We're time traveling, and not just on the extreme spinner trains! This episode's deep dive is all about the good, the bad, and finding the balance in both in terms of train design aesthetics and ergonomics. We battle a lot of tech issues that we hopefully edited out well enough (also Allison's audio kinda sucks for some reason), Allison went on multiple trips recently and talks about those for awhile, Jenn has some thoughts about an unexpected train design, and  one listener (hi Alex!) wrote us a novel of a comment that none of us read in advance, naturally.

Who knew park layouts could be considered creative? We talk about some of the best and worst park layouts we've experienced, and why they left an impact on us. Lots of listener comments, plus Flash Vertical Velocity recaps from Jenn and Allison, Jenn's massive rant on a coaster she hasn't been on yet, Bryant's recovery milestone, and more!

It's been a while since we've had an interview, but this one was worth the wait because Gina's watercolor artwork is absolutely incredible!! Literally we spent half of the interview just scrolling through her art in awe. We talk with Gina about her artistic process and inspirations, how she got into using watercolor and expanding her craft, her exciting upcoming coaster trip, and seriously just go look at her Instagram page and see for yourself. 

Also - a few minor podcast tweaks, Bryant's ridiculous Sabrina Carpenter trivia revealed, a Coaster Madness update, and Allison did a whoopsie and now has a trip report.

Go support Gina!!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gcartwork/
Etsy Store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GCArtWork

Queue lines are a necessary evil of this hobby...so we break down the best and worst ride queues, plus ways to make the experience better! What are the most innovative ways to improve the time spent in queue lines? We're also joined by our friend Ethan, who calls himself the Queuemeister. We're clearly opinionated on this topic because it's our longest episode yet...oops.

Ethan's Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/boilercoasters/

It's Allison and Bryant's favorite time of year to collab...Coaster Madness is upon us! We're joined by Nathaniel (aka hawkvandelay), our new official Coaster Madness historian, to give a behind the scenes look at Bryant's annual Coaster Madness tournament. How does seeding work? What's the graphics process and how far behind is Allison on graphics this year?? (spoiler alert...she's very behind.) But more importantly...Bryant reveals every matchup of the 2025 bracket, with analysis and predictions from Nathaniel. Plus, Jenn is back, we have a couple extra cameos, finally some new trivia, and more! 

Coaster Madness starts on March 1 on Coaster365 socials!
https://x.com/coaster365
https://www.instagram.com/coaster_365/

Nathaniel's socials:
https://x.com/hawkvandelay
https://www.instagram.com/hawkvandelay/

Jenn was busy in Orlando and Bryant was about to board a cruise, so we recorded a quick episode centered on roasting each others' Top 15 lists—blind! We didn't know each others' official rankings before getting into this, and we quickly learned...Allison is not good at roasting. We're joined by Mike with the Mullet to help give some (questionable) opinions on our lists! 

We have a surprise first international guest for our latest deep dive! We're joined by our friend Joey, a Voltron ride op from Germany (and also Jenn's bf) to talk about color schemes on roller coasters! Bryant blindly gives us his Top Ten coaster paint jobs to discuss, and we go through SO many listener comments on what is everyone's favorite color scheme, what doesn't quite work, and what people would want to change. 

Bring your appetite for this one! We are joined by our friend Alex (aka Rides and Bites) to talk about culinary experiences in the parks. We discuss creativity in culinary, some of the best meals we've ever had on a park visit, how food quality versus immersion and theming can impact a dining experience, and a quick trip recap from Alex!

Go follow Alex on socials!
X: https://x.com/ridesandbites
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ridesandbites_/

We're joined by analog coaster photographer Laurel for a talk about her unique theme park photography methods! And if you know Laurel, of course we talk a ton about Magnum XL-200. Plus recent trip recaps, more trivia, and of course our usual shenanigans!

Follow Laurel on social media!
https://www.instagram.com/thrills_on_film/
https://x.com/laurelxl200

Allison and Jenn are joined by our friend Nate to recap their recent trips to Europe, including lots of fangirling over Europa Park and Phantasialand, which Bryant skipped because of... SPOILERS!! Yes, spoiler warning, because we talk in-depth about rides at these two parks that you may not want to know if you haven't been there yet! 

And 'tis the season, as we talk about holiday events at the parks! Are rides or holiday ambiance most important? What are the top events in the US and some of the worldwide events we want to attend? What are the best park events we've been to? 

Go follow Nate!
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Coaster_Focus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coaster_focus