Welcome to this week's episode on Phantasialand. I was really excited for this episode to share some of the lore of this unique theme park in Germany. Please forgive any mispronunciations of names in this episode. ENJOY!

NEW THIS WEEK: View my script with footnote sources. Find it HERE

I had to use nearly 30 SOURCES for this episode, so check them out if you would like!

Sources:

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/themenbereiche/themenbereich-berlin/

• https://parkworld-online.com/gottlieb-loffelhardt-1934-2011/

• https://zauber-pedia.de/index.php?title=Richard_Schmidt

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/attraktionen/maerchenwald/

• https://www.britannica.com/science/lignite

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/themenbereiche/themenbereich-fantasy/

• https://www.ksta.de/region/rhein-erft/bruehl/phantasialand-als-die-gruender-familie-noch-im-park-wohnte-4-908847

• https://cheeseepedia.org/wiki/hofmann-monkey-show/

• https://youtu.be/RNGHXoA8QPI

• https://www.anderswohin.de/phantasialand-mal-historisch-alte-plaene/

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/themenbereiche/themenbereich-china-town/

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/attraktionen/geister-rikscha/

• https://www.ksta.de/region/rhein-erft/bruehl/phantasialand-gruender-ueber-delphin-drama-und-entlaufene-loewen-946194

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/phantasialand-chronik/

• https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Crazy_Bats

• https://coasterpedia.net/wiki/Colorado_Adventure

• https://youtu.be/mGCOr6Iv4PU

• https://ga.de/region/koeln-und-rheinland/phantasialand-mitgruender-richard-schmidt-mit-93-jahren-gestorben_aid-51361381

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/attraktionen/mystery-castle/

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/themenbereiche/themenbereich-deep-in-africa/

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/shows/die-6-drachen/

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/attraktionen/maus-au-chocolat/

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/themenbereiche/themenbereich-mystery/

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/attraktionen/fly/

• https://frei-zeit-blog.de/phantasialand/hotels/hotel-charles-lindbergh/

• https://themeparkguide.co.uk/news-page/Phantasialand-A-New-Mystery-Begins

• https://www.wartezeiten.app/en/phantasialand/news/phantasialand-expansion-targeting-short-stay-visitors-2000.html#:~:text=The%20goal%20is%20to%20establish%20Phantasialand%20as%20a,with%20its%20unique%20themed%20worlds%20and%20personal%20experiences.

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Welcome to this week's episode on Europa-Park! This park is a place I truly love and I have been enamored with the history of it. Please, enjoy this episode as we explore the lore of the park and discuss my own visits.

Sorry that this episode is a wee bit longer (haha) I oopsied and talked too long on my experiences! But I guess I also covered Rulantica, so there is that too.

I also hope you like the new intro music! It is from an authentic Adolf Ruth Fairground Organ. You will see its significance in the episode, and I hope it will bring more 'carousel' to the podcast episodes going forward (or at least until I change it again)

Sources:

• History - Company | Europa-Park - Unternehmensportal

• Europa-Park: Europa.Gemeinsam.Erleben. - Die Chronik by Mack Media

• Balthasar Castle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Introduction Music recorded by Nick Williams

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Welcome to the first in-between episode that I think I will call 'Chit Chat' where I can chat about things that don't necessarily relate to a specific theme park history. In this episode, I discuss the history of theme park souvenirs: where did they start? I also open up about my theme park merchandise obsession (I believe it is now a personality trait oops).

Sources from this episode:

• SOUVENIR Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

• Carnival Games - Guide to Value, Marks, History | WorthPoint Dictionary

• ​The Early History of Theme Parks in America - Yesterday's America

• A Trip Down Memory Lane: The Evolution of Disney Theme Park Merchandis – mickeywarehouse

• A Short History of Disney Merchandising | by Renee Bugden | The Wonderful World of Disney | Medium

• The History of Knott's Berry Farm

• Theme parks expect new rides to send merchandise sales soaring - Los Angeles Times

Music by EchoGateStudios from PixabayOther sources I talk about:

My Apple Music Playlists - Here

Carousels & Coasters on TikTok - Here

See you next week as I explore Europa-Park! :)

Welcome to Episode 1.3 - Busch Gardens Tampa Bay! In this episode, we discover the history and stories of this park from the brewery tour with free beer at the end and a bird show to the rollercoaster park with live animals it is today. Also, in the second section, we talk about my experience visiting the park awhile back and my recommendations on getting through the park in one day!

This episode also premieres my new microphone (everyone say YAY Zack Back!) ... so hopefully it sounds a little less ratchet and a little clearer. Please know I am still working out the kinks in the audio levels, so please give me grace!

Sources for this week:

BGT History.com - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Gwazi - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Serengeti Plain - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Old Swiss House - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Edge of Africa - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

SheiKra - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Timbuktu - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Cheetah Hunt - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Falcon's Fury - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Cobra's Curse - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Tigris - BGT History - Busch Gardens Tampa History

Iron Gwazi - Wikipedia

Phoenix Rising (roller coaster) - Wikipedia

Sand Serpent - Wikipedia

Busch Gardens History

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**This is an attempt to repair audio quality issues from the first upload. Please excuse me for not noticing initially when I uploaded it that the sound was icky oops I legit do all this myself and I have no experience oops!**

This week we explore the history of Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Kings Island is a park that has been through a lot of changes in its over 50 year history. Since 1972, the park has thrilled millions of guests, and we discover in this episode that the history started far before that, in the 1880's in an apple orchard along the Ohio River. Join us as we discover all of this and more on this week's Park History episode.

Sources used for this week's information:

• Kings Island : A Ride Through Time by Evan Ponstingle (ISBN: 978-1-7321210-8-9)

• Goodbye, Coney Island, Goodbye… by Paul Ilyinsky and Dick Perry (ISBN: 0-13-360230-3)

• Kings Island : A Photographic Journey by Barry R. Hill & John M. Keeter (ISBN: 978-1-7321210-9-6)

• ⁠Timeline of Kings Island’s History – Kings Island Central⁠

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Welcome to Episode 1.1, Dollywood of our Park History Deep Dive Series. In this episode I discuss the history of Dollywood and then talk about my recommendations for how to experience the park as a first time visitor or a repeat visitor. This park is super important to me, so I have a lot to say on the topic!

Please note: The history portion is outdated (Already?!) as I recorded it before Dollywood's 2026 Wildwood Grove addition, NightFlight Expedition had been announced officially. I do mention it in the second segment of the episode, as I recorded it after the announcement.

Sources for the History in this Episode:

• https://www.dollywood.com/about-us

• The Inventor's Mansion

• Dollywood Through the Years: The Surprising Transformation of the Theme Park

• Lost Smoky Mountain Attractions - Rebel Railroad and Gold | HeySmokies

• The History of Dollywood - A Gaze Back to Memory Lane

• National Carousel Association - Index of North American Carousels

• Dentzel Carousel Company - Wikipedia

• Eagle Mountain Sanctuary - Dollywood

• Chasing Rainbows Museum - Wikipedia

• Dollywood Inventor’s Mansion: The Mysterious Lost House on the Hill

• Flooded Mine – Dollywood – Dark Ride Database

• Dollywood Map and Brochure (2025 - 1989) | ThemeParkBrochures.net

• 7 Old Dollywood Rides That You'll Be Sad to Learn No Longer Exist

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Greetings and welcome aboard Zack Back's Carousel of Theme Parks Podcast. This is the first episode, created to help introduce you to me, the podcast idea and what we will be doing here on a regular basis.

Please forgive me for the probably awful audio quality, as this is the first time I have ever done anything like this and there is definitely a learning curve with audio! I hope that from here we only go up in quality and probably the introduction tracks will change eventually. But for now, enjoy! Look out for the first **official** episode coming soon: Dollywood!