My "Calling"

I had a "calling" this week..... and it has led me back on the air.

Actually, the "calling" came from Clint Novak, Will Holder and Pat McCabe from In The Loop. They called me on Monday and asked me to fill in on their podcast for a few weeks while one of their co-hosts takes an extended break.

It was kind of funny that they called when they did, because I have really been missing podcasting lately.

Over the past few weeks, I have been listening to some of my favorite old episodes of CoasterRadio.com and wondering if it's time to start up something new.... or resurrect something old.

For now, helping out on the new live version of "In The Loop" is a good way to get back into the swing of things.

For those of you who don't know, Clint and the gang have taken their long-running podcast and turned it into a live show. It airs every Monday night at 8:00 PM Eastern time. (You can link to the live show at coastercrew.com.

The amazing thing about the show is that listeners can call in and take part in the show live! Listeners can also participate in a live chat room that is active while the show is taking place.

Back when we did CoasterRadio.com, the technology was not advanced enough to handle live broadcasts. But now, In The Loop has taken the whole podcasting genre to a new level of interactivity.

Hopefully some of you guys from this site will take a listen and perhaps even call in! I'd love to hear from some of the old CR.com fans!

Talk about this in the CoasterRadio.com Forums

It's Easy Being Green

Kermit the Frog once sang that it's not easy "Being Green".

But it looks like theme parks are getting into the "green" spirit by taking on eco-friendly opportunities.

Six Flags Great Adventure recently announced that their 15-story park icon - The Big Wheel, is being completely refurbished for the 2009 season with 7, 824 new energy saving LED bulbs.

After these bulbs are installed, it will reduce approximately 8.5 million pounds of carbon emissions from the atmosphere.

It's amazing when you realize that this is equivalent to removing 72 cars from the road or planting more than 2,850 trees!

The new LED lights will also be part of an animated lighting display which includes chasing rim lights and the blooming of the ferris wheel's iconic flower petals.

Should be a sight to see! Kermit would be proud.

Obama Oath of Office from the National Mall

I know this has NOTHING to do with theme parks... but I was there and thought it would be nice to share this video with you/ ENJOY!

Live from the National Mall

Live from the National Mall
Originally uploaded by mike_collins

Greetings from the Inauguration of President Obama!

The American Idol Concept Might Be Winning Me Over

When Walt Disney World first announced "The American Idol Experience" last year, I wasn't entirely sold on the concept.

The idea sounded like a "Karaoke Bar on Steroids" and a place where teenage guests could gather to scream.

But this week, the people over at MouseSteps posted pictures and details about the new attraction while it is in soft-opening.

Admittedly, I haven't seen the attraction with my own eyes. But the pictures make it look like it's the same type of fun as in the old "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire - PLAY IT!" attraction.

To me, the whole fun of Millionaire was that you were actually experiencing what it would be like to go to New York and attend a taping of the mega-popular show. It was really getting back to what the whole purpose of the Disney-MGM studios was all about in the first place.... to let people experience the magic of television and movie production.

Since most of us will never be in the audience for one of the American Idol live broadcasts (thankfully), this attraction gives us the chance to see what it would be like. We get to experience the drama of the competition while watching the interesting nature of the television production process.

The early reviews seem to all agree that the attraction needs a little tweaking. Supposedly there are a lot of video segments to watch during the actual show and not enough emphasis on the live performances. But I'm sure it's getting worked out during the soft-open process.

If any of you guys out there have a chance to see the show either during the soft-open or after the grand opening, let us know what you think in the CoasterRadio.com forums.

Free Beer Is a Thing of the Past

One of the most fun (albeit obscure) things you could do at the Anheuser-Busch theme parks was to take part in their free "Beer School".

In most cases, you'd get together in a bar-inspired classroom and learn about the beer making process while sampling some of Busch's finest brews.

It was actually an interesting experience and provided a nice break from the theme park day.

Today the brewer announced that they will stop giving free samples at the SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego and its Busch Gardens parks in Tampa and Williamsburg, Va.

An Anheuser-Busch Parks spokesman says that the free samples had a "narrow appeal among park customers."

Bummer, man. But at least it gives me an opportunity to post that fun Octoberfest picture.

Talk about this in the CoasterRadio.com forums.

What will be the story in 2009?

Happy New Year to everyone!

I hope you guys had a great holiday season and a very successful 2008.

When a new year begins, it's always interesting to look ahead and try to figure out what the next 365 days will be like. For our purposes here, let's focus on the theme park biz.

Just as it was in 2008, the biggest story in 2009 is going to be the economy. Sure, gas prices have dropped, but in this unstable time, will people still want to travel to theme parks?

We have a bunch of new rides and attractions premiering this year. Kings Island's Diamondback (pictured) looks like it will be a winner. Manta at Sea World Florida seems to be getting a lot of attention and rightly so.... the theming and layout looks very interesting.

Speaking of theming, we'll find out whether a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain can be successfully themed to The Terminator series. We'll also see if the Saw movies will make a good theme for a roller coaster at Thorpe Park in England.

I also wonder if 2009 will be a good year for "coaster enthusiasm" in general. One thing that I've noticed over the past several years is that interest in roller coasters and theme parks seems to be waning. Back in the late 90's (during the "coaster boom") the community was engaged, excited and growing. These days, it seems like there isn't the same level of enthusiasm as there was back then. I could be wrong, but I'm curious to hear what you think.

So what does 2009 have in store? What will be the big story in 2009?

Let's talk about it in the CoasterRadio.com forums.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from everyone here at CoasterRadio.com!

Sun 7 News

Of course, you can have a video like this for yourself too!

Holiday Gift Guide - Creating Magic

I had the opportunity to interview a lot of great people through the CoasterRadio.com podcast.

One of my favorites was Lee Cockerell, who just retired as Executive Vice President of Operations at Walt Disney World Resort.

I got to interview Lee during the Grand Opening of Expedition Everest at Disney's Animal Kingdom and was totally impressed by his candor, knowledge and passion for the resort.

Lee has written a book called Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney.

The book focuses on the magic ingredients that Disney uses to provide great customer service. Even if we don't work at a theme park, we can apply the same methods to whatever line of work we are in.

The best parts of this book, and the reason I think you'd like it, are the many behind the scenes stories from the Walt Disney World Resort.

So if you're looking for a good Disney World read that just might teach you something too, check out this book!

A "Monster" Deal!

One of the coolest rides around is "Monster Plantation" at Six Flags Over Georgia. When, EB visited the park in 2006, he said it was his favorite ride in the whole park.

The ride is currently being renovated and some of the old monsters are "moving out" to make room for new tennants.

Six Flags Over Georgia has come up with a great idea to raise money for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. They are auctioning off one of the monsters to the highest bidder! That means YOU can own one of these classic creations!

The monster's name is "Scout," and he is one of the members of the "Little Monster Club." He was designed and created by Gary Goddard Productions for the ride opening in 1981. Scout is approximately 42" tall, 33" wide and 35" in depth. The animatronic figure used air compression for movement, and Scout comes with the air valves still in tact inside of him.

All proceeds from the sale of Scout will go towards Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. An adoption certificate will accompany Scout.

Weekend Theater - Mario Takes On Drop Zone

An Oldie, But Goodie!

Give it up for Screamscape

There are literally hundreds of websites devoted to theme parks and roller coasters. Because any "geek with a computer" (including this geek) can start a website, the quality between the sites varies greatly.

Since I've been a theme park enthusiast, I've probably visited most of the major theme park sites at least once. But it takes a special site to make me come back again and again.

I can say honestly, that the only site I have continued to visit repeatedly year after year is Screamscape. In fact, I probably visit the site once a day.

I've never met Lance Hart, the man behind the site, but he strikes me as a guy who loves visiting the parks and most importantly as a man with connections.

The amount of news and rumors that Lance obtains each week amazes me. The lame-ass CoasterBoys out there love to harp on how some of those rumors turn out to be false. But throughout my years of reading ScreamScape, I've noticed how Lance's rumors turn out to be true most of the time.

The best thing about ScreamScape, and the one thing the CoasterBoys fail to understand, is that it's supposed to be fun to read. Who cares if some of the rumors are far-fetched? Isn't it more fun to read something crazy and wonder if it could be true? Plus, there's no better place to go for amusement industry news. Screamscape is updated often, sometimes multiple times in the same day.

And from what I've seen and heard, Lance is a really nice guy...which I've found is somewhat of a rarity amongst theme park webmasters. He is always quick to give shout-outs and promotion to others in our enthusiast community.

So please raise a glass to Lance Hart and ScreamScape....and visit his site often.

Talk about this in the CoasterRadio.com Forums