Sep. 29 – The 2023 Southeast U.S. Tour is officially complete with today’s final chapter chronicling a brief visit to the Otherworld immersive art experience in Columbus, Ohio. If you haven’t heard of Otherworld, it’s essentially a Big Box Meow Wolf in more ways than one, and I mean it in a very complimentary way.
So, what’s next? This will be the last of the weekly updates for now. (Color me as surprised as anyone else that I was actually able to keep to the schedule all the way to the end of the series.) How long it will be until the next one, I can’t say either, as life plans continue to be in flux at the moment. There are a couple of ideas for what I’d like to cover next that you may see in the near (or distant) future:
- Reviews of Siren’s Curse and/or AlpenFury. I recently got to ride both of these rides and I’d love to offer more timely reviews of rides while they still have the new ride smell. But I only got to ride each twice, which makes me hesitant if I can offer a solid analysis based on the limited experience.
- Continue the 2023 storyline with the smaller trip I took later that same summer around the New York City area (excluding Manhattan). The big feature here would be hitting coaster #900 on the Coney Island Cyclone, my first new “Essential” coaster in over a decade.
- Go much, much farther back in time and finally share reviews of the 2019 trip throughout New England. Like the 2023 Southeast tour, I thought this was a very well-planned and paced excursion that thoroughly explored a corner of the country that I so far haven’t profiled. But even though none of the parks have changed that much in the time since, 2019 was still a long time ago…
- Stop procrastinating and finally make headway on the Big Project I’ve been meaning to do for years.
(Honestly, if and when the next update comes online, it will be some surprise none-of-the-above Option 5.)
Sep. 22 – The penultimate chapter of the 2023 Southeast Tour returns to an old favorite of mine, Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio. Last time I reviewed this park was in the early days of this website’s existence in 2009 when Diamondback was the big new thing. There are several even newer, bigger, and better things (not all the same) since then, so I figured it made sense to revisit the park, as well as include some updated thoughts on Diamondback and The Beast after all these years. There’s still one more brief chapter to conclude the series, so check back once more next Monday!
Sep. 15 – I like weird old parks. West Virginia has an unexpected gem in both those categories in Camden Park. This turn-of-the-century trolley park is literally built around an Indian burial mound, and has one of the best old school spook houses around. In addition to the rides, today’s update also includes some dispatches from along the country roads of West Virginia and southern Ohio as they get closer to taking me home.
Sep. 7 – Settle in. This review of Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a long one, covering two days at the park with some planned and unplanned detours, including way back into the past. This is the last major theme park covered in the 2023 Southeast Tour series, although there are still a couple more weeks to go featuring some smaller attractions and a return to a favorite. Check back next Monday for more!
Sep. 1 – The second Cedar Fair park and the second giga coaster in as many days. After last week’s Fury 325 hot take, how would the much more forceful Intimidator 305 fare? (Spoiler alert: check my Essentials page.) Aside from that, it’s fascinating to compare the similarities and differences between Kings Dominion and Kings Island, along with more musings on more RMCs, and wood refurbishments, and ambitious thematic cohesion at parks rarely associated with those words.
Aug. 25 – A bit of history about this website: in 2008 I wrote a set of reviews for the long-defunct CoasterSims.com about my visit to the short-lived Hard Rock Park that May. A year later, they formed the basis of my first-ever set of reviews when I created this website. On that same trip, I also made a stop at Carowinds. That park was also among the very first written posts I ever added here.
Now, more than sixteen years later, I’m back with a follow-up review, one of a very small handful of parks that I’ve ever revisited. Carowinds actually hadn’t changed very much in the intervening time, with a couple of big exceptions… one of them very, very big. Carowinds had what was easily my most anticipated roller coaster of the entire Southeast trip. But it was also the one that ended up most different from my expectations. Was that good or bad? Read on to find out…
Aug. 18 – Today’s update is more in the nature of a road report, starting in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, then making our way across the landscape of Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains, with a stop in Asheville, North Carolina near the end of the day. There are a few (mountain) coasters reviewed, but also a funky museum and mini-golf, and of course the time spent getting closer to nature (from off the highway). Keep checking back on Mondays, as the next three weeks will cover some of the larger theme parks and famed coasters in the region.
Aug. 11 – I know many enthusiasts, if asked, would cite Dollywood as their favorite theme park. I myself am slightly more partial to Silver Dollar City, but a park that is in the running for best in the country, yet has some challenges that need unpacking, but also has a handful of my favorite roller coasters in the world, is one of my favorite kind of parks to write about. I hope you enjoy reading it as well, maybe gain some new appreciation or perspective on this popular theme park, and as always check back next week for the next part of the series!
Aug. 4 – The next stop along the southeastern road trip is to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, home to a multitude of mountain coasters and countless other attractions. I’m sure I only scratched the surface, focusing on the most traditional theme park offerings along the tourist strip. This is only part one of what the region has to offer. Check back next week for the full Dollywood report, and the week after that for some more Gatlinburg attractions and the Great Smoky Mountains.
Jul. 28 – Traditional amusement parks are becoming fewer and further in between, and so it’s always a big deal when I can visit another for the first time. Lake Winnie is especially unique as one of the only traditional amusement parks left in the South. The park has its challenges, but also its gems, including the classic John Allen designed Cannon Ball coaster and the 1927 built Boat Chute. Also included in this review are a few sights around nearby Chattanooga.
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