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The Analytics of Thrills

by Kira Yamashita

Calling all roller coaster enthusiasts and theme-park goers alike! The Analytics of Thrills dives into the data behind your favorite rides and parks, revealing how the numbers power all the twists, turns, and endless fun!

From the show's RSS feed, refreshed Oct 26, 2026. Source feed.

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Episodes

  1. Quality Vs Quantity

    In this episode, Kira discusses about whether or not having more roller coasters make a park better, and the importance of the ranking of the roller coasters in each park. https://rcdb.com/...

  2. Does Bigger = Better?

    Kira talks about whether or not a traditionally large coaster makes it better. We run regressions to find the correlations between a coaster’s top stats and its rank. We’ll then discuss the r^2 values and what they tell us. https://captaincoaster.com/en/ranking/?page=1 https://rcdb.com/

  3. Is the most statistically average coaster an average ride?

    In this episode, Kira contrasts the most statistically average coasters in each theme park with the qualitatively most average coasters in each theme park. Kira talks about the both overlap and lack of overlap between these two different averages, and why that might be so. Sources:...

  4. Do inversions make a ride better or worse?

    Kira discusses whether or not inversions make a coaster better or worse. Kira compares the median amount of inversions per coaster at a few different theme parks, and then compare sthe general ranking of those theme parks to see if more inversions generally correlates with a higher park ranking....

  5. What if every park had to remove half of its coasters?

    In this episode, Kira discusses the fun "what if" scenario of getting rid of half of the coasters in a couple of theme parks. She compares and contrasts which coasters she personally would get rid of with the coasters that would lose in each stat category, for example the shortest coasters....

  6. Hershey Park Deep Dive

    In this episode, Kira presents a brief history of Hersheypark and then compares the coasters of Hersheypark and Hersheypark as a whole using data. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hersheypark https://rcdb.com/ https://www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-ThingsToDo-cAmusementWaterParks-g191

  7. Deep Dive into Six Flags

    Kira discusses the history of the Six Flags chain pre-merge (2024,) and highlights the differences between the statistically 'best' coasters/parks and those which are actually regarded as the best. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Flags https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_One_(roller_coaster)...

  8. Safety by the Numbers

    Kira discusses the safety features of roller coasters, and how roller coaster safety has evolved over time. Kira also compares data regarding roller coaster accidents to those of everyday activities to show the chances of injury....

  9. B&M vs. Intamin

    Kira gives a brief overview of the manufacturers B&M and Intamin and uses data to compare them. https://www.intamin.com/company/about-us/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolliger_%26_Mabillard#Notable_roller_coasters https://grokipedia.com/page/Bolliger_%26_Mabillard#roller-coaster-types...

  10. Wood vs. Steel

    Kira compares wooden and steel roller coasters, discusses the struggle of the lack of data on roller coaster costs, and examines the varying intensities of wooden and steel coasters. https://rcdb.com/ https://grokipedia.com/page/Shivering_Timbers#history...

  11. What makes a "good" roller coaster?

    Kira discusses the different ride elements, both quantitative and qualitative, that have placed some roller coasters in highly ranked spots! https://rcdb.com/ https://coasterbot.com/votecoasters-fullresults2024 https://captaincoaster.com/en/ranking/?page=1

  12. Wait Times

    Kira discusses the concept of unoccupied versus occupied waiting, looks at what the data says about how effective occupied waiting is, and suggests ways to make wait times feel shorter using occupied waiting. In addition, she talks about causes of and solutions to long ride queues. Link to study...

About this show

Calling all roller coaster enthusiasts and theme-park goers alike! The Analytics of Thrills dives into the data behind your favorite rides and parks, revealing how the numbers power all the twists, turns, and endless fun!

Hosted by

Kira Yamashita

Categories

Frequently asked questions

How many episodes does The Analytics of Thrills have?

The Analytics of Thrills has 12 episodes on PodParley. The most recent episode was published on October 25, 2026.

What is The Analytics of Thrills about?

Calling all roller coaster enthusiasts and theme-park goers alike! The Analytics of Thrills dives into the data behind your favorite rides and parks, revealing how the numbers power all the twists, turns, and endless fun!

How often does The Analytics of Thrills release new episodes?

The Analytics of Thrills publishes monthly, based on its 12 episodes since December 2025.

Who hosts The Analytics of Thrills?

The Analytics of Thrills is created and hosted by Kira Yamashita.
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