Airtime Misfits Podcast

The recent announcement from Cedar Fair about the sale and the inevitable closing of California's Great America has the roller coaster community shook. It's always a bad day when an amusement park closes its doors. Especially to the locals who claim Great America as their home park. While this is terrible new for the coaster community as a whole, it's good news for the smaller, neglected parks in the Cedar Fair chain. These parks now eagerly await to learn which of CGA's hand-me-down attractions they will be gifted.

In this episode, we briefly discuss the history of Great America, Nick's experience visiting the park and our thoughts of why Cedar Fair decided to pull the plug. Most fun of all, we give our best guesses as to which parks will become the new owners of these hand-me-down roller coaster and thrill ride attractions.

In this episode we’re talking about one of the most infamous defunct coasters in the United States. Drachen Fire, formerly located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, VA. This Arrow Dynamics designed coaster made its debut in 1992 and only remained open until the middle of the 1998 season, when it was shut down for good. The coaster structure was SBNO for several years, leaving many enthusiasts hoping to have another chance to ride it. Ultimately, the coaster was removed from the park in 2002. The land that formerly occupied Drachen Fire is now rumored to be home to a brand new Giga Shuttle Coaster coming to Busch Gardens in the very near future affectionately named Drachen Spire by coaster enthusiasts.

Did you have the chance to ride Drachen Fire during its short life span before it was removed from the park? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!


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The Stand-Up roller coaster model made its debut in 1982 at Yomiuriland in Tokyo, Japan when stand-up style coaster trains were added to the existing Momonga Standing & Loop Coaster. The following year, this revolutionary model was introduced to the United States when stand-up trains were added to the existing Extremeroller roller coaster located at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, MO. In 1984, King Cobra, which became the first ground up designed standing coaster model (TOGO), made its debut at Kings Island in Mason, OH.

What initially seemed like a revolutionary and exhilarating new coaster riding experience, quickly proved to be a rather uncomfortable ride experience for guests. This was especially true for male coaster riders, who often complained of a painful ride experience due to the forces of the coaster pushing them downward onto the very uncomfortable bicycle style seat between their legs. Leading these riders to question whether or not they would ever be able to impregnate a woman after experiencing such trauma to the nether regions.

As years past and these coasters became less popular with park guests, B&M introduced a solution to bring new life to these dying coasters. The solution was to convert the coaster from a stand-up style coaster to a seated floorless coaster by swapping out the coaster trains. Next, add a fresh coat of paint, new theming and a new name. Voilà, your park has a "new" coaster at a relatively low cost. May not be a perfect solution but seems to have helped revive some of these forgotten about coasters and increased popularity among guests.

What are your thoughts of Stand-Up roller coasters? Let us know in the comment section!

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Hey guys! Happy New Year! Hope you had a great holiday season with your friends and family.

To get 2022 started off on the right foot we decided the first episode of the year can only be about one type of coaster model. The coaster model that happens to be every enthusiasts favorite. The one and only, Vekoma SLC (Suspended Looping Coaster). Typically a cloned model, you can find one of these beauties at many amusement parks across the country and globe. These coasters are not always known for giving a very smooth ride. The sometimes painful ride experience is typically due to an uncomfortable restraint system combined with the overall general roughness of the layout.

What are your thoughts about the Vekoma SLC?


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Hey, what's up guys! On this episode of the Airtime Misfits Podcast we're discussing Blue Streak at Conneaut Lake Park located in Conneaut Lake, PA. Blue Streak made it's debut all the back in 1938! It also happens to be designated as an ACE (American Coaster Enthusiasts) classic coaster landmark. Since opening in 1938, Blue Streak has had it's fair share of lengthy down time. At one point, Blue Streak sat dormant for three years, from 2007 to 2010. Blue Streak also did not operate for the entire 2021 season, and with the rumors of Conneaut Lake's closure, the future is not looking bright for this historic wooden coaster.

Will Blue Streak ever run again? Or have we seen the last of Blue Streak and Conneaut Lake Park? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

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On this episode of the Airtime Misfits Podcast we're continuing our "The Making of A Coaster Enthusiast" series. The purpose of these episodes are for you, our awesome listeners, to learn a little bit more about us and how we became coaster enthusiasts.

In our part two episode of "The Making Of A Coaster Enthusiast," we're putting the focus on Adam to learn where his love for coasters all started. Listen to find out what it was like for Adam visiting Cedar Point in the early 90's and how he was tricked into riding Mean Streak for the first time.

Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Airtime Misfits Podcast we're doing something a little different than our normal podcast format. Instead of discussing a defunct coaster or park, we thought it would be fun to share with you on how we became the coaster loving enthusiasts that we are today.

In this part one episode of "The Making Of A Coaster Enthusiast," we're putting the focus on Nick and his coaster enthusiasm roots. Listen to find where Nick's love for Mantis started and to hear his experiences of visiting Geauga Lake before it's closure.

Thanks for listening!

Hey guys! On this episode of the Airtime Misfits Podcast we're discussing Wicked Twister located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, OH. Wicked Twister has long been rumored to be on the chopping block. Cedar Point finally made the news official by announcing Wicked Twister would be removed from the park to make way for future park improvements. The coaster currently takes up a decent chunk of beautiful beach front real estate. This land, combined with the land formerly occupied by the Oceana Stadium, Cedar Point has quite a large area to work with for future rides and attractions. Will it be a new record breaking coaster? Maybe Cedar Point will finally build that boardwalk/pier enthusiasts have been dreaming about for years. Whatever the park decides to do, it will be exciting to see how this area of the park transforms.

Get your last rides in now for Wicked Twister. Final day to ride is September 6, 2021!

What are your thoughts about Wicked Twister being removed from the park? Will you miss it or are you more excited about the future potential for this area of the park? What would you like to see Cedar Point do with this beach front area?

Thanks for listening!

On this episode of the Airtime Misfits Podcast, we're discussing The Dragon. Making it's debut on May 12, 1990 at Adventureland in Altoona, IA, The Dragon was the first coaster in Iowa to feature an inversion (two back-to-back vertical loops). Not only was The Dragon the only looping coaster at Adventureland, it was also the only looping coaster in the entire state of Iowa for over 25 years. All the way until 2016 when Adventureland debuted The Monster, a Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster featuring five inversions.

The Dragon gave its last rides to guests on September 29, 2019. A portion of The Dragon was removed to make room for Dragon Slayer, a 4-D Free-Spin Coaster from S&S. As of the summer of 2021, a large portion of The Dragon is still standing, including the very picturesque back-to-back vertical loops.

Did you have the chance to ride The Dragon before it closed for good? Let us know your thoughts about this coaster in the comment section.

Thanks for listening!

In this episode we’re discussing Orient Express formerly of Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, MO. Debuting in 1980, Orient Express, designed by Arrow Dynamics, was the second full circuit coaster to feature the interlocking loops element. It was also the first coaster to feature the Kamikaze Curve element (also known as a boomerang or batwing). Orient Express gave it’s final rides in 2003.

Did you have the chance to ride this Kansas City legend? Let us know in the comment section. Thanks for listening!