Videos About Coasters.

[Movieguy]

I remember around my 9th or 10th birthday, getting a VHS tape that my parents ordered from Kodak. It was called Roller Coaster Thrills, and I remember it being my introduction to coasters like SFMM's Colossus, Kings Island's Vortex, and BGW's Big Bad Wolf. It was very cheaply produced, with a weird storyline ( a little boy left alone on a bench with a random ice cream man) and music made from a Casio keyboard, but it left its impression on me, nonetheless.

 

When I got older there were other coaster videos produced, most notably the "America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills" series. Again, these videos seemed to have rather questionable taste in coasters, but still, it kept my interest in the subject through the rest of my youth, in the times before I was blessed with the presence of Theme Park Review.

 

Who else remembers these videos from years ago? Apologies in advance if there's another thread like this out there.

[SoCalCoasters]

The video that got me hooked on coasters, and first showed me Magic Mountain was: "The Secret World Of..." Series they had one on theme parks and Magic Mountain was the main park featured. Quite educational as well, as I believe I ws the only one in my third grade class who knew what physics were.

[thrillrider]

Here are a few videos in my collection.

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=56015&start=210

[gforce532]

When I was a kid I had watched these videos called "There goes a.....", and each video was based on different things like planes, police cars, and fire trucks. Well this one video was called "Here comes a roller coaster", which toke place at SFMM. And they just ran around the park riding all the roller coasters. It was filmed in 1994 so they made batman and viper seem as they were the greatest coasters ever made. I laught so much whenever I watch it again and just seeing how much the park has changed.

[Jerrykoala2112]

On the Travel Channel between 2001-2003, they would always play those most extreme thrill rides... I remember Hypersonic XLC, Superman at Geauga Lake, and other coasters on there. I'd watch it every time it was on and was hooked onto coasters in 2002.

[coasterlover420]

I remember some time in the early 2000's there was this huge coaster marathon on Discovery Channel and I recorded all of them to DVD. There was around 5 or 6 hours of coaster footage. These were the shows:

 

The Making of a Coaster (Lightning Racer & Steel Dragon 2000 featured)

Scream Parks (SFMM featured)

Extreme Rides

Thrill Rides Put to the Test

Extreme Rides 2000

Extreme Rides 2003

 

There was also this one Cedar Point video online that I found once but I think the link has since been removed. It was a 2003 vid and was set to "Heaven" by DJ Sammy, and I never stopped watching that video...the CP video that was on here was one of my favorites too.

Edited November 13, 2010 by coasterlover420

[Movieguy]

I just remembered one other program that was on the Discovery channel in the early 00's...it had a bunch of ACErs trying to break the record for the number of coasters ridden in 24 hours, I believe, and it took place in California.

 

I remember two things...One, that one of the guys did a Blair Witch Impression, like the one the TPR crew did at Kentucky Rumbler in the Volume 10 expedition, only it was extremely lame. Two, that they got booed at a couple of the parks they went to, because the park let them on in front of other people on the coasters they needed to ride, then acted all indignant about it, as if they didn't realize that they were basically resorting to line-jumping in their efforts to break the record, and that was what ticked people off.

Edited November 13, 2010 by Movieguy

[thespianthrillrider7]

I don't know when I first fell in love with coasters, I would say it started when I was about 4 or 5 years old. One of my favorite videos I used to watch was Kidsongs Ride the Roller Coaster, where this group of kids went to Magic Mountain and rode all the rides. I loved roller coasters so much and would get so into it, that I would get at the foot of my bed and put my legs underneath the rail on my footboard, pretending like it was a lapbar, and pretend like I was on the rides. We collected a lot of the videos Disney World puts out for travel planning so I loved those too. Then I would watch the specials on the Travel Channel constantly whenever they came on.

[Movieguy]

We collected a lot of the videos Disney World puts out for travel planning so I loved those too. Then I would watch the specials on the Travel Channel constantly whenever they came on.

 

Yes! I try to watch all the stuff involving WDW as well. I still have a copy, somewhere, of "Walt Disney World: A Dream Come True" from 1986, which is still one of my all time favorites, since it was made in the glorious early years of EPCOT Center.

[thespianthrillrider7]

We collected a lot of the videos Disney World puts out for travel planning so I loved those too. Then I would watch the specials on the Travel Channel constantly whenever they came on.

 

Yes! I try to watch all the stuff involving WDW as well. I still have a copy, somewhere, of "Walt Disney World: A Dream Come True" from 1986, which is still one of my all time favorites, since it was made in the glorious early years of EPCOT Center.

That's awesome. Yeah we have a bunch of the WDW trip planning videos. That's where I really discovered my love for theme parks, through those videos. One of them (the earliest) did a really cool segment on Splash Mountain. I wanted to ride it so bad at the time but I think I was afraid because at the time, the way they filmed the video made the drop look extremely steep and I would chicken out whenever we went to the park. Then I had another sing-a-long video when I was in elementary school of Disneyland. Loved those videos.

Edited November 13, 2010 by thespianthrillrider7

[Fooz]

I had the america's greatest roller coaster thrills. I remember the storyline about the guy who would ride, and the girl who would wimp out, and when they both ended up on Batman the ride, she liked it but it was too much for him.

[rcdude]

The first roller coaster video I remember watching was an old children's video called "There Goes a Roller Coaster." This video showcased the eight roller coasters Six Flags Magic Mountain had at the time (Colossus, Gold Rusher, Flashback, Revolution, Psyclone, Ninja, Viper, and Batman the Ride). The whole reason I started watching this was because I wanted to see what rides I could look forward to when I visited Six Flags Magic Mountain for the first time (which was around two to three years after I first got this video). I also used to enjoy a couple videos from the "America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills" series, although I found them to overall be fairly uninteresting.

 

Up until about 2004 or so, I used to watch an annual three-hour program the Discovery Channel did on roller coasters. Every year, the program was similar: there was always a show about the top ten coasters in the US, as well as a show about the latest innovations in the amusement industry, and finally a third feature that varied every year and always seemed to be California based. One year, it was a show about the construction of Goliath. Another year, a group of enthusiasts decided to ride over 30 coasters in 24 hours, and visited Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, California's Great America (Paramount's at the time), Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Marine World at the time), Scandia Amusement Park, Boomers Family Fun Center (which used to have a coaster), Adventure City, Knott's Berry Farm, and Six Flags Magic Mountain. They ended up getting 38 or 39 coasters by counting each track of Superman The Escape and Colossus separately, plus getting on all the kids coasters that don't usually allow adults to ride. The other special show I remember well was a competition at Six Flags Magic Mountain which features five teams of two attempting challenges on the park's rides. If I remember correctly, they were: 1. Do as many flips on the trampoline as possible, 2. Drop water balloons onto targets while on Dive Devil, 3. Ride Spin Out for three cycles straight, then walk across a balance beam without falling, 4. Keep a ball in a cup while on X, 5. Get as many passes as possible with a soccer ball during one ride on Superman The Escape, 6. Eat a three course meal then ride Goliath without getting sick for as long as you can. I liked these shows at the time, but now, when I look back on them, they don't seem all that great.

 

Recently, I've watched the vacation videos Disney World makes, as well as the various TV shows put out by different channels. However, ever since I started watching the TPR DVDs about three years ago I really haven't gotten much enjoyment out of any other amusement park related show or video.

[braztaz]

Youtube.

[jray21]

National Lampoon's Vacation, and Beverly Hills Cop 3. BHC3 is not really coasterish, but it was filmed at my home park! Other than those, I don't really remember seeing any coaster videos as a kid.

[stricklandCC]

I'm surprised nobody as mentioned the Nova special featuring Drachen Fire, it was the first video I had seen specifically related to coasters. It had to be around '92, because Drachen Fire was the new deal, and Ron Toomer was still playing with coat hangers!

[Movieguy]

^ I remember the Nova special, and how it talked about Drachen Fire. Too bad it went from talking about coasters, into this whole bizarre tangent about how simulators were going to be the wave of the future in amusement. That's why I haven't watched it again in so long.

 

I know it's been brought up by Shane as well, but Theme Parks a Go Go was another old favorite of mine.

[thespianthrillrider7]

I remember one of the first coaster specials I saw on TV having the Crazy Mouse from Dinosaur Beach. Thought it was the coolest thing.

[viking86]

I remember my parents recorder a documentary in the mid 90's which I must have watched a million times. It featured coasters in the US, Japan and UK (mostly pleasure beach). It did not really talk much about specific coasters and very few coaster names were mentioned. I remember particularly at the end it was a part with an old couple who had spent countless hours in their car watching the Big One being built and were very enthusiastic when talking about it. They didnt ride it though. There was also some dramatic shots of the ride with Beethoven Symphonire nr. 5 playing along with it.

 

I would love to see that program again....

[beatle11]

I remember watching the show Popular Mechanics for Kids years ago. Canadians will remember it. (The one with the young Elisha Cuthbert). They had a couple episodes about rides and roller coasters that really got me hooked. Shows like that, and Roller Coaster Tycoon got me hooked.

[Simon Baynham]

Hi all

 

Probably the largest colletion of officially-released roller coaster books and videos

 

ANDY SHINE'S http://www.rollercoastermedialibrary.com The TPR vids get a high rating too.

[Skramp]

I remember around my 9th or 10th birthday, getting a VHS tape that my parents ordered from Kodak. It was called Roller Coaster Thrills, and I remember it being my introduction to coasters like SFMM's Colossus, Kings Island's Vortex, and BGW's Big Bad Wolf. It was very cheaply produced, with a weird storyline ( a little boy left alone on a bench with a random ice cream man) and music made from a Casio keyboard, but it left its impression on me, nonetheless.

 

When I got older there were other coaster videos produced, most notably the "America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills" series. Again, these videos seemed to have rather questionable taste in coasters, but still, it kept my interest in the subject through the rest of my youth, in the times before I was blessed with the presence of Theme Park Review.

 

Who else remembers these videos from years ago? Apologies in advance if there's another thread like this out there.

 

 

I have all of these also. I believe there was the "American" one, then another "International one and I think there was another also. But most of all, the best vids are the TPR produced ones. Some vids tend to drag on, but the TPR mix the right amount of off-ride, comedy bits that make the vids fly by.

[doom1001]

I bought that America's Greatest Rollercoaster Thrills in 3-D and felt I got jipped as the 3-D did not work at all.As far as all those Travel Channel and Discovery Channel shows,I started taping them on VHS going back to the mid 90's,I transferred most of them to DVD and still tape anything that's theme park,amusement park,rollercoaster waterpark,Disney related,I even have that PBS Great Old Amusement parks show that shows Cedar Point and Kennywood like in 1986 or so.I probably have so many hundreds of shows taped that if I started watching them now I might still be watching a month from now.I wonder why there aren't as many of these shows produced now as there were several years ago,it seems like 1998-2003 was just show after show coming out,mostly coaster related then from like 2002-2007 tons of Disney stuff,but lately very little if anything.

[imawesome1124]

My first was a special about SFMM that my mom taped when I was 3 or 4. I became hooked when I was about 8.

[Sir Clinksalot]

My first was Coaster Expedition Vol. I on VHS ... Pretty sure I still have it around here somewhere.

[andyuk200523]

My first video that I owned was called "White Knuckle" It was pretty much filmed by (if I remember correctly, the RCCGB) in 1994 about the opening of The Pepsi Max Big One, Shockwave and Nemesis (along with a few other coasters)

 

Although I have seen many shows on TV since about 1990 when I was 8!