sven made each other theme park trips for when they visit each others regions for the first time. 5 parks each for these Central Europe and Mid-Atlantic US trips! What do you think of the trips?

In this extra episode, Sven and Andreu talk about the novelties coming to PortAventura Resort this year. As the park celebrates its 30th anniversary, they showcased many reasons to come and visit this major resort in Europe.

Sean and Alex wrap up the longest running season yet! In this season finale, we travel around the world to discuss the best new-for-2025 roller coasters. It appears that 2025 will be a very memorable year in terms of new major roller coasters. What new coaster are you most excited about? Maybe you'll even discover a few new ones to add to your bucket list!

We're digging deep into the theme park sector and worldwide park performance across multiple markets. We're talking about large parks in Orlando with declining attendance, major parks with increasing attendance, investments with high and low returns. From Asia to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Americas. What are the top 25 parks in terms of attendance? Top performing water parks? The list continues on, and we have all the details!

We recently attended numerous winter theme park events, including Winter Wonderland in London! Join us as we explore winter theme park events, developments in the industry, and our visits to Winter Efteling (featuring Danse Macabre) and Winter Wonderland!  

Sean and Alex wrapped up the fall at Parque Warner Madrid and began the holidays at Disneyland Paris, in what could be their most active November yet. From night rides on amazing thrill rides in the desert just outside of Madrid to the festive drone show, glühwein, and champagne at the Disneyland Paris resort. Let's talk about our trips to some of our favorite European parks/parques/parcs.

Sean and Alex recently returned to Tokyo for a resort stay at Tokyo Disney as well as a run through the city to Tokyo Dome City and Asakusa Hanayashiki. How are the Tokyo theme parks keeping up? Is Fantasy Springs worthy of the praise? Is Tokyo Disneyland still one of their favorites? This episode includes all of this and more.

Sean and Alex take us to Ocean Park Hong Kong and Thorpe Park, where we experience tropical heat in the Hong Kong highlands and chilly rainy weather in the United Kingdom. During recent work trips to the regions, Sean received his Hair Raiser credit, and Alex rode Hyperia. How are Ocean Park and Thorpe Park holding up?