State of the Theme Park Podcast Industry

April 25th will mark the three year anniversary of CoasterRadio.com's first podcast. If all goes well, we'll mark the occasion by releasing a special new podcast to commemorate the event.

When we first started the show back in 2005, there was only one other internet-based show on the internet... In The Loop. There was always much debate as to who was first, but there's an easy answer. They were on the internet months ahead of us... but we were the first to produce our show as a "podcast".

Regardless, we were the first two theme park (non-Disney) podcasts on the internet.

By my count, there are now 17 different theme park related podcasts that aren't Disney specific. Some are created by the parks themselves, but most are produced by fans.

In The Loop Daily
ITL Presents the Coaster Crew's Guide to the Midway
The Season Pass Podcast
PointCast from Cedar Point
A Walk in the Park Podcast
The Kevin and Nate Show
Theme Park Thrill Radio
Six Flags Over Georgia Podcast
Six Flags Great America Podcast
Dottie's Dollywood Dish
CoasterCast
Coaster Velocity
North Ohio Parks Podcast
Coasterbuzz Podcast
CoasterRide (German)
Great America Experience Podcast
Rex and the Beast Podcast

I think it's pretty cool that so many new shows have come on-line. I also think it's great that each show is completely different. No matter what you're in to, you should be able to find a show that fits your tastes.

What do you think of the state of Theme Park podcasts? Talk about it in the CoasterRadio.com forums.

Cartoons That Should Be Theme Park Rides - The Jetsons

Over the years, theme park designers have come up with some great attractions based on our most beloved cartoons.

The Walt Disney Company, of course, has made a mint developing rides based upon their animated films.

But, we also have attractions based upon Scooby Doo, Shrek, and in a few months, The Simpsons.

We're starting a new series on the blog about Cartoons That Should Be Theme Park Rides.

First up, is the Hanna-Barbara classic - The Jetsons.

You could have a lot of fun with this attraction, especially if you based a dark ride upon the flying cars that we saw in the show's famous opening sequence.

An attraction like this would have a lot of opportunity for excellent special effects since the cartoon is set in the future. You could also come up an interesting storyline based upon the characters.

I guess the only problem is that anyone born after 1980 probably doesn't know this cartoon.  Most likely, a park would never green light an attraction that doesn't have a high Q-Rating.

We'll probably have to wait for some movie studio to make a "live action" version of  "The Jetsons" before an idea like this would even be considered.

But if any casting directors are reading this... my vote is for Scarlett Johanson to play Judy Jetson.

Talk about this in the CoasterRadio.com forums.