Something Big Is Coming to Epic Universe's Portals — We Just Don't Know What
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
Release Date: 04/17/2026
We Did the Math on Cedar Point's Priciest Fast Lane Yet
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
Six Flags Great America is getting a brand-new family area called Camp Timber Trail, anchored by a Vekoma family suspended coaster that's essentially a clone of Phoenix at Deno's Wonderwheel Park. The area has nine attractions total, mixing new builds with clever re-themes of park classics. Mike and EB break down why these smaller, heavily-themed family coasters might matter more for a park's long-term health than another record-breaking mega-coaster. Then it's time for Quick Hits: Cedar Point's season-long Fast Lane add-on is going for a jaw-dropping $1,999 after the park closed last year's...
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ArieForce One Is Gone: "Save This Ride"
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
Closing weekend arrived for two very different roller coasters: ArieForce One at Fun Spot Atlanta and Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa both took their final riders this past weekend, and Mike and EB dig into the real math behind why an $18 million RMC almost never survives in a family entertainment center, no matter how loudly the enthusiast line chants "save this ride." Listener trip reports roll in live from the queue. From there, the news comes in hot: Knott's Berry Farm's long-delayed MonteZOOMa: The Forbidden Fortress reportedly cost Six Flags a stunning $20 million for what's ultimately a...
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Six Flags Just Revealed the Weirdest Roller Coaster We've Ever Seen
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
A shorter episode this week, and a special one: Project Purple at Six Flags Great Adventure finally has a name and a POV video, and it might be the strangest thing we have ever seen a roller coaster do. Bakunawa — named for the moon-eating sea serpent of Filipino mythology — launches riders 60 mph out of the station, sends them upside down into a vertical stall while launching them a second time, then blasts them up a 382-ft tower at 100mph with zero floor beneath the seats before doing the entire thing again backwards. Mike and EB break down the three separate launches, debate whether...
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Silver Dollar City Teases Its Biggest Secret Yet
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
This week opens on sad news: Dick Knoebel, the iconic owner of Knoebels's Amusement Resort, has passed away. He was one of the true greats of the family-owned park world. Mike and EB share a piece of an interview they did with him back in 2006, on the midway in front of the Phoenix, and talk about why Knoebels still feels different from every other park in the country — and why that's exactly what he wanted. From there, the news picks up: Fury 325 at Carowinds is back up and running after the park caught a foundation issue on one of its support columns during a routine inspection. Holiday...
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One of the Best B&M Coasters Ever Built Is About to Disappear
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
Busch Gardens Tampa is closing Kumba, one of the most beloved B&M sit-down coasters ever built and the fourth-oldest operating B&M in the world, on August 2nd. Mike and EB spend the first drop giving a 33-year-old classic its proper send-off — the terrain-hugging layout, the iconic photo op under the corkscrew, the fact that it opened the same year Mike graduated high school — before digging into what "Kumba's Revenge" and a $100 million investment might mean for the space it leaves behind. From there, the news gets genuinely interesting: a strong rumor that Disney World's Space...
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The Theme Park That Changed So Much It's Basically Unrecognizable
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
Six Flags Over Texas finally "drops the gate" on Tormenta: Rampaging Run, the massive new B&M dive coaster, and the early word is exactly what you'd hope: no rattle, great reviews. Mike and EB break down what a park gets right when a new ride opens with an entire refurbished plaza around it, and whether "biggest dive coaster yet" actually means anything anymore to hardcore enthusiasts who've done this exact ride four times already. Then it's a packed news round covering a genuinely incredible Universal exhibition at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia (with a Star Wars follow-up already...
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Is A Top-Five Roller Coaster Getting Bulldozed?
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
Sometimes the roller coaster world hands you a story so absurd you don't even need a punchline — you just need to read the facts out loud. This week on Coaster Radio, the original theme park podcast, Mike and EB dig into the sudden, bulldozer-bound death of one of the best roller coasters in America: Fun Spot Atlanta is closing on August 2nd, taking Arie Force One — an RMC hybrid barely four years old that regularly cracks top-five lists nationwide — down with it. No, it's not relocating. No, someone can't just "cut out the footprint" and paste it into their backyard. This thing is...
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Should Disney Just Tear Down the Matterhorn?
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
The guys are on vacation, but the show must go on! We recorded this listener question episode just before heading out, covering everything from the best back-to-back coaster combinations to which IP should come to the parks next, whether Disney would ever tear down the Matterhorn, and which rides sound way better than they actually are. Plus, EB shares two fun stories from a recent Kentucky Kingdom visit — including a station crew member who had absolutely had enough, and a Flying Fox scavenger hunt with a surprisingly solid prize. 🎢 IN THIS EPISODE: Kentucky Kingdom update: Lightning...
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Boardwalks, Boat Rides, and a Tornado That Almost Ended the Podcast
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
What's better than a theme park podcast? A theme park podcast recorded while a tornado is actively threatening to rearrange EB's house. Welcome to another completely unhinged episode of Coaster Radio, where we somehow manage to discuss the future of Disney Imagineering, a legendary wooden coaster's potential comeback, and the glorious grit of America's boardwalk parks while EB monitors live storm tracking from his studio. We kick things off with some big news: Adobe has announced a collaboration with Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development to bring AI-powered pre-visualization...
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Flying Fox Was Closed (Obviously)
Coaster Radio: The Original Theme Park Podcast
It's a trip to Kentucky Kingdom — and the Curse of Coaster Radio strikes again. EB heads to Louisville with daughter Madeline, son Dean, and friends, only to find that Flying Fox, the brand-new family inverted coaster they were most excited to ride, is still under construction. No matter: Kentucky Kingdom's gorgeous new Discovery Meadow area more than makes up for it, and EB files a full walking tour from the carousel to Wind Chaser (née Storm Chaser) to Woodland Run and Lightning Run. Plus: Mike shares POV video breakdowns of two exciting new additions coming to Waldameer and Carowinds,...
info_outlineSomething strange is happening at the portals of Epic Universe — and Mike and EB saw it coming.
Weeks ago, walking out of Isle of Berk, Tom from Louisville spotted three capped utility holes flush in the concrete right at the portal entrance. Nobody knew what they were. This week, Universal installed facial recognition turnstiles in those exact spots. And Universal has said absolutely nothing about why.
Mike and EB break down every theory — per-portal tickets, open Celestial Park access like a City Walk, corporate buyouts locking guests out of entire lands for the night, after-hours experiences, and the unexplained pockets of empty retail space in Celestial Park that have never made sense for a fully ticketed theme park. Nobody has the answer yet. But this is the most interesting story in theme parks right now.
Also this week — Universal Orlando launches Express Now, an app-based Lightning Lane-style line skip at $25 per ride. Yes, including Yoshi's Adventure.
There are layoffs happening across Disney and Six Flags that aren't being reported widely but are affecting people the show knows personally. Six Flags reinstates park presidents at 10 parks — and the list of who made the cut says everything about which parks matter to the new company.
The Stolen Kingdom documentary from the makers of Closed for Storm is coming — including the Buzzy animatronic mystery, the most unresolved crime in theme park history. And a new S&S tower ride is going up at Area 15 in Las Vegas.
Then in the second half — Mike is 48 hours from boarding a plane to Las Vegas, and he's got a very specific list of things to do at night. Universal Horror Unleashed gets the full breakdown — four haunted houses, small group dispatches for maximum scares, a $49 one-time ticket, and a $20 Fraidy Cat option if you just want the bars and atmosphere. Plus Odyssey Manor, the Golden Tiki, the shrunken head induction ceremony that COVID stole from everyone, and an AI-generated Coaster Radio tiki bar t-shirt from Matt the Archivist that Mike is genuinely considering wearing to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
]Tune in next week for the full trip report.