Coastin' the Country

The highly anticipated new roller coaster Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind officially opens at Walt Disney World's Epcot. Marcus Leshock was there to ride it on media day and gives his full review. We also talked with Disney Imagineer Liz Diaz about how the ride works and what the design process was like. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After a 91 year wait, Mickey Mouse finally has his own ride at Walt Disney World. Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway has opened in the former location of the Great Movie Ride at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios. We talked with one of the people who rode it on media day, Alan Dalinka of MousePlanet.com. What is the ride like? Is it a worthy replacement to GMR? What kind of changes could be coming to the Disney Parks with the new leadership change? And how is coronavirus impacting Disney Parks?

Marcus Leshock talks with Cedar Point's Tony Clark about everything the amusement park is doing for their 150th season in 2020 - and we look ahead to what could be coming in 2021. We also talk about the latest news in the amusement park industry.

Marcus recaps his trip to the American Coaster Enthusiasts No Coaster Con and talks with Six Flags Great America after their presentation there. They give us an update on the construction of their new water coaster Tsunami Surge. We also break down the latest news in the theme park world, including Super Nintendo World coming to Universal Orlando, and the latest rumors about the big 2021 attraction coming to Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Marcus takes his first trip to Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World for the opening of the new attraction, Rise of the Resistance. We spent a few days exploring all Galaxy's Edge has to offer and rundown the things you must do and how to get the best possible experience when visiting!

Marcus talks with Tim Baldwin of Amusement Today about his experience riding the new Axis roller coaster prototype from S&S. The ride takes passengers along a track and has them flipping 360° horizontally. Tim talks about what it was like to ride it, what it's like to visit a manufacturer like S&S and when he thinks we might see it in an actual theme park.

We talk to Don Helbig of Kings Island in Mason, Ohio about their newly announced GIGA COASTER - ORION! Don answers all of Marcus's questions about the backstory of the ride, how it was created, how the construction process should play out and everything else Kings Island.

We talk to Silver Dollar City President and General Manager Brad Thomas about Mystic River Falls, their new raft ride featuring an 80-foot tower lift and a 45-foot final drop - the largest in the Western Hemisphere. We talked about the history of Silver Dollar City, the significance of the real Mystic River in the Marvel Cave, and just how this ride and new $30 million Rivertown section fit into the rest of the park.

We head to the Raging Waves water park in Yorkville, Illinois to get a behind the scenes look at how wave pools work. The new launch roller coaster Maxx Force opens at Six Flags Great America and Marcus describes what his first ride was like. And we talk about that disturbing video featuring a fight at Disneyland.

Marcus visits the longest suspension bridge in North America, the Skybridge at Skylift Park in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. A chair lift system takes guests up to the top of the Smoky Mountains and now you can walk across a suspension bridge 140 feet in the air, with glass panels in the center than let you look straight down. We talked with them about why the created the attraction and we give you some tips if you plan to visit.

We break down the first FULL CIRCUIT TEST for Maxx Force at Six Flags Great America. Just a day after we saw the train slowly leave the station, crews have launched Maxx Force all the way through. Will it get faster as it runs? We discusss. And we take a look at all of the glowing reaction coming out of the opening of the Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure roller coaster at Universal Orlando.

We check out the construction site for the new launch roller coaster Maxx Force at Six Flags Great America and sit in the new coaster trains! We also spoke to park president Hank Salemi about when they hope to open the ride, when testing might begin and more.

This week, Marcus runs down the latest news in the theme park world, including the plans for Kings Island's new giga coaster that ended up on the internet. Also, we look at Six Flags America's Firebird, which was once Iron Wolf at Six Flags Great America. We have a WGN News report from the day Iron Wolf opened!

We sit down with the one and only DOLLY PARTON to talk about the new Wildwood Grove expansion at Dollywood! Wildwood Grove is biggest expansion in the park's history - six acres and 11 new attractions. We talked with Dolly about why she got into the theme park business in the first place, how big of a role she has in the operations and planning of the park, if she still gets amazed when she sees new additions in person, and if she would take a ride on Lightning Rod with me!We also spoke with Dollywood Company President Craig Ross about how Wildwood Grove came together and where the park is headed in the future. And we caught up with Vice President of Public Relations Pete Owens who talked about possible new attractions the park might want to add in the future.

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio opens for the 2019 season! We talked with Director of Communications Tony Clark about their new Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island attraction, some of the new food additions for this season, and he gave us a nugget about what fans can expect for the big 150th anniversary season coming in 2020.

We head to Canada's Wonderland to ride the world's tallest, fastest and longest dive coaster YUKON STRIKER! We talked to the park's communication director about everything Canada's Wonderland has to offer. We also talk to some enthusiasts who were on the scene to ride the coaster before it opened to the public. And I break down my trip up there and some of the other things you can do - including what I thought of my first visit to nearby Niagara Falls. Listen and subscribe to the Coastin' The Country podcast today!

Marcus went to Star Wars Celebration in Chicago, the convention about EVERYTHING Star Wars, and checked out the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge at Disney Parks panel. The Disney imagineers who have been working on the new Star Wars land for years were on hand to discuss new details about what the new land will be like. Marcus shares some of the highlights from the event and breaks it all down - what will the attractions be like? Will your favorite Star Wars characters be involved? When is everything opening? We discuss it all and talk to fans about what they're looking forward to.

Welcome to the first episode of Coastin' The Country! Every week we will rundown the latest news in the theme park world, and do plenty of traveling along the way. We'll have trip reports from the biggest roller coasters opening and have expert tips for traveling with your family to amusement parks across the country. This week we welcome a special guest, the new Communications Manager at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL Caitlin Kepple. We talked about their new launch coaster Maxx Force and how construction was going, the new WiFi and mobile food ordering system they'll be implementing this year, and any changes planned for Magic Waters in Rockford. In other news - today we talk about the new Monster Jam Thunder Alley experience coming to Cedar Fair parks, Epcot has announced a final performance date for its IllumiNations show, and Universal Studios Hollywood is launching a ride based on the Secret Life of Pets movies.