The Parkscope Podcast

Joe is traveling so it’s a quick episode to talk some brand new UOR rumors and lots of thanks.

Joe, Mike, Nick, and special guest Paulie join to discuss some HHN27 TM member impressions, the disgusting idea of a candy corn alcoholic drink, the Cleveland Indians, and Joe's car woes. Then the rest of the episode we deep dive into Paulie's trip to Orlando as he tackles Universal Orlando for the first time in 17 years, his daughter's first time to the Wizarding World, Toothsome, Volcano Bay (good and bad), and more! Then we close it out with his trip to Walt Disney World with his stay at the brand new Copper Creek, Pandora, BOATHOUSE, Trader Sam's, and adventures in car rental. HHN27 0:07:30 Paulie's UOR Part of the Trip! 0:13:30 Paulie's WDW Part of the Trip! 1:00:20

On this episode Joe, Lane, and Mike talk more Halloween Horror Nights 27 reactions, Dueling Dragons/Dragons Challenge closing, T2:3D October 8th closure announcement, T2:3D replacement ideas, Shrek 4D rumors, and lots and lots of James Bond talk.

We have a double header of a show for you this week! Joe and Nick are joined by distinguished blogger and podcaster Derek "They'll Always Be the San Diego Chargers To Me" Burgan. First up are the top six and bottom six rated attractions at Universal Orlando Resort as voted by the readers of TouringPlans.com and The Unofficial Guide. Afterwards they dive into the full Halloween Horror Nights 27 reveal. We cover the houses, scare zones, shows, and our thoughts on the farewell of Bill & Ted. The second half Joe is joined by three time in a row guest Andrew Hyde to discuss all the announcements from Cedar Fair on August 16th, 2017. Top Six Attractions at UOR (0:04:37) Bottom Six Attractions at UOR (0:24:44) HHN 27 News! (0:50:45) Throw it to Joe & Andrew for Cedar Fair talk (1:17:14)

Part 2 of our 2017 summer trip reports! Alan is joined by Andrew and Alex (lots of A's here) to talk over a dozen parks! Moose on the Loose! Time Stamps: Fantasy Island/Darien Lake (Andrew) 5:00 Marineland (Andrew/Alex) 20:00 Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Alex) 25:00 Oaks Park/Enchanted Forest (Alex) 38:00 Silverwood (Alex) 48:30 Wild Waves (Alex) 1:07:30 Sonoma TrainTown (Alex) 1:18:00 Coaster Credit Whorin’ in Fresno (Alex) 1:21:30 Gilroy Gardens (Alex) 1:23:30 Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (Alex) 1:28:00 California State Fair (Alex) 1:33:00 California’s Great America (Alex) 1:41:00 Michigan’s Adventure: (Alan) 1:57:00 Camden Park (Alan) 2:18:30 Dutch Wonderland (Alex) 2:37:30

Alan is joined by Andrew Hyde and Ryan to discuss a whole host of summer trip reports to parks! Perfect podcast to listen to on road trips, rain delays, audits, or running a marathon. Come for the reports stay for Cool n Fresh. Lagoon Amusement Park (Ryan) 0:50 Cedar Point (Alan and Andrew) 45:37 Kings Island (Alan and Andrew) 56:59 Clementon, Fun Plex, Six Flags Great Adventure (Andrew) 1:12:00 Jersey Shore Parks (Andrew) 1:17:00 Six Flags Great America, Santa’s Village, and Donley’s Wild West Town: 2:17:00

Join Joe and David Daut (Twitter) as they talk about their evolved views on studios parks, The Star Wars Hotel/Experience, role playing in parks, immersive theater experiences, and if/how theme parks should be archived once changed or removed. As discussed in the show: Sleep No More(wiki) Virtual Mr Toad Horizons: Resurrected

Joe and Lane talk about ALL THE HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS 27 NEWS. Or not really. Our bad. We talk about local parks additions with Cedar Fair, Six Flags Fiesta Texas' Wonder Woman Golden Lasso, and some Busch rumors. Then we talk about some Star Wars VR, more Harry Potter construction news, and then your questions! SWEEPSTAKES!

Joe, Mike, and Nick talk about National Rollercoaster Day announcements, recap D23 with some late news, talk about Minnie Vans, beer 'n' pretzels at DHS, your questions, and the new Harry Potter coaster coming to IoA!

Jeff's been at a NASCAR race all night so hasn't followed the D23 news this past Saturday. So Joe, drunk from the normal show, joins Jeff late at night to go over all the news with our thoughts and opinions.

The core crew is back to cover the D23 Parks and Resorts 2017 panel. We're super drunk. Beware.

Joe, Sean, and Mike make small talk about changes coming to the auction scene at Pirates of the Caribbean, Siemens dropping sponsorship of Spaceship Earth and Illuminations, crazy Walt Disney World rumors, and cover all the speculation on D23 expo. It's a slapdash episode because... well we don't know what's going to happen! We'll also be doing a live podcast 6PM EST Saturday July 15th to cover the D23 Parks and Resorts panel!

Alan, Joe, Nick, and Sean team up for yet another road trip extravaganza. First we talk about Hurler 2.0, Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee, developments on the old Wet n Wild property, and dive into the Super Nintendo World leaks and plans. Next up Nick talks about his first trip to Walt Disney World with his child and a review of Pandora: World of Avatar. Then we close up the show with Alan discussing his whirlwind European trip to Port Adventura, Ferrari Land, Tipidabo, Conny-land (with Mammut Tree and Dino Attack), Legoland Deutschland, and Tripsdrill (with the nuts bathtub flume ride).

Alan is joined by Jerry Brick, General Manager of Lake Compounce to talk the history of the park, Wildcat's 90th anniversary and refurbishment, Boulderdash, historical rides, their partnership with the Haunted Graveyard haunt event, their newest coaster Phobia, Milli Vanilli, and more!

Alan, Jeff, and Joe talk about the mess of an opening of Volcano Bay, the inevitability of Pandora doing "well", Flight of Passage ride system issues, Nintendo announcements (no, not the leaked plans), Mean Streak 2.0 teaser, and Kennywood's 2018 plans. Finally they all talk about their trips over the past month to Cedar Point, Lake Compounce, Hersheypark, Holiday World, Kennywood, Carrowinds, and more!

It's a family affair this week as Alan is joined by his cousin Tom Dion to talk about UFC vs boxing, gambling advice, and Tom's years as GM and auditor of various water parks around the country. They talk about how Tom got into the industry, riding slides as "testing", awkwardly auditing water parks for safety, applying for jobs in Tanzania, how a park handles a catastrophic event, and life advice for anyone looking to get into the industry.

This episode Lane briefly joins us from the SunTrust Park to lay out his plan to fix all of WDW for less money than it took to build Pandora, Joe talks about his Cedar Point trip, Sean talks about visiting the Harry Potter Studio Tour in England, and Nick cuts in and out of connectivity. We also discuss Pandora previews, Volcano Bay media day, locals overhyping projects, The Shining and Conjuring at HHN, new hotels, Sesame Street, and then answer your non-theme park questions!

Alan is joined by Tom Mehrmann, owner and founder of Themed Advisers Ltd. They discuss Tom's past as VP of Operations and Entertainment at Knotts Berry Farm, VP and GM of several Six Flags parks around the world, his twelve years as CEO of Ocean Park in Hong Kong, Tom's philosophy on running amusement parks, the future of the Asian amusement park industry, and more!

Joe, Nick, and Lane are joined by Banks Lee of Attractions Magazine the Show to do a quick news run down before discussing Bank's visit to Pandora - The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Yes there are two Price is Right jokes in the episode.

In this episode Alan is joined by Sean Flaharty who currently works on the touring The Eyes of Freedom touring memorial. They talk about their coaster club origins, Sean's stint as ACE PR manager, Mystic Timbers, California trips, Space World, geocaching, paying to go into Legoland for 45 minutes, taping ones life since pre-teen years, VHS video recorders, and more crazy stories.

We're back baby! Joe's drinking, Sean's talking MST3K, Nick is killing palmetto bugs, and Lane is interrupting. We talk about SeaWorld's investments, Infinity Falls (infinity = 40 ft.), Pandora photos, Star Wars land news, Club 33 at WDW, A Very Merry Potter Christmas, #HHN27, Volcano Bay cabanas, and all the delicious food. At the end Nick gives his impressions of this year's Grad Bash (and Fallon) then Joe talks about his First Rider Event for Mystic Timbers!

Alan is joined by Andrew Hyde, Jon Hymes, and Super Weenie Hut Jr to talk about all the new rides coming to local amusement parks.

Alan is joined by Victoria Wolcott, Chair and Professor of History at University at Buffalo, SUNY to discuss the history of race relations in amusement parks, pools, and other areas of recreation in the United States. Check out her book 'Race, Riots, and Rollercoasters' available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle.

In a world where all news is breaking, none of it is. Our resident existentialists Joe and Sean are joined by Nick to discuss all the rumors from Universal and Disney that broke this past week. We cover patents, Dry 'n Tame, Dragons Challenge replacements, WDW resorts hiking prices and planning to sell out, VR Sugar Rush, Tron coasters, World Showcase pavilions and rides, Cars in Test Track, The Great Mickey Ride, Rivers of Light 2.0, Pandora Annual Passholder previews, catches breath, and much much more.

Amelia joins us for her first podcast with Nick, Joe, Sean, and Lane! We all talk about Miss Adventure Falls, Geyser Point, Pandora, Volcano Bay, and then close out with Sean's trip to the Jurassic World the Exhibition at the Franklyn Institute.

Joe had a rough, long day so he had a few fog cutters and sat down with Brian from Orlando United/Inside Universal to talk about HHN dates for a hot second, the merger of OU and IU, and we discuss the first day of soft openings for Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon.

This week's episode Joe is joined by Dani from Touring Plans and Ben from Disney Photography Blog! We open the show with discussions on Universal's new advertising push on TV and their twitter account and news of Fallon TM previews. Then we dive into the meat of the episode and discuss expansions at Caribbean Beach Resort and Coronado Resort, the death of the tiered resort structure, the much rumored WDW gondola transportation system, and close out with a big review of Rivers of Light.

This week Alan is joined by Mark Rosenzweig of Ride Entertainment. Ride Entertainment is a world leader in providing attractions, installations, park development services, and park operations along with the OEM of the SkyCoaster. Alan and Mark talk park operations, their philosophy and methods for selling rides, CRAZY STAN CHECKETTS STORIES like the S&S Sonic Boom, and more. Make sure to follow Ride Entertainment and Alan on Twitter.

Joe, Lane, and Sean return and are joined by our guest Felipe! This week's show covers Volcano Bay, Jimmy Fallon testing, a review of the Celebration of Harry Potter, the Forbidden Forrest rumors, Star Wars and Avatar land opening dates (or years), Rivers of Light, and a quick Marathon Weekends review from Lane.

Our new podcast series hosted by Alan searches his rolodex for friends and industry insiders to talk about the amusement industry. This week's podcast he's joined by Michael, @SuperWeenieHtJr, to discuss Las Vegas, bad coaster designs, the weirdness of Hersheypark, and to eulogize Epcot.

Joe is joined by Alan to talk about amusement parks, roller coasters around the world, The European Coaster Club, beers, and other random discussions on the meaning of life.

Joe and Nick stretch one out in the new year and talk Avatar, Star Wars Galactic Nights, booze, Potter nighttime show rumors, Volcano Bay updates, and then close it out with Lane calling in to talk about his recent trip for the WDW Marathon.

Parkscope gathers around the fire to drink Christmas beers and talk theme parks. Sean talks about Grinchmas, Lane talks about his trips to Universal Studios Singapore and Disneyland, we discuss a seven hour Star Wars guided tour at Hollywood Studios, SeaWorld's slow decline, and then answer your questions! Happy holidays everyone and make sure to decorate that aluminum pole!

Joe, Sean, and Nick talk topical, HHN26! Then we cover monorail restaurant crawls, food and wine, trains outside Joe's window, Rivers of Light, Fantastic Beasts (we found them), Joe screwing up his mic input settings, and then some Nintendo news and speculation! Note my use of the oxford comma.

Joe is joined by Brian from Orlando United to talk about a little Universal news then A WHOLE LOTTA DISNEY NEWS. We cover Avatar news, Rivers of Light, Epcot Festival of Arts, refreshing Epcot rumors, Magic Kingdom cabanas, Shanghai's opening a Toy Story Playland, and Hong Kong Disneyland is building a new castle and new attractions.

Lane had a calzone and Joe groans about the Indians choking. We cover new info on the Jimmy Fallon attraction at USF, Volcano Bay news drops 10am on 11/3, new UOR resort busses and transportation info, Artegon is up for sale and to whom, Lane reviews his upcoming Disneyland trip, and then Joe closes it out with his impression on Hulk and Reign of Kong.

Lane hosts as Joe, Mike, and Nick talk about their trip to Orlando and Horror Nights. We talk about our night at Hoop, Trader Sam's shenanigans, off site hotels, coverall all the HHN houses, walk through the scare zones, review the Academy of Villains and Bill and Ted, and finally close with our thoughts on The Repository uncharge experience.

We're tired and exhausted as we finally delay our Orlando trip Wednesday in the prelude to Hurricane Matthew. Then we talk about Muppets in Liberty Square, Shanghai Disneyland not meeting attendance (and maybe financial?) expectations, new Star Wars land rumors, and more.

Joe, Lane, Mike, and Nick are here to defeat pollution and also talk about SeaWorld 2017 plans, The Repository, Mardis Gras, and a huge trip report from Lane's massive three week European trip.

Joe is joined by Kenny from In the Loop and we go off the rails for the first 10 minutes talking about beer and baseball stadiums. Sorry. Then we jump into Mean Streak, Food & Wine, Tower of Terror at DCA, seasonal Stitch, Toothsome, Halloween Horror Nights, and your questions!

Joe, Lane, and Nick talk about Six Flag's batch of announcements, Universal Orlando annual pass price increases, how Volcano Bay could fit into the new pricing structure, and Halloween Horror Nights. It's a quick one folks!

This episode is rated PG-13. It's time for an intervention and talk Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Joe and Mike are joined by Cameron, who've seen Part One of the play in London to walk through the book. After a bourbon and a beer we dive into discussing the plot, how scenes were replicated on stage, talk fan theories, and all unanimously agree Scorpius Malfoy is amazing.

Joe and Lane watch the Falcons vs the Browns and instantly date the show. They talk about the additions to the Cedar Fair parks, Blaze Pizza, the shocker, Disney theme park and resort security changes, American Horror Story, Toothsome, and answer your questions.

Joe, Lane, Mike, and Nick are here to talk THEME PARKS. THEME. PARKS. Want some Kings Island? BAM. We got it. Jungle Jims? BOOM. There we go. Hey want some Dollywood? BLAM! Then we throw some frooted Halloween Horror Nights, Jungle Books, Guardians, Imagineering, and brotherly love.

Joe, Ann, Mike, Nick, and Sean talk about their last trip to Orlando. They discuss Soarin' Around the World, Frozen, Kong, and more!

Joe and Guillaume from Le Parcorama talk VR coasters, Europe parks, and Guillaume gives his review of Shanghai Disneyland. Make sure to follow Guillaume at on twitter and on his blog!

Joe, Nick, and Benjamin Lancaster from The Further Adventures of Walt's Frozen Head all download Pokemon GO and pick which hats and backpacks to wear. After a little Nintendo and Halloween 2 talk we dive into the story behind, filming, and post production of The Further Adventures of Walt's Frozen Head. Go follow on Twitter and back them on Kickstarter!

Joe, Lane, Nick, and Mike are joined by Banks Lee of Attractions the Show to talk about Volcano Bay, a new Universal Orlando hotel, Chance takes over Halloween Horror Nights, Guardians of the (annoyed grunt) Galaxy, and then Banks gives us the skinny on the new attractions in central Florida this summer!

Thoughts with and for Orlando.

Joe, Nick, and Sean talk Shanghai Roaring Rapids, Disney Springs, new Disneyland hotel, Skull Island TM previews, #DareToChance, and we close out with Sean and Nick's trip reports!